May, 2010

During My Land Travels

It’s now May and I found a great orthodontist in Mazatlan who studied at the same school as my dentist in Seattle. This means that she uses the same orthodontic system. She thinks the braces could come off at the end of May. This means that I can entertain myself for 3 months while I wait for my teeth to move. So land travel it is.

My friend Don from North Carolina came to travel with me. This is great as it’s more fun to travel with someone. I have 10 days in between appointments so we first journeyed south along the coast to La Cruz and San Blas. These are ports I have cruised before and we got the opportunity to meet other cruisers who are currently cruising. Then it was on to Puerto Vallarta where we did zip lining through the wooded tree canopy 400 feet above rivers. There were 11 very long zip lines. But the best part was hanging upside down over the canyon feeling like you were going to free fall at any minute without a parachute. Definitely an ‘E Ticket’!

In between, it was time for me to return to Mazatlan. It was a 9 ½ hr. bus ride both ways with 15 hours in between for sleep and the appointment. I returned to Puerto Vallarta, and together we headed out for a 9 hour bus trip to Patzcuaro, a very quaint colonial town with 3 plazas all within 3 blocks. We stayed at one of the older homes on the plaza that was converted into a hotel. It was so beautiful! It felt like a mansion/castle.

From Patzcuaro, 11 hours away, we went to Guanajuato. It’s a beautiful small university colonial town with 33 plazas and lots of cultural activities. I still have some time left until June when I plan to leave Mexico and head for North Carolina on the East Coast to sail north to New York and Maine for the summer on a 46’ Amel. We’ll see what adventures await for me there.