November 18, 2013 - Mazatlán to Puerto Vallarta

Diana had her first run in with a machine gun yesterday morning in Los Mochis, I didn’t see it happen but she told me the story after we left the restaurant, as Diana exits the washroom she walks right into this machine gun carrying guard who is the same height as her, they both laughed and carried on as though nothing happened.

We checked into a small hotel across the road from the ocean in Mazatlán on Sunday afternoon and once the bike was unloaded it was off to the beach. The water was warm and with 3 foot waves it was a great way to unwind from the ride. It was a long weekend in Mexico to celebrate a national holiday, Revolution Memorial day (Día de la Revolución) and did they celebrate! A number of restaurants had live entertainment including the one we dined at. We had a lot of choices where to dine and it came down to one on the beach or another on the beach. The following morning I spotted some type of lizard about 4 inches long scurry across the ceiling in the hotel.

ceviche and raw oysters at a restaurant on the beach

 

Mazatlan beach

 

We were only lost once today, okay maybe three times. We tried bypassing the toll highway and found ourselves in a very small town of perhaps 400 people where nobody spoke English. We stopped at the petrol station to get our bearings but couldn’t determine which town we were actually in. Soon after a construction crew pulled in for their siesta, we pulled out the Spanish phrase book and in a few minutes we knew exactly where we were, it was downtown Ruiz. It’s sad to see the poverty and state of the buildings they live in but for the most part the people are wearing clean clothing and take pride in their appearance.

 

For you moto heads who enjoy a curvy road with lots of hills take highway 200 from Tepic to Compostela. This ride is about 40 kilometers on mostly good to great 2 lane asphalt. We followed a tour bus whose driver thought he was on a Ducati and was going 110 to 125 kilometers per hour on the straights and when he went around the corners the outside dual wheel was off the edge of the road. During our ride we came upon a class C motorhome with BC license plates and a tire cover from an RV dealer in Courtenay BC so I honked and waved as we passed it. At the next traffic light the lady driving the motorhome asks where we are from and replies she is from Qualicum Beach. We both pull into the gas station and find out Gail drives down here each winter. Hey Gail, remember to keep your speed down or you’ll get another ticket! I’m always amazed at how small the world is when you meet people in faraway places that are from where we live or have lived in the past.

Spent Monday night in the town of Bucerias which is just north of Puerto Vallarta where we found a small motel which was well maintained, super clean and quiet which we needed after Sunday in Mazatlán. Although my command of the Spanish language is very limited I did manage a conversation with the maid at the hotel who was very intrigued with where we were from and where we were going to.

 

hotel in Bucerias