We arrived in Mazatlan mid December and took dock space at the El Cid Marina and resort. We spent about 9 days hanging out and exploring Mazatlan then flew back to Vancouver to be with family and friends over the Christmas holidays.
It was a whirl wind trip with only two weeks to catch up with everyone. We needed a day timer to organize all the visits, outings and meals but definitely worth it. A big thank you to everyone for the hospitality.
We arrived back in Mazatlan and spent two more days at the dock then decided to rent a car with Mark and Patty from the sailboat Agave Azul and drive inland to check out the City of Durango.
Durango is a city of about 800,000 and is 450 years old. You have two options for the drive there. Option one, the old road, very scenic as it runs through lush tropical areas, high mountains and quaint villages like Capola. It takes about 7 hours as it twists and turns its way through the country side. Option two is a relatively new, toll highway. This road is a freeway that passes through nearly 10km of tunnels and includes the worlds highest suspension bridge that is almost 3km long and over 1300 feet from the river below. We started out on the old road but after 4 hours decided to get on the new one and get to Durango before dark. On the trip back to Mazatlan it was the toll road all the way. Total tolls for the one-way trip 600 pesos (about $41).
Durango started as a mining and ranching town and is also known as a location for western movies shoots. At 450 years old, the city has over a thousand historical buildings and as you would expect the architecture has a definite Spanish Colonial flavour.
The big surprise was the tented building just off the main square. It held an ice rink with public skating and a short hill for tubing. Not what we expecting to see in Mexico!
We stayed 2 nights in Durango and tried to see most of the main sites and attractions. We got in the: Mining and Mineral Museum, The Pancho Villa Museum, walked through the Parque Guadiana (central park) , rode the cable tram to the highest peak in the city and took in the Western Town attraction (the site of many western movies.)
The hotel we stayed at was on Calle Constitucion which is the main pedestrian street through the Centro District. It was a great location, walking distance to just about everything and the street was lined with shops, restaurants and bars. The iPhone says we walked about 15,000 steps a day. Still not likely enough to burn off the 2 great dinners we had.
We are planning on leaving Mazatlan tomorrow, buddy boating with Sedna and Agave Azul, first stop will be Isla Isabella which is known as the Galapagos of Mexico, then a couple more stops as we make our way south to Puerto Vallarta.
Hopefully have an update for you then.
Hi. the day adventures sound amazing. Look forward to reading and seeing pictures as much as the water travel. Thank you so much for sharing. We were wondering if you arrived back there safely with things as expected. It was so good to see you.