We are making progress on our homeward trek to San Francisco - today, we are in Mazatlán, Mexico. It is a perfect weather day - not too hot and not too humid.
We have a morning tour - "Mazatlán City Highlights" - we grabbed an early breakfast and proceeded to dispatch at the Lounge. We've been on this tour before but it was such a nice day to be out and about.
This is a commercial port and access is restricted - however, tour buses are allowed in and park near the ship. Folks not on tour have to take a free tram to the port entrance less than five minutes away.
The tour started off with a visit to the Mazatlan Cathedral - "Cathedral of Immaculate Conception" in Old Mazatlan.
The parking is tight and the full size bus had to park several blocks away and we had to herd the passengers back to the spot. The walk was not easy for me as I was still sore from my incident in Acapulco. I went in to the Cathedral to take pictures, once again, of the Jewish Stars on the stained glass windows. They windows are not easy to capture but I had better luck this time.
I walked across the street to the main square - Plaza Machado - check out the many vendors lining the plaza.
The bus continued the tour with a stop, as always, at the fish market. Every guide we have had always brings a sample of some slimy seafood item on board to show the passengers. Tradition.
From the fish market, the tour went out of Old Mazatlan and headed to the Golden Zone, home of fancy shops and hotels. We stopped near Gus' Jewelry Store to give passengers a chance to look at the local silver. For me, this stop means gratis tequila tasting (pretty good but not the best I've had in Mexico) and cerveza - this time out, I am trying another brand I like, Pacifico.
This is also a comfort stop - the last time we were here at this store, there was a little girl cleaning the washrooms (with spray cleaner and paper towels and no gloves) between each user. I cringed watching her go through the process over and over. This time, she wasn't there and no cleaning between uses - so progress of sorts.
I walked across the street to look at the Mazatlan Deers sports gear shop - again, the items were so pricey that I didn't pick anything up. I need to find a store that sells this gear like other souvenir stuff - knockoffs acceptable. From the sports shop, I went through the breezeway between the shops to reach the beach. There were few people at the beach today but the beach itself was beautiful - clear skies and blue water.
After a few snaps, I went back to Gus' to join the group. Ellen's bus was also there - we are a little out of synch.
The final stop would be at the Malecon where the Mazatlan Divers do their thing. Today, there were no divers performing but I did get some nice pictures of the bay and their take off platform.
This was our final stop and the bus headed back to the ship, passing El Faro, the World's Highest Lighthouse, and ending up at the port entrance.
Ellen and I decided to try getting massages at The Beauty Shop located just inside the port entrance. Neither of us liked our sessions. I had a new person and Ellen doesn't like the owner. I guess it'll just be me that visits this place next time.
We took the tram back to the ship and had lunch in Terraces.
The afternoon was spent on the open deck in the shade reading books.
We have a morning tour - "Mazatlán City Highlights" - we grabbed an early breakfast and proceeded to dispatch at the Lounge. We've been on this tour before but it was such a nice day to be out and about.
This is a commercial port and access is restricted - however, tour buses are allowed in and park near the ship. Folks not on tour have to take a free tram to the port entrance less than five minutes away.
The tour started off with a visit to the Mazatlan Cathedral - "Cathedral of Immaculate Conception" in Old Mazatlan.
The parking is tight and the full size bus had to park several blocks away and we had to herd the passengers back to the spot. The walk was not easy for me as I was still sore from my incident in Acapulco. I went in to the Cathedral to take pictures, once again, of the Jewish Stars on the stained glass windows. They windows are not easy to capture but I had better luck this time.
I walked across the street to the main square - Plaza Machado - check out the many vendors lining the plaza.
The bus continued the tour with a stop, as always, at the fish market. Every guide we have had always brings a sample of some slimy seafood item on board to show the passengers. Tradition.
From the fish market, the tour went out of Old Mazatlan and headed to the Golden Zone, home of fancy shops and hotels. We stopped near Gus' Jewelry Store to give passengers a chance to look at the local silver. For me, this stop means gratis tequila tasting (pretty good but not the best I've had in Mexico) and cerveza - this time out, I am trying another brand I like, Pacifico.
This is also a comfort stop - the last time we were here at this store, there was a little girl cleaning the washrooms (with spray cleaner and paper towels and no gloves) between each user. I cringed watching her go through the process over and over. This time, she wasn't there and no cleaning between uses - so progress of sorts.
I walked across the street to look at the Mazatlan Deers sports gear shop - again, the items were so pricey that I didn't pick anything up. I need to find a store that sells this gear like other souvenir stuff - knockoffs acceptable. From the sports shop, I went through the breezeway between the shops to reach the beach. There were few people at the beach today but the beach itself was beautiful - clear skies and blue water.
After a few snaps, I went back to Gus' to join the group. Ellen's bus was also there - we are a little out of synch.
The final stop would be at the Malecon where the Mazatlan Divers do their thing. Today, there were no divers performing but I did get some nice pictures of the bay and their take off platform.
This was our final stop and the bus headed back to the ship, passing El Faro, the World's Highest Lighthouse, and ending up at the port entrance.
Ellen and I decided to try getting massages at The Beauty Shop located just inside the port entrance. Neither of us liked our sessions. I had a new person and Ellen doesn't like the owner. I guess it'll just be me that visits this place next time.
We took the tram back to the ship and had lunch in Terraces.
The afternoon was spent on the open deck in the shade reading books.
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