mazatlan

  Little wind presented itself so it was 25 hours of uneventful motoring to Mazatlan.   At last, as we
were passing the main harbor in Mazatlan the wind provided enough lift to turn off the engine and sail
past the hotel zone and islands. High tide was right on our schedule, and since it was good Friday, we
didn't have to cope with the dredgers in the "gauntlet" as Maureen had named this entrance channel. We
made our way to Marina Mazatlan and were initially given a slip on a dock near Tea Leaves, but then we
were told we had to move over to the island...
Amazingly the new marina offices had been finished since our last visit, and the new showers rated the
highest of any marinas we had yet visited. The cruisers lounge was large and comfortable with a huge
rooftop patio overlooking the marina.
On Easter Sunday David and Maureen took a dinghy ride up the channels through the El Cid development
and looked at all the fancy waterfront homes, the huge iguanas lounging on the rocks, and even caught
sight of the Easter bunny! (ok, so they were jackrabbits, but big ones...) We enjoyed a wonderful Easter
dinner with a pork roast, mashed potatoes, garlic bread and salad!
Katherine and Kristi from Tea Leaves hooked up shortly following our landing and proceeded to spend
the next 4 days and nights together at all times (other than those brief periods of schoolwork).   We
enjoyed another dinner and night of music at The Purple Onion (home of the flaming Mexican coffee), and
David humiliated Katherine by hiring a caricature artist to do a picture of Kath & Kristi. Our final night we
had Rick, Darcy, and Kristi over for dinner on Tenacious.
Dave and Judy from Deja Too were over in Marina El Cid, so we stopped by to say hello and
goodbye-figuring to meet up soon in La Paz.
The afternoon of Tuesday, April 18th during high tide and the dredging break, found us heading out the
channel for the 204 mile upwind journey to La Paz in search of the elusive import permit.       - M