Mazatlán

We have been in Mazatlán, Sinaloa for the past week and a bit. There is no link to Strava as we didn't bother recording the bits of riding we did around town.

The main focus of our stay here has been to have a 5 day, intensive Spanish course. This has been wonderful. Our profesora, Marie Elena, was great. She helped us gain an understanding of how to use different tenses and how to use pronouns for different purposes. In addition we got lots of useful insights into idioms that are common in Mexico. We learnt lots, not least we learnt all that we don't yet know. We have lots of material to practice and we are looking forward to using our new found skills when we get back on the road.

Our classes took place each morning which meant we had time each afternoon for a swim in the sea and / or pool. We felt duty bound to make the most of every opportunity to swim as we are about to head inland and it will be several weeks before we see the sea again.

It was also a time for a bit of work on the bike. I fitted new belts as the first set has done 5500km. We will take the old ones with us as spares and plan to refit them once the new ones have done more kms than the ones we have just taken off. 

We also got another set of tyres to take with us as I anticipate the current ones will need replacing in a few weeks and we are not sure if we will be near any bike shops at that point. Planning our route through Mexico has been fun: there are so many options. As ever, we have been responding to recommendations from others of where to visit. Doing this has helped us to gain an understanding of just how big Mexico is. This image showing it overlaid over Europe helps to put this into perspective.

It has been a great opportunity to catch up with friends and family via video calls, messaging and emails. We miss you all and savour all our contact with you. 

We have also been making the most of being in an apartment. It has helped us appreciate simple things like: beds, sofas, chairs, sinks for washing up and electric lights. Having a table to play cards at is a delight. (Cassino is the current favourite game. Thanks to Jay for introducing it to us)

It has been great to take the time to recharge ourselves, eat lots, learn and share. However we are itching to get on the road again. This has been reflected in the enthusiasm with which we have packed our bags ready for getting our way again in the morning.

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