March 22, 2007

Whenever we doubt what we are doing - and we have at times - it comes down to this: we are hanging out in resort towns, not working, and inhaling the sights, sounds and smells of Mexico.

Mazatlan is hustle and bustle with a long malecon that is great for runs and kilometers of good swimming beaches.

It's not a fall-in-love-the-minute-you-see-it type of place, but the abundant camping options close in to the city centre more than make up for its second tier feel.

The location of our campsite - the sprawling La Posta RV Park on Avenue Rafael Buelna, at the southern end of the Zona Dorado - was so good in fact that the week after we left it was permanently closed so that a mega grocery store could be erected.

We were happy to be able to park the van, fully set up our camping gear, and walk or bus everywhere.

This was easy given that we were only a one minute walk from the main strip, Playa Gaviotas, the malecon (as well as Club Fiesta, the nightclub complex that Adrienne and her friends hit up while on vacation when they were 18; sadly, we did not have it in us to go this time around).

The campsite also had the extra benefit of being directly across the street from what is surely the best value liquado (fruit shake) stand in all of Mexico. For $2 we had massive fresh fruit smoothies, huge bowls of fresh fruit with yogurt and granola, etc.

On the drive down to Mazatlan from El Fuerte we had taken the expensive toll option on Highway 15, which we were happy about when it allowed us to basically bypass Culiacan, which apparently is home to a drug cartel or cartels and is known as Little Bogata. The toll highways are four-lanes, have no one on them, and make for easy driving

Enroute, we had stayed two nights at the Mr. Moro campsite at Playa Los Glorias, which is 40 or so kilometres out to the coast from Guasave.

We had only planned to stay one night at Playa Los Glorias but after I woke up Adrienne in the middle of night, complaining that I felt sick and was seeing a "white light", and then fainted, we decided that the next day shouldn`t be a driving day. Adrienne took advantage of the down time to start planning our route through Central America.

We're still not sure what the problem was but by the next morning I felt fine. My "doctor", however, still seems to be stressed over the severe symptoms and lack of diagnosis.

Key Facts & Figures:

-Mr. Moro campsite: $18.50/night
-Toll roads, El Fuerte to Mazatlan: $23/total
-La Posta RV Park: $15/night
-USA Today: $3.60