3/29/16
“All aboard”… “Anchor’s away”
7pm and we’re headed to Mazatlan sailing through the night and docking in Mazatlan at 8am. This time we are ‘docked’ and do not need to proceed to shore via ‘tenders’.
The harbor is a ‘megapolis of commerce’… it looks like a ‘ship yard’. LOL. There are hundreds of freight containers waiting to be shipped or ‘railroaded’ to different cities or countries. Waiting for our time to debark – I watched a crane play ‘pick-up-sticks’ (my favorite childhood game) with the containers placing them 3 or 4 high on the dock. Amazing!
Today’s excursion was ‘Salsa-n-Salsa’ in a beautiful, downtown resort hotel, the Royal Villa Hotel. It was just Patti’s daughter and myself for this excursion, so sadly, there would be NO Salsa, Margaritas, or Salsa dance lessons for Patti or her brother! They could, instead, choose to put a puzzle together in the Joker room, play Scattergories, participate in “Name-that ‘Toon’, attend a ‘flat-abbs’ class, go on a scavenger hunt, play bingo, sing karaoke or watch a block-buster movie, all provided on board the Miracle… or just relax and take in some ‘rays’ on the Serenity Deck .
While they were deciding their day… we walked off the gang-plank of the ship onto the dock and were led to a ‘holding’ area awaiting all of the participants for this adventure. When we were all present, we were ‘cabbed’ via vans to the hotel. It was a 15 minute ride through a busy, crowded, horn-honking colorful Mexican port city. “Hustle n Bustle” was coined here, I’m sure… right on the ocean. Patti and I had been to Mazatlan 20 years ago, although not by cruise ship, but by destination! We loved it then and I’m sure if we stayed a week again, we’d enjoy it even more so.
This was a different part of Mazatlan – the ‘real’ city, not the tourist destination of 20 years ago. This is a real city, a commerce city. Everyone and everything going somewhere.
Pulling up to the Royal Villa Hotel, we entered a large patio like an inner courtyard of the hotel. There were round tables set up with 8 place-settings per table. White tablecloths graced the tables, as well as, implements for making salsa and margaritas. There were shot glasses filled with Tequila (we assumed), a Mexican mortar and pestle and overflowing pottery bowls brimming with fresh vegetables; avocados, Serrano peppers, jalapeños, onions, garlic, whole Roma tomatoes and cilantro.
The Hotel was quite unique to me, yet commonplace in Mexico. The outside was painted a vibrant, bright and stunning blue. It was several stories high and had colorful flowers and lush plants everywhere. Embedded in the surface of the walls were exquisite 3-D masks. The masks were all individually crafted; some red, some yellow, green, purple, orange and contrasting blue. They were mostly in the same ballpark in size, yet the expressions and demeanor depicted by each were ‘similarly – dissimilar’… Vivid and contrasting, just like the city and its people.
The breezeway had no doors – only beautiful arches, a spiral staircase leading to rooms above and other amazing architectural features. The patio/breezeway was lined with shops and restaurants.
Beyond the salsa patio was a kidney-shaped pool with a water slide at one end. All around the pool were lounge chairs filled with relaxed and happy vacationers. Just a few feet beyond the pool area was a beach which was kissed by the ocean waves. The blue of the pool drew the eye to the azul of the ocean. At that moment it was crystal clear and crisp lending a sharpness for my camera.
At each placement was a chef’s hat and apron all pristine, ironed and starched. We were given bottled water and Margaritas, Pina Coladas, or Hibiscus tea, (or all of the above), if you were 21 years or older.
Our 2 hostesses were very welcoming and led our culinary journey with knowledge and humor. We learned how to make 6 different salas and 2 kinds of Margaritas. We of course sampled our creations and downed our spirits. There was a break half way through and we could buy aprons, chef hats and the Mexican mortar and pestle, plus “Salsa and Salsa” tee shirts: or just hang out by the pool or beach.
After learning how to make our salsas and Margaritas, the patio was cleared of tables and chairs and preparations for the Official Dance of Mazatlan the “Salsa”, was about to begin. We decided not to stay for the dance lessons and instead wandered outside to do some shopping. After exploring various little “mom & pop” – type stores, we grabbed a taxi for a fast ‘wild’ ride back to the Miracle where we joined Patti and her brother for relaxation in the hammocks on the Serenity Deck.
I would definitely consider the Royal Villa Hotel as a destination hotel in Mazatlan, although I don’t know anything about the hotel itself; it’s food quality, rooms or pricing …. But I loved the view!
Back on the ship we prepared for another dining culinary experience – tonight, some of us sampled ‘frog legs’. It was a low-key evening of sitting on the balcony watching night fall onto the already dark ocean.
At 5pm the ship pushed back from the dock, sailing again through the velvety blue/black night and our planned arrival in Puerta Vallarta by 8am the next morning.
A big day awaits us in Puerta Vallarta…
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