Mazatlan

Another hot day - apparently only on the port side of the ship (where the Weilers are). Seriously, it must be 20 degrees cooler on the starboard side which is where we are joining our group for a tour of the Pacifico brewery. First a short tram ride from the ship to the terminal ("free and compulsory" as the sign says - and no doubt the more-than-adequately armed soldiers would be happy to translate for you if you have any questions regarding this). They are getting clever these port cities - the terminal is really code for "shopping mall" and so we make our way past the stores just opening up for touristas and onto a small bus (there are only about ten of us on this tour) and head off the two blocks or so to the brewery.

We wait outside for our clearance to enter and to be joined by two brewery tour guides, really just two young women who do not speak a lot of English (and come to think of it weren't wearing the long sleeves, long pants or closed toed shoes that we were told were also "compulsory"). It was a bit like the old cold-war days of having "political officers" accompanying you when in communist countries. Their sole purpose (as near as I could tell) were to bring along the bag of "safety eyewere" (aka plastic glasses) for when we were actually in the bottling area - and boy did we get a close up view there!

After the tour it was time to sample the ware. The guys were interested to learn that Pacifico is one of 12 versions of beer made in Mexico by the Negro Modelo company (Gerry really prefers that beer but I must admit - Mexico really knows how to serve a great beer - icy cold! Just the way I like it!!!). We enjoyed several bottles of beer...each...before our tour concluded. Just as we were leaving the "company store" - a little place just down the street from the brewery entrance, our guide hit us with the final note...Pacifico, owned by Negro Modelo, was sold a year or two ago to....wait for it....Anheuser-Busch. James looked absolutely crestfallen!

Then it was time for a quick "Mexican taxi" ride around Mazatlan (a pickup truck with two benches and a cover (fortunately - it was hot!) and then our excursion was over. Our guide gave us each two tickets for free beer as we left the "taxi" and Gerry & I headed back to the ship for a little lunch and to see if we could "treat" Beth & Matt to a cold one ashore before we left...

But that leads to another adventure...and subsequent post.

~later, tw