Travel with Manfred

Travelogues from around the world

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Copyright © 1998 by Manfred P.. All rights reserved.

May 3 - 9, 1998

Mazatlan

A Serving of All-You-Can-Get Sol, Playa and Tacos

by

Manfred P.

Keywords: Mazatlan, Mexico, tourist, travel trip report, travel log, travelogue.

Maybe my string of bad luck is over. For a change they did not screw up my airline reservations. It was smooth sailing into Mazatlan airport. Mexico is still one of my favorite places, so I felt quite at home instantly. To me it is a warm, safe, relaxed country with my kind of living standard. I would know soon if this also applies to Mazatlan.

The bus bringing us to town is full of tourists. From reading a travel guide back home I know how Mazatlan is laid out. The bus heads for New Mazatlan, the tourist residence area, first. Then he starts making his drop offs at the various hotels. With all the people on the bus I realized that we had a long ride ahead of us. We went from hotel to hotel further north. Eventually we were so far north we were out of town, beyond the New Mazatlan marina. When we reached the northernmost point I was the last and only one person left on the bus.

My destination was Old Mazatlan in the South. For half an hour we cruised along the ocean boulevard. It brought us through Zona Dorada, the tourist center with the El Cid 1000-room mega hotel complex, and along various beaches. The beach stretched as far as the eye could see. By the time I got off the bus I had had a 90-minute sight seeing tour of the city covering everything from the bull ring, the tourist night-life district, Zona Dorada, the beaches and the center of Old Mazatlan.

I was supposed to hook up with Isabel in a seaside restaurant. My own strict luggage-reduction measures let me leave the guidebook at home. In the plane I had realized that that was not too smart as it contained the name of the restaurant where I was supposed to meet Isa. All I remembered was that it is a seafood restaurant on the western side of Old Town. No problem, I would find her, I just had to check out every single restaurant. I stroll from the cathedral down to the ocean and step in the first restaurant. Who is sitting there sipping a beer? Isa. That was easier than I thought.

Changing into white shorts and shirt I was ready for vacation. The weather was ideal and as expected. Warm. Temperatures in the 80s (about 25C) with a breeze coming in from the ocean. The sun was burning down during the afternoon hours. As always I avoided the strong sun by hiding out in the shade during siesta hours. The ocean temperature is acceptable. Not as hot as in Cairns, where it had a spoiling 90 degrees (30C), but comfortable for swimming and playing with the waves. With no humidity and the breeze it was my kind of weather. Night strolls couldn’t be any more comfortable.

We explored the Old Mazatlan to start with: the cathedral, the zocalo, the theater, nameless parks and undescript buildings. Just like in Puerta Vallarta also here one the beaches in "downtown" is called "Olas Altas". The waves weren’t as high as the name would indicate. Just one to one and a half yards. Along the beaches are little platforms every mile. On one of the platforms, situated on a cliff, crazy divers jump into the ocean, similar to the more famous cousins in Acapulco. Statues with deer and dolphins are on small plazas. Mazatlan translates into "land of the deer". Back in the time of the indigenous people, there were woods here filled with deer. That must have been a long time ago. There are no more woods nearby and certainly no deer. The 750,000 people of Mazatlan have changed the landscape. Instead of deer you have buses and big US-built trucks roaming the streets and the beach boulevard.

Part of Old Mazatlan is a hill, Cerro de la Neveria, occupied by telecom and TV antennas and dishes. Passing a small but very poor neighborhood of tin and cardboard shelters we reached the top. The view was fine, out onto the ocean and the handful of islands offshore, the lighthouse, the northern beaches in New Mazatlan and Olas Altas right beneath us. The rich live up here, or lived up here. Some houses, or more appropriate named mansions, were for sale. "Se Vende." Pulmerias, the unique golf-cart-like taxis, bring Mexican tourists up the hill. Most of the pulmerias are converted VW beetles crawling up the hill with their typical beetle engine sound.

El Faro, the lighthouse, is located on top of a hill that used to be a lighthouse. In the 50s they have connected the island to the mainland. On one side of the connecting land is the ocean; on the other the sport fishing fleet and some regular fishing boats as well as a floating pile of rust, formerly a vessel. El Faro is the world’s second highest lighthouse. They are proud of that as there are multiple signs reminding one of that fact. Don’t expect a tall tower. Second highest means, it’s a small two-floor building on top of a high hill. Luckily most of the ascent was in the shade. It must be a 2-hour walk to get there from the center of town.

In a way the lighthouse is at one end of town. The other end of town is in the north. We strolled along the never ending beach all the way up to El Cid and a bit beyond. The beaches are nice and sandy with some occasional patch of rocks. In Zona Dorada the hotels are, unfortunately, built right at the waterfront. At high tide the ocean even reaches the walls separating the hotel from the beach. That is not very attractive. I can image a nicer beach than one where the gray concrete slabs are right behind me. The sun sets beautifully. Depending where you are you can see it set behind the ocean or behind the offshore islands, like Isla de los Venados. Either way it’s nice. It set 7:30 sharp. Pelicans were flying or gliding just yards above the ocean. And above us some large birds cruised by. They look like albatross. Sunset was actually a good time to play with the waves. This way you got to see a sunset with each wave rolling in.

Southeast of Old Mazatlan are the various harbors. In the very south close to the lighthouse is the harbor for sporting fleet. Prime target of the sports fisherman is marlin. Less sporty people can buy it fresh or smoked at the market. Next along the Avenida del Puerto is the military harbor. The Mexican navy has quite a few vessels there. Medium sized ones and one carrying a helicopter. Big cruise ships are also on dock here. Thereafter comes the ferry to Stone Island (Isla de Piedra) and at the top end the commercial fishing harbor. The yacht harbor is in New Mazatlan, miles north.

The ferries to Stone Island are small boats for a dozen people. It brought us across the channel in a 10-minute ride. Stone Island is actually no island but a peninsular. It seems to have only a single dirt road. The strong wind was kicking up some dust as we walk along it to cross from the city facing side to the ocean facing side. A little hill separates the two sides. If I remember correctly it was called Devil’s peak, but I might mix this up with some other hill. The ocean side of Stone Island welcomed us with beach bars, shade under palapas by the bars, and many miles of sandy beaches. A couple of tourist boats were resting in the bay and the gringos were chopping through the waves on jetskis. The rest of the visitors were having fun on banana rides. After the first half-mile lined with bars the beach turned empty. 10 miles of unspoiled beach was ahead of us. We left the crowd behind by walking down the beach. The peninsula is mostly used as a coconut plantation. To the right the blue ocean, to the left green coconut palm trees as far as the eye could see. The coconut plantation looked better from the distance than from close-up. It was littered with trash and the soil was covered with too many sharp burs to make lying down comfortable. Instead of burning in the sun it was preferable to hide in the shade of a palm tree, even though it was not the ideal resting-place. The wind picked up some more and made the waves grow. Some local surfers showed us their skills and we attempted some body surfing in the 7-ft (2m) waves. These were the best waves we had seen throughout the week.

As we walked back to the ferry we saw the oversized Princess cruise ship leave the harbor. Next to the ferry is a favorite hangout of pelicans. Fisherman gut their catch here and the left overs go to the birds. Plenty of free food for the pelicans without physical exertion. Just a block from the Avenida del Puerto is the Cervezeria Pacifico, one of the countries top breweries. It cannot be missed, as it is a gigantic concrete-gray factory with big silos and the Pacifico name all over it. They even have a little outlet where you can by beer in liter bottles (1 quart).

Shopping in Mazatlan is not a unique experience. It is identical to shopping anywhere else in Mexico. T-shirts, pottery, leather goods, rugs, bags, and other tourist fare. Special was only Sea Shell City, a store dedicated only to shells in all sizes, colors, shapes and prices. From common sea dollars to unique giant clams. What was astonishing was the high number of flower shops. Maybe it was just seasonal for Mother’s Day or maybe people from Mazatlan just love flowers.

As much as they like flowers, I love healthy food. The market in Old Mazatlan was just the perfect place to start the day: pineapples, papayas, mangos, bananas, vegetables and much much more. All fresh, ripe and juicy. It makes a great breakfast. After we went shopping and both of us carried two bags of food we made the daily pilgrimage to the park across the cathedral where we sat down in a shady spot. As appetizer a freshly cut pineapple would get our saliva flowing. An onion-tomato-avocado-bell pepper-chili pepper-cucumber-cheese sandwich would be the main dish and papaya or mango the desert. And finally, if there is any room left, a couple of dulces like cinnamon rolls or pudding fills croissants. If that is not a good start of the day I don’t know what is. Don’t get the wrong impression. "Start of the day" means 11 a.m. to noontime. Thereafter a bit of people watching or a nap would help to digest the rather large amount of breakfast. It was like a daily routine. Sounds repetitive but I think I could do this for a really long time before ever getting bored of it.

The market was our main food supply. Panama Pasteleria had multiple shops across town with good pastry. It took as a while to find a real bakery, until we found a couple on Jose Azueta a block or so south of the market and near intersection Hidalgo and Ave Serdan. Over the days we tried about every single food stall in Old Mazatlan with fare ranging from tacos, burritos, quaesadillas, etc. Our favorite place was the stand at the bus stop by the market. The guacamole and salsa was nice, thick and creamy. I get hungry just thinking about it.

Mazatlan has a lot of old empty run-down buildings. Most of them are in Old Mazatlan but some are also in New Mazatlan. Skeletons of half-finished hotels can be found in Zona Dorada, boarded windows of apartments in the rich neighborhood east of Zona Dorada. I guess the boom cycle is over and there is over-capacity in the city. Large buildings are empty and several hotels shut down, some with doors and windows sealed with bricks and concrete. Some others show the typical "Se Vende" sign. Finding a place to stay should not be difficult; at least it wasn’t in May.

We were staying in one of the few hotels in Old Town. It was a block from the ocean with ocean view across a small park by Monumento al Pescador. It was convenient to stroll across the street and go for a morning swim after getting up or before going for dinner. It was a small cheap hotel for Mexicans. Upscale for the locals, low-end for the tourists. For my low standards it was more than just sufficient. Large room with 3 beds, fresh towels and soaps every day, our own bath with toilet and hot shower. What else could one wish for?

I had a great time, enjoyed the company, the weather, the food, the siestas and the hikes. All in all, another good trip to Mexico. I am starting to lose count how often I have been there. Having been there on various occasions, there are few surprises when I go, which is a pity as I like surprises, but nonetheless it is always pleasant, relaxing and enjoyable. I am not tired of it yet. Mexico is big and there are still lots of places I haven’t been. Hasta luego in 1999.