Mazatlan

2 blocks from my house

SUNDAY, MARCH 25

I haven't written anything for the blog in several months, so an update is certainly in order. Back in December when we arrived in La Paz, I met a broker at La Paz Yachts named Mike. I told him that I was a broker from Portland, and that I wanted to stay in Mexico, and that I was interested in doing deliveries. He asked me if I would consider selling boats, and I said yes.

So after a trip to Mazatlan on the ferry and several interviews, I was offered a position selling boats in Mazatlan. I packed my belongings into plastic garbage bags. Some friends were intending to sail for Mazatlan about a week in the future, and they agreed to deliver my stuff.

I flew to Mazatlan from La Paz on a commuter airline called Aereo Calafia. The airplane was a Cessna 208 Caravan, and I was in the seat behind the co-pilot. The pilot flew the airplane on this leg, and I was unimpressed. But the sky was clear, and we got to Mazatlan in about an hour and 20 minutes, and Ray was waiting to pick me up.

I started working that day, and for several days after work I would ride home with Julie and look at apartments. I found a cute little house with great cross ventilation; it would available on March 1st. I spent the interim, about 15 days, at Ray's house. While living with the boss is not usually a good idea, in this case it was splendid because we got to know each other better than we would have in a year otherwise. 

Geographically, Mazatlan is long and narrow. It stretches along the beach for miles; I think it's about 7 miles from my house to the marina. And my house is only a couple of blocks from the beach. Julie lives nearby and has a truck, so I ride to work with her rather than take the bus. The street is along the beach and the scenery is fantastic! There is a very wide sidewalk, called the malecon, for several miles. A cruiser gave me his bicycle when he was leaving for points south, and last Sunday I rode the full length of the malecon. Today I am going riding with Julie's sister, Susie. 

It has not rained since I have been here. The offshore islands that we pass on the way to work are getting obviously drier. The rainy season is in the summer, and Julie claims that the first rain will be on July 24. We'll see! I'm told that it gets really hot and humid for about 6 weeks in the summer, with spectacular lightning every night. So far, it just gets in the upper 70's in the daytime and down to 60 or so at night.

Olas Altus area near my house

My house is on a corner. Downstairs, I have a living room, dining room, kitchen, half bath, and a little alcove with a washing machine. The kitchen sink has both hot and cold water plumbed to it. Most homes in Mexico do not have hot water in the kitchen. There is a patio off the dining room, and it is enclosed with high walls - again, very typical here. I am currently sitting at a table on the patio with my morning coffee. There is a large rectangular ceramic sink out here, I use it for the mop and messy cleaning jobs that I would rather not do at the kitchen sink. A fountain with several plants in pots graces the patio, but it was never completed and does not work. There is a big black plastic water tank in the corner, called a tinaca. The city water flows very slowly with almost no pressure, and it flows into this tinaca. There is a float valve to turn the flow on and off automatically. I have a little pump with pressure tank to push the water into the house. In most Mexican homes the tinaca is on the roof and water is gravity fed into the house. Julie tells me that during the summer the water in the tinaca gets so hot that it's nearly too hot to take a shower. One more water point: Mexicans do not drink the water. It's used for bathing and cleaning, but drinking water (agua purificada) comes in big jugs called garafons. Okay, back to the tour! Upstairs I have a good sized bedroom and a bathroom. The house is furnished, but not extravagantly. I will stay here for a year, but after that I might move into a little nicer place. Maybe. This place has all the signs of a rental and just needs a few upgrades to be done to it, and if I decide to stay in it for a long time I will get them done. My rent is 4000 pesos per month, and with an exchange rate of about 12.5 that equates to 350 USD.

Plaza Machado