Another perfect, sunny day had our cruise ship in the port of Mazatlan, on the Pacific coast of Mexico. It was a relatively short journey up from Puerto Vallarta (where we were yesterday), so we were in port bright and early. Today we signed up for a beach outing to a local resort, the cleverly-named Hotel Playa (Beach Hotel) 😂.

Mazatlan, in the state of Sinaloa, calls itself the “Pearl of the Pacific.” It is definitely beautiful here, and the city is a big beach resort destination for both Mexicans and tourists. Like PV, there is a historic downtown area and a Malecón oceanfront boardwalk (but Mazatlan boasts theirs is one of the longest in the world at nearly 13 miles!).

Some other fun facts we learned about Mazatlan:

• In the 1800s they had a huge influx of German immigrants here. Among other things, this resulted in a fusion of their local music with Bavarian horns, creating a unique music called Banda Sinaloense or Tambora. Think Salsa meets Oom-pah-pah!
• They have cabs here called “pulomonias” (pneumonia), which are extended golf carts that zip all around town. They were so-named because they debuted in the winter and local cab drivers used to tell people that if they rode in them in the open air, they’d catch pneumonia 😂. They also have “aurigas”, distinctive red pick up trucks where it is legal for passengers to ride while sitting on benches in the open back. There are also no open container laws in this town. 😧
• There are three big islands off the coast of Mazatlan, with two protected islands (Bird Island and Wolf Island) and one inhabited island (Isla de Venados- Deer Island). They used to have swimming deer on that island and they were local icons but they are no longer there. Mazatlan’s local baseball team is still the Mazatlan Venados.

Banda Sinaloense/Tambora:

A pulmonía and some aurigas:

The islands off of Mazatlan:

We arrived at the Hotel Playa by 9:30 a.m. and were given a brief intro to the facilities and then basically turned loose. Our day pass here gave us access to beachfront chairs, three pools, a buffet lunch, and two beverages. We spent a lovely morning (though perhaps not peaceful due to many kiddos and construction and beach peddlers constantly going by) swimming, sunning, and probably making our dermatologist richer (you’re welcome, Dr. W!).

Rob is seen above enjoying a local “Pacifico”, brewed here in Mazatlan, while I enjoy one of my faves- a REAL Mexican Coke.

We did just a bit of walking around Mazatlan and some sightseeing as we drove through on our tour. We found it to be just as charming as PV with cobblestone streets and beautiful buildings, but a little quieter and more family friendly, at least today. Our guide said this is a huge spring break and party/festival town much of the year.

One of our favorite things about returning to the ship on these hot days is that we are always greeted with cold water and iced towels. It is heavenly! We are back on our ship and off to sea for two more days before we reach our next port of call: Los Angeles, CA! This is going to be an interesting stop for us because we will then be onboard for 8 more days, but we will be dropping off some and picking up new passengers while we are there. We evidently have to disembark, go through customs, and then come back on, but we get to leave our things on board. We will catch you up on our latest exploits then. Thanks for adventuring with us!!