mazatlàn

baja ferry disembarkation at mazatlan
see all photos »

the ferry from the mainland is a huge, belching affair with thousands of passengers and hundreds of cars and tractor trailer rigs. the ride is 12 hours long and best spent in a cheap sleeping berth (us$25), especially if you split it four ways. the views from the top deck are astounding, and unlike the paranoid security and insurance minded companies in the US, the ships officers has no problem allowing a number of us passengers into the control room for a look at how the beast was run.

mazatland is a big, bustling city, lovely to look at from the sea, but not as attractive up close.

sunrise over mainland mexico
see all photos »

i arrive early in the morning, and disembarked with my new friends janina and rachel, two travelers from the UK who were headed in my general direction. an american i met had mentioned they were vegetarians and having a hard time eating on the ferry. well, the ferry is food is crap by any standard, but inedible crap if you want to avoid scary chunks of animal protein. so i chatted with them for a few minutes and quickly made friends, and since my direction was a bit uncertain, i decided to head to pueta vallarta with them. this proved a valuable connection for all involved, not just for the lowered cost of sharing a room, but because i rescued one of rachael's bags a couple of times as she walked away trying to forget it. i think she was carrying too much luggage and subconsciously trying to ditch some.

tourista class cabin on baja ferries
see all photos »

we got a ride from three brother they had met on the ferry: louis, juan, and benjimen corona. the brothers had been vacationing in baja california and met the girls because juan overheard their english accent, and he finished his degree in manchester, england.  they were an awesome taxi for us, cramming six people and all our luggage in a compact car and driving us to the bus station many miles away.

we didn't spend even a whole day in mazatlán. instead we taking the bus directly south...