4/9/2011
We are currently anchored in the old harbor at Mazatlan. It's a little nostalgic for us because this is precisely where we anchored 27 years ago when we were here. There are only three other cruising boats in the harbor with us...that's because that there is a new and modern marina about 10 miles north of here that is the main draw for most of the cruising boats visiting Mazatlan. For good reason, too. The water in the old harbor is dirty, there are really no facilities for cruisers (although we do have a safe place to tie up the dinghy on shore) and the sewage treatment plant is close by and there are some foul odors on the breeze from time to time. However, there is regular bus service to downtown and in fact it's actually close enough to walk and besides, we wanted to have the experience of once again anchoring in the harbor. After all, you can tie up your boat in a marina almost anywhere these days, but there is only one Mazatlan harbor where you can say you anchored. We arrived here after an overnight 18 hour passage from Isla Isabel.

After visiting the Port Captain's office and checking in, we hopped on the bus to the central plaza. Lots of traffic here! The city streets are crawling with locals and visitors alike going about their business. The streets around the central plaza is especially crowed with street vendors and people visiting. There are also quite a few shoe-shine stands that I found kind of odd since most people where sandals. But they seemed to be busy. On the north side of the plaza is the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. This immense and ornate building was constructed from 1875 to 1899. Quoting from the plaque, "Generally speaking, this church is eclectic in style with a predominance of Neo-Gothic elements." It's absolutely the most incredible building both inside and out that we have visited. The rest of the area around the square consisted of several banks, the post office, the city hall building, and several businesses. And all of the busses that run, stop near the central market building one block farther to the north creating a bedlam of noise and congestion. But it all seems to work in the end.

Speaking of the Mercado...we visited here as well, spending several hours wandering the "halls" and stalls of the merchants. The sights and smells are wonderful to experience at the market...produce, meat, groceries, clothing, shoes, electronics, pottery, touristy gifts and jewelry are all available. Of course, we did not leave empty handed! After the market we walked through the historical district that has seen quite a bit of renovation in recent years. Many of the old buildings have been turned into businesses and residents and the location is only a few blocks from the central plaza. We decided to walk back to the boat along the Malecon and on the way, met Manny who had a small tourist stand. We had a pleasant conversation with him...he speaks very good English and worked on a cruise ship for 7 years. His job was in the kitchen and we started talking about Mexican cooking. Manny has a passion for cooking and proceeded to tell us how to make chicken mole, a dish that we have yet to try in the galley on the boat. He also gave us a couple of recommendations for good places to eat, (where the locals visit) away from the general tourist places. Real Mexico is what we like. We plan to check them out.