Chris and Juan came over to where we're parked at around 10:00am, and we walked over to the panga (water taxi) to get over to the other side of the port.
Where we're staying is actually walking distance to the old central area of Mazatlan. But there's no easy road to get there! If you want to drive, you have to go all the way back out that horrible dirt road back to the airport, then along the highway to town. So for pedestrians, there are water taxis to take you across the bay. It costs 30 pesos ($2.46) each for a round trip ticket. It's only a five minute boat ride.
There's a hiking trail to the top of a point in the bay and we wanted to get some views. Plus, we were overdue for a hike of some kind.
Ruth, Chris, and Juan. That's the hill we're going to climb.
Juan, Chris, and Kevin.
The weather has been great here. 28C (82F) with blue sky and sunshine! Just a perfect Christmas day!
The hill is right beside Mazatlan's sewage treatment plant.
Just another example that Mexico is more advanced than many people think. All of Mazatlan's waste water is properly treated before being released into the Ocean or recycled for crop irrigation. More than you can say for Victoria or Ottawa, Canada!
Mazatlan's shipping port.
From the top, you get a great view of Mazatlan.
Ruth and Kevin, with Isla de la Piedre (where Sherman is parked) in the background.
After the hill, we walked downtown and went to a bank ATM to get some cash. Had a delicious coco con leche paleta (coconut cream popsicle) along the way. Then it was back across to "the Isla" to get ready for Christmas dinner.
We got in the motorhome, and I went to turn on the inverter to use the computer. I flicked the switch and heard that dreaded electrical "frying" sound! Turned it off right away! I said to Ruth "Yikes, that didn't sound good". Turned it on again and the readout came on saying 15.01 volts. Huh? It should have said 13.5 volts. Turned it off again and out out my digital meter to check things closer. Sure enough, the input power was at 13.5 volts, which is what it's supposed to be. But there was no AC output at all. It was toast.
I'm not actually disappointed. It was a 1500 watt inverter. Much too large for our needs. Plus, we have a smaller 400 watt inverter as a backup, and I've already got that hooked up. But it's a cheapo unit, so we'll be buying another one when we get up to the states.
This is the one I would like to buy...
Anyhow, with our temporary power supply working, we headed down the beach to Colin and Contessas place for Christmas dinner. There were eight of us, for a buffet style potluck, and it was delicious!
Colin and Contessa have a beautiful setup here.
It's dinnertime!
Christmas dinner!
Juan, at the buffet.
From left, Colin, Contessa, Bob, Marjory, Paula, Juan, Ruth, Chris, Jeurgen.
We had a great Christmas Day!
Also, we've decided to stay here a day or two longer. First of all, we're enjoying ourselves and we have a great parking spot. And secondly, the tooth that Ruth had repaired in Toluca is starting to bother her again so we had better get that looked at before we head into the mountains.
Nice to have the back up inverter, we have one as well.
ReplyDeleteLots to see and do there, thanks for taking us back to enjoy some of the sights again.
Its been a few years since we have seen Bob and Margory too. Keep enjoying yourself there and the great weather.
Yes, it is nice to have a back up inverter and even nicer when your back up one works properly and unfortunately ours was short lived. Story to follow.
DeleteWe have a small 400 Watt inverter dedicated to the bedroom TV and Starchoice screwed to the wall behind the TV. It runs 24/7 and has never given us a problem in several years. It is amazing how well these things work but I guess they do eventually fail.
ReplyDeleteAll three of our inverters are modified sine wave and nothing we have ever plugged into one has refused to work properly. The small bar fridge in the overhead area runs happily on a 1500 watt MSW inverter when we travel. I just have to remember to unplug it when we boondock for the night or else it kills the battery in a few hours.
Yes, ours are (were!) both modified sine as well. But I have an external set of speakers that I like to use with the laptop and they've always produced a slight buzz. With a pure sine inverter, I'm almost certain that would fix the problem.
DeleteI did the El Faro hike last Feb when I was at Tres Amigos-- what great views from up there! Also sure miss the great views, conversation, food & drinks at Colin & Contessa's wonderful site. Glad you guys have been enjoying Isla life!
ReplyDeleteYep, it was a beautiful hike up and very easy all things considered, and some lovely views.
DeleteContessa and Colin definitely have a fantastic site and well outfitted too, including wine. :-)
A friend and I were just looking at the 2000W version of that exact same inverter, which at ~$330 is a terrific bargain for a pure sine inverter of that wattage. He needs the bigger one to run his microwave.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great deal but for us 2000W is way to much power. I think a 600W would do us just fine.
Deleteit seems that inverter problems is contagious. I have read a few of people having an inverter problems.
ReplyDeleteKevin was just talking to another camper at the RV park and he also said that he has gone though about three of them. Now our back up one has gone on us as well! :-(
DeleteFYI, the other panga, the one you get in the village, is only 16 pesos (1.27CAD) round trip for people who live on Isla. It's pretty much equidistance to the Centro histórico. Something to know for next time.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rae. We only took this one because it was closer to El Faro and we could just walk from landing. The other one is great for getting to the centro area though and that's the one we have used for the past two days.
DeleteHey Kevin, that's the inverter we bought. Thanks for the hike, we enjoyed it a lot not to mention the paleta! Fun day.
ReplyDeleteWe had a great time on the hike as well Chris and we really enjoyed the company we were with!
DeleteIt looks like a lovely Christmas gathering. Enjoy your last few days in Mazatlán.
ReplyDeleteThanks Paula and Jerry, it was a great one.
DeleteHoping you had a wonderful Christmas as well!