Finished week 10 of school and was sad to leave.  I caught an early bus to Guadalajara and transferred to a bus to Mazatlan.  Total journey was about 14 hours.  We passed through a couple of police inspections including one where they x-rayed all the luggage.  The police are friendly enough though.

Arrived in Mazatlán around 8pm.  Was going to catch a local bus to the hotel but when I asked for directions I was advised not to walk about, so I took an open air taxi to the Belmar Hotel.  The location of the hotel is perfect.  The hotel is clean but run down.  The bed and pillows are hard, and there is no hot water.  Going to pay a bit more when Karen arrives and stay just up the street at La Siesta.

Was up early today to walk around.  Found the market and had a good typical Mexican breakfast.  I then walked to, and up to the Faro.  It’s hot and humid here compared to Guanajuato.  I then walked north towards gringolandia but did not go all the way.

My first impressions of old Mazatlán are: it is very residential, there are as many Mexican tourists as gringos but waiters still want to speak to you in English as in Puerto Vallarta, but it seems to be more relaxed than PV.

I just bought my bus ticket to Mazatlán for Saturday November 22.  I’m starting to get excited about the trip and the change of pace.  I’m thinking that a short break in the middle of 12 weeks of school is a good idea for next time.  I return to Guanajuato around December 13 to finish off the trimester and have rented the apartment until January 3.

The bus will arrive in Mazatlán around 8pm.  The bus station is very close to old Mazatlán and I’m planning to stay nearby at Hotel Belmar.  The hotel is old, cheap, and right on the beach.

Subsequent to writing above, in a planning mood I decided to check out flights home.  Pricing just after New Years is high so the airlines convinced me to head for the beach on January 3.  I booked a rewards flight home on January 13 from Puerto Vallarta.

Last weekend was El Dia de los Muertos.  We built an alter at the school on Thursday.  On Friday a group of students and teachers went out to play pool, followed by bar hopping.  I was the first to leave the party at around 2pm.  Saturday was a quiet day of recover walking the streets, viewing the tapetes, and visiting el Panteón.

This week’s highlight was the 18th Tour de Cine Francés.  I remember attending at 2007.  This week I saw 6/7 of the films and enjoyed them all.

I start week 9 of school tomorrow.  My spanish is/has advanced.  While I still make mistakes, I self-correct most and am conscious of advanced grammar issues.  Had a Spanish literature class last week that I really enjoyed and the class will continue this week.