WE SURVIVED THE CARNAVAL

We did it - we participated in Carnaval and survived.

Crowds, music, vendors, floats, dancers, and the Queen of the Carnaval - it was every inch the spectacle I imagined. We had a perfect perch, three stories about Avenida del Mar, on the balcony of the apartment owned by Odel’s golfing buddies.







As amazing as the floats were, my favorite part was watching the people. This series of photos shows the buildup from the time we arrived (around 5 pm) until the arrival of the parade (around 8:30 pm). It looked like all 400,000 people in Mazatlan came to see the show!






After the parade ended, the streets were packed with people. We walked back to the intersection where we could catch the bus - it was a sea of cars, busses packed to overflowing, and pedestrians filling all the spaces in between. It was a beautiful, balmy night, so we walked along with the crowd, gradually making our way to the Zona Dorada, where we knew the taxis and pulmonias would be awaiting anyone who could afford personal transport.



We saw Miss International USA tramping along with the rest of us in her red sequined gown, glittering tiara, and gold, spike-heeled shoes. We saw band members, and costumed dance troupes heading back to their staging areas. We saw little kids, families with strollers. Everyone was energized, happy, enjoying the night.

After about a mile of walking, traffic thinned and we caught a pulmonia back to the RV park.

We’ve done the Carnaval.