Los Mochis

I woke up in Los Mochis, anxious to get on with our day. The next stop was Mazatlan, which is on the Pacific Coast of Mexico across from the southernmost tip of the Baja California Peninsula. We were only planning to stay there long enough to get fuel and eat lunch. In the mid-1800’s, a large group of German immigrants transformed Mazatlan from a native fishing village into a thriving seaport. One of their continuing legacies is the local music which is called Banda and is a variation of Bavarian folk music. Another is The Pacifico Brewery which was established in 1900. Unfortunately, we were there not there long enough to sample the music or the beer. However, it turned out we were in Mazatlan long enough to establish Millennium …show more content…
We found it really funny given the plane we were flying. It made zero sense to us for an airline to fly an airplane with only two passenger seats, but with small airplanes being so rare south of the Mexican border, perhaps most people just assumed all airplanes were owned by an airline. The fueler’s questions and comments reinforced our perception of how few private planes there actually were in Central and South America. Over the course of the trip, there were many occasions when the people we encountered gave us strange looks and asked questions about our status. Millennium Airlines became an inside joke and, even today, is still a private source of amusement between the two of us. That day, in Mazatlan, we became pilots for the non-existent Millennium Airlines. In fact, long after we had returned from our journey, I had polo shirts made for Miguel and me which had Millennium Airlines emblazoned on …show more content…
The hotel was right on the beach and had a courtyard the shape of an open horseshoe. Our rooms had beautiful views of the beach and the bay. It was easy to see Puerto Vallarta’s appeal. It offered everything from a highly popular vacation spot for domestic and international tourists to a desirable retirement area for United States and Canadian retirees. During the Eisenhower and McCarthy era, Puerto Vallarta was a haven for writers and artists who wanted to get away from it all. Then, in the 1960’s and 70’s, Hollywood notables such as John Huston, Elizabeth Taylor, and Richard Burton began showing up. They made the area wildly popular. A highly visible meeting between U.S. President Richard Nixon and Mexican President Gustavo Diaz Ordaz in Puerto Vallarta generated news coverage which also greatly contributed to promoting the city. During the tourist season, cruise ships regularly docked in Puerto Vallarta and the port had the distinction of being the final port of call for the hit television series, The Love