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November 21, 2017
Day 9 [Tuesday 11/21/17] - La Paz, BCS to Mazatlan, BCS
So, in the morning, I decide to go down to the local Baja Ferry office in La Paz and purchase my tickets for the ferry ride to Mazatlan.
I put the address into my GPS and ride down there without any problem, but Waze routes me through downtown La Paz, as opposed to taking the Malecon.
There's an art to surviving in Mexico, and it isn't easy to master. In Mexico, no one stops at the stop signs, including the policia. Every time you come ot an intersection, it's basically a showdown of machismo. You're challenging the others as to who will go first. All the time, dodging stray dogs, people on scooters and ATV's, potholes. It's a very dangerous game.
The building opens at 8:00 a.m., and I get there at 8:04 a.m. They tell me to take a number, so I take a number There are 2-3 people ahead of me when I get there.
This is, possibly, the worst part about Latin America. They can't do anything fast down here. So, I'm waiting and waiting for about 30 minutes while she processes the people ahead of me. In the United States, this would take 7 seconds, and you could do it online, as an alternative.
But here we are.
Finally, it's my turn. So, I go up there and tell her I want to go to "Mazatlan hoy" (today), y tambien uno motocycleta, y tambien uno cabina. Eventually she gets it, but then she starts asking me questions in Spanish. I just can't get it. Another girl walks outside, looks at my bike, and says "Honda". Also, she asks me another question...."placque". Eventually, I get that she wants my license plate. So, I go out there and take a photo of it for her.
When I come back inside, she's helping the next woman behind me, so I sit down, but I'm furious.
"Que significance del numero? Por que?" Like...why did you tell me to take a number, and then help someone that came in after me? I've already been in this shit-hole for nearly an hour. I'm pissed.
Eventually, she tells the woman to have a seat and she goes back to processing my tickets.
Eventually, she gives me 3 different tickets. One for the motocycleta. One for the cabin. One for the ferry. She tells me to be at the ferry in Pichilingue at 5:00 p.m.
So, I take my tickets and get on the bike and head back to the hotel.
On the return route, I take the Malecon, and I notice that our restaurant is open today. It was closed yesterday due to November 20th, a national holiday celebrating the overthrow of José de la Cruz Porfirio Diaz Mori.
The restaurant is the Terraza La Choperia. I think this is it anyway. I plan on going down there for lunch after they toss me out of this place, La Posada Hotel.
This guy has a pretty good write-up on catching the ferry to Mazatlan.
I go down and ask for a late checkout. He says the latest I can stay without additional charge is 2:00 p.m. And I'm like....woohoo! 2 pm? Score!
Then, I'm like...where are all the gringos? Why are there not more people here?
He says "actually, this is our busy season. We're 100% booked this weekend. But most people come here on the weekends, not during the week."
And I'm thinking....sucks to be them them, huh amigo?
So today, I've got to stock up on food and drinks for the time we will spend loading onto the ferry. Apparently, the motorcycles load last, and there is a lot of waiting. Also, I might need some tie-downs for the ferry trip.
So, this afternoon, maybe I'll see if I can find the following for the trip:
1) motorcycle gloves
2) tie-downs
3) food/drink for the wait at Pichilingue
I already purchased sunscreen today. I need to put it on my face and hands, as they seem to get the most sun.
Camera says 129 videos successfully imported into MacBook Air. Woohoo!
Now, let's see if they deleted from the GoPro camera.
OK. So, I imported all of my videos from the GoPro Hero 5 and deleted them all. So, at least I don't have to worry about my GoPro filling up at this point.
Now, off to lunch, and for motorcycle gloves, if I can find them.
Posted by Rob Kiser on November 21, 2017 at 9:57 AM
Comments
That story reminds me of buying a ferry ticket in Buenos Aires - take a ticket, wait, speak to this person, get a piece of paper from her, wait, take it to another person, get a piece of paper from her, wait, pay with a third person. Manana!
Posted by: Nevada Joe on November 22, 2017 at 8:03 AM