February 5 Day 15
Today we headed for Mazatlan, MX which is a pretty big city. We will be there for 3 days as there is lots to see and do there. Mazatlan, pronounced (ma saht lan) is as far south as we go. It is sunny and in the 60’s as we pull out of the RV Park at 7:15. Along side the road is a dead and decaying horse. It is not unusual to see a dead cow or horse along side of the road. We are not sure if they starve to death or are hit by a vehicle. Mexico has all open ranges and the animals do graze next to the road. Again we are traveling through agriculture areas. One thing we continue to see is greenhouses of all kinds. Here in this area there are some very unusually shaped ones. They look like tents that are fastened together so that they cover many acres. It is a strange sight to see very large fields completely covered by greenhouses. Also we saw other areas that had nets with stakes every few feet to keep them above the ground about 4 feet We could not tell what the crop was growing under them. We are not sure if this is protection from the sun or just what the reason for them is. In the towns we pass through are many people selling all kinds of wares but in this area it is mostly fruits and vegetables. Some of these people use a bike that they have fashioned some way to carry and display their product. We did see a donkey pulling a very old and rickety wagon, probably this man’s only transportation. Oddly, the one thing in the country of Mexico you can count on to be attractive, clean and nicely landscaped is the Pemex fuel stations along the interstate. We went in one today that had fancy tile on the floors leading into it and attractive displays. It really was more like walking into a mall. We are about 65 miles from Mazatlan and the rig behind us just blew a tire. The tail gunner stayed back with him and the rest of us went on ahead. At this point we did not know what the rest of the caravan would do. We were too far away to be able to communicate with the tail gunner so we just went ahead slowing down as much as we could. We are just going on towards the RV park. Mexico has some volunteers called Green Angels who roam the interstates looking for people in distress and helping them with whatever they may need. We have been told they will stay with the rig until they have received the help they need, calling a tow truck, mechanic or whatever they need. Guess we will find out how good that works. Then a little later on Ed, the Wagon Master seemed to have some problem with his vehicle. He put another RV in the lead but it was not long till he was back in line. Now the land is becoming hilly and we are out of the rich agricultural land and getting closer to the coast again. We can see the Sea of Cortez to the west. We stopped for a quick lunch at a rest stop. Ed’s rig seems to be ok. We are only 45 minutes from Playa Escondido RV Park in Mazatlan. We are a little disappointed in this RV Park. For some reason we thought it was also going to be on the beach but it is not. Also it is not very clean and has lots of things around the camp that need repairs. The worst thing though is that we have only 15 amps of power. So we cannot even run our microwave let alone use the AC if we need it. This RV park is used mainly by Adventure Caravan and the other 2 caravan companies. Adventure has so many tours here they have staff who live here through the tour season. We met at their RV in the afternoon so they could explain the side trips we would be taking and other side trips that are available. Plus telling us about the amenities in the campground. They have several different artisans selling their wares and who claim to, along with their families, make the items. There, also, is a team of men who will wash and was our rigs and one who paints rigs and does touch-up work. There are ocean fishing trips, scuba diving and snorkeling. One trip we signed up for will take us on Friday, our free day, on a tour of some small towns in the mountains about an hours drive from Mazatlan. We are about a block from the beach so Gene and I walked over to it. This beach has no sea shells. We walked for about an hour total. They do not have a laundry here at the RV park but they do pick up clothes daily, wash, dry and bring them back folded and ready to wear. We decided we need to do that we need to do that os I got the clothes ready and took them to the pick-up point. We read in the evening as the evening. TV has not been an option as there are only Mexican stations. A lady staying in the RV park offered WIFI service but we have to be close to her RV to get reception. We will probably do that another day. Sue is missing have an internet connection so that she can IM with our daughter. We just went to bed early and read.