Visiting the Aquarium in Mazatlan

On December 9, 2009, in the hope of keeping the kids happy, we ventured out into Mazatlan to visit the "Acuario."  Getting there from our Marina was in itself an adventure.  It is about a twenty minute bus ride and waiting for the buses and getting on the right one can be an adventure in and of itself.  After waiting for about a half hour we finally were on our way.  The folks on the bus could not be more helpful and with our limited Spanish and their limited English we were able to let them know where we wanted to go. 

We finally got off at the right location and made our way to the Aquarium.  Now when you all think of aquariums you're probably thinking about the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach or some other U.S. based aquarium like the one in Boston or Louisiana.  Well this is a "little" aquarium with four sea lions, some crocodiles and a bunch of fish.  We did attend the "bird" show but as my kids learned the animals all speak Spanish. But not much was lost in the translation when the Parrot walked a tight-rope upside down to the music from "Mission Impossible." 

The kids just enjoyed getting out of the Marina for a few hours. 

Puerto Vallarta

Well we made it to Puerto Vallarta on Tuesday but it has taken us a few days to get on the internet.  I'll update the blog in the next couple of days with all of our adventures over the last ten days.  We will be in Paradise Village until January 4th. 

Leaving Mazatlan

After a week in Mazatlan it's time to start thinking about heading south.  If all goes well we will probably head south tomorrow, Tuesday, December 8, 2009.  We're restocked at the grocery store and we spent a part of the day yesterday cleaning up the boat.

The weather here has been perfect.  66 at night and low 80's during the day.  We walked over to the beach yesterday after the Mazatlan Marathon went through.  The water temperature is also in the low 80's.  Even I went in the water.

Today we're going to go to the aquarium before we leave.

We won't have wifi access until we get to Puerto Vallarta so we probably won't post again until around the 17th of the month. 

Snow cancels our trip to TEXAS

Well, the weather gods are not with us.  We went to the airport today to travel to Texas for our annual holiday party to learn that our flight was cancelled due to snow in Houston.  So we came back to the Marina where it is in the high seventies and had lunch.  Hope all you folks in  Texas have a great time. Kelly and Ryan were more disappointed then either Phil or I.  Kelly wanted to "speak English" with kids and Ryan was hoping to watch TV.  What can I say.  Wish we were there with you.

MaryLou

Old Town Mazatlan

On Wednesday, December 2, 2009 we ventured into Old Town to check out the sites and visit the large indoor farmer's market.  The kids could not get over all the butcher shops and the chickens hanging from hooks above the stalls.  It was our mission to find some interesting presents for the holiday exchange that we would be participating when we fly to Houston this month.  We managed to find somethings that we thought would work just fine.

After visiting the market we went over to the Cathedral that dominates the center of Old Town Mazatlan.  The kids could not believe that the same picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe that hangs in our church was also hanging in this church.  There is a large festival here next week to celebrate her feast day but I don't think we will be here to witness it. 

From Mazatlan our plan is to head south toward Puerto Vallarta.   Today we're going to head to the beach.  It has been unseasonably cold here in Mazatlan.  It gets down to the high 50's at night and only gets to about the low 70's during the day but we're not complaining, the sky is blue and the water is warm.  Til we write again.....

Homework on the boat

Well school has officially started here on Sabbatical.  The kids have lots of activities and work to keep them busy in the mornings.  Today we plan to venture out into Mazatlan and see the town. 

Shopping at the Super Mercado

  As you can see we needed to provision before we set out across the Sea of Cortez, so we made a run to the biggest Super Mercado we could find.  Check out what isle we are in.  I guess you know that Phil felt he needed to stock up on libations before the two day sail. 

We eventually left La Paz on Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m. and arrived in the Marina in Mazatlan at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday morning.  Two Hundred and sixty miles across open sea.  Now we're on the mainland and plan to be here until next March.  We'll be in Mazatlan until next Wednesday and then we start poking our way south to be in Puerto Vallarta by December 17th.  Then we get to decorate the boat for Xmas.  The kids think that the more lights we put on the boat the better the chance is that Santa will find us in Mexico.