Friday, February 27, 2009

Road Trip - Mysterious Morning

Falling asleep on cruise ship is no different than a hotel or a new home. The first few nights are spent getting accustomed to the different noises and also the additional feeling of constant gentle motion. We slept with the sliding door open so that we could hear the sound of the water splashing against the side of the ship as we sped through the water. It was such a relaxing background noise. Our minds quickly adjusted.

The trip Cabo to Mazatlan was an overnight voyage and we arrived very early in the morning. I was awoken suddenly by a new sound- quiet. The ship felt as if it had stopped and it was totally silent. I walked out on the balcony to discover we were in fact, creeping along at a snail's pace through a sound deadening early morning fog.

The scene was exotic and magical.

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We were lucky enough to be on the side of the ship that faced the lighthouse. It was so peaceful, everything bathed in the pink and blue light of early morning. There was a cave at water level just below the light. Can you see it?

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The lighthouse was perched on top of an amazing rock formation, so different that anything in Cabo. When viewed from the side it looked like a sleeping crocodile. The banded rock was painted in shade of tan, gold and salmon pink. If you look closely at the picture above you can barely make out the small fishing boats that were navigating around the rock.

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The boats seemed incredibly small against the scale of the cliffs. Behind this large formation were several large rocks that were totally different and almost white in color.

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The fog was dissipating ever so slowly as we approached the breakwater.

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From a distance there appeared to be hundreds of white crosses. Certainly this couldn't be a cemetery.

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As we got closer we could see that the breakwater was made up of large concrete pieces that were shaped like children's jacks.

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Still, everything was silent.

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There were a few sailboats anchored but no luxury craft as in Cabo.

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More fishermen headed out past the breakwater.

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Mazatlan is not a major tourist area. It's a working city and a working port.

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Large ships bring cars from Japan and Korea. They're stored on the docks and shipped from here to other areas in Mexico.

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I spotted this shrine at the end of the pier. Perhaps it's dedicated to the fishermen. If you look closely you'll see a small box on the side with candles burning.

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Mazatlan is an old Spanish Colonial city with the Cathedrals rising above the other buildings.

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We opted to take a day-long city tour filled with all kinds of experiences. Stay tuned tomorrow for the cliff divers and more. On Saturday I'm going to take you inside that cathedral. It's simply breathtaking.

8 comments:

Skogkjerring said...

Simply breathtaking- I'll never stop being amazed by all the fabulous places around the world..you are so lucky to have experienced such a gorgeous place and such a magical weather..we have tons of fog living on this island on the lake- it's magical the first few times then you're like- enough already I'd like to see where I'm going...hahahahaha...

Heidi said...

How beautiful! I think I could have riden a boat for that!!! the cave would have been SO neat... :)

Louise said...

When I travel, my favorite spots are areas that are not known to be tourists areas. Things seem more real there. This seems beautifully real. I love coming into port early in the morning when everything is quiet. It feels like I have a secret that no one else yet knows.

Bella Della said...

It's so beautiful. I am so enjoying being on this trip with you guys. I miss traveling- miss living abroad.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Vee said...

Ohhhh...delicious and quiet with the colors all muted yet still rich. I'll be here for the tour tomorrow. The color of that cathedral is marvelous.

LIBERTY POST EDITOR said...

This foggy feeling...so precious and beautiful...mystery..and once again, we are on the same wavelength (no pun intended) - you are writing about jacks and so am I. Spooky.

RoeH said...

I get deliriously happy in fog. I would have loved that. Beautiful. You're just about talking me into doing a cruise that I've always said I wouldn't do.

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