We are lucky that friends we met through blogging, The Golden Years, are wintering here in Mazatlan in their RV. They have been driving us to places that we would have had to take tours to visit.
Earlier this week we went to the town of La Noria about twenty miles east of Mazatlan. Bill and Carol, have been visiting this area for years and Bill also speaks Spanish. they have become good friends with many of the locals.
We decided to take a tour to the town of Durango. The driving (pun intended) attraction was the new super highway which just opened at the end of 2013. A tour is definitely worth it as it is a long drive and coming back in the dark on your own would not be fun. We initially asked for a tour that would include an overnight stay in Durango but there were none offered.
The 227.3 kilometer (136 mile) highway cost 28.6 billion pesos. With the opening of the superhighway Mazatlán will become the gateway for products moving from Asia to the east coast of the United States. The drive from Mazatlán to San Antonio, Texas will now be reduced to six hours.
For movie fans of old the drive is through the Sierra Madre mountains and invokes memories of the old film starring Humphrey Bogart and directed by John Huston, Treasure of the Sierra Madre is the tale of three gringos who set out to strike it rich in Mexico’s remote Sierra Madre mountains. From the 1940s to last year the only option was the old highway 40 nicknamed the Devil's Backbone was an arduous 6-8 hour drive which snaked its way through many small towns.
The Mazatlán-Durango highway has 61 tunnels and 115 bridges The Baluarte Bridge is one of the highest and longest cable-stayed bridges in the world.
Workers continue to put the finishing touches and rock slides have been a problem in bad weather so these men are attaching netting over the rocks/
Some of the tunnels have "holes".
Workers on their way.
The bridge is on the state line between Durango and Sinaloa with only 25% of the bridge in Durango state, a joking contention.
The bridge is truly an engineering feat spanning the Baluarte River with a clearance from the river bottom of 1,300 feet this 3,600 foot suspension bridge is the highest in the world, making it into the Guinness Book of Records.
You are not supposed to stop on the bridge but the tour guides have it worked out. We park and cross (very carefully) the bridge and walk to a spot where we can get great photos. It is a little disconcerting when a 53 footer comes barreling down the "road".
I'm linking up at Alphabe-THURSDAY today! January 2014 - Mazatlan Mexico It would just figure that when I decided to use Spanish words for each week that we are in Mexico, it turns out that there are very few words that begin with K. Most are borrowed "English" words such as kilometre and kilogram. Mexico uses the metric system of measurement as does Canada, so this is not difficult for us. This fruit stand shows the cost of the produce in kilos.
April 2004 - Padua Italy While staying in Venice for a week we took the train to Padua for a day trip as it is only 40 km west of Venice.Jacopo Dondi dell'Orologio (1290–1359), also known as Jacopo de' Dondi, was a doctor, astronomer and clock-maker active in Padua, Italy. He is remembered today as a pioneer in the art of clock design and construction.
He supervised the construction of a large public clock with a dial, commissioned by Prince Ubertino of Carrara. He may also have contributed to its design. The clock was installed in the tower of the Palazzo Capitaniato, Padua in 1344. There is some evidence that it indicated and struck the hours from 1 to 24, and also that it displayed the age and phase of the moon and the place of the sun in the zodiac. Both the tower and the clock were destroyed in 1390, when the Milanese stormed the palace. A replica of the clock is in the Torre dell'Orologio of Padua, which was built in 1428.
Padua boasts a picturesque network of arcaded streets, numerous bridges, and large communal plazzas.
The Prato della Valle, a 90,000 m² elliptical square has a wide garden surrounded by a trench which is lined by 78 statues portraying famous citizens.
I'm going to give this challenge a try this year - challenges are posted by Bella.
January 2014 - Mazatlan Mexico We came across this wedding at the cathedral a couple of weekends ago. I posted more photos of the wedding here. This one didn't make it into that post and yet it is one I really like. I wonder what this little one is thinking? I like her mama's shoes!!
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