The marina of Mazatlan, like the one in La Paz, is full of Americans taking their time to sail south along the coast. Many of the boats’ crews know each other from previous marinas, and a few families have taken their children with them, home-schooling them as they sail. I talked to a group of these kids (and their parents) about climate change, and encouraged them to think about their role in the world as they travel south.
Exploring Mazatlan, I saw that it would be easy to travel to these resort towns without learning about Mexico. A long stretch of hotels along the beach is full of tourists and no one attempts to speak Spanish to me. Only in the old center of town does the internet cafe attendant speak no English, and the street vendor does not have change when I try to buy a $1 item with a bill worth $5. I almost think that everyone that stays in the tall hotels should also be required to visit the outskirts of town.
I agree with you. I have travelled in China and the countryside is a world apart compared to the cities along the coast. You learn to appreciate what you have when you what the peasants of a rural area can do with nothing. The disparity of the world’s population – food, clothing, housing, utilities, a phone and of course today internet access of some kind – is much wider than one wants to believe.
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