Tepic, Capital of Nayarit

Great Sculpture at Waterfront

We went for a 2-hour walk from the hotel, along the Malecon and around the big hill then into old Mazatlan, which we found to be amazingly clean and tidy, with sections of very elegant housing.

We checked out of our hotel at 11 AM and headed for the bus station which turned out to be much farther than was indicated in the not-to-scale map of the city that we were using.  Once we had the bus station in view we dropped into a sidewalk cafe and had an excellent taco lunch for 50 pesos ($4.20) all up.

Fog Rolling In.  Note Lighthouse Almost Obscured.

At the bus counter we were given the choice of taking the 12:03 PM bus to Tepic, although it was already 12:10 PM, but we elected to take the 1 PM bus, which actually left at about 1:15 PM.  It was a good bus ride.  A movie was presented, Al Pacino in "88 Hours", which was understandably not to Brenda's taste.  I watched a bit of the movie, dozed, then put in some time studying for the Ham license test with my laptop.  At about half way through the trip we were asked to change busses and on we went across the lushest country that we had seen so far in Mexico, with thick vegetation and rivers that were actually flowing.  Brenda spotted crops of  mango trees, tobacco, blue agave cactus (from which Tequila is made), and perhaps even rice.  The bus ride for both of us from Mazatlan to Tepic, by the way, cost 380 pesos ($31.70).

Elegant Home in Old Matlazan

During the trip we crossed from the state of Sinaloa to the state of Nayarit, of which Tepic, our destination, is the capital.  Tepic is described in the travel guide as "... founded by the nephew of Hernan Cortes in 1524." It lies 900 meters above sea level and is surrounded by volcanoes.

Typical Street in Old Matlazan

Cathedral at Matlazan

The bus arrived at the Tepic station at dark, much later than we had expected.  We hailed a cab who agreed to take us to the "Sierra de Alica" hotel in the middle of town.  This had been recommended in the travel guide as a good hotel modestly priced at 350 pesos for two people.  The cab driver quoted only 30 pesos for the ride, but the ride was a long one and my sense of fairness overcame my sense of frugality so I gave him 50 pesos (about $4.20).  The hotel charge was 540 pesos (about $45) per night which was higher than I had expected.  However, it was after dark, Brenda and I were tired, and this was no time to stalk the streets of the city laden with heavy backpacks looking for cheaper accommodation.  We took the room and are delighted with it.  This is a solid  "old world" hotel with beautiful rooms and cable TV to boot.  Best of all, we are in the middle of town within easy walk of the town's historical sites.

After settling into our room we walked along the street until we found a Mexican restaurant where I enjoyed a hamburger with french fries and two tacos, and Brenda had two tacos and a sort of tortilla filled with cheese and meat.  That along with a coffee for Brenda set us back 102 pesos, or about $10.  What I liked about that restaurant was what I like about most restaurants we eat at: the Mexicans eat there.  Tonight, as frequently happens, we were the only gringos there.