December 8th – Mazatlan – Jim’s Blog #6

Today is Sheilagh’s 60th birthday and she has given me permission to reveal that fact. It helps that she looks an attractive 40 or so and has kept her youthful enthusiasm about nearly everything. Yesterday I challenged her to climb a stone stairway to the top of a cliff to get a cerveza in the restaurant on top – yes I went with her. She wasn’t excited about it, but she did go along and helped count the 179 steps it took to get to the top. What made this little diversion exciting was the weather-beaten and cement-cracked set of irregular stone steps clinging to the side of the cliff with the handrail broken off in places. Naturally we forgot the camera, but we can assure you that the view was worth the effort.

On top in the courtyard of the restaurant was an old artillery piece that was trained on the entrance to the main port – we’re talking very old artillery here. It seemed similar to the old artillery we saw at Fort Point at the southern foot of the Golden Gate Bridge, where artillery was set up in the mid 1800’s to defend against the South in the Civil War. Our Mexico Boating Guide (by Captains John and Patricia Rains) mentions that the U.S. Navy occupied Mazatlan for 8 months during the Mexican-American War; so that may be the date of the weapon.

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Back to Sheilagh’s birthday – we will be luxuriating with another couple in a local spa associated with the El Cid Hotel all afternoon, with prime rib for dinner. Massages will be in order for all, along with sipping umbrella-drinks by the pool. We noticed a couple of other tourist women on the bus yesterday as we returned to the marina, and we decided they couldn’t be sailboat cruisers. Their fingernails were long and well groomed and all the usual makeup was in place, along with hairdos. One could see that they weren’t in the habit of handling lines, fixing the plumbing, or doing oil changes on the engine – all of which Sheilagh cheerfully helps out with or does by herself. The spa treatment is to restore some semblance of femininity to her, although I prefer women who are less concerned about their looks and more eager to get their hands dirty.

We took the time, while in the marina over the past week, to fix a couple of things on the boat that were damaged on our trip over from La Paz, and we replaced our Mexican courtesy flag. We took one trip to do some body surfing on the beach, but found the waves had been blown out by a stiff ocean breeze. We also did some shopping in the local market, where we attempted to get Sheilagh over her fear of negotiating a good price for a piece of clothing she wanted. The salesgirl was asking 50 pesos ($5) for the item, but Sheilagh considered the price a low one and thought the girl could use the money; so she was ready to pay for it. I stepped in and bought a baseball cap that was listed at 50 pesos – I think this was the 50-peso store – and suggested a price of 90 pesos for both items. I knew I could have gone lower when the salesgirl immediately said okay and didn’t have to consult with her manager. We decided we should have offered 30 pesos each and ended up with a price of 80 pesos at the very most for both items.

It is difficult to try to bargain, when the price is so much better than it would be in the U.S., but both the buyer and seller are not really happy unless there is some negotiation. If we willingly pay the asking price of 50 pesos, the seller thinks she should have suggested a higher price to begin with. If we don’t get a lower price than the asking one, we think we paid too much. I still remember coming back from a shopping trip in Bangkok with a hammock I had gotten for $10 from an asking price of $15. I was happy until the next guy showed up with the very same hammock that he had gotten for $5. He was pleased until the best bargainer in the squadron returned with the identical hammock for $1.50. I assume the hammock cost about $.50 or less to make, so the seller realized a profit of 20 times his cost from me.

Mazatlan has been a very enjoyable place for the past week, but it is time to move on. We will be heading south to Puerto Vallarta tomorrow and we will write more from there. We will be buddy-boating with Ed and Cornelia Gould of A Cappella; so we are staying in touch with other boaters on at least a daily basis. There is a short wave net every morning at 7 AM, called the Amigo Net, where many cruisers sign in and give their essential travel data; so if they fail to check in the next day, someone can follow up. We also get a good read of the daily forecast from a weatherman on that net each morning to keep us up on high seas or high winds that we should avoid.

All of our travels are dependent on the weather, as we are not fans of sailing in storms. There is also a reason why cruisers “set sail to” instead of “travel to” other places – because we do set sails and do our best to get to where we are going in a straight line. However, the wind and weather can cause us to veer away from our set course, or even seek shelter in another location; so if you don’t hear from us for awhile, please don’t panic. We will be checking in when we can. This next trip should take about 4-5 days before we will be back in Wifi range. More later . . .