The Past Few days

I’m a little behind on the blogging…Thursday, I took the shuttle to Pueblo Bonito Mazatlan, and then hailed a clean, air conditioned, 9 peso city bus to Mercado Centro. I got off at the Market, strolled around there a bit, looking at leather goods and baseball caps, before walking the short distance to the cathedral. The cathedral has been undergoing restoration for several years, but it appears to be pretty much spruced up at this point. It’s a beautiful structure, worth visiting for soulful discernment, cultural/religious appreciation, or just nice photos of the art and architecture. After an hour or so, I wandered over to the Plaza and Theater area where I connected to the “Art Walk” network of signs that function as a loose directory for a self-guided walking tour of the area. Many of the buildings in this part of Mazatlan are being restored, so I like to walk this path each year, just to check out the progress. I ended up walking several blocks toward the ocean, then past the Freeman Hotel. I then made some elevation, until I was above, and within 100 yds, of the marina/ferry for Stone Island. After snapping several photos of objects and scenery, I eventually returned back to the Market, where I milled around some more and caught the bus back to Pueblo Bonito Mazatlan. I arrived at emerald Bay in time to grab a quick shower before heading over to the Villa. Jeanne and Pete arrived a short time after me. Marco picked up the group at 5:00 and drove us to Las Zapatos (sp?), the scene of the infamous Santa Claus dog pile last year. No Santa, on Thursday night, but plenty of music and fun for everyone. The kids got the whole house rocking as you can see in the photos (note the granny and the lady in black doing the Macarena with the children….a little scary, huh?). Yesterday, Pete and I went marlin fishing, but had little luck…four small Bonita and a very long boat ride in the hot Mazatlan sun. This is the second time I’ve tried fishing here in December with poor results. I’m thinking that I’ll save my fishing money for a trip in January or February when the chances of hooking a marlin may be better. I opted to stay at EB last night to organize photos while sipping a cervesa or two on the patio.