Well, this is Tuesday night and I'll try to keep it short.
Our trip into town yesterday was a great one. Took the panga (water taxi) from the beach here over to the city of Mazatlan - a 5 minute ride.

My online friend, Lee, was at the dock waiting for us. She introduced us to the bus system of Mazatlan, "tour guided" us around the old town of Mazatlan "El Centro", did the English to Spanish translations needed to get our prescriptions filled (all of which are really just "over the counter" here), and then we ate lunch at a beautiful little sidewalk restaurant.

Lee put me on a pullmania (golf cart sized mini-taxi) that are available all over town and sent me back to the dock for the water taxi back to Stone Island. I was worried about leaving the dogs alone for 5 hours. Ellen stayed with Lee, got one more of her prescriptions filled, and investigated the availability of hotel rooms for her and Patty Peterson (who is coming to visit us) for the Carnaval. They want to party into the wee hours of the morning and don't want to risk the trip back, so they will stay two nights right in downtown Mazatlan in the center of the Carnaval district. I will be thrilled for two quiet nights with the dogs in the motor home. However, I understand the Carnaval spreads over to Stone Island as well with a lot of it's own "goings-on". I'll still be much happier with the dogs.

Oh, our prescriptions in the US are over-the-counter here and at about 1/3 to 1/4 the price. Simply unbelieveable! And no limits on quantities. For controlled substances (Zanax and Vallium) we simply have to pay a doctor (available at most pharmacias) 25-30 pesos for an office visit to get a written prescription as required by law if we can show a previous prescription from our US doctor. 30 pesos is about $2.25 in US dollars. Again, unbelieveable!

We made the long drive into the city today by car to buy necessities - I was out of Crown Royal. I had a map of Mazatlan and knew exactly where I was going. Sam's Club for the great prices. Well, I had a map, but the streets do not have signs here. I guess you just have to know where you are at. We did not so got very lost!

To make a really long story short, we finally found our way. Not a drop of Crown to be found but a lot of Jack Daniels will do. We also stopped at a nearby large grocery chain - Soriana - to stock up on groceries. A fresh fruit and vegetable truck drives through the park daily, but we are afraid of the local butcher, fresh chicken, and other perishable items providers. We made the five hour drive instead. But, next time, we will not need so much and will only need to take the five minute panga ride into Mazatlan (10 pesos), and then a 40 peso pullmania (mini-golf cart) ride to the stores. Total cost for the two of us - about $16.00 US round trip and only about 1 hour instead of 5. But what we needed today we could not carry on a taxi. And I got to experience Mazatlan city driving. Too much to talk about that, but if you want details, just ask!

No pictures tonight. No time left. We did find big jucey steaks today and grilled them for dinner tonight. First meat in about 10 days! I'm happy and tired.

Good night!