20240412 Friday, April 12, 2024- Return to the North

Getting repacked for the homeward trip went pretty smoothly.  Ben had packed up all his camera/video gear after the eclipse, and we had transitioned to gradually moving everything back into open suitcases on the ample floor of the room.

  

Royal Villas Suite 1216 had two double beds, two large sitting chairs around a coffee table, one night stand between the beds and a small table by the sliding door.  There was an tall closet for the TV with a few drawers and a dresser.  There was no coffee maker or tea kettle in the room, and no microwave, mini-fridge or safe.  Although spacious, it was furnished sparsely, with rudimentary amenities.  There was only a very weak intermittent Wifi signal, so any serious work had to be done in the hotel lobby, and even there, the internet speed was no more than 5MBPS at best.  The balcony did have a nice view of the beach and territorial views to the north from east to west.  

Something any prospective guests should be aware of is that there is a dance club right next to the Carl's Jr. across the street that features a live band which fires up the dance floor at about 10pm, and blares at very loud levels until 2am.  Suite 1216 was on the north side of the building so we had a direct line of sight to the dance floor and sound.  Even with ear plugs, it was hard to sleep until after things shut down at 2am.  

Staff at the bar, and pool side seemed programmed to nickle and dime guests. Getting  hit with the surprise extra Eclipse Viewing party fee on the morning of the eclipse was a rude awakening.  They should have made that amply clear on check in.  The casual dining by the bar had decent enough service, while the sit down main restaurant was nice and not unreasonably priced, but it did seem strange that they were watching an action movie on a big screen TV with the volume up quite high until we asked them to turn it down so we could enjoy our dinner without screams and gunshots in the background.  There was no way to charge drinks or meals to your room account, so you always had to have cash or credit card on you, even at the poolside.  They also did not provide any complementary bottled water in the room.

While our travel agent described this as one of the best properties in the Golden zone and a 5 star hotel, I would have to say it is definitely more a 3-1/2 star hotel.  It was comfortable, and felt safe enough, but did very poorly on amenities and services.  Think more Quality Inn and not Hilton.  I did check out the gym, and found that none of the powered equipment (treadmill, eliptical, stationary bicycle) worked.  There were ample weights and plenty of room but the best feature of the gym was a water cooler using bottled water.  

Taking an Uber to the airport seemed to be the best way not to get ripped off.  The Uber app gives you a fixed price of under $20US that can be paid with credit card or Apple Pay in the app, while the taxis charge $30US or $500MX and only accept cash.  While our Uber did get us to the airport on time and safely, although the app listed it as an UberX suitable for 4 passengers, what showed up was a beat up Nissan Versa with a trunk that was held shut with a bungie cord and no air conditioning.  The seats were beat and there was a big gash in the dash board.  It looked like a reject from the Rent-a-Wreck fleet.  But it got the job done.  I have only used Uber in the Fort Lauderdale and Miami areas where the Ubers are usually Mercedes, BMW or Audi sedans with meticulously detailed interiors.

We gave ourselves 3 hours to get through check in and security, but it turned out that WestJet didn't open its check in counters until 2 hours before the flight, so we were the first in line for the check in counters.  They only had one agent working check in, so we have no idea how long the line got at the counter after we headed through security.  Getting through security was surprisingly smooth. The boarding gate area however, was extremely crowded with people standing shoulder to shoulder as 2 flights were leaving at the same time.  Once those two flights departed, congestion eased considerably so that our flight was able to embark pretty smoothly.  Embarkation was via the tarmac with stairs.  This must make boarding very difficult for people who have limited mobility.  Our 737-800 was sporting a special Disney World paint scheme.

The flight was comfortable in Premium class with a nice beef short rib dinner and drinks during the 4.5hr flight.  Ben watched The Color Purple, and thought it was a better movie than Oppenheimer, which had been awarded the Academy Award for best picture.  You have to wonder if it was the all black cast that held it back from consideration for best picture.  

We arrived at YVR International Airport in Vancouver BC just as the sun was about to dip below the horizon.  The airport is very modern and clean, putting LAX thoroughly to shame as looking pretty 3rd world by comparison.  Our Nexus membership greatly sped our journey through customs and immigration in the airport with no lines, one automated kiosk that scanned our Nexus cards and Passports, and a quick glance at a receipt and wave through by a customs and immigrations officer to the luggage pick up area.  We got through even faster than flight crews.

All of our bags made the trip in good condtion and it was an easy shuttle ride back to the Jet Set Parking.  They have a vending machine that scans your ticket.  It then tells you which parking space your car is in, and opens a compartment with your keys.  

There is a Costco between YVR and the highway back to the US so we managed to get in just before closing to get some Poutine (french fries with cheese curds and gravy), and chicken strips and fries for dinner.  The place was packed, and because it is adjacent to Richmond, which is a huge Chinese enclave, nearly everyone in the store was Asian, making Janet a standout.  

Our Nexus cards also saved us at least a half hour's wait at the Canada/US Border where we bypassed multiple lanes packed with cars in the Nexus lane where there were only 2 cars ahead of us when we got to stations. Having scanned our Nexus Cards as we drove up to the booth, the agent just looked through our windows to make sure we were the only occupants in the car, and she waved us on.  

We were glad to be back home after a week in Mexico.  The Total Eclipse of the Sun was totally worth the trip for Ben, although for Janet, she's good with One and Done.  Eclipse chasing certainly entails a lot or uncertainties, anxiety, expenses and plenty of unscrupulous individuals taking advantage of the situation, but there is something indescribable about looking up at that black hole in the sky during the 4 minutes of totality.  It really kind of puts us in our cosmic place.  

Also, spending a week in one of the more modern and developed parts of Mexico, and yet seeing the contrasts between life there and life at home really help us appreciate more how good we have it in the USA.  

20240411 Thursday, April 11, 2024- Inland Tour of El Quelita, Puerta de Canoas, Los Osuna and La Noria

We had time to take a walk on the beach before our overland excursion to explore some of Sinaloa's villages and the Los Osuna Tequila plantation and distillery.  Janet found some nice shells, while Ben found a washed up evil looking eel.  

Our tour guide Roberto showed up on time with a 15 passenger Ford Transit van four our group of only 4.  This made for a more comfortable excursion since we could spread out.  Roberto spoke pretty good English, while Mark speaks pretty good Spanish and Erin has been learning through DuoLingo, so Roberto got to practice his English while Mark and Erin practiced their Spanish.  Janet and Ben could only follow the conversations through context and one half of the conversations.  

As we drove north of Mazatlán, we crossed the Tropic of Cancer, which is the line of latitude where the sun is directly overhead on the June Solistice.  This is at approximately 23˚ 26' currently, but was at 23˚ 27' when the sign was put up.  This is because the Earth wobbles a bit on it's axis so there is some fluctuation to it's exact geolocation over time.  Interestingly, the Tropic of Cancer is defined as the southern border of the NATO alliance, so any territory that is below the Tropic of Cancer lies outside the NATO mutual assistance clause.  This includes HAWAII.  So China can invade Hawaii and have no fears of NATO retaliation.  Well it is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, after all.

We continued heading north west of Mazatlán along Mex15, driving past fields of various crops including corn, agave, wheat and sorghum.  There were also many mango orchards and cattle ranches in the rolling hillsides.  

As we rose in elevation into the foothills of the Sierra Madre Mountains, we saw large cacti that looked like cousins to the Saguaro cacti of the Sonoran deserts to the north.  These are called Pipe Organ cacti.  These cousins are just as impressive and differ in that while Saguaro start off as a single trunk which develop arms as they age, Pipe Organ cacti are more bushy, sprouting multiple branches simultaneously, reaching toward the heavens like the pipes of a church organ. Many were in bloom, but these cacti produce sweet fruit that are covered in very long and extremely sharp spines. The blossoms only open at night and are pollenated by nocturnal bats.

The first village we drove through was El Puente De El Quelite.  They have a population of under 300.  Over 90% of households have electricity and running water with toilets, but less than 10% have computers with internet, but over 80% have cell phones.  Their cell phone coverage is better than Whidbey Island's. 

They have a statue in town honoring the sport of Ulama, which is a descendant of the ball game played by the Aztecs and Mesoamericans since before 1600BC.  It is the oldest sport played with a rubber ball.  This varient, hip Ulama, is played with a heavy rubber ball weighing 7-9# (imagine a medicine ball).  The rules are quite complex. Apparently, you can score a point if your opponents score a point but don't announce it right away.  In the days of the Aztecs, the losing team might lose their heads, but the stakes are considerably lower today.  This sport was largely eradicated by the Spanish because it had religious connotations, but survived in Sinaloa because there was limited reach of the Spanish Catholic influences in this part of Mexico.  

We soon arrived at the village of El Quelite (population ~1800)

As we drove into town we passed a house where a man was making pork rinds in kettles in his front yard.

One interesting thing we saw was cacti sprouting up on the terra cotta roof tiles.  Back home, we might see seedlings and weeds sprouting up in rain gutters.

 

This town center has a beautiful church and town square.  There is an elevated stage centrally and a large covered arena that could be used for sports and dancing in a grand manner. 

There were many vendors with carts and stalls set up along the main road.  When we first arrived, we were the only Gringos in town. There were many horses at the main intersection offered up for horse rides to tourists.  We passed on that, instead walking through the town appreciating the architecture and atmosphere.  

We had an early lunch at the El Mason de Los Laureanos, which the tourism sales person described as the best restaurant in Sinaloa.  

We would have to say it was excellent food and service, although we did have a great experience at the El Charro earlier in the trip.  It was interesting that everything we ordered was accompanied by a bowl of clear soup broth.  A stuffed Chile that Erin ordered was actually served in the bowl of broth.  It must be a Sinaloan tradition.  Each entree also came with complementary fresh squeezed orange juice (in lieu of glass of water with ice) coffee, chips, salsa, corn pancakes and corn tortillas.  The food came out very quickly and it was very well prepared and tasty.  We could barely finish our enormous portions.  When we left the restaurant, we saw that a large tourist bus had parked at one end of town, and a wall of tourists were headed into the restaurant we had just left.  It was good that we arrived before that bus because we're sure the service won't be as good as it was for us when we were among only a handful of diners in the restaurant.  

The toilets in the restaurant had some interesting local touches.  The urinal in the men's bathroom was in the shape of a big hog chewing on a corn cob, and the water faucets at the sinks were sculptures.  

Our next stop was at a village called Puerta de Canoas to visit with some local artisans creating candy and leather goods.  The candies looked like giant Hershey's kisses made of caramel, and balls of the same caramel mixed with pecans, not entirely unlike pralines in New Orleans but rolled up in balls instead of flattened cookies.  

We drove down the street a little ways to a rather unassuming appearing horse stables where they specialize in an unusual skill.  They train dancing horses here.  The dancing is like Dressage on steroids with the horse prancing to the beat of lively Mexican music forwards, backwards and side to side, even rotating on the spot while dancing.  It was quite an unusual skill.  It must be something to watch in full costume.  The rider for our demonstration was a dressed in jeans and T-shirt.  We imagine for competition, the riders are dressed to the 9's. The horses were beautiful. 

There was a house on a corner whose back yard was entirely filled with a variety of cactus that locals eat as a staple vegetable.  We have had it on a few of our meals in Mazatlán as a side dish, and it has a very slight lime tartness on top of the vegetal rather bland note.  

Our next stop was a blue agave plantation and the Osuno Tequila Distillery.  On our way there we passed fields with hundreds of little white A-frame animal shelters, which are for roosters bred for cock fighting.  This sport is illegal in Mexico, but somehow when the Sinaloa cartel wants to engage in something like cock fighting, it just seems to happen despite any laws. 

The blue agave plantation was impressively large with agave plants in various stages of growth.  It takes about 7 years for the plants to be ready for harvest.  What is harvested is the "pineapple" at the center of the spikey leaves. The spiky leaves are cut off using a tool called a Coa.  

We learned how they take the agave pineapples and create Tequila from them.  The first step is to steam pressure cook them.  This is done with pressure cookers that are dug into the earth as lined pits.  

Then they are crushed and macerated into a pulp.  This pulp is diluted with distilled water and cooked not unlike a mash that moonshiners make with grains. 

 

This agave slurry is then fermented.  The ferment then undergoes two stages of distillation.  The first fractionates out the toxic methanol. The second distillation produces what they call Blanco Tequila.  This is stored in stainless steel tanks until bottled.  Some of this Blanco is stored in white oak barrels sourced from Kentucky USA.  Tequila that has been stored in Oak Barrels for 11 months is called Reposado.  If it is aged in the oak barrels for 3 years, it becomes Añejo.  And if aged for 5 years, it is extra Añejo.  

Following the tour came the Tequila tasting.  Rather than provide a guided experience, we were simply given tickets for 3 samples of what was available.  They had Blanco, Reposado (both 80 proof), and three flavored Tequila liqueurs (40 proof); Coco, Lime and Vanilla.  After Googling their product online, it was apparent that it was significantly less expensive to buy at the factory than from a few other distributors in the US, other than in San Diego.  So we purchased a bottle of the Añejo for a souvenir of our Mazatlán Solar Eclipse trip.

Our last stop was in a town called Le Noria where there was a leather shop that crafted belts, wallets, sandals and horse saddles.  By the time we arrived at this factory, it was 93˚F and many workers were on siesta.  We did see someone assembling a sandal and another worker stretching leather for a saddle.

We did get an unofficial bonus stop added when Roberto dropped us off at the Panama bakery.  We picked up a variety of pastries for breakfast tomorrow, as well as a local gourmet product "Guava Pie", which looks like a pie filled with diced green cucumbers.  We bought one for our guide as part of a gratuity, and one for us to try back at the hotel. 

After resting up a bit and getting changed, we hit the pool and beach one last time.  Ben spent an hour surf casting/swimming but only getting two strikes that didn't get solidly hooked.  As the tide started coming in, huge waves began rolling onto the beach, so it was time to hit the showers.  

In the evening we did Carl's Jr takeout and had the guava pie along with Mark and Erin.  It was an unusual culinary experience.  If you can imagine a pie with diced Asian pear mixed in a cream custard and served in a graham cracker crust, it was not bad, but probably an acquired taste.  We also checked in for our homeward flights scheduled for tomorrow, and Ben reserved an Uber to get us to the airport with a known price and credit card billing.