Thursday, July 20, 2006 - 10:50 PM

Ok, after spending a little more than a week here, I have to revise one of my earlier statements about life in this city. It is entirely possible to feel uncomfortable or even unsafe in this town. I'll describe the scenario for those of you who haven't been there:

Wednesday, July 19, 2006 - 04:05 PM

If you drive in Mexico, it doesn't take you long to discover your first tope. You'll know you've found one when your car suddenly jumps and lurches, which may be accompanied by a scraping noise. The translation for tope is speed bump, but that is way to narrow a term to describe what a tope really is.

Monday, July 17, 2006 - 06:04 PM

Mazatlan- the misconceptions

Mazatlan is a small town. From everything I've heard and read I expected a small town with a central downtown area, probably around a square. A few main roads. Some sprawl as things spread out along the coast and of course the newly developed tourist and resort areas north of town.

Friday, July 14, 2006 - 07:40 PM

The locks on our doors are really quite clever and quaint. They add to the charm of living in an old building in Centro Historico Mazatlan. The door latch is directly controlled by a spring-loaded rod that you pull out to open the door. If you want to leave the door unlocked, there is a lever that you move to hold the rod in the extended position. There is no knob on the outside of the door. You either leave the door unlocked or you use the key to move the rod.

Thursday, July 13, 2006 - 05:25 PM

So far, we have been unable to get water. Okay, we've gone to the store and gotten gallon jugs of water, but we can't seem to catch the water truck. There are many goods and services here that are acquired by catching the right truck (or cart) driving down the street. The propane truck cruises down our street several times a day playing the “gas, gas, gas” song over the loudspeaker. If you need your propane tank filled, you just go outside and wave when you hear him. Likewise, the guys pushing the carts yell what they are selling and you go outside to buy. Theoretically, the same is true for water.