Los Sabalos Resort Hotel Mazatlan

Tried the Internet cafes but both closed early am, no google so its the old fashioned ask someone!
Passed a bike - quad repair shop of sorts on my way out of town, as always friendly and helpful, they put me onto a Kawasaki shop 3 blocks away. Not dry but lube.
Back on my way on the Mex 15, more bandits in toll booths, I've got to get better maps to avoid them!
Stopped for lunch of burritos and coca cola around Havojoa.
This ...

Mazatlán! Wahoo! Home-cooked meals, TV, firm beds. Vacation at last. That's right folks, we made it! Breathing a sigh of joy we touched down at Mazatlán airport on April 6, where Eli's parents Jim and Chris were waiting with enthusiastic hugs. To fill you in, the Houcks bought a house here about 7 years ago, renovated it with amazing style and live here for ...

... in that it is extremely fine-textured and hard packed for the most part -- like hard fine finishing cement. The result is not a lot of dust like we would expect on a gravel road at home, hardly dusty at all for a desert! The bus pulled up to a house and the twenty or so of us got off and wandered into a covered yard at the side of the house where we found five Indian musicians...old men in jeans and cowboy hats with leathery copper-coloured skin made that way from decades in ...

... out at extremely slow speeds, that is how fast it goes the whole way. It was a good 10 hour ride to Creel but the train is nice and comfortable with a dining and bar cart. Another side note is that you get some decent views from the train but not really any of the main canyon. You really need to stay overnight in one of the towns along the way to see and explore the canyon. Otherwise, you're just on a long slow train ride.

... our tickets for the ferry. Little did we know that the ferry that leaves on a Wednesday is for cargo only! So we ended up staying an extra night, but it gave us the opportunity to get the boat across to one of the prettier beaches - I cant remember the name of it, but it was really nice and not many people there at all. I really enjoyed my time in this town and would recommend a visit here, but stay in the old town!!!

So, of course, our thoughts on our trip are changing every moment. As you have already read we are off to Spain Feb. 19th. As you have probably already figured out it will be quite cool when we arrive. We are figuring that instead of even leaving the airport we will be hopping right back on and cruising through to Marrakech, Morocco. This ...

... with families of Mexicanos dressed up to the nines. Alot of Tequila fuelled blokes stumbling around too. Was nearly tempted with a few shots but thought better of it. Plenty of time to sample the Tequila's elsewhere. Made the decision to definately move on to La Paz tomorrow. This place is abit too pricey, no beaches nearby and no good bars. The people are really nice though and this is the kind of non-commercial place everyone that comes here loves. 2nd ...

... half standing routine as I wander around taking photos. We're cruising slowly up the coast. Oh my gosh - is that, could that be blue footed boobies? Yep it is!! I knew they were in this area but never thought I would see them. Well, they are on rocks, many rocks. And many birds. I'm just snapping away. Then someone says "dolphins." Two off the left side. Then more, at least four spotted on the right side, then more. There's a group of eight. Then six. Everyone is ...

... was filled with bronze statues commemorating things about Mazatlan, including the pulmonia (taxi), the 100+ year old Pacifico Brewery, sea lions, and family. The deep roots Mazatlan has as a fishing port, is celebrated with the largest of the statues known as "Fisherman's Monument". This is used mostly by people in town as a reference point to describe where things are and how far away the are (ie. 'The market is 3 minutes from Fisherman's Monument ...

... before the family at the table in front of us shifted some seating and made room for us. It was a very nice gesture seeing how most of, if not all of, the seating was reserved for family and friends of the performers. William, the young boy sitting next to Geraldine took an immediate shine to her as soon as we sat down. He was hammering her with questions about where we were from, how we got here, what we were doing in Mazatlan, etc. The two of ...