My Passport’s Travels

Bueno Dias, Mazatlán!

After breakfast at the buffet, we hit the gangplank as soon as we could. Cruise ships dock in the middle of the working port here, so you have to ride a shuttle for 2-3 minutes to the main entrance, which is filled with little shops. We made our way outside to meet our guide for the day – Jorge from Pulmonia Tony Zatarain! Tony got us loaded into Jorge’s pulmonia and we were off!

A pulmonia is a bit bigger than a golf cart, but smaller than a car. There’s a large fleet of the vehicles in Mazatlán – they are important enough to the tourism industry, they even have a statue to celebrate them!

The first stop was a shrine to the Virgin Mary, built in remembrance of the fisherman lost during Hurricane Ismael. She’s kept in flowers throughout the entire shrimping season – they’re placed at the beginning and removed when everyone comes home safely.

Chickens!

There are statues everywhere along the water front. This one is of a famous actor/singer, but all I could think of was Ernesto de La Cruz from Coco!

The view from the overlook was great!

While the 45 minute climb to the top wasn’t on the cards for today, we got some spectacular views of the lighthouse from across the water.

We also got to watch a ‘rescue’ of a zip liner who got stuck!

In this area, the statues were mostly of famous people, actors, singers, and a pianist!

Jorge took us next into old Mazatlan – the buildings are beautiful, he said some were over 250 years old.

The sea here is protected and fairly calm, most locals learn to swim in it. They also made a wonderful water slide for the kids – the pool fills naturally when the tide comes in!

Jacque Cousteau!

We arrived at a plaza just in time for the cliff diver!

The statuary here is more abstract: commemorating the beautiful Mazatlán women, the pulmonia drivers, the gift of life, the annual sea Lion migration…

We started heading towards old town.

Jorge dropped us off at Cathedral Basilica de la Inmaculada Concepcón and gave us 30 minutes to wander. The cathedral was beautiful – ornamentation everywhere you looked. I especially loved the sun streaming through the stained glass.

The cooling system:

While we were there, the bells started ringing!

We wandered down the street, stopping in a fabric store to admire the material (so many beautiful pieces), and wandering through a local market, where I bought a couple little things. Tony and Jorge met up with us and got us loaded safely back in our vehicle.

We headed back towards the new part of town, passing the flower market – we rounded the corner and the smell was amazing!

The smell by the fish market, not so much.

Jorge dropped us off at Pancho’s, a beachfront restaurant, where we had an amazing lunch. They greeted us with chips, salsa, and fried, stuffed peppers. Mom enjoyed Pacifico, a local beer, while I had a tamarind and mezcal drink, similar to a margarita. I enjoyed the chicken mocajete (spelling?), which was like a chicken stew, with big pieces of chicken, tomato and onions in a Smokey red broth and melted cheese. Mom had beef fajitas. They also brought out kahlua and cream as an after dinner drink with the check. ($53 USD for everything!) Not only was the food wonderful, but the service was great – Jesus was very friendly and took great care of us.

We trundled our way back to Jorge, who loaded us up, treated us to locally made coconut marshmallows and took us back home to our ship. (The marshmallows were so fresh and good! Sadly, they only sell them locally.)

We would wholeheartedly recommend Tony’s company for anyone visiting Mazatlán. Communication prior to the trip was great, the price for a private tour was amazing and Jorge was friendly, helpful and a safe driver.

Tired and full, we relaxed in the room, then watched sail-away and sunset from our verandah.

Eventually we made it to the buffet for dinner and not long after called it a night.