After a most wonderful Mothers’ Day yesterday, which went from early morning till early this morning, we were more than happy to sleep in a bit. Thus we got a late start on a Saturday morning bike ride.
This is our favorite time of year: quiet, without crowds, perfect weather. The sky was blue, the air was warm with a light breeze. We biked down the malecón and around downtown to run a few errands. Below are a few of the sights that caught my fancy (you can click on any photo to see it larger, and then click through a slideshow if you’d like).
I always love to watch the fishermen and their boats or pangas. It reminds me of the Izu Peninsula, in Shizuoka, where I lived in Japan for so many years. Somehow, fishing villages worldwide share so much in common. (Again, you can click on any photo below to enlarge it, and then click through a slide show if you’d care to.)
Today there were so many birds out and about. They were loving the fishermen, and the tourists and others who were buying fish who were willing to feed a bit of their purchase to a poor, starving sea bird. As if…
The sun was just a bit too tempting for Greg. He laid down for a bit, enjoying soaking it in. Soon it will be too hot to enjoy doing this, but for now, it’s absolutely perfect!
¡VidaMaz! 
I love your blog. I especially appreciate all the photos and the depth of your stories. What made you decide on Mazatlan?We have been to Cabo San Lucas twice and both times made a short visit to Todos santos, which we loved. But we would like to consider a few other places in Mexico. Is there an artist community in Mazatlan? And how does the cost of living compare with Cabo?
Hi Melanie,
This is Greg. Thanks for the nice comments about our blog. We’re glad you enjoy reading it.
Our decision to “choose” Mazatlan is an interesting one. When I was working California in the 80’s and 90’s, many (as in dozens) of my employees were from Mazatlan. I would listen with great interest when they described their home and when they traveled back for holidays, I would marvel at the pictures and great stories they had to tell. One year in the early 90’s, I was invited to join in on a trip to Mazatlan. I had never been to Mexico, but what the heck! I had a great time and really fell in love with the city. I started coming annually at that time, now over twenty years ago.
When Dianne and I started dating she too had been to Mazatlan, although way back in the early 80’s on various spring break type excursions. Long story short, we started traveling together to Mazatlan, bought a condo to retire in when our son was at university and in 2007 decided to come early. We really didn’t consider any other cities in Mexico. I had been to PV before and Dianne to many other cities. We knew Mazatlan, we had friends who lived here and it felt right. You might say we did it all wrong by not trying out a neighborhood before buying, but when it feels right, it often is.
I can’t compare the cost to Cabo as I am not familiar with the true cost of living there. I expect that it is somewhat higher. I know the cost for a tourist is much higher in Cabo than Mazatlan and that includes everything from a hotel room to a cold beer to a round of golf.
There is a very active artist community in Mazatlan which is centered around the centro historico. There is a well attended art walk monthly November through May. The artists are split between local and foreigners. There are a few galleries in town now as well and they have a wide variety of highly regarded art. There is also great music in Mazatlan and a lot of theater from opera to ballet to familiar and not so familiar stage productions. All of which is very affordable and sometimes free.
For us, the best thing about Mazatlan is that it is a real city. Unlike the Fonatur created cities of Los Cabos and Cancun just to name two, Mazatlan has been around for a long time and is a thriving commercial and fishing seaport. It is a real city with real problems and does not come across as a Disneyland artificial environment. The local people are some of the nicest you will ever meet – I think you know that we love it here.
If you have more specific questions, drop me a line at greg@vidamaz.com and I will answer them or point you in the right direction.
Saludos!