October 20th, 2008 Mazatlan

We felt like this was a bit of a turning point for our trip as we said goodbye to the Baja and drove onto the ferry for Mazatlan. (Actually, just like the first time we were in Baja five years ago, we had a heck of a time getting out of the baja. The first time we missed our flight. Damn those taxi drivers that charged $50 to the airport. This time our dear vessel, Paris, had some major over heating problems. It got resolved in the end for just under $200 but it took three days of some serious Ricardo walking phoning dealing guarding and some serious Kim waiting waiting packing and more waiting at a posada. We missed a few destinations but alas (hey that's first time i use that word!) paris now flows fine and dandy).

Anywho, the ferry - our first Mexican "cruise" was uneventful however I would describe it more like a freighter ferry than a passenger ferry - there were plenty of trucks and truck drivers around. Nothing like being one of a very few women on board and white skinned to boot but we did make friends with a guy named Checko (the first official, he's called. Actually he invited us to the bridge later on that night and it was so cool learning about navigation and vessel educational programs. We shared and compared GPS knowledge. i also learned about why a vessel is loaded and unloaded in a certain way) who loads and unloads all vehicles. he put our van right next to the railing on the top level so we had ocean front property and an amazing few from our kitchen/bedroom for the 18hr journey. Of course we slept most of the way since it was overnight but did manage to fully get to appreciate the beautiful sunset/rise. 

In Mazatlan so far we done a lot of sweating - it's hot - we've hit the pool three time today and been in the ocean a couple of more on top of that. I caught a few great but quick rides on the beach about 2 blocks from our campground the break is fast and powerful but my boadyboarding skills continue to rise to the challenge:)  (I thought  Mazatlan was flat and no waves! So not the case i got absolutely pummelled today kinda in a bad way)

Now for something new - Ricardo is going to add his own flava' to the blog tonight......(actually i put it in brackets here and there)