We had some time to kill today so we drove through several RV Parks in the North part of Mazatlan. This is high season for the RV parks in Mexico and I wondered how full they would be in mid January.
The first three of the five parks were 100% full. Two of those parks are waterfront on the Sea of Cortez, the third was inland. The forth park was about 3/4 full, but it is a pretty basic dirt road kind of a place. The fifth park is set back from the Sea and was only half full, no idea why, maybe price?
My rough guess is 250-300 RV's are here for the Winter. The parks cover the full gamut of quality and features. One park is located on a peninsula overlooking the Sea of Cortez. It ranks as one of the nicest RV parks I have seen anywhere in our travels. It has a swimming pool and three great restaurants just steps out its' front gate. (The best ribs in Mazatlan are served at Roy's - only 129 pesos for a full rack and fixings, that's a little over $6.00 US dollars.)
Interestingly, one of the nicest and largest RV parks is closed this year. Hotels and condos have surrounded it in the past few years. We speculate that it's property will soon become another hotel or condo.
My take on the weather is that it is a few degrees cooler this year than the last 5 years we have spent here. Today is our coolest day of the Winter...77 degrees has the Mexicans all bundled up with the chill. I'm still happily in my flip-flops and shorts. The American dollar continues to be amazingly strong, so our retirement money goes a long way. (19.3 pesos to the US dollar)
It's great to be a millionaire (in pesos). How many tacos will that buy? I don't know, but I'm trying to find out. If you have never had a fresh shrimp taco you need to come down and have one or two or three. Priceless.
melody said
08:34 AM Jan 11, 2018
Sounds wonderful, thanks for the report! I had read some of your posts on Mazatlan. But now I am seeing how wise you two are to choose that winter spot. This is my first full-time winter, and while there have been some great adventures, have really been at the mercy of bad weather. Snow near Galveston, freezing temps in McAllen, now high winds, dust storms, and more freezing mornings in West Texas as I head for Arizona. Not what I had in mind! And is all this a fluke, or is the weather north of the border going to just get crazier every year?
ChefMom said
10:02 AM Jan 11, 2018
I don't know where any of the places in the article link I am posting here for you are, but I read your great descriptions before and thought it sounded marvelous and when I saw this article, knew I had to come back and post it for you. Have a great time but be careful.
The state department warnings are no doubt concerning to everyone, but must be taken in context. Using the state departments standards there would also be several dozen US cities that should have the same warning, including our nations capitol - Washington DC.
My wife feels safer here in Mazatlan, Sinaloa than in our former home in Tacoma. It's all one great big personal choice where we each choose to live. We feel safe here in Mazatlan.
Terry and Jo said
11:45 AM Jan 11, 2018
Not to take away from wintering in Mexico, but prior to coming here to Utah, we lived in Oregon for 17 months. While there, we took a weekend to spend in a beach house owned by our bosses. If nothing else, we learned that we never want to live near the ocean. The salt air is devastating to any metal or wood in the construction of a home, and may also be affecting other materials. We just saw the effect on wood and metal.
Definitely not planning on living anywhere near the ocean in our RV.
Terry
Russ Ranger said
02:25 PM Jan 11, 2018
Terry,
You are correct, salt water takes it's toll on everything. Sun also has some harsh effects as does rain and snow. Thankfully our RV's have wheels and we can mitigate some of these elements by seasonally moving where it is nicer. Although I am not sure I care.
I guess part of our life plan is to consume the usable years of our motorhome during our decade of RV'ing before we hang up our travel shoes. I will consider this RV life a success if our motorhome is almost worn-out and on it's last legs at that point. I can't take it with me, so I would rather have great memories than a shiny almost new RV when that day comes.
I'll let my kids or the next owner worry about the condition of our tin can. I'm hoping that's many years from now.
jrzygrl64 said
10:26 PM Jan 14, 2018
Any idea how much it is a month for those RV parks? Are they, as I assume, filled mostly with Americans?
Russ Ranger said
07:10 PM Jan 28, 2018
Sorry I don't know the price range of RV parks here in Mazatlan. The best source that that kind of info is Kevin and Ruth's Facebook page: RV'ing in Mexico
The Canadians out number the Americans by 3 to 1 in Mazatlan. They must have more snow to avoid.
-- Edited by Russ Ranger on Sunday 28th of January 2018 07:14:57 PM
We had some time to kill today so we drove through several RV Parks in the North part of Mazatlan. This is high season for the RV parks in Mexico and I wondered how full they would be in mid January.
The first three of the five parks were 100% full. Two of those parks are waterfront on the Sea of Cortez, the third was inland. The forth park was about 3/4 full, but it is a pretty basic dirt road kind of a place. The fifth park is set back from the Sea and was only half full, no idea why, maybe price?
My rough guess is 250-300 RV's are here for the Winter. The parks cover the full gamut of quality and features. One park is located on a peninsula overlooking the Sea of Cortez. It ranks as one of the nicest RV parks I have seen anywhere in our travels. It has a swimming pool and three great restaurants just steps out its' front gate. (The best ribs in Mazatlan are served at Roy's - only 129 pesos for a full rack and fixings, that's a little over $6.00 US dollars.)
Interestingly, one of the nicest and largest RV parks is closed this year. Hotels and condos have surrounded it in the past few years. We speculate that it's property will soon become another hotel or condo.
My take on the weather is that it is a few degrees cooler this year than the last 5 years we have spent here. Today is our coolest day of the Winter...77 degrees has the Mexicans all bundled up with the chill. I'm still happily in my flip-flops and shorts. The American dollar continues to be amazingly strong, so our retirement money goes a long way. (19.3 pesos to the US dollar)
It's great to be a millionaire (in pesos). How many tacos will that buy? I don't know, but I'm trying to find out. If you have never had a fresh shrimp taco you need to come down and have one or two or three. Priceless.
I don't know where any of the places in the article link I am posting here for you are, but I read your great descriptions before and thought it sounded marvelous and when I saw this article, knew I had to come back and post it for you. Have a great time but be careful.
Karen
https://www.aol.com/article/news/2018/01/11/us-state-department-issues-do-not-travel-warning-for-5-mexican-states-equivalent-to-syria-iraq/23330780/
ChefMom,
The state department warnings are no doubt concerning to everyone, but must be taken in context. Using the state departments standards there would also be several dozen US cities that should have the same warning, including our nations capitol - Washington DC.
My wife feels safer here in Mazatlan, Sinaloa than in our former home in Tacoma. It's all one great big personal choice where we each choose to live. We feel safe here in Mazatlan.
Not to take away from wintering in Mexico, but prior to coming here to Utah, we lived in Oregon for 17 months. While there, we took a weekend to spend in a beach house owned by our bosses. If nothing else, we learned that we never want to live near the ocean. The salt air is devastating to any metal or wood in the construction of a home, and may also be affecting other materials. We just saw the effect on wood and metal.
Definitely not planning on living anywhere near the ocean in our RV.
Terry
Terry,
You are correct, salt water takes it's toll on everything. Sun also has some harsh effects as does rain and snow. Thankfully our RV's have wheels and we can mitigate some of these elements by seasonally moving where it is nicer. Although I am not sure I care.
I guess part of our life plan is to consume the usable years of our motorhome during our decade of RV'ing before we hang up our travel shoes. I will consider this RV life a success if our motorhome is almost worn-out and on it's last legs at that point. I can't take it with me, so I would rather have great memories than a shiny almost new RV when that day comes.
I'll let my kids or the next owner worry about the condition of our tin can. I'm hoping that's many years from now.
Sorry I don't know the price range of RV parks here in Mazatlan. The best source that that kind of info is Kevin and Ruth's Facebook page: RV'ing in Mexico
The Canadians out number the Americans by 3 to 1 in Mazatlan. They must have more snow to avoid.
-- Edited by Russ Ranger on Sunday 28th of January 2018 07:14:57 PM