Helen Gets Us out of Town

Friday, December 30

Thursday afternoon Helen in her usual efficient way focused on making the most of her last day, but in our usual pull it out of your, uh…the air, fashion we were a bit in the dark on how to grant her final wish for some sightseeing outside the city.  Having “done” the town, all three of us wanted to see a bit of the countryside sampling the rural flavors of Sinaloa, but not with a busload of tourists. That night no obvious means for achieving this end came to hand but we had one hope left. Fortunately the 8 a.m. cruisers’ net came to our aid with the number of a cab driver, a former tour leader named Gerry. With fingers crossed I called him and by 8:45 we were in Gerry’s cab headed out of Maz on Route 15. Phew!

Having rejected the standard tourist destinations, we decided to head for a lagoon south of the city where we could see some birds and seaside settlements. Our first stop, in Rosario, one of the oldest cities in Sinaloa and formerly quite an important center of wealth and manufacturing, took us to an ancient church built in1759. Mining around the region had yielded so much gold that the front wall of the church was finished entirely in ornate gilt relief. Local mining had also undermined the church’s original foundation setting off a major rebuilding project in which the whole church was moved stone by stone. We watched a bit of a christening ceremony, then crossed the street to read about the famous singer Lola Bertran.

No Mexican town could function without a traditional market. Set in a maze of narrow one way streets, Rosario’s was a challenge to reach. Each of us wanted something specific (besides the baños). Charlie found some locally produced spicy choriso. For me Gerry located the best juice bar. The celery, guava and orange drink was a hit with Charlie and Helen. I shocked the ladies by ordering a blend of strawberry, orange and milk. Milk!? Actually this was a recipe from the Licuados stand in Mazatlan. Then Helen insisted on a reprise of our earlier candy shopping. Jerry bought us coconut covered marshmallows while she found tamarind candy and a guava sugar cake to take on the plane.

Really the Mazatlan Market, thanks to Margaret J

On a sugar high we headed out to the coast through orchards of mangos and plums, passing many farms with serially planted corn crops, lettuce, chiles and tomatoes, and even cactus. Near the ocean on the flat sandy land we saw huge coconut palm plantations and quite a bit of cattle ranching along with shrimp farming. Laguna Caimanero’s feeder streams and muddy shores are a great place for birding. Surprisingly Gerry had never been out here before. The birds fascinated him as did my Sibley guide but it didn’t cover a lot of the birds. Back at the boat I took out the Mexican birds book and learned about all the ibises. This one is probably an immature white. Lots of new species to study!

Having a college educated bilingual guide made the whole trip twice as good. He told us stories about the past and answered questions. How bad is it with the local drug lords? (The Army got 'em.) Why don't cruise ships come to Mazatlan any more? Too many charges by the port and of course the economy. The next day he brought us corn and empanadas, regalos from the market, before going off to work. Thanks, Gerry. Thanks, Helen too. We'll miss you.