Life In The Slow Lane : Snapshots of life in Mazatlan

Over the last week we have had many enjoyable experiences, but today I will focus on two.

The first is Stone Island. Stone Island is actually a pennensuila that used to be a cocunut plantation. There are miles of coconut palms stretching as face as you can see. There are beaches with gentle waves due to natural breakwaters. There are thatch roofed cantinas on the beach. To get to Stone Island you ride the bus to the end of the line. This puts you on the waterfront. There for 20 pesos, $1.60, you get in a panga, which is an old boat that rocks in the waves as you get on. We hold each other to insure no one stumbles. The 20 pesos gives you a round trip. The pangas are old and beat up and you feel like Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn on the African Queen. When you reach Stone Island you can't see much until you cross the road and walk through a pile of rocks. All of a sudden miles of gentle beach appears. After clearing the rocks we walk about a half a mile to Letty's, a resturant on the beach that gives their customers beach loungers and covering if you wish it. Our favorite waiter Felix was there. He has two pins through his lips and speaks good English. He remembered us and was glad that we had returned as he said business had been slow. I asked him what was good and I ended up eating the pescado, a whole fish on a platter. It covered the whole plate and was in an awesome sauce. Janice had shrimp brochettes. The cost of our meals amounted to about $14 US. After about 3-4 hours floating in the surf, enjoying the sun and good food. Our friends and us took our panga back to the mainland. A wonderful way to spend some time.

The other experience was sausage making. At 10:00 today, Monday, we arrived at the Olas Altas Steak House. It was closed except for about 25 of us making sausage. This experince was organized by "Sam I Am", a man with a lot of local color. He is 77, spent his working life in San Francisco, and has been in Mazatlan for 20 years. He has a white beard and wears a nautical cap. He looks like Popeye's father. We were provided with ground pork in either 60/40 or 80/20 meat to fat ratio. Janice and I took the 80/20. On the table was every imanginable spice and a book of sausage recipies. We bought 3 kilos, 6.6 pounds of meat, split it in two and each of us proceeded to make our sausage. Janice mixture turned out like breakfast sausage and mine was a spicy Italian sausage. We made some new friends doing this, including a couple from Port Orchard, Washington. This was a great time of fun and fellowship. I must admit I had two cervezas and Janice had a drink much earlier in the day than is normal, but it was 5:00 somewhere.

This is just a slice of life in Mazatlan. There are people that have been frightened off by news reports. They are missing a wonderful, interesting life. Come on down and we will show you around!