Visit to Mazatlan

I went to Mazatlan on Saterday to visit my friends. I took the bus. Because of my new handy-dandy Mexican senior's discount card, the bus fare for me is half price. The tolls on the highway alone between here and Mazatlan amount to over twice as much. Add in the cost of gas for my car and the savings are phenomenal, even though I drive a Smart diesel.

I was somewhat depressed and feeling very lonely when I got on the bus, but kind of happy over being a savvy traveler. The buses in Mexico are very nice. They are mostly quite modern, and clean and comfortable.

However, as if to prove that there is no such thing as even an almost-free lunch, the inescapable movie began to play. I did not bring headphones or music, or even a book with me, so I was more or less forced to watch it, as it is on several drop-down screens throughout the bus, and a larger one at the front, where I was seated. This movie was in English, with Spanish subtitles.

It was a kind oof mockumentary I suppose, consisting of a first person account by John Lennnon's murderer of his activities in New York, up to and including the murder. Just what I need, I thought, the highlights of the life of a deranged, lonely loser, exactly when I was feeling just like one myself. My mood was considerably soured by the time I got to Mazatlan. It soured even more when I realized I had forgotten all the phone numbers of my friends in my apartment in Tepic. And of course I didn't know their street addresses either.

I decided to buy a phone card, call my friends' father on the Baja, and get the phone numbers from him. He wasn't home. In a final act of desperation, I took a cab to another friend's house, who is a close relative of the friend I was to visit. As luck would have it, he pulled up just as I got out of the cab.

So we had a nice reunion, they fed me a couple of nice meals, and we made plans for Carnaval in Mazatlan. I came home on Sunday night, in time to call my sister and have a nice long chat.

In spite of all the minor mishaps, it was good to get away.