Travel Notes from our June 2024 Trip to Anglers Inn Lake El Salto
After nearly every trip to Lake El Salto or Lake Picachos, I write down some notes about the travel experience and then share them with you. It’s never the same trip twice going to and from Mazatlán, and whether it’s your first journey or you’ve visited dozens of times there are always a few wrinkles and snafus. I feel like by writing it down I can help your next trip go a little bit more smoothly.
Our June 22-29, 2024, trip went remarkably smoothly from a travel perspective and made me reflect on all of the changes to Mazatlán we’ve seen over the year – which have improved the experience. Furthermore, in light of others’ ongoing travel struggles, I was thankful that our group did well.
The Trip to Dallas
As has become our custom, Hanna and I headed to Dallas the night before our flight from DFW to Mazatlán. That’s because the morning transfer time is otherwise quite tight, and if there are any hiccups it could mean missing a day of fishing.
We flew in and out of Washington-Dulles (IAD) this trip.
We had PreCheck and Clear, and while there was a long line for security, we were through in less than 5 minutes.
Using our Priority Pass membership, we visited the Lufthansa Lounge for the first time, hoping that it would be less crowded and a change of pace from the Turkish Airways Lounge that we use most often. It was no less crowded – the only two seats we could find together were at a high-top table – but it served the purpose. I’d had a late lunch so I wasn’t hungry, but Hanna indulged in some of the relatively light fare. I enjoyed the pretzel bread and endless gummy worms like an 8 year old.
Our plane to Dallas was on time and took off without a hitch. Thanks to Hanna’s status we were moved up from the absolute back of the plane to Row 9, and we got on and off quickly.
We landed at DFW in Terminal C went to gather our luggage to head to the Grand Hyatt DFW, which is inside Terminal D. This is our usual practice, but we hadn’t noticed that our luggage had been checked all the way through to Mazatlán. After being assured that it would make it there by a clerk who looked completely disinterested in his job, we got on the shuttle to the in-airport hotel. If we’d known that our luggage wouldn’t be with us, we could’ve remained inside and taken the relatively quick Skylink. Instead, we rode the airport shuttle around the entirety of the massive airport property, which took about 15 minutes.
All was forgiven when we got to the hotel and they had chocolate chip cookies. On top of that, they had free toiletries – toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, hair brush – which was good because ours were in our checked bags. Hanna had a change of clothes. I did not – a good reminder to always keep one set with you.
The Trip to Mazatlán
Evidence in favor of going the night before rather than trying to connect it all in one day: We got more than 8 hours of sleep and with my gifted deodorant and toothbrush I was a clean as a man in day-old clothes can be.
We took the elevator down right to the check-in counter, where her status allowed us to check in at the Priority Counter. Her status also got us upgraded to Business Class on the flight to Mazatlán. Last year we had separate businesses, and separate business credit cards, so she got upgraded multiple times and I did not. Now that we’ve combined our businesses in to one LLC, I get to ride on her coattails.
We headed over to the Centurion Lounge. I’ve seen lots of Facebook postings recently about long lines to get in, but it took us perhaps 2 minutes. Once inside there was plenty of space, and a nice breakfast buffet. Then we headed to the gate in Terminal C (via the Skylink) to meet up with our group.
Our group was waiting there, and we greeted old friends and introduced ourselves to new ones.
Unfortunately, our friend Brad Petrie had his flight out of Albany, NY delayed. The connection time kept on getting closer and closer and as we boarded he landed, then waited for a gate to open. It appeared that he would miss the connection, which would likely mean waiting a day in Dallas. Fortunately for us, unfortunately for our feathered friend, our plane had hit a bird on the way to Dallas and the maintenance crew had to do some cleaning. That provided just enough time for Brad to do his late-70s OJ imitation and run for the plane – he made it just as the doors were about to close. Crisis averted. The plane was a little bit later than expected, but we were still in Mexico prior to noon – plenty of time to fish.
Hanna and I were thrilled to see that our luggage did indeed make it on the plane. So did all of our group members’ – and rod tubes arrived intact. None of us got the dreaded “red light” at Customs.
As has been the case the past few years, our group (plus some other Anglers Inn guests on our flight) got a nice bus instead of the usual vans. It included a bathroom (once again I’ll reiterate my Pro Tip: Brace Yourself when peeing on a potholed Mexican road). That’s a time-saver. Once again, I’ll reiterate my lone complaint: Pacifico cans instead of bottles. We arrived at the lodge in an hour and 45 minutes, helped the newcomers get settled and collect rods, and we were on the water shortly thereafter.
Mazatlán Departure and the Trip Home
We did not get the bus on the way back to the airport, just two vans, which was fine, except I’d had too much to drink at breakfast and the bumpy roads necessitated a baño break midway.
When we arrived two hours early, we were informed that our flight would be delayed about an hour. Assuming that would happen, no one would miss their connection, but there’s not much to do in the Mazatlán airport. Some went to Carl’s Jr., others sat and used the semi-slow internet. I went to the revamped Oma Premium Lounge which is still pretty bare bones, especially since their high speed internet wasn’t functioning. I grabbed some soft drinks and popcorn and left, returning later for more, part of my plan to eke every bit of value out of my American Express Platinum Card.
The gift shop where I never bought anything is closed, but the addition of a Starbucks and a seafood restaurant seems like a decent upgrade.
Eventually we moved to the “room of sadness” (the place where departing anglers can see the ones who just arrived through glass) and boarded.
Just like last year, going both to and from Mazatlán we got a larger-than-usual plane, with three seats on each side in coach, instead of the usual two and one. That is likely the result of fewer overall flights, and the need to consolidate, but it improves overhead space availability. We’d booked Main Cabin Extra seats on all legs using Hanna’s status to get the slight upgrade, and on both flights home we were both upgraded to business class (THANKS RED!)
Customs in Dallas was uneventful. Global Entry took less than a minute, but regular customs was quick, too. We all reassembled at baggage claim, then rechecked our gear and went our separate ways.
Hanna and I revisited the Centurion Lounge. Once again I suppose we were lucky that it took about 5 minutes to get in, and then there was plenty of seating. I may have overdone it at the buffet, which had a variety of salads, rice, potatoes and chicken. My only complaint is that by the time we gathered up bowls of the hot apple cobbler they had closed down the ice cream stand. I suppose after a week of gorging myself in Mexico that was a sign from the food gods.
Although we’d been upgraded, we weren’t sitting together. I was in 1A and she was in 5D. I’m sure that didn’t pain her as she’d had enough of me over the week. I turned down the meal, read a little, watched some TV, and the time actually flew by.
Miraculously, our luggage came out relatively quickly, and grabbed an Uber, which got us home around 1:30. She got up with the dog at 7 to let him out (he’d been a bit confused by our early morning arrival) and then we went back to bed until after 9 – the advantage of a buffer day before going back to work.
Last year, our friend Marc Shoenfelt, headed back to Philly, had his flight was repeatedly delayed before eventually getting canceled. There were no hotel room vouchers available, so he stayed in the airport all night and finally caught an 11am flight home the next morning. This year he got repeatedly delayed and we figured it was déjà vu all over again, but he made it out a few hours late and didn’t have to get sleepy time rug burns.
I hope that this helps someone with their trip to Mazatlán, or on a fishing trip in general. My key takeaways based on doing this 20-plus times:
Go the night before and stay in the Hyatt. It’s worth the money and the peace of mind that you won’t have to run through the terminal.
Always take a change of clothes in your carry-on.
Get Global Entry.
Work on getting status (or having your wife get status) if you’ll be traveling a lot.
Go into travel with the expectation that things will go wrong. Live with it. Roll with it. The only alternative is to stay home and never experience great places.
