By Lynne Hopkins Hernandez

For several years I have been wanting to take the ferry from Mazatlán to La Paz and finally had that opportunity this spring. Here’s what happened: After using information from the daily newspaper Noroeste and the ferry schedule, I made reservations for a hotel in Los Cabos and a return by air about a week later. Fortunately, about 10 days before the Monday we were to depart, I stopped at the ferry terminal and discovered that the Monday departure was for cargo only, but that the ferry leaving the day before had facilities for passengers. I then tried to purchase tickets for that Sunday or at least make reservations for two persons and a basic cabin. But the itinerary wasn’t yet available on the computer. Karla, who speaks great English, asked me to call on the preceding Monday to see if the itinerary would be online. After about two hours of busy signals, I was able to reach her that Monday and was told to come in on Tuesday to complete the transaction. I arrived there around 10:30 a.m. that Tuesday hoping that the computerized itinerary would be up and running.  Karla, who was on a LONG phone call, told me to sit down and wait a few minutes.  When she approached me she was carrying a nice glass of cold water, I knew that those few minutes would morph into 30-45!  Finally, she called me up to the counter and sold me two  tickets for travel, one for 770 pesos, and the other for 700 pesos (thanks to my INSEN discount), and a cabin (camarote) for 250 pesos.  The tickets included the price of both dinner and breakfast, and a seat in the salon if one were inclined to use it. We were scheduled to sail on the Sinaloa Star at 3:00 p.m. the following Sunday and were told to arrive two hours ahead of departure. If we had been taking a vehicle, we’d have been told to be there three hours in advance. We arrived at the main terminal at 1:30pm and boarded the ferry 10 minutes later. We proceeded to the information/reception desk to obtain the key for our cabin and left a driver’s license as security. A staff member carried our bags, and we had time to explore the cabin area and the rest of the ship before departing from Mazatlán.  The salon, reminiscent of a very large airplane, has between 250-300 seats that are shaped to recline slightly. There are restrooms, TV and ample aisle space for those who elect to sleep on the floor during the overnight voyage. One family with many children had already made a nighttime “nest” with blankets and pillows in an aisle space close to the restrooms and next to a wall.  Passengers are able to move about freely on three different decks. The cabins and salon are on the main deck, cafeteria and lounging areas one deck up and the top deck houses the bar/lounge. We did not check out the area that contains vehicles, but no one is allowed to stay with or in a vehicle during the trip. Much to our surprise the ferry departed Mazatlán at exactly 3:00pm. With two intermittent blasts of the horn, she cast off and headed into the horizon! We sat on a bench on deck and watched the coastline of Mazatlán fade into the distance, then took a short siesta in the cabin to be fresh for sunset and dinner and any