City Tour of Mazatlan

  Mazatlan, Mexico
Thursday, February 22, 2007

We arrived at our designated meeting spot about twenty minutes early for our 8:45am pick-up for the boat cruise to Deer Island. We waited until 9:15am with no sight of the shuttle bus before we decided to catch a cab to the El Cid Resort. At the El Cid, we scammed our way onto their transport bus to the Marina to save a few bucks. The boat to Deer Island was scheduled to depart at 9:30am and we arrived just under the radar. We explained our missed transport pick-up ordeal to the harbour master and they were kind enough to offer us free activities on the tour, which included snorkelling, banana boat rides and kayaking. Usually, the activities have an associated cost of $12 USD per person and for the $3USD we dished out for the taxi, we came out on top.
 
The boat was actually a large catamaran that departed from the El Cid Marina and cruised past the entire city from the Golden Zone to Old Mazatlan before eventually landing at Deer Island. The first scenic view were rock caves along the coast of Bird Island. The views were great, however the catamaran did not slow down for us to take a detailed look. We then headed around the White Rocks where the brown pelicans hang out. The White Rocks are so called due to the amount of bird dung that has accumulated on them over the years, permanently staining the greyish brown rocks white. Gross, but interesting history. We then pulled up close to a small rock that was covered in sea lions. There was not much activity with the sea lions and we reasoned that they were tired from the long swim to their sun-tanning rock. Maybe not, be we are sticking with that story. We also passed the jumping off point for the local cliff divers. We passed by at the wrong time of the day and there were no divers to be found. Supposedly they jump everyday, so perhaps we will see them at another time.
 
The catamaran ride was getting long in the tooth and some of the passengers were feeling the affects of the choppy water. The trip included free alcohol, which was likely another factor in the sickness people were feeling. We were fine and continued to get our fill of vodka pineapple mixes as the catamaran cruised on. Once at Deer Island, a beach volleyball game was organized within minutes of hitting the sand. The net was only about 5 feet tall, removing any challenge from the game. Michael had no complaints as he did not have to jump to spike the ball or block shots. Geraldine skipped out on the game and with towel in hand found a nice secluded spot of beach to chill out in the sun. Lucky Duck!
 
The tour also offered banana boat rides, which was simply a long inflated toy that was dragged behind a small motor boat. The banana boat fit about 5 people and the rides were no longer than 5 to 10 minutes. The boat operator was nice enough to cut a hard turn right before returning to dump all the occupants in the shallow waters at shore. Nice guy, eh! We decided to go snorkelling instead. We swam hand in hand in the murky water along the shores of Deer Island. The water was a bit rough and it was next to impossible to get a clear view of the fish, but we chased a few around the rocks anyway. We heard that the snorkelling was better around the point, but the strong current deterred us from getting that far. The call for lunch was ringing out and we headed back for some free grub. The lunch spread was classic Mexican fare with rice, beans, tortillas and a beef mixture. There was fresh fruit for dessert which was by far the best part. After eating we crawled onto our towel to catch some rays. We must have actually fallen asleep as we missed the afternoon kayaking and the staff cleaning up the beach toys that were no longer all around us. Oh well, the nap was worth it. The boat ride home went by quickly as we did not make any more sightseeing stops. Once back on land we headed straight for 'Nilla as we were exhausted and looking forward to an early night.
 
We hung around the campsite for the majority of the next day. We really had nowhere to be or to go until late afternoon when our free city tour was scheduled. It was nice to do nothing for most of the day. The city tour started at 4:00pm and was scheduled to take 2 to 3 hours. The transportation was an old trolley bus with a guide that provided town history and comical commentary. The trip started at the El Cid Resort and passed along the boardwalk into what is called the "historic district", which is so named due to the European architecture, museums, and outdoor plazas. The early part of the tour was along the newer section of boardwalk that was filled with bronze statues commemorating things about Mazatlan, including the pulmonia (taxi), the 100+ year old Pacifico Brewery, sea lions, and family. The deep roots Mazatlan has as a fishing port, is celebrated with the largest of the statues known as "Fisherman's Monument". This is used mostly by people in town as a reference point to describe where things are and how far away the are (ie. 'The market is 3 minutes from Fisherman's Monument'...'Your campsite is 2.5 miles from 'Fisherman's Monument'). We took their lead and used it often used it as a reference ourselves.
 
The tour follows the boardwalk around to the old portion of town that has the original resort/hotels that were constructed in the 1920's through to the 1950's and 1960's. The old buildings are currently being renovated and the old town is being revived. In the middle of this district is the deer monument representing the name 'Mazatlan', which is translated to "place of the deer". The boardwalk (also known as the 'Malecon') then heads in to Olas Altas, which translates to 'High Waves'. The Malecon is over 100 years old in Olas Altas. This section of town still has markings of the past. The boardwalk winds around Icebox Hill. The hill has a tunnel dug from Olas Altas to the other side which is old downtown Mazatlan. Initially, there was just a cave that was used to store ice to keep it frozen in the hot tropical climate. Large blocks of ice would be sent on a freighter from San Francisco and would last for months in the cave. The ice would be used to keep the daily seafood catch fresh until it could be sold or consumed. The settlers of this area hailed from numerous different European backgrounds, however the most influential were those from Germany. The Germans brought with them the beer industry, which has been in Mexico ever since. In addition, the Germans revolutionized the silver and gold mining industry by turning the cave at Icebox hill into a tunnel, which they would use to secretly load ships in the cover of darkness to avoid pirates. The entrance to the cave was later covered with an iron gate with images of a devil and pitchfork. The entire gate was painted fire red and it is now called 'Devil's Cave'. Most of the main nightlife during Carnaval is in Olas Alta and it is rumoured that during the party week, anyone getting out of hand is put in the cave. It is like one big drunk tank and there is no getting out until Carnaval is over.
 
The bus stopped abruptly along the boardwalk in Olas Altas long enough for us to witness a cliff diver. The diver climbs to the top rocks and salutes the crowd before getting ready to demonstrate his skill with a 2-3 storey dive into the rocky surf below. The diver must be extremely accurate in his timing as the surf needs to be in when he reaches the water, to ensure the depth is sufficient for his landing. The road then winds up to the top of the hill known as "The Mirador" which reveals a panoramic view of Mazatlan and the Pacific Ocean.
 
The final leg of the City Tour was through old downtown Mazatlan. Over the past week or so, we have been down here so often that there was not much that we had not seen or done. The tour guide did fill us up with information about the history of the buildings and community , which always seemed to have an undertone of something to do with rich Europeans that migrated to the area. Of interest was the reason why all the homes have balconies. It was noted that the during Mardi Gras, the locals would participate in the parades and celebrations, however the Europeans would stay in their homes and simply watch. Silly Europeans.
 
The bus stopped adjacent to the town square and we decided to walk around and see the town at night. Maybe we are not looking for the abstract, however the Cathedral had the nicest views. We spent quite a bit of time getting the night shots not to be blurry. New camera with new tricks.
 
The tour bus operator was kind enough to drop us off around the corner from camp, thus saving us the 25 walk back from the original pick-up spot. When we walked through the entrance to La Posta, there was a Fiesta in full swing. This was a bit of thank-you party put on by the owners of La Posta since they are closing their doors at the end of March to allow Costco to plow down the place and build a massive new store. Thankfully, we got to experience living at La Posta before it becomes simply a legend. The Fiesta was nearly finished when we arrived, but there was just enough time for us to grab some free food and a few cocktails. There was a live band, as usual, and the dance floor was just starting to fill up. We could not control our laughter when the band cranked out "Achey Breakey Heart" in Spanish. What a treat! We did not stay long at the Fiesta as we were nearly 30 years younger than any of the guests still there.

For a look at our Kodak Gallery photo album....click the following link:  http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=16xvaj2z.5f6mfdav&Uy=v7uq5i&Ux=0