December 11 – 15, 2017 Off we go to Durango (the Land of Cinema and scorpions)! We took the four hour luxury bus from Mazatlán to Durango (altitude 6,168’) via a 143 mile twisting, winding, 63 tunnel, 115 bridge (including the third highest cable stayed bridge at 1,312’) highway over the Sierra Madre mountains. Spectacular! This natural landscape has been the background for over 200 movies – we were surprised. John Wayne made at least seven movies here. The scorpion is the unofficial symbol of Durango and can be found in and on almost everything – including tacos. Bruce was brave and had one – he described it as a “non-event” and survived to tell the story (they are “de-venomized” prior to eating) – UGH! We stayed at the Hostal de la Monja in zona centro spending four days exploring the city (two with a guide) and surrounding area, including an open air stepped stone alter – La Ferreria, the Pancho Villa museum, rode the cable car, the first oven for making iron (1848) park, cathedrals, grand haciendas and beautiful government buildings. We endured temperatures in the 40’s with rain much of the time in Durango – it confirmed our decision to never cruise in cold climates!