Negotiating Imigration with Ollie

Sunday morning, 12/14 we left Lake Stevens with 2 inches of snow on the ground. For those of you that know our area, you know that we rarely get snow. Not so...I spoke with my daughter that lives in Lake Stevens and as of last night they had another 4 inches of snow and funny as it my sounds, that paralyses that area. Snow day for the kids yesterday and maybe today. I'd like to say I care, but guess what, we've made it to Mazatlan. 80 degree weather, no clouds, star filled skies at night, a pool practically out our front door and across the street another pool, happy hour bar all day long and a beautiful sand beach with only a smattering of people, very few vendors and clear blue/turquoise waters. We're in heaven. (well almost, in heaven there will be no vendors)

Let me tell you about immigration in Mazatlan. First of all, very nice people all through out the airport. We arrived to Mazatlan only about 15 minutes late and that's because we left 1/2 hour late as they were deicing the plane. It is a 4 1/2 hour flight from Seattle with no stops. We first got in line to have our passports and documents checked. Once we cleared that we went and retrieved our luggage, and then walked through to another short line and had our baggage scanned again. We then proceeded to the next and last stop where you press a button that will flash either green or red. Green means go, red means you then are selected to have your baggage hand checked. We got green, however this is where Ollie will need to be checked with all his paperwork, and the gal at that booth didn't know what to do with Ollie and checked around and the other guy, said "no problema" so they just let us go through. How easy was that?

So they next hurdle is going through the small maze of shuttle drivers holding up signs with your name had you prearranged a shuttle through ones of these companies. We did not. We planned on paying a little extra for a taxi. Well then you go through a maze of taxi drivers. All asking if we wanted a taxi. What I didn't know, is from the airport all taxi prices are the same. You cannot dicker to get a lower price here. The taxi's will charge you 320 pesos which is about $25 one way to where we live. The nice thing is, we got an English speaking driver, the traffic was low that afternoon and we made it to our villa in about 30 minutes or less. The airport is a ways out of town. He took us to our front door helped us with our luggage and that was that. Did you know you do not tip taxi drivers? What they tell you in price is what it is. You have to go through a poor area of Mazatlan before getting to the tourist areas that then are much nicer.

All in all we had a very smooth travel with the three of us. We were amazed and thankful. Our villa is very nice. We are real happy with it and could not have gotten one this nice for any better of a price. If you are planning on coming down (after April 13) and want to rent a place of your own where there is 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, family room, living room, kitchen, dining room, laundry room, back patio and 2nd floor patio, etc. let me know and I can put you in touch with the owner.

Things to note: there is a lot of construction going on in Mazatlan and especially in the north end where we are staying. High rises going up all over. Workers begin about 7am, so go to bed earlier to get your rest unless you like getting up early. There are two different buses available. One is green and the other is green, yellow and white. They are only 8 pesos for the green and I believe 6 for the tri-color. The difference is amazing. The green is air condition, less people, and a more comfortable ride. You usually don't have to wait more then 5 minutes for the bus. You can pick it up just about anywhere. You just need to flag it down. Simple and cheap and clean. We picked up our meat for several weeks at a place called Henderson's. It is all frozen meat, but the quality is superior to most I've had in the states. We got New York, T-bones, thick pork chops, Tuna steaks, and on and on. Over 30 lbs for $60. Amazing, and what a deal. We've gone grocery shopping twice to the larger supermarkets and food prices overall are not a whole lot less. There are individual items like baked goods that are fantastic prices. Don't come looking for a grocery deal.

Ollie has adjusted really well. He is loving the weather and every once and awhile I see him laying in the sun, and when he gets too warm, he comes back to the shade. He loves his walks. So far I don't have anything unusual to report about him, other then he likes hanging out with us.

This has pretty much caught you up with our flight and first few days here in sunny Mazatlan.

Hasta manana,
Ollie and me