Welcome to Mazatlan! Jan 2003Part I
Looking south from Hotel Playa Mazatlan (below) you can see the "Sheik" restaurant on the point and get a better idea of the density of people - it really was not very crowded along the beach or in the water. We had lunch that first day at Poncho's a few doors down from the hotel, on the beach; spent the afternoon lying on the beach (well, Nancy slept through it having NOT slept at all the night before) then had dinner at Ernie's Tomatoes. We walked a bit and found the ATM about 2 blocks from the hotel, stocked up on pesos (great exchange rate this year); located Panama Bakery just up the street and went back to our rooms to crash.
 We
had dinner at the Shrimp Factory Saturday night. See John and Nancy
anticipating
the platters of lobster and shrimp that have just been brought out by
the smiling staff! While a bit pricey (but only by Mexican standards -
actually only about $20 each, including tips and drinks), it was very,
very good. We have consistently been pleased at the service we've
gotten everywhere
in Mexico. We walk in with a group of 6 people and, even if a place
looks full, they move tables around to accommodate us. Almost
everywhere
they are willing to put together whatever we want, even if it's not on
the menu. The people are universally helpful - and usually they don't
laugh at our Spanish either! This trip, we
heard loads of American 1960's oldies which I found rather surprising.
Katie and I walked back along the beach - the others opted for the bus. It was actually a pleasant walk since the sun had gone down and it wasn't so hot. We dined that night at El Capitan - another beachfront restaurant just up the street from our hotel. VERY good food, nice people. It's a family affair and some of their kids entertained us for a half hour or so with song and dance (below). These two were around 10 years old! There are fireworks at the hotel each Sunday evening at 8 PM. We could see quite a bit because we were still right on the beach. Pretty elaborate production. Tomorrow we are headed to Stone Island for some snorkeling.
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Next morning John and I had breakfast at the Azteca Inn across the
street. Then he strolled the beach
while I "vegged." Lunch was at Pura Vida about a block away, which was
to become a staple for us - wonderful smoothies of all
sorts, good salads and a fun parrot who begged for handouts until
reprimanded and put in his "time out" corner. While we beached it, the
others explored the bus
system and made their way downtown. We established a routine of meeting
at 6:30 to have dinner together even though much of the day we
went our own ways.
Sunday we had breakfast at the little pool-side place at the hotel. I
don't think it had a name but a friendly owner (Ramon) and good food at
very
reasonable cost. Here's Katie and Gail enjoying a lunch there. I had
some beach time in the morning and we had agreed to meet at 12:30 to
walk the mile or so to the aquarium. We stopped along the way on Avenue
del Mar at Terrazo and had a light lunch. The distance was not too far
but it was pretty hot so we were glad to get into the air conditioned
aquarium! It cost
50 pesos ($5) although coupons for 20% off were available. 
We
enjoyed seeing many of the tropical fish that the snorkelers hunt for
out in "the wild" - Dave got some good pictures with his
digital camera but mine couldn't cope with the low light inside. You'll
have to take my word for how interesting it was! Outside they had a
small zoo (mostly deer and birds), a Botanical Garden - see Barb and
John in the garden - we're the ones on the left 
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and offered a Sea Lion show (right) and a trained bird show. Both were fun. 