Everybody's goin' surfin', surfin' Mazatlan

After we arrived in Mazatlan, a surf session was in order. We found a hotel on the beach, so it was convenient to carry the surf boards down. 

Dinh has been surfing since he was a baby practically, so he's pretty much a pro. Me, on the other hand, am not a pro. I can catch waves no problem, but nothing fancy. While Dinh gracefully danced on the waves, I flopped around like a wounded seal. The waves were too big for me, they were not the Waikiki waves I'm used to surfing. Every thunderous wave toppled over me, sending me spinning in the current. As I saw the massive roaring wave come toward me like an angry mouth, I felt a dread come over me and wondered how surfers overcame this element of surfing. When I surfaced, my hair was in my face, salt water burned my eyes and came out my nose, and my bikini top exposed my ta-ta's to everyone. 
I was a mess. 
I surrendered after a good struggle and retreated to the beach to snap some pics of the real surfer. 
Humpff. 

Happy surfer Dinh

The next day, Dinh surfed again while I sunbathed on the beach. Best to leave it up to the professionals......

The resort towns are crazy expensive. The Mexican economy is definitely thriving. This country is quickly becoming a first world country , in my opinion. They have almost all of the creature comforts as America. It's really nice to see. 
Mazatlan is a beautiful, safe location to vacation. This is my second visit to the city . 

There is a 2 mile promenade which Dinh and I walked/ran daily . Here are some of the zany things we encountered on our walk:
A man walking a 7 month old pig on a leash.......

Wilbur!

Some locals feeding a couple dozen raccoons......

Mazatlan promenade

The Mexicans seem to really love their animals. It seems like almost everyone has a tiny 2 pound chihuahua in tow. They are adorable!

Also, we found another Walmart in Mazatlan!

While walking along a back street in Mazatlan, we stumbled upon a mariachi band. Dinh is very outgoing and couldn't help himself, he had to talk to them. Long story short, they sang a song for us. They have been playing together for 20 years. 

Over the last week, we've been slowly making our way down the west coast of Mexico. vagabond style. Staying in hotels for about $25-40/night and living comfortably. We've been sticking to the toll roads mainly , which are ridiculously expensive, if I may say so. We once paid $16 for a toll, then less than an hour later, we came upon another $6 toll. Aye-ya-yi!!
We decided to stray off the pricey toll roads on our drive from Mazatlan to Puerto Vallarta, and I'm glad we did! There was much more local flavor. We drove through multiple small villages, witnessing everyday life of the locals and really getting a feel for Mexico. You just can't get this in the popular resort towns. 
We had memorable experiences we never would have had if we gave our dineros to the toll roads, like when we stopped to buy jackfruit from a sweet local lady . She had no bias towards us tourists. She was genuinely honest about the prices and we were amazed by how much cheaper products were once you get off the beaten path. We bought a package of jackfruit for 75 cents. The same amount of jackfruit would cost $8 back in California. Finally! The cheap Mexico we were hoping for!

So far, life is good in Mexico. I'm surprised by how safe it feels and am reminding myself that you can't listen to what everyone tells you!!!
Vaya con Dios!