A family trip to Mazatlan—Sinaloa’s Pearl of the Pacific
La Perla del Pacífico-“The Pearl of the Pacific”. That’s what Mazatlán, Mexico, is called. Mazatlán is located in the state of Sinaloa, on Mexico’s Pacific coast, looking out across the water towards the tip of the Baja California peninsula. However, Mazatlán is not the only “Pearl of the Pacific.” At least 9 Latin American coastal […]
Sweet Spot: A novel about Mazatlan Carnival, Dirty Politics, and Baseball
Adoro Books, 2009 Available from Amazon Books: Paperback The back cover of Sweet Spot tells us that author “Linton Robinson was a journalist in Mazatlán and other Mexico cities for years. And played a little ball in his time.” His protagonist and narrator — Raymundo Carrasco — likewise was a journalist in Mexico for years. And played a […]
Beach-bumming it in Mazatlan
Crooked under one arm, he lovingly hugs a water-beaten body board as if it were his best friend. A mass of dirty blonde dreadlocks crowns his scalp and from under sun-faded Hawaiian shorts, his bronzed muscular body depicts a carefree, beach bum lifestyle. He bids us a “G’day, mates,” and I have to remind myself […]
Mazatlan – not just another resort
Angela Peralta is a big name in Mazatlán (mah-saht-LAHN). And practically everyone, especially the locals, are happy to tell you “the real story” about this legendary, Mexican diva. Only every story you hear is different. So after a lot of research, here’s the authentic saga of Angela Peralta. So they say: When Angela Peralta, lovingly […]
Easy living in Mazatlan, the Pearl of the Pacific
Recently, a number of books, magazine articles, web sites and Internet forums have begun to include discussions among surprisingly large numbers of Americans and Canadians about the possibility of retiring in Mexico. When specific locations are discussed, a few areas seem to dominate the conversations, specifically those areas where sizable “enclaves” of North American retirees […]
Old Mazatlan has its charms
At first glance, Mazatlán looks like a typical Mexican beach resort with boxy high-rise hotels and loud nightclubs crowding its shoreline, but there is more to this old port city than meets the eye. To discover the historic town behind the resort, you have to leave Mazatlán’s tourist zone, known as the Zona Dorada or “Golden Zone,” […]
Mazatlan: why snowbirds keep coming back
Taxis to and from the airport run around $34 for the hotel zone and around $30 for centro. Be sure to write down your hotel name and address, in case your driver is unfamiliar with the place (or your pronunciation of it). During the day, buses are an excellent means to see the city and […]
Mazatlan: Tequila, tans and working stiffs
Mazatlan has the virtues and vices of any tourist destination. But all the bad stuff – or good, depending on how you plan to spend the evening – is buffered by the decency and solidity of a working town. Unlike the hotel cities dreamed up by governments beholden to tourist dollars, Mazatlan, the second city […]
Mazatlan, a European city
I was recently invited to write the prologue for a book on Mazatlán history, with the condition that I relate Mazatlán to Europe. As a Mazatleco who has been living in Switzerland since 1982, I felt half-fit for the job. My suggestion was that the prologue should relate Mazatlán to both Europe and the United States. […]
Outside Mazatlán: Mexico’s real Sierra Madre
The Sierra Madre! The very name conjures up images of movie sets, mine shafts and majestic, rugged mountains, perhaps with cowboys riding through. Nowhere in Mexico is it quite so easy to experience and savor the reality behind these derived images as on the drive from Mazatlan to Durango along Highway 40. Just 24 kilometers […]
An Olmec Homerun (original fiction)
When Ramon handed the ball to me, I was pleased to find it was latex, not some synthetic material. It was probably very old, made from raw rubber. This one did not have a human skull inside. As I handed the guy my credit card for the rental car, an ominous voice inside me was […]
Mazatlan, Sinaloa (Mexico Notes 5)
Mexico Notes – part 5 Breathless foam Starfish-laden scaly crest of wave Balloons of stinging jellyfish The crush of birth called beach. Journal, Mayo 27, 2003 We headed southwest, towards the ocean, through gargantuan agri-business fields and tractors to rival my Iowa birthplace. As boring as this was, I was glad to be gone from […]
From Baja to the Mexican mainland by ferry
A Woman’s Perspective on Living in Mexico Last night I met Karen Greenbury in person. I first met her on the Internet after she quit her secretarial job in Alberta, Canada and was preparing to take a one-year sabbatical in Mexico. Karen is forty-four, single and travels with her cat and dog. She pulled her […]
Mexico: a visit to Patzcuaro, Tzintzuntzan, Tequila and Mazatlan
A Woman’s Perspective on Living in Mexico Two of my life-long friends from California have been visiting with me the past two weeks. This is Marcy’s third visit. It’s Nancy’s first. I’m always nervous about first-time visitors. Will they see Mexico the way I do? Can they get past the poverty to see the beauty […]
Mazatlan: Tequila, tans and working stiffs
Mazatlan has the virtues and vices of any tourist destination. But all the bad stuff – or good, depending on how you plan to spend the evening – is buffered by the decency and solidity of a working town. Unlike the hotel cities dreamed up by governments beholden to tourist dollars, Mazatlan, the second city […]
Mazatlan Trip Report
Posted by Thom on January 04, 1997 My wife and I just returned from MONTH in Mexico, the better part of which we spent in Mazatlan. We have been to Mexicoís other Pacific coast resort areas several times, but for some reason, we had never been to Mazatlan. We booked our flight and the first […]
