Road Trips Rock!

Copala Church--c. 1740

It has been said that sailboat passages are connections between interesting places to visit.  Such has surely been the case recently for us here on the Mexican Pacific coastline.  So far, we have rented cars and toured inland on three occasions.  The first one was a trip to Mascota and to a few mountain villages which we talked about in a previous post.

A few weeks ago we rented a car (for the princely sum of $7 a day) in Mazatlan and preceded one hour east into the mountains to a small mining village called Copala.  We arrived about 10:30 and took in the small town square and the magnificent, 300 year old church. There didn’t seem to be much more to the town.  However, we had been told that this was the place to get banana cream pie.  So, we went to the other end of the town square to the only

Alejandro with the mask we bought

restaurant in town, which was open and serving some really yummy banana cream pie.  Afterward Lynne suggested looking into the yellow building off to the side which seem to be one of the few retail establishments around. It turned out to be was the artist’s studio, where Alejandro Rodriguez made Mardi Gras masks from various animal hides.  After buying a small souvenir mask, he asked if we had seen town museum.  No--we didn’t even know there was a museum.  So, Alejandro led us to the museum located in the old pueblo jail, loaded with artifacts dating back 200-500 years, mostly from the mining days.  He then asked if we had seen the rest of town – why, we didn’t even know there was more to town.  Alejandro then gave us a private tour of his pueblo, showing us the architecture, the flora and the history of Copala.  He was the town artist, the owner of the

Lynne petting her whale

restaurant and his family has lived in the town for three generations. What a treat!  Upon returning we decided we needed a full-size mask and we are so glad that we bought this art work.  In the end, we chanced upon an opportunity to see a slice of Mexico and were rewarded beyond our dreams.

A few weeks later we arrived in La Paz.  One of the goals while in Mexico was to go whale watching in Magdalena Bay—world famous as the location where gray whales mate, give birth, and nurse their young.  So, we quickly put together our own tour with another car rental (this time for $1 a day!), made overnight accommodations at the Whale Tales Inn in Lopez Mateos, and set out.  Mateos is a very small fishing village near the Pacific Ocean which engages in whale watching for December–March. In late March

Our friend, Diana smooching with a whale

the whales leave on an epic migration to Alaska for feeding and an eventual return the following year.  Early the next morning we chartered a panga to see the whales.  And did we!  The mother and baby whales snuggled right up against our panga allowing us to pet them, talk with them and see whales up and really, really close.  Petting a whale might just have been the highlight of our Mexico cruise. Events such as these cannot be planned—they just happen when the opportunity is right.

We have one road trip left to do. We plan to do a day trip around the back country behind Loreto to see the missions built in the 1700s.  We will report back on

Yes, another Mexican sunset!

that goal if we can put that trip together.  Meanwhile we wish all of our friends back home a happy Easter, a happy April Fool’s day and all the best for the Springtime!

Roger, Lynne, and Salty

You can reach us at 206-755-4193 or email rdwerner47@gmail.com