Hotel Belmar Mazatlan

... by Officer Obed he kept me talking for almost an hour and was trying to set me up with some women at the market, I don't know if it was a honey trap or he was concerned about my welfare. At least it wasn't lady boys. The Chinese was closed so I had a monster chicken soup with half a chicken in it and a steak instead.<br>Somehow lost an hour to the time bandits, they don't warn you when the time zone changes you just arrive late or early.

... the closest city, Mochis, or book from the ship. So we bit the bullet and paid $129USD a head for a 7-hour trip to The Land Of Zorro &amp; Heritage Tour. OK!! I have to admit that this was the best ship-bought shorex we have ever had and was worth the price. We left the ship at 9:00 on a brand new, very comfortable, air conditioned, quiet, highway bus and headed for El Fuerte, about an hour and forty five minutes away from the ship. Our guide Adrian was, according to Deb, the ...

... stream back and forth between the ship and Walmart like ants.  Halloween has us searching for costume pieces and we arrive to Walmart at the same time the ship is in. Big mistake, the place is full of tourists and we see nothing worth standing in line for and quickly leave. Lucky Walmart, poor tourists, there is so much more to see and do. Hopefully some of them will go sightseeing. We find our costumes and have a fun night with a bunch of ...

... of a beach at all but the water looked clean. Sat near a rocky bit and saw some beautiful shoals of fish; black and yellow striped, bright blue, bright purple, red and some huge silver ones. Went for a long swim and was standing in the water when I felt something pinch my leg. I must have jumped 2 foot in the air (was abit paranoid because nobody was swimming or on the beach). Was it sharks?..jellyfish?..nope, just a tiny blue fish had pulled one of my leg ...

... Kary stayed with when she was in Sitka. Small world! The menus are in English and still hard, since there are SO many choices. I am sure I have the best meal - freshly caught shrimp stuffed in large chillies and fried. Everyone is convinced theirs are the best. Too much food for me, so I share my stuffed chillies. This area has a lot of beachfront restaurants. It's relaxing to eat and have views to the water. Some of the group is already in swimsuits and wading. We ...

... good spots for overnight Westy camping, towards Mazatlan side). As soon as you reach the Top, you feel it. Humid, warm, wet, tropical. Yap, you are on the other side, decending the same way. Those turns are really sharp. Beware of trucks that take that route as well. they usually take up the whole road in turns. (naturally).

... panoramic view of the canyons available from the train. Tarahumaran women and children hocked tasty treats and woven baskets along our brief foray to the viewpoint before we hopped back on the train. One more stop at the height of the canyon, 8,000 feet above sea level, would bring us to our destination of Creel in the heart of the canyon system. We disembarked in darkness. Little did we know that an adventure greater than that day's lay ahead in the canyons below.

... away as quickly as possible and entered the historical church away from the crowds. The church is truly a beautiful structure with amazing ornamentation and stained-glass windows. I thought that walking through the church was the best part of the tour. After that, we went to see a show with Papantla Flyers and Flamenco Dancers which was very entertaining. After that, we went to the shopping ...

Today our ship stopped in Mazatlan. Took the Mazatlan City Tour (3 1/2 hrs). We got to see the Cathedral and drive along the coast. Stopped for shopping at the Mazatlan Arts and Crafts Center. After that we got to see a 30-min folkloric show. They danced and sang. We also got to see the "Papantla Fliers"--Totonac Indians ...