We taxied through the streets of Mazatlan and it was such an interesting experience. Usually cruise ports don't reflect the overall culture of a country. They're always very touristy areas that in many cases have better economies because of the money the cruise boats bring in. Mazatlan had been closed to cruises for many years because it wasn't very safe, and only recently has it been opened back up (with armed guards in military uniforms, roaming the streets standing in the bed of their trucks). So we got to see past the touristy areas, as they were still a work in progress. What a different life! It was crazy to see laundry hanging from houses that were in bad enough condition to be abandoned, and little kids playing alone a little too close to the streets. Oh, and I did see a few stray dogs! Bailey pointed out many things to me that were similar to El Salvador, but did mention that Mazatlan resembled only the nicer parts of his mission. I can't even imagine - we live such a cushy life back in Utah.
Anyway, we reached the resort and were sat down at a table of ingredients as well as aprons and hats to wear!
The first thing we learned to make were margaritas. Everyone thought we were crazy people because we don't drink! Seiji and Bailey tried to make virgin margaritas with lime, water, and salt (they thought it was sugar). They each made me try theirs and they tasted nasty! Haha but it was funny to watch them try. The hosts ended up giving us slushy sprite like they give the kids. It was super strange to be in a situation where we were offered so much free alcohol, because in Mexico the drinking age is 18 (or 16? Something like that). Because we had so much unused alcohol on our table, the margarita we made my dad had too much and made him choke a little! Guess we weren't following the instructions well enough.
Soon it was time for the salsas! We made tons of different kinds of salsa. Each couple was a team - here's Kylie's sad face after they used 1 1/2 chilies in one of their salsas, making it way too hot to eat.
I loved using the mortar and pestle to smash up all of the ingredients! My favorite "salsa" that we made was the guacamole. I've only recently started to like avocados, and oh my this was heaven. I may not like avocados once we get back to Utah, because nothing can compare to those fresh Mexican avocados!
Also, shoutout to Mexico. My dad left his ID and credit cards in the taxi over to the resort, and all of it was returned to him after an hour or so. We were pretty worried, because IDs can be a pretty hot item, but our faith in humanity was restored when we saw this little black case come back.
We were lame and skipped out on the salsa dancing lessons because we really wanted to check out the resort's beach! Kylie and I both said, "we spent too much money on these swimsuits to not get any pictures in them!" Haha!
It was beautiful out there! Not the warmest beach day you could hope for, but warm enough for us. Kylie and I couldn't help but play in the waves!
We seriously ran around jumping over waves for who knows how long. Eventually we realized that we were the only ones playing on the beach, if you don't count Seiji and Bailey who swear they saw a clam bubbling and that they could dig it up.
 |
At that point we got just a few more pictures and then headed back to port!
|
At the port there were a couple of little markets/shops that Kylie and I of course had to stop in. Bargaining is so stressful but I think I'm pretty decent at it! Bailey is better though. I bought an embroidered shirt (I think they're so pretty!) and some cool shoes.
We then went back to the ship, and the rest of Mazatlan we enjoyed was from the balcony in my parents room!
No comments:
Post a Comment