We departed Hotel Playa this morning at 8:00AM sharp for the longest travel day so far, 254 miles to Mazatlan. The route took us back east to Gusave. The trip through the city was a real snapshot of a bustling smaller city in Mexico.
The traffic is heavy but manageable, a lot of people still stand and wave as we pass, and shop keepers like the fish monger are out selling their goods.
Once clear of Gusave we traveled down Mexico Toll Road Route 15, or Cuota 15, as opposed to Libre 15, or free Route 15. This is a major route down the west coast of mainland Mexico and was quite heavily traveled. Fuel is owned by nationalized Pemex Oil and income is used to support the national budget. Toll roads are very common here and are a vast improvement over the libre roads that are bumpy and slow moving.
As it drops further south Route 15 parallels the coast and is a beautiful drive as it approaches Mazatlan.
We are staying on the northwest edge of the city a half block from the beach. After arrival we had a thorough briefing by the local Adventure Caravans representatives which described opportunities for tours, having various services completed including laundry, haircuts, tours, shopping, and even repairs to our vehicles.
We went to dinner tonight with Hex and Sandy to collect our prize for identifying the figure in Hex's mural on the rear of his coach. We visited a beautiful restaurant on the beach and had a great evening! Two other couples from the caravan joined us and it became a real party!
Tommorrow is a free day and Jeff and Hex are playing golf while Sue picks up an outfit she ordered from one of the vendors this evening. We will head to Wal-Mart after lunch to catch up on shopping after two weeks on the road. The evening will be a shrimp and margarita party to welcome us to Mazatlan.
We departed Hotel Playa this morning at 8:00AM sharp for the longest travel day so far, 254 miles to Mazatlan. The route took us back east to Gusave. The trip through the city was a real snapshot of a bustling smaller city in Mexico.
The traffic is heavy but manageable, a lot of people still stand and wave as we pass, and shop keepers like the fish monger are out selling their goods.
Once clear of Gusave we traveled down Mexico Toll Road Route 15, or Cuota 15, as opposed to Libre 15, or free Route 15. This is a major route down the west coast of mainland Mexico and was quite heavily traveled. Fuel is owned by nationalized Pemex Oil and income is used to support the national budget. Toll roads are very common here and are a vast improvement over the libre roads that are bumpy and slow moving.
As it drops further south Route 15 parallels the coast and is a beautiful drive as it approaches Mazatlan.
We are staying on the northwest edge of the city a half block from the beach. After arrival we had a thorough briefing by the local Adventure Caravans representatives which described opportunities for tours, having various services completed including laundry, haircuts, tours, shopping, and even repairs to our vehicles.
We went to dinner tonight with Hex and Sandy to collect our prize for identifying the figure in Hex's mural on the rear of his coach. We visited a beautiful restaurant on the beach and had a great evening! Two other couples from the caravan joined us and it became a real party!
Tommorrow is a free day and Jeff and Hex are playing golf while Sue picks up an outfit she ordered from one of the vendors this evening. We will head to Wal-Mart after lunch to catch up on shopping after two weeks on the road. The evening will be a shrimp and margarita party to welcome us to Mazatlan.
