Last Updated Sunday September 30, 2007
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For our first time down to Mazatlán we went conservative and stayed in a hotel in the Gringo section along the north beach. Still, since we were there during Carnaval the majority of folks staying at the El Quijote Inn were Mexican. They gave us a room on the top floor with a wonderful view toward the old town Mazatlán and the beaches in between.
The Olas Altas (High Waves) Beach fronts the Centro Historico, the oldest part of Mazatlán. It was peaceful the first day we got there but over the next few days was transformed into the epicenter of the Carnaval fiesta. The hill in the background of the second photo is Icebox Hill because ice imported from San Francisco was stored in caves in the rock. Today it's covered with television broadcast antenna towers and very expensive homes that look like they are about to fall off the edge.
The quiet street on Olas Altas the first day. Mazatlán means deer field so this monument is appropriate. The deer is probably deaf now because a day later there was a huge stage set up right behind it and the horn section was louder than any rock band I've ever heard. The carousel horses on the facade of the La Siesta Hotel and Shrimp Bucket Restaurant don't seem appropriate. During the motorcycle week guests park their motorcycles in the lobby of the hotel.
We had a fun first night at the Te Amo Lucy Restaurant. It happened to be Valentine's Day so we got dressed up and treated ourselves to a nice dinner.
The Angela Peralta Theater is the pride of Mazatlán culture. They hold all sorts of high-brow entertainment here. It is a beautiful building tucked away on a side street off Plazuela Machado.
The Plazuela Machado is a small park in the middle of the Centro Historico surrounded by nice restaurants. During Carnaval they put tables outside and have bands and singers going until the early morning.
In Mazatlán they have a lot of beauty contests for children with parades and pageants. This young lady was collecting donations to help her pay for a fancy dress for her pageant. We gave her a few bucks and she gave us each a strawberry sucker.
Mazatlán does not have the rows of Mexican souvenir shops like we see in Baja. The shops in Centro Historico are upscale and cater more to interior designer types. Here is one after hours with lights only inside their glassware in the window.
There are so many monuments all up and down the Malecon that I didn't have time to photograph them all. Here are a few at Olas Altas. Two happened to be mermaids. Other monuments include a Jeep and a beer brewing vat.
A sampling of some of the architecture in Centro Historico. Some of it is well over a hundred years old and some is brand new. The buildings and houses are consistent but wonderfully different - except for the ugly modern federal government building (not pictured) right on the beach.
The food in Mazatlán is wonderful. Not like the usual Mexican food you get in the US. Nancy is enjoying a new taste treat called drowned eggs.
Then there is the seafood. The scrimp is caught locally and they really know how to prepare it. Here we are eating at an open-air restaurant right on the beach and savoring huge scrimp wrapped in cheese and bacon. It doesn't look like much but we were way stuffed after this meal.
Not only does the scrimp come from a local source, but the beer does too. The Pacifico Brewery is world famous and a product of the Germans who settled Mazatlán in the 19th century.
Every Latin American city has a central cathedral but Mazatlán seems to have two. The white and green one is a ten minute walk from our new house.
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