Well, it's our last day in Mazatlan.
We thought we had seen most of Mazatlan in our week staying here, but we were wrong. Last night we went to dinner with a group of sailors at a tiny spot called Playa Bruja.
"Playa Bruja" means "Beach of the Witch" in Spanish. I looked around to try to find the witch, but it wasn't immediately evident who she was, or if she was even there.
In poker games, they say to look around the table, and if you can't tell who the sucker is, then you're the sucker.
I hope that same story doesn't hold true for ME and finding the witch amongst the ladies at Playa Bruja! I've been trying to be very sweet to Chris, and I think by all accounts I am not, nor ever have I been, a witch.
Which means she was hiding in plain site. Yikes. :-(
Anyway, witch or no witch, this beach was so beautiful -- the sun was just setting, a gentle breeze wafted through the restaurant as surfers enjoyed the breaks off in the distance.
And my tortilla soup only costed 3 American dollars!
On another topic, Chris and I do not have health insurance. Turns out many of our fellow sailors here in Mexico don't have it either. And after much discussion, I think it is a decent risk to take. Here's why:
I chatted with a Mexican cab driver in Cabo who's wife is pregnant with his third child. He does not have health insurance. For each child's hospital delivery, he must pay in cash.
Price for one normal vaginal delivery with over night stay in a Mexican hospital: 600 American dollars.
I also read of a young couple who ran into trouble when the husband developed a bowel obstruction and needed major abdominal surgery. He was in the hospital for several days.
Cost of major abdominal surgery and several days in a Mexican hospital: 3,500 American dollars.
I think we can all agree that the same care in an American hospital would cost you probably ten times as much.
Some might argue that care in Mexico will obviously be sub-par when compared to in the U.S. I might remind you that we read every week of American surgeons in prestigious American hospitals accidently amputating the wrong leg, or some other mishap.
The Americans I've spoken with who have rendered medical care down here rave about it. So -- you be the judge. Anyway, I seem to have thrown my right shoulder out (doing Lord knows what?!?!?!?) -- I'm resting it and stretching it and taking Advil. I trust it will be fine. But it's reassuring to know that should I need surgery down the line, the cost would not mean the end of our travels.
On another subject, it's been unseasonably cold here in Mazatlan (according to the locals) so we're heading south yet again tomorrow in search of the tropics. We know they're here somewhere!
We've noticed Mazatlan seems to be the dividing line between the desert southwest and the tropics. When climbing the mountain to the lighthouse, we noticed a cactus wrapped in a tropical climbing vine:
So this place is the end of the desert, and the beginning of the jungle. We placed our bug screens on our boat here in Mazatlan so we'll be ready for 'em at our next stop, about 130 miles south.
I heard on the cruisers net this morning that flamingos have been spotted on Mazatlan beach. Wow! Wild flamingos!
So needless to say, for the coming hours and days I will have all eyes peeled for this amazing sight!
As always, we won't be at a major port again for 1-2 weeks (Banderas Bay, home of Puerta Vallarta) so this will be the last entry for awhile. We are hoping to anchor in at San Blas, Chacala and Punta de Mita on our way south.
We thought we had seen most of Mazatlan in our week staying here, but we were wrong. Last night we went to dinner with a group of sailors at a tiny spot called Playa Bruja.
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| A surfer enjoying the beautiful Playa Bruja |
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| Playa Bruja looking towards downtown Mazatlan |
"Playa Bruja" means "Beach of the Witch" in Spanish. I looked around to try to find the witch, but it wasn't immediately evident who she was, or if she was even there.
In poker games, they say to look around the table, and if you can't tell who the sucker is, then you're the sucker.
I hope that same story doesn't hold true for ME and finding the witch amongst the ladies at Playa Bruja! I've been trying to be very sweet to Chris, and I think by all accounts I am not, nor ever have I been, a witch.
Which means she was hiding in plain site. Yikes. :-(
 |
| The open air restaurant right on the beach at Playa Bruja |
Anyway, witch or no witch, this beach was so beautiful -- the sun was just setting, a gentle breeze wafted through the restaurant as surfers enjoyed the breaks off in the distance.
And my tortilla soup only costed 3 American dollars!
On another topic, Chris and I do not have health insurance. Turns out many of our fellow sailors here in Mexico don't have it either. And after much discussion, I think it is a decent risk to take. Here's why:
I chatted with a Mexican cab driver in Cabo who's wife is pregnant with his third child. He does not have health insurance. For each child's hospital delivery, he must pay in cash.
Price for one normal vaginal delivery with over night stay in a Mexican hospital: 600 American dollars.
I also read of a young couple who ran into trouble when the husband developed a bowel obstruction and needed major abdominal surgery. He was in the hospital for several days.
Cost of major abdominal surgery and several days in a Mexican hospital: 3,500 American dollars.
I think we can all agree that the same care in an American hospital would cost you probably ten times as much.
Some might argue that care in Mexico will obviously be sub-par when compared to in the U.S. I might remind you that we read every week of American surgeons in prestigious American hospitals accidently amputating the wrong leg, or some other mishap.
The Americans I've spoken with who have rendered medical care down here rave about it. So -- you be the judge. Anyway, I seem to have thrown my right shoulder out (doing Lord knows what?!?!?!?) -- I'm resting it and stretching it and taking Advil. I trust it will be fine. But it's reassuring to know that should I need surgery down the line, the cost would not mean the end of our travels.
On another subject, it's been unseasonably cold here in Mazatlan (according to the locals) so we're heading south yet again tomorrow in search of the tropics. We know they're here somewhere!
We've noticed Mazatlan seems to be the dividing line between the desert southwest and the tropics. When climbing the mountain to the lighthouse, we noticed a cactus wrapped in a tropical climbing vine:
 |
| Cactus and climbing vine intertwined... |
So this place is the end of the desert, and the beginning of the jungle. We placed our bug screens on our boat here in Mazatlan so we'll be ready for 'em at our next stop, about 130 miles south.
I heard on the cruisers net this morning that flamingos have been spotted on Mazatlan beach. Wow! Wild flamingos!
So needless to say, for the coming hours and days I will have all eyes peeled for this amazing sight!
As always, we won't be at a major port again for 1-2 weeks (Banderas Bay, home of Puerta Vallarta) so this will be the last entry for awhile. We are hoping to anchor in at San Blas, Chacala and Punta de Mita on our way south.
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| Punta de Mita, Mexico |
We got some snow up in our mountains yesterday. Just thought I would pass that on as you enjoy the tropics. Keep writing I love to read your posts
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