A week in Mazatlan

Boat to Deer Island (yes it has wheels)
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My friend Sarah and I arrived in Mazatlan, slightly unprepared as usual. Luckily, we had our first hotel picked out so we didnt have to get off of the airplane and wonder where we were going which is usually how we start our travels. We were both excited to have a week off from work and just wanted to relax in the Mexican sun.

I always love the drive from the airport on the first day of my travels and this time was no different: colorful houses passed us by, billboards written in Spanish, trees I didnt know the name of, warm air and no clouds at all. We drove through city streets, both of us looking at each other wondering where we were going.

Peace, Relaxation, and a Motorcycle Convention in Mazatlan

Old Military Hospital near our hotel in Old Mazatlan
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The taxi dropped us off at La Siesta, a pretty reasonably priced hotel in old Mazatlan. The hotel faced the seawhat could be better. Since it was Easter week, prices were pretty high, so we paid for an indoor room rather than an ocean view. Indoor rooms have windows which face the hotel courtyarda pretty dark area with trees and tables for the hotel restaurant. The rooms themselves are basic but nicewe had a tv which we used mainly to listen to music on the Spanish music station.

We dropped down our backpacks, changed into our bathing suits and headed out to explore. We decided to take a long walk along the ocean front blvd, Avenue del Mar (or Malecon)- a long promenade along the beach that travels all the way down the coast of Mazatlan. The sidewalk promenade is colorful and curvy. Food vendors are clustered into small areas selling cups of corn, corn on the cob, spicy corn, sweet corn. Our first day, we werent so adventurous to try to the corn. Craft vendors sold colorful little ceramic boxes, and tons of beaded jewelry. Vendors children were curled up sleeping behind the tables.

View of the Old Mazatlan Coast and the Avenue del Mar
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We passed the area with vendors, and the promenade winded around a yellow and blue painted military hospital (across the street). The sidewalk got wider, larger areas with statues and tall structures with steps appeared, platforms for cliff divers. Fishing boats were docked in a little cove further along, then just as we were craving a beer and nachos, Palapa restaurants appeared on the beach, selling fresh fish tacos and cold Pacifico beer. Sarah ordered fish tacos, and me, a vegetarian, ordered nachos with guacamole. Our cold beer was lovely, and we toasted to traveling together once again.

Motorcycles take over Mazatlan
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As the sun set, we started to notice lots of cars cruising down the Avenue del Mara different world appeared. The city started to get very lively: streets were packed and loud, music was playing out of cars and people were dressed up for the night. A large stage was set up on the other side of the street, and cars started parking alongside the median, waiting for some kind of performance.

As we continued walking, we noticed that we were getting into the heart of the Zona Doradothe resort district of Mazatlan, home to crowded dance clubs, high rise resorts and crowded beaches. Almost as a gateway into this area, sits a huge white castle, Fiesta Land --more of a relic of the future, than one of the past. Inside the castle are a collection of popular dance clubs and high-priced restaurants.

Sunset in Old Mazatlan
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We decided that we were done with our little adventure at this point, our feet were tired and we needed a little siesta. We missed the relaxing atmosphere of Old Mazatlan, so we turned around and started the long walk back to our hotel.

But first, we stopped at a restaurant for margaritas and more nachos. The restaurant was brightly lit and beckoning us.

Day Two

Today was Easter, and my birthday. We decided the night before that we would go to the Isla de Venados (deer island), an island right off the coast of Zona Dorado thats pretty deserted and perfect for day trips. First we ventured two blocks down from our hotel to Copa de leche, a great place for breakfast, recommended by our first cab driver. A favorite with locals (including some local dignitaries), Copa de leche is affordable and not too touristy. We ate chiliquiles which I think are baked nachos with a special sauce. Not your typical breakfast food, but very delicious. We also shared eggs rancheros and drank many cups of coffee (something I only do on vacation). Next to us was a table of men, chatting and only drinking coffee. One day, a photographer was taking pictures of the men who didnt seem to pay attention. Were pretty sure the men were politicians, as they wore pins and were dressed in suits.

Palapa Resturant (go here for delicious fish tacos)
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Afterwards, we hopped on a bus to the Zona Dorado where the boat to Isla de Venados was supposed to be docked. Getting out of Old Mazatlan was a very confusing process. We asked several locals but no one really knew what bus to take, or had a different idea of what bus to take. Or perhaps my Spanish failed me. Once we figured out the bus system (you have to take a certain bus from Avenue del Mar or you can transfer downtown) we enjoyed the ride through the city. Other tourists boarded the bus, with beach bags and cameras. We got off near the El Cid hotel, a super luxury mega hotel, found our way to the beach where the boat operators were located. Finding the boat to Isla de Venados is confusing; its in a white building in the middle of a crowded beach. It cost $10 to get to the island; snorkeling equipment is a few dollars more. Our boat was docked on the beach, well parked on the beach anywaypainted white with an angry shark face on the front, the thing had wheels!

The Pacific Coast
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We boarded slightly apprehensively with other tourists. As the boat rolled off the beach, we narrowly missed tourists swimming in water. The boat took as further and further away from the crowded beach, and I could see our destination, a mountainous deserted island with a small beach. We all scampered off the boat towards to find great spots on the beach. Luckily Sarah and I had bought Ballenas of Pacifico (big beers) and some snacks before we left, because the only snack bar on the island (a small stand run by a man who lives in a hut on the beach) was closed.

Building in Old Mazatlan
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We barely used our snorkels, the water wasnt clear enough to see anything. But the island was very relaxing; we read, played in the water and stared off into the great views of the city. I wandered down the other end of the beach and saw dozens of seagulls in the sky. The beach here was rocky, but emptyjust me and the birds.

A few hours later, we got back onto the boat with wheels and headed to a luxury hotels outdoor bar and enjoyed margaritas and quesadillas. It was expensive here but the views made it worth it. We also watched the tourists on the beach get harassed by the vendors and made mental notes not to hang out there.

View of Mazatlan from the lighthouse
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We decided to take a cab back to our hotel where we showered and got ready to go out clubbing for my birthdayit seemed like the thing to do on spring break.

Later that night, we took a cab back down to the Zona Dorado to Mangos, a restaurant that Sarah picked out. Of course it was Easter, but the place was empty and felt more like a chain restaurant in the Statesnot an exciting place for birthday dinner. But they did play 80s videos on a big screen which was slightly entertaining. The mango margaritas tasted like papayaa fruit that tastes like vomit in my opinion. So I wouldnt recommend them.

Afterwards we headed towards Fiesta Land. In the front of Fiesta Land are several confusing roped off lines and ticket windows. It was around 12:30am but not many partiers were around. The club we chose was filled with about 30 college springbreakers that Im sure forgot to go back to school. We danced for about an hour, feeling a bit out of place here (it was my 31st birthday after all).

Day 2-7 Peace, relaxation, and a Motorcycle Convention in Mazatlan

One thing I forgot to mention is that Sarah and I were training for a marathon, so we ran almost every day along the promenade. It was pretty hot, even in the morning, but we got to see people strolling along, vendors setting up, and the fishing boats coming in. Its pretty flat towards Zona Dorado, but head the other direction on the promenade and it gets cliffy, providing challenging hills and great views.

After our morning run and daily visit to Copa de Leche, we decided to change hotels. The receptionist at our hotel suggested hotel Belmar, a cheaper budget hotel a few blocks down. Hotel Belmar is cheaper and very interesting, a hotel that was a grand destination back in the heyday of vacationing in Old Mazatlan, before mega resorts and Zona Dorado. With colorful tiled walls and grand staircases, tiled lounges by the pool, and big entryways, I could just imagine what an amazing place this used to be, and still is in many ways. We paid extra for the ocean view room, but it was still cheaper than La Siesta.

Our room had beds on a wooden platform, and light switches that gave me a little jolt (a little electrical problem that is probably fixed by now.) We started turning the light switches on with a book. The wooden walls, bed platform and brown ceiling fans made the room really dark until we opened the curtains to the let the sun in. Our balcony had two wooden chairs and a little table. The best part was the view! We were so close to the ocean (across the street) that the noise of the ocean woke me up at night.

We decided to spend this day at the beach across the street from Hotel Belmar. The waves are big but there is no rip tide. You dont even have to go far in before it gets deep. We drank many ballenas of Pacifico and ate nachos from a local restaurant.

Day three: Peace, Relaxation, and a motorcycle convention

Today to our delight/horror, something roared into town: a parade of motorcycles started to take over the city and the boulevard right outside our balcony. We got to watch the motorcycles promenading in and riding by at all hours of the night. At first I was very excited. Our vacation seemed to be almost too mellow. We were hanging out at the Hotel Posada Freemans rooftop pool, (one of the only highrise hotels in old Mazatlan) enjoying the view and lounging out on the comfortable lounge chairs when we heard the roar starting. The bikes were already starting to gather at one end of the street. We were up high at a safe distance, and it felt like the city was being invaded but we were safe, for now. Once we left the pool and headed down to Hotel Belmar, the road was filling with bikes. Sarah went to email her boyfriend, and I went out to the balcony to watch the bikes come in. Luckily we had the corner balcony, which had a great view, so great in fact, our neighbor (who didnt speak English) came over and knocked on the door, signaling with his camcorder that he wanted to film from our balcony. I let him stay on our balcony until Sarah came back and we decided to leave. I think she was curious as to who this man filming on our balcony was.

After some research (reading a flyer posted at a Bar), we discovered that it was Mazatlans sixth annual Bike Week and rally. The first day was the rally, and the rest of the week the bikers were pretty spread out throughout the city. Luckily, Zona Dorado hosts the day long concert and festival. We saw the gated off staging area before the event started, when we were down there visiting El Cids pool, but we left before anything started.

Aside from waking up to the sounds of roaring engines over the sound of the ocean, bike week wasnt too bad.

Day Four Today we visited Isla de la Piedra (Stone Island), another island that is a short bus ride and ferry away. The beach goes on for miles and is lined with an army of palm trees and restaurants. I liked going there except for all of the vendors that strolled the beach all day, asking me to buy sarongs, tattoos, hats, belts, etc. We got temporary tattoos by accident. I think we were just too tired to say no. The boy rubbed old spice deodorant on my arm and drew a flower in ink. It took me days to wash it off.

Day Five

Once we were feeling brave and motivated so we took a bus to the nearby city of Concordia, an inland colonial town in the Sierra Madre foothillsfamous for an old church and pottery vendors.

Although its only takes an hour or two to get there, we felt like we were very far away (where was our Copa de Leche??). Without an ocean nearby, this town is hot and dusty. Its better to visit here with a car or on a bigger tour since theres not much to do here.

Overall

I would recommend a holiday in MazatlanStay at Hotel Belmar at least for a few nights (they have a pool and ping pong table as well) and visit the restaurants of Plaza Mechado and nearby beaches. Stroll, run or shop along the Maleconyou may even be lucky enough to spot cliff divers (we did one night). To me, Old Mazatlan provides just as much great dining, hotels and beaches as the Golden Zoneat half the price.

Visit: http://www.mazatlan.com.mx/