Bob arrived about 5:00 yesterday. He had told me that his plane would be arriving in Mazatlan at 2:15. I estimated that if all went as planned that would put him at EB by about 3:45, or so.
When you get off the plane at the airport in Mazatlan, you are immediately taken to an earlier time … no fancy jet way, but rather steep stairs down to the tarmac … no shiny glass monolith for a terminal … just a relatively modest stucco building, kind of a throwback to an old spaghetti western.
Customs is relatively painless. You fill out a declaration form and a tourist card on the plane prior to arrival. You must present these completed forms, along with your passport to the “officials” once inside the terminal. Customs is efficient. The procedure consists of a simple green light-red light system, where you have your bags inspected only if you push the button and are “lucky” enough to get a red light. I’ve had my bags inspected in 1 out of 4 trips to Mazatlan. Wish I was always that lucky in Vegas!
After leaving customs you are propelled into a large room where a ton of smiling folks are waiting to greet you with Corona, Pacifico, Margaritas, and signage showing your name, or the name of various transports to the tourist havens. Emerald Bay currently contracts with Bonita Travel for their guests. You can go to the Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay website and click airport transportation. There you will find a form that allows you to book a shuttle to and from EB prior to your arrival. This will save you a lot of trouble and a few dollars. The shuttle cost is currently $19 US.
There is an alternative shuttle system under the name of “King David”. I haven’t researched the outfit, but it looks like they have a nice bus. Both Bonita Travel and King David use full-sized, air conditioned busses. BT’s are clean and well-maintained. Bonita Travel has an 800 number from the states for customer service and reservations. Bob told me that he had misplaced his reservation information, so had to call. He remarked that the girl he spoke with on the phone was pleasant and very helpful. This reminds me that I should mention that most of the folks you will encounter, and a good number in the general population speak English. This can prove to be helpful to those of us who may be “bilingually impaired”. Do try to master a few words of Mexican Spanish. The locals appreciate our effort to do so, I think, because it is a form of showing interest in the culture.
Back to Bob’s arrival … So, I leave my comfortable lounge on the beach about 3:30 expecting Bob to show around 4:00, at the latest. I head up to the lobby and take a seat. The EB shuttle arrives from town. This is not Bob’s shuttle, but the bus that runs from EB to Mazatlan each hour. Off jumps another “Bob”. He’s a fellow Alaskan, who has been at the Mercado all day. He’s wearing a newly acquired straw hat, carrying an armful of t-shirts, and pulling a carry-on full of God knows what. He stops to talk with me and tells me that he priced shrimp at the market. He remarks that he wishes he had brought along a cooler. Coolers are a bit of a commodity here, and command more than a fair price. He says he’ll just bite the bullet and purchase one from Sam’s Club, as it’s the best deal in town. I ask him how much shrimp he’s planning to buy, and ship. He tells me, “ten kilos”. That should be about 22 pounds, if I remember my conversions. That’s a lot of shrimp!
“Bob from Alaska” leaves for points unknown. I wander around the lobby area for 40 minutes or so. I ask the Concierge if she has any idea when the Bonita shuttle will be getting in. She says “No” and smiles, which means, “That’s a silly question Gringo, this is Mexico, and all things occur in their own time”.
It’s happy hour now, that “witching” hour between four and five, when drinks magically become two for one … plus tax and tip, of course. I gamble. Leaving the lobby I scurry to the nearest Aqua Bar and order up two Reposado Margaritas to go. The upper bar has no “to go” cups, so they trust me to leave with their plastic ware. I promise the bartender that the glasses won’t end up in my luggage. I procure the drinks, start sipping on one until it is half gone. Then, feeling a little light headed, decide that I should take what’s left of mine, and the other one, that I have designated to be Bob’s, up to the room, and into the freezer for safe keeping.
After leaving the room, I rush back to the lobby where I find “Bob from Longview, Washington” at the front desk accompanied by Kathy and Barb from Gig Harbor and Fircrest. I greet him with a hearty “Jesus, Fox! You’re making friends already!” It turns out that he’s been hanging with these gals all day. They’ve planned out his vacation, and have basically adopted him. I rescue Bob from the arms of pending ecstasy or doom, however you might want to view it, and we stroll to the room trailing his rolling bag. Bob is amazed at the beauty of this place, as are all. It takes us awhile to get to the room as he makes quite a few stops to look at things that catch his eye. After reaching the room, we dump his bags, grab the now frozen margaritas, and run down to the pool grill to have dinner. The grill closes at six, so I rush him a bit. I order a burger and fries. I recommend the marlin tacos to Bob and he goes for that option. To top it off we get an order of nachos to share. We would later reflect that our ordering was “a bit much” as the nachos are in the refrigerator and will be reheated for lunch today. Bob also orders a Tacate, but I talk him into a Pacifico, as it’s the local beer, and it will make a good first impression on Hector, our server. So … Bob’s got a margarita and a beer to work on while we await the food. I’m content sipping on my margarita. The food arrives. It’s perfect, as usual. Between bites, we catch up on what we both have been up to since seeing each other last February in Hawaii. Without thinking, Bob inhales the roasted jalapeno that dresses the nachos. His eyes begin watering and he has difficulty speaking. I should’ve warned him I s’pose. We ask Hector for another Pacifico for Bob. We finish our meal without further difficulty and get a to go box for the nachos. I take Bob on a tour of the premises to wear off the effects of the jalapeno and brewskies. Eventually, we make it back to the room, grab a couple of CAO Italia cigarros, and recline on the patio for an evening smoke. What a day! What a life!
Oh yeah … as we finish up our evening and tuck ourselves into bed, Bob tells me his travel down to Mazatlan went just as planned. Everything was on time. I ask him why he was so late in arriving at EB. He responds, a bit sheepishly, that he had told me an arrival time at the airport based on the Longview clock, which is one hour earlier. After mildly cussing him out for my “lost” beach time, I roll over and go to sleep.
We woke up this morning and did a 40 minute beach walk, then returned to the room to gather gear for the pool. Bob wants to stay at Emerald Bay today and go into Mazatlan proper tomorrow. Fine with me. I seldom feel the need to leave the property. It’s slightly overcast today with periods of direct sun. It should prove to be another beautiful day. Bob just remarked that EB probably has all of the universal pool rules of no running, diving, or peeing in the pool. I responded by saying, “Yes, and you’ll probably break all of them”. Have a great day!
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