Posted by whalerho | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on 02-02-2010
We left Chilmulco early morning and kept the van unhooked, knowing we had to maneuver through the tricky streets of Guadalajara. Nikki rode shotgun with me and kept the camera clicking. At a critical point (transition to another route), we lost sight of Ken (I know, HOW could we lose the big 40′ beast?) and just crossed our fingers as we merged left as opposed to our other options. Out of the literal sea of cars, we spotted the RV and Nikki and I gave each other a high FIVE! The route to Mazatlan from Guadalajara is beautiful, through rolling hills and lovely vistas. We wanted to make one more stop at Tequila on our way as I was ready for a margarita! Just kidding as it was only 9:30AM (darn it!) but we wanted to pick up one more thing in Tequila and were happy to take one more walk around the beautiful plaza. After Tequila, we hopped back on the toll road en route for Mazatlan.
Since our good friends, Larry and Kim, were staying at their timeshare in downtown Mazatlan, we opted to stay at the Cerritos RV park to be closer to their condo. Cerritos RV park is a relatively new park and many of the residents own their spots. Because of this, many of the spots are upgraded to include outdoor kitchens, palapas, brick walls and tile. Many were quite pretty and we can see why people could park themselves here for the whole season. (Although we wouldn’t be in that group since there is SO much to see in Mexico!) We arrived late in the day and our spot had been given to an overnighter since they thought we weren’t going to make it. The only spot left was a very nice upgraded one overlooking the ocean. Such luck! We moved into our new digs, complete with amentities and were happy to have a place where no sand, dirt or grass could be brought into the RV, although the kids and Hobie still found a way!
We took off the next day for Kim and Larry’s ocean front condo in downtown Mazatlan. We were so happy to also get to visit with Cathy (our friend from Celestino) and her mother. Cathy’s brother owns a condo in Mazatlan and her and her mom (a reallygreat gal) were hanging out there for a few weeks. We all enjoyed a yummy lunch at the resort restaurant followed by a nice afternoon relaxing around the beautiful pool and drinking pina coladas. What a treat! Ken and Larry sat on the wall overlooking the ocean, talking away and enjoying many a beer. Meanwhile, all us girls took a walk down the main street of Mazatlan and poked our heads into shops and stopped for a cappuccino. That evening, we all went out for a taco night and had some delicious tacos at a great little place that specialized in only carne asada tacos.
Our campground was a short walk to one of our favorite java joints, “Looney Bean”. I came up with a reason to go everyday! I took each of the kids for a “date” to Looney Bean and we had fun sitting among locals and gringos, enjoying coffee, smoothies and watching surfing videos.
Kim and Larry came over one afternoon and we all walked to Playa Bruna (just on the other side of the rocky beach we overlooked from our RV) and watched Andrew and Kim boogy board as well as some nice looking young guys take surfing lessons. Later in the week, Kim and Larry came over for dinner where we all enjoyed buffalo wings and one of our family favorites, gyoza. They brought with them a very yummy desert, banana cream pie, from the famous Panama bakery, and the kids (as well as sweet lovers Kim and Larry) were in bliss!
One afternoon, Kim and I ventured into the historical section of Mazatlan for some girl time! The skies were dark and stormy and we knew we were going to get drenched! We scoped out a couple places in town where we could duck inside for a coffee once the rain started falling and once it started pouring, we found ourselves in a beautiful cafe that made us feel like we were in Europe. The rain poured for a few minutes then the skies cleared and we resumed our shopping. Kim wanted to take me to a “must see” shop and we roamed the beautiful streets in search of it. It was fun just to walk around and we found so many cool little streets off the beaten path. We finally found the shop and it was, without a doubt, my favorite shop in ALL of Mexico. Such color and fun! At the end of the day, I dropped her off at her condo and we were so happy we made the effort to venture out despite the weather!
On Friday night, we drove over to their condo where we all hopped into a Mazatlan taxi. It’s also known the “pneumonia taxi” as it’s open to all the elements. We were dropped off in the historical part of town and enjoyed a drink in the plaza. We then walked over to the famous “Shrimp Bucket” and enjoyed, what else, SHRIMP! We know it will be some time before we see Kim and Larry again but we know we will enjoy many more adventures with this wonderful couple in the future.
Saturday was a BIG DAY as it was Andrew’s 14th birthday!! He was so happy to be at the beach for his birthday so he could boogy board ALL day! The day started off with a breakfast of chorizo and eggs and present unwrapping. Andrew was excited about all his gifts which included a new body for his RC truck and $100! We then took off for Playa Bruna and enjoyed watching Andrew ride the waves while the girls swam alongside him. Since Andrew is a foodie just like Ken, the day’s focus was on food and he chose each of his meals very carefully. Lunch included squid sandwiches and dinner was rib eye with all the yummy sides. His request for dessert was a bit unique as all he wanted was a entire bowl of almond jello (Chinese speciality). Have you ever tried putting a candle in Jello??
We really enjoyed our time in Mazatlan and now look forward to our next new destination, Las Glorias.
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