Day 4 was in the Mexican port city of Mazatlan. This city is an industrial port with lots of commerce shipping. Upon leaving the boat you get on a little trolley that takes you through the port to the exit so you dont have to get lost or run over by the port activity. As has been the case for the entire cruise, the weather was impeccable.
This was the one port on our itinerary that we had booked an excursion through the cruise line. Suzanne, Savannah and Sean all take folklorico dance classes and they really wanted to see some authentic dancing while in Mexico. So, we booked a shopping, dance and beach tour.
Open air taxis picked us up at the dock and drove us about 15 minutes to a shopping area in Mazatlan. We had about two hours to shop before the folklorico dancing and the Paplanta Flyers show. That’s two hours of my life I will never get back :whistle: . Suzanne and the kids completed their souvenier shopping in about 30 minutes so we had a bit of wait for the show.
Savannah has been searching in every port for Barbie type dolls in Mexican folklorico dance costumes of the Mexican state that we are visiting. She has been successful thus far. Boomer’s goal is to buy a souvenier a day. He has come prepared as he has saved up about $125 for the cruise to spend on souveniers. Thus far, his big expenditures have been a sombreror and a pancho type pullover. Thus far, Suzanne and I havent bought anything ashore for ourselves.
The folklorico dancing was fun and nice. The kids really enjoyed it. They knew several of the dances that were performed as they do the same ones in their dance classes. The highlight of the show was the Paplanta Flyers. They are a long historied Mexcian Indian tribe that worships a Sun God and perform high flying acts to pay homage to the God. The highlight was their performance from an 80 foot pole. Five flyers climb to the top of the pole. Four hang off of bars while the fifth and leader Indian does a dance on a 1 foot square platform atop the 80 foot pole. There are no wires or nets and concrete is below. When he is done, he sends the four flyers outward. They are attached to ropes, but swing around and perform stunts as they descend. The show was quite nice.
After the shows, we got to go to a local Mazatlan resort to enjoy a buffet lunch and the beach. The kids had a ball swimming in the ocean. Mr Papa relaxed under a tent and enjoyed a beer. All in all, it was a nice excursion.
Mazatlan was an enjoyable town, but there was a couple of things that were a bit off. One, the merchandise vendors at the show and the beach were incessant and omnipresent. I certainly could have done without them. Second, the emcee at the show made several comments about how great Mazatlan was and how it was off the beaten path and we would enjoy it the best. Plus, he claimed there was no crime in Mazatlan. Well, there was many police pickup trucks with armed guards in the back with M-16’s out driving around town. Either there is no crime because of them or the opposite is true and thats why they were out there. I strongly suspect its the latter. That said, we always felt safe though it was odd to see those guys in the back of the pickup trucks with the guns at ready.
Thanksgiving dinner was enjoyable. Suzanne and Savannah enjoyed a traditional Thanksgiving dinner of Turkey and all the trimmings. We have usually passed on the turkey on our past Thanksgiving cruises, but Suzanne thought the presentation sounded better than in the past. Sean opted for a marinated beef plate that he didnt really care for. I went for the rack of veal, but had them add a slice of turkey to the plate. The veal was fabulous. I think I have had the veal three times now and enjoyed it each time.
Tomorrow our port of call is Puerto Vallarta.
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