Tag Archives: Travel

Fiesta Amigos 2013

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State Secretary of Tourism Francisco Córdova, Greg and Dianne from VidaMaz, Governor Malova, Mayor Higuera, and El Cid’s Carlos Berdegue.

As always, the annual tourist industry event—La Gran Fiesta Amigos de Mazatlán—has been a spectacular success. A bit warm and humid outdoors last night for this time of year, but those attending from throughout Mexico, Canada and the States didn’t mind it one bit. The event this year was 70% smaller than it was last year, primarily because they are gearing up for the big 20th anniversary next year. We actually really liked the smaller size—much easier to get to know people, and I imagine it’s more realistic to cook gourmet food for a smaller group (about 250, I’d guess).

The Fiesta Amigos 2013 opening cocktail reception was Monday evening at the Luna Palace. I have never before attended a special event there. The place was beautifully decorated and very welcoming, and the service was impeccable. Photos below; click on one to enlarge or view a slideshow.

Beautiful ladies
Table setting
The setting at Luna Palance
Candle-lit lanterns decorated our entrance
Candle-lit lanterns
Good friends
Lots of smiles
Great way to display skewers!

Tour operators, travel agents, airline officials, hotel and hospitality officials spent all day Tuesday at our gorgeous convention center in meetings. Then, last night was the gala dinner at Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay. We had cocktails on the lawn while a sax players serenaded us. After brief comments by the governor, we went up some stairs to dine on the rooftop overlooking the ocean. The decorations were stunning, and the food was unbelievably good. I think I could eat that soup (squash blossom and mussel) every day for a month! Photos below; click on one to enlarge or view a slideshow.

MZT Hotel Association hosted the evening
The sax player during cocktails was beautiful
Sandra Luz and Don Hector from MZT Interactivo
Our Governor Malova greeting people
Carlos Berdegue very ably translated the Governor’s remarks
The decorations at Emerald Bay were gorgeous
I absolutely loved the table colors! And the flowers were to die for.
An incredible menu of all local food
Happy faces
The decorations were gorgeous
The music was soooo lovely!
Our new friends from Estur
Gitta and Don Héctor
Happy winner
Locals attended as well
Lance from Hotel Playa and his table group
Mónica and Don Hector
Poor, suffering man…. 😉
The chef talks about our menu
Remembering those who have passed on

The highlight of the event is the presentation of the “Golden Deer” Awards. This year’s winners included Delta Airlines, Sun Country Airlines, Expedia, Best Day (Mexican online travel agent), our new friends Estur (national tour operators)—for the third consecutive year. A new award this year was for convention organizers, and the inaugural award in that category went to Mark Rogers. The major award, “Amigo de Mazatlán,” was given to Don Guillermo Bernal Valdez, for his over 40 years of intense promotion of our port. Due to health issues Don Guillermo could not be present; the award was accepted by his three children. Photos below; click on one to enlarge or view a slideshow.

Governor Malova and Mayor Higuera attended last night’s gala. Giving out the awards were Carlos Berdeque Sacristán and Gaspar Pruneda, Vice-Presidents of the Hotel and Tourist Business Association; Francisco Córdova Celaya, State Secretary of Tourism; and Sergio Rómero, standing in for Mayor Higuera who had departed with the governor before the awards were given.

There was a whole lot of excitement in the air, and lots of talk about the new highway to Durango and the Puente Baluarte. Huge kudos to the Mazatlán Hotel Association, Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay,  Luna Palace, and the Convention Center for such a huge success!

This Weekend in Durango

Well, since the SATs (college entrance exam for many schools in the USA) are held in Mazatlán only in the springtime, we drove to Durango this weekend so Danny could take the test. The last two times we drove that route, it took 3 and 3 1/2 hours for us to get from Mazatlán to Durango. This time, on Friday, it took 5 1/2! Granted, it was raining and foggy, and there was a whole lot of truck traffic. But we counted only 18 tunnels and 12 bridges that we crossed. We would swear that more of the new highway was open the last times we went. Perhaps more has closed due to damage from the recent heavy rains?

Needless to say, we arrived on Friday evening much later than we would have preferred, since we had to get up at the crack of dawn to get Danny to the test. But we had a great weekend! Unbeknownst to us, Durango is celebrating its 450th birthday (since summer), and right now is the Festival Cultural Revueltas—music, literature, dancing, theater. The streets were packed and all were having a grand time. While we have seen a lot of folkloric dancing in our day, it was the first time we’d witnessed ballet folkloric danced to banda music!  (I post a short video below, if you’d care to see.)

We stayed in a beautiful hotel very near the American School, where the test was held—the Hotel Gobernador.  Click on any photo below to enlarge it or view a slideshow.

Hotel Gobernador registration desk
Comfy corner of the lobby
View of the café
Outdoor seating in the café
View of the swimming pool
View of the lobby
Chandelier from underneath
Huge wooden chandeliers in the lobby

While Danny took the test, Greg and I spent a whopping 20 pesos to go round-trip on the teleférico, or gondola, one of four in Mexico. What a gorgeous day we had, and such incredible views! At the top of the route is the Santuario de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios, a beautiful, small, and very old church, dating back to the founding of the city itself (and worship at the site by native Mexicans even earlier). (Click on any photo below to view it larger or view a slideshow.)

Sign for the gondola
Sign for the gondola
Sign for the teleférico
Looking from the gondola
View looking down from the gondola
View looking down from the gondola
View of the city from up top
The teleférico
Nuestra Señora de los Remedios
Crucifix in the sanctuary
Inside the church
Bell tower
View of the city from up top
New cross to be built up top the cerro
On top of the cerro, a hole for the new cross?
View from up top
Kids inside the gondola
Sign for the church
Us up top the hill

At the top of the gondola, a group of folkloric dancers were performing. Many of them were the same dancers that we’d happen to see again that evening in the Plaza de Armas. (Click on any photo below to view it larger or view a slideshow.)

Folkloric dancers
Duck quickly!
Hello, lady!
Folkloric dancers
Acting out a funeral
Acting out a funeral
Acting out a funeral
Ready for action
The smallest dancer

Once Danny was finished with the test, we ate lunch at an incredible restaurant, Esquilón (Hidalgo #411, tel 618-811-1632). The space was awesome, the food was very, very good, and they have loads of private party areas. We  highly recommend it. (Click on any photo below to view it larger or view a slideshow.)

Main dining room
Ceiling decorations
The front room
The patio
Patio
Our appetizer
A party room
Upstairs party room
View from upstairs
View from upstairs
Dianne’s lunch
Danny’s lunch
Greg’s lunch
Our dessert
Goofy and the dessert
Private dining room
Us on the patio

As part of the festival there was a handicraft market going on. As always, I was interested in the native peoples. There was a lovely Huichol couple doing beadwork, and several Tepehuanos sewing barbasca de pino/pine needle basketry. While we weren’t able to make it this trip, there is an Artesanías Tepehuana (O’dam) at Tuxpan 227, cel. 618-151-9862 or 618-116-8849. We also learned that there is an Indigenous Art and Culture of Durango Cooperative at Isla Acerralvo 211, cel. 618-171-9661 that sounds well worth visiting. Danny was able to buy a nice birthday gift for his friend, made of animal skin, so he was also quite happy. (Click on any photo below to view it larger or view a slideshow.)

Huichol couple
Huichol couple from the rear
Huichol lady beading
Tepehuano gentleman doing basketry
Tepehuano gentleman doing basketry
Tepehuano gentleman doing basketry

Our favorite part of Durango, always, has been the beautiful architecture. The climate there seems to be so much more forgiving than ours here in Mazatlán, and they light the buildings up so gorgeously at night! It is breathtaking.

An old doorway
Plaza IV Siglo
Church near our hotel
Church near our hotel
Night lighting
Night lighting
Cathedral and main square fountain
Siglo IV at night
Night lighting
Night lighting
Night lighting
Night lighting
Cathedral at night
Night lighting
Cathedral at night
Cathedral at night

Finally, let me share with you some various shots of children playing and other city scenes.

Bicycle
Ready and waiting
Playing in the fountains
Old convent hotel
Door to the old convent hotel
Great cena place!
Cucumber juice and tequila!
Cenando
Night lighting
Night lighting

Once the highway and the Puente Baluarte are truly open, they are predicting that the trip to Durango will take 2 1/2 hours. Even at 4 hours, it is well worth a visit!

Boy Are We Spoiled!

blow oncaNot only do we live on this gorgeous Bay of Mazatlán, with the huge variety of flora and fauna we enjoy every day, but we have locals who have left town to study, become experts, and return to give back to and enjoy fully of this wonderful community of ours.

Such is the case with Oscar Guzón, a marine biologist from a local family who not only owns and operates Onca, but advocates tirelessly for the environmental well being and conservation of our port city and its beautiful bay.

We were fortunate to meet Oscar shortly after having moved down here full time. I’ve written previously about Onca’s whale watching expeditions, which are by far the best I’ve experienced, East Coast or West, Europe or Asia. Passengers’ enjoyment of the whale watching experience is part of their larger effort to catalog and study the whales, their habits and migration patterns.

Well, Onca has added another marine mammal to their studies: the dolphin. Going out with Onca, you’ll learn about the dozens of species of this cetacean, and the fact that we have a huge percentage of those species right here in Mazatlán. Onca’s crew are doing for the dolphins what they’re doing for the whales: cataloguing, studying and tracking them, as part of larger efforts throughout the Sea of Cortes and points south.

Their new “swim with the dolphins” program is not to be missed! We were completely surrounded by these amazing creatures, many times over. Now, maybe you can swim as fast as a dolphin, but I certainly can’t! First time in the water, I swam. Second time, I used a life preserver; it was much more enjoyable for me to just sort of float there among the gorgeous dolphins as they swam, frolicked and jumped around me. Trying to keep up with them was obviously not going to work!

The Onca crew are consummate professionals, the boat and equipment top-knotch and safe. They don’t just provide a tour, they provide an education, and are committed to giving us the best experience possible: we swam, we snorkeled, they provided sandwiches and drinks, and they watched over us to keep us safe and happy. It’s beautiful to see how much they love and respect the wildlife as well as this gorgeous place in which we are fortunate to live.

Thank you, Oscar, Belén, Saúl, and Michel. Here is a short video of our dolphin swim on Wednesday.

PS: I’m not being paid or remunerated for this post. It’s just a whole lot of fun, and I want to let you all know.

“The World Via Motorcycle”

malecon1“My name is Nate Clark Kayhoe and this spring I begin 2 years of traveling the world on my motorcycle — crossing 5 continents and through at least 75 countries. This page will be where I share in the adventure.”

We had the pleasure these past two days of hosting Nate and Chris Santacroce, friends of our nephew, at the beginning of their most wonderful adventure. And how exciting it is! They began by making their bikes, and departed from the East Coast of the USA. When they arrived here in Mazatlán yesterday they were on their fourth day in México, and enjoying every minute.

mapFortuitously, today is Nate’s 30th birthday. We celebrated in the Machado with cena last night. Both young men quit terrific jobs—one with Christie’s auction house and the other with the US government—to make this exciting journey. Chris will make the trip through the Americas for about six months; Nate will continue on, planning the two year around-the-world journey. His planned route is in the photo above.

Should you wish to track their journey, or give them a sofa or floor to sleep on, I know they would love it. You can do so by “liking” their Facebook page. We are so excited for them, and very grateful they brought their energy into our home and shared it with us. Below I’ll post a few more photos, in slideshow format.

Be safe, guys! Enjoy yourselves and your journey fully! We’ll be tracking your progress!

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La Callejoneada for Day of the Dead

Greg absolutely hates Halloween, but Day of the Dead is his favorite holiday here. Go figure! He loves it even more than Carnavál, and that’s saying a lot. His favorite part of Día de los Muertos festivities is the callejoneada, the parade that winds through the narrow streets of the Centro Histórico. This year I had fun putting together a “scary movie trailer”-type video (above) to commemorate the event. I hope you enjoy it!

I’ve written a few posts about Día de los Muertos here in Mazatlán. This year there were a few things different, of course. One was the gorgeous, colorful katrina costumes in the callejoneada. They were breathtaking! You can see them in the video above. Many of them actually lit up, which was extra cool!

Another new development we noticed is that the print shop just down from us put up a big outdoor walk-through Day of the Dead display, complete with life-size katrina statues and a large altar, all lit at night.

At the bottom is the map of this year’s “official” altars that the Katrina visited last night during the callejoneada in order to accompany the dead to the other world.