This Sunday, we were invited by new friends Debbie and David, to join them, along with Gil and Al, long time friends of theirs, to spend the day in the town of El Rosario and El Caimanero.

El Rosario, a small town about 31 miles (50 km) south of Mazatlán, is famous for the altar in the town church. The altar alone makes a visit to El Rosario somewhat worth the drive. El Rosario was once the richest town in Southwest Mexico because of the local mining operations. This small town was also the home of the famous Mexican singer, Lola Beltrán. They have built a small museum in her honor. One can do a little shopping for pottery, furniture or leather products, all of which are produced locally.

This town of 48,000 people was built by the Spaniards around 1655, on the site of a village named Chametla and located on the river Piaxtla. This area all the way to the sea, was inhabited by the Aztlan culture between 900 and 1400 BC. Because of protracted wars between the village of Chametla and neighouring tribes called the xiximes and the ezcasees, this culture was almost extinct by the time the Spaniards arrived. They were attracted by gold and silver.

By 1780 El Rosario had 7000 people and was the most prosperous town in North Western Mexico. It is said that every ton of ore produced 400 kilos of gold. At the peak of production, the tunnels covered an area of 150 hectares and produced 500 tons of ore per day.

We drove around this very picturesque town and really enjoyed it. We had food at a restaurant perched on top of a hill overlooking the town. From there we could enjoy the vista and took several pictures.

We had fresh coconut which were prepared by an old Mexicano. You start by drinking the juice which is followed by cutting the pulp in mouth size pices dozed with lime juice, salt and hot salsa. Believe me when I say it was delicious.

From there we headed to an ocean village called El Caimanero. The whole area is below or at sea level and they have shrimp farms over a very large area. We stopped at a restaurant located on the beach and patronized only by Mexicans. We were the only 6 Gringos around. The prices were good as well as the food.

When you arrive at this restaurant, you are directed to an area where they have a variety of fish caught that day. Your pick is then passed to a cook who fillets the fish, prepares and cooks it on the parilla (BBQ). They use local spices and a sauce which makes the fish look light brown and is served with a variety of condiments. It was a feast and we paid 350 pesos for a 2.8 kilo fish and all the condiments. There was no left over.

We used side roads to come back and went through several villages along the way. We got home late in the afternoon and I am sure we were all looking forward to our usual siesta, being tired from all the eating and travelling .

We had a wonderful day and enjoyed our friends, the vistas and the food. Another nice day in paradize. We have posted a few pictures in our photo gallery.