To the top!
14 April 2011 | Mazatlan, Sinaloa
My last bog started with "Ah, life in the marina"...but I didn't really elaborate. Yesterday, we hauled up the anchor from the bottom of the old harbor, washed all the gooky mud off the chain and anchor and made our way to the Marina Mazatlan. There are about a 100 boats here give or take and like us all from somewhere else although many will call this marina "home" and stay here for the summer. It's a nice place...close to the bus line, as I mentioned has hot showers and internet and we don't have to put the dinghy in the water every time we want to go ashore. We have water available to wash the boat...the grime that has built up on every surface in such an unbelievable short period of time is an eyesore. We think that we were downwind of the city in the old harbor and we took the brunt of good old city pollution in the air and sticking on everything. This marina is built into an estuary...there are lots of birds around and the swallows and the cooing doves are especially pleasant to look at and listen too.
The other day we did a hike to the top of Isla Creston where el faro (the lighthouse) is located. This hike is a steep one and from sea level we ascended to the top at 515 feet which we are told is the second highest lighthouse in the world. Although I checked Google and there are some differences there, but in any case it is really high and provides a fantastic view of the city and the waterfront.
We also spent part of one day doing the paper work for an extension of our tourist visas. When you visit Mexico, you are allowed to stay for a period of up to six months. Then you have to leave the country or apply for an extension for a longer period of time. We realized that our visas will be expiring the first of next month and in order to stay "legal" we either had to leave the country (and then fly back in obtaining a new visa for a new six month period) or apply for an extension. The extension is called and FM3 and is good for one year. It is not an easy process to complete. We first had to go to the bank and pay the fees, pretty hefty in this case, about $300 for the two of us. Then we went to an office where (for a fee of course) a guy helped us fill out all the paper work, which was entirely in Spanish. There were two forms each to fill out, plus they wanted a "personal letter" stating why we wanted to stay longer in Mexico, and copies of our passports and a copy of a recent bank statement, and finally five pictures of each of us from the front and the side. All this took well over an hour to complete. The forms then had to be submitted to the Immigration office...we waited for 45 minutes for our number to be called. It takes a week for them to process the forms and they told us to pick up the new visas on Tuesday. We could have forgone getting the visa extensions but we would have risked getting a fine (or worse) and possibly not being granted entry to the country in the future. It was a hassle to complete and somewhat expensive but it was something that was required and we complied. At least we will stay in the good graces of Mexico and not be black listed in a computer system somewhere. Is it easier or more difficult for someone to visit the US and for how long I wonder?