Category Archives: To Do in Mazatlán

Lighthouse Renovations

IMG_4320-1A welcome investment of over 14 million pesos of federal and state funds have gone towards the renovation of our long neglected yet incredibly wonderful lighthouse, a major tourist attraction as well as a popular workout space for residents here in Mazatlán. The design plans included a transparent, cantilevered overlook, and there was talk about a zip line to Paseo del Centenario as well.

While the lighthouse walk was closed for a while, it is again open and just as crowded as ever with happy people out for a walk in the fresh air. Most of the way up the formerly dirt path is now covered with concrete and faced with rock—it looks really nice. I feel for the workers who have to haul their equipment plus the sand for the concrete up the hill. I guess they will be in shape once this project finishes!

In most areas there is a two to three foot wall protecting visitors from falling; in one key area, at the last major turn to the right up the hill, the wall has not yet been built. At the bottom, before the stairs, there is still a lot of walkway that remains concrete and has not yet been faced. Click on any photo to enlarge it or view a slideshow.

 

Workers have to hand-carry cement and sand for the project.
Rock-faced steps and path
Workers have to hand-carry cement and sand for the project.

At the bottom of the trail they have installed a rock wall in the roundabout and are in the process of building a nice sign. At the top, they have completed a round viewing platform, with stepped seating for visitors to take in the view. Supposedly they will install a statue of a whale in that space, which I find a bit confusing as it will block the view.

 

The lighthouse keepers will be moving to a new building just to the west of the lighthouse; the lighthouse building itself is scheduled to be turned into a museum. I have noticed a whole lot of trash from the renovation project. Hopefully workers will be cleaning all that up before they finish the job.

What I don’t see any sign of, yet at least, is a transparent, cantilevered overlook. Likewise there has been talk that the zip line is history. If you haven’t climbed up in a while, now is a good time. I find it interesting to watch projects as they progress, and adding some safety and beauty to the natural beauty of Cerro del Crestón is very welcome.

Bar with a View

Panoramic cell phone shot of the view from Bar 15

The new Holiday Inn isn’t much to look at, if you ask me. I was rather disappointed with the design as they were building it: small pool, lackluster lobby. But thanks to HI, we now have what is perhaps the most scenic bar in all of Mazatlán: Bar 15!

Opening at 5pm Tuesday through Sunday (closed Monday), it stays open till 1am. Prices are steep by local standards (90 pesos for a cocktail, 40 for a beer), but you are paying for the view! And, having just come back from five weeks in Europe, these prices are a third of what we paid most nice places there.

The view goes clear from Delfín in the north to Centro Histórico and beyond to the south. The deck on the 15th floor wraps around a bit, so you also have a view out over the city.

You can reserve “Bar 15,” Holiday Inn’s rooftop bar, for a private breakfast or lunch party if you have a minimum of 30 people. I know where I want my next shindig!

See you all there soon!

Cerro de los Chivos/Goat Hill

P1110859©Who doesn’t love Stone Island? In the 35+ years we’ve been coming to Mazatlán, it’s been one of our favorite hangouts: pescado zarandeado/bbq fish over an open fire, hammocks,  calm ocean for swimming and killer views. Every time we go, we say, “we should climb Goat Hill.” And, every time, for 35+ years, we don’t. The hammock, a horseback ride, swimming, margaritas, a walk on the beach, a massage… these win out over the hike.

Well, today changed all that. Our friend Dallas loves hiking Goat Hill. His wife Rocio runs Restaurant Cerro de los Chivos (great food and service, open Fri-Sun) at the base of the hill. He has told us that the views are spectacular and that there are, indeed, wild goats. Both proved very true; we counted at least 26 feral goats. The top of the hill is like a tropical forest, and the bottom closer to a desert with lots of cacti. The view is 360 degrees and incredible. Click on any photo below to enlarge it or view a slideshow.

King of the Hill
Goats, namesake of the hill
“Sombrero Island,” I call it, in Stone Island Bay
Goats, namesake of the hill
Goats, namesake of the hill
Rocio’s Restaurant
Our local Titanik
Tuna boats moored on the Stone Island dock
A marker from the 1950s when they connected Goat Hill to Stone Island and dug the port
Our friend Dallas overlooking the port
Dalls
Greg overlooking the island in the bay off Stone Island
Lighthouse as seen from Cerro de los Chivos
Stone Island as seen from Cerro de los Chivos
The port and Stone Island Bay as seen from Cerro de los Chivos
The lighthouse as seen from Goat Hill
The jungle atop the hill
View of our house past the spires of the cathedral
Wild goats, namesakes of the hill
Friendly wild goats
Turquoise water
The port and Stone Island
A very old cactus
Greg with a very old cactus
A very old cactus
Cactus closeup
Texture on the very old cactus
Hotel Freeman from Goat Hill
Baby pigs
The original homestead on Goat Hill
An old tree trunk
The original homestead on Goat Hill
Dallas and Greg
Piglet
This mama pig is all fattened for an upcoming quinceañera
Butterfly
A caterpillar crossing the road
A caterpillar crossing Greg’s arm
Closeup looking up at the top of Goat Hill

No doubt you are smarter than we are, and you’ve made the hike to the top. If you haven’t, be sure you do sometime soon!

Room with a View

DSC_0066EditedI just had to get to know the guy who’d put the two easy chairs on the beach by the fishing pangas in Playa Norte; talk about a room with a view! Turns out his name is Guillermo, and he’s the same guy you may have seen raking the beach and picking up trash, as he regularly does. He is thirty years old, lives with his parents about a block away, and comes to the beach every day to, in his words, “do God’s work, clean the beach, be in nature and enjoy life.” Sounds good to me!

Guillermo has a stand with several different rakes and brooms in it, ready for beach cleaning. He’s fashioned himself a Mexican flag, he has a cross in the sand “because he loves God,” and he’s made a sofa out of a heavy log he dragged into place. While I was there with him he got up several times to kick around an old soccer ball. He invited me to sit in the recliner and enjoy the view. He also has a second easy chair, located a bit of a distance away, that he pulls closer when he wants to visit with someone. Originally he had the extra chair right next to his, but “then you get guests you don’t enjoy visiting you,” he told me. Click on any photo to enlarge it or view a slideshow.

Guillermo
The sofa/chair made out of a log

Guillermo says many of the fishermen don’t like him, because he urges them to keep the beach clean and to pick up their trash. Some of them clean their work areas, he says, but some don’t. “The ocean is their livelihood; you’d think they’d want to take care of it,” he tells me.

After my visit with Memo, I took a little stroll around the fishing pangas. The fishermen were scaling and fileting fish to take home with them for lunch, as most of them had already sold most of the day’s catch. I watched a couple of last boats come into shore, and the tourists enjoying feeding the birds. As usual, the pelicans were hanging around enjoying the fishermen’s scraps.

Our three islands are best enjoyed while riding a bike on the malecón, IMHO.
Fishermen bringing in a panga for the day.
Food! Food!
Catching some zzzz’s.
Lunch
Hello…

Just as I finished, Greg and Danny came with Danny’s new ADULT residente permanente card for the young man, a ballena for them and a New Mix for me. We sat on the edge of the seawall in the shade of a tree celebrating for an hour or so. The view, people watching and birding are so pleasant. If you’re looking for something to do late morning, I highly recommend pulling up a chair in Playa Norte.

A Walk in Cerritos

The weather this time of year is so absolutely perfect here in Mazatlán: cool nights and warm, sunny days. Greg and I love to take hikes, breathe some fresh air, and see what we can see. This week we set out north, in order to avoid the craziness that is south right now. We went to Cerritos and hiked in from the coconut stand on the road to Manantial, where Danny and the Scouts often used to camp. Greg sometimes runs the trails out there; this time we walked and my loving husband waited while I took photos.

Right now the elephant cactus are in full bloom, and boy are the birds having a field day eating the juicy red fruit hiding inside the fluffy yellow buds! There is a road you can easily walk along, and there are quite a few trails winding in and around the new housing developments they’re building back there. You’ll see a lot of flora and fauna, and the telltale signs that you are on the edge of the city, as well. Click on any photo to enlarge it or view a slideshow.

The “yellow roses” (Rosa amarilla it’s called here in Sinaloa), or Cochlospermum vitifolium were absolutely gorgeous this time of year! I couldn’t resist trying to capture their color and texture.

Arnica are also in bloom this time of year; I always love their exuberant yellow flowers. The insect below seems to be thinking, “I’m on the top of the world!” I also loved the “inevitable” shot: life and death.

I’m on the top of the world looking down on creation…
The inevitable: life and death

A few other plants caught my fancy, as you can see below.

Backlit tree sap with a self portrait of the photographer!
I just loved this bundle of cobwebs!

But mostly I was fascinated with the hundreds of birds we saw! I’m not very good at capturing them; they fly so fast, and my lens isn’t long enough to capture them unless they decide they’re not afraid of me. It can be easier to catch birds in a backyard garden or city park, where they know they’ll be around people.

My friend John is quite the birder, and he recently gifted me a Peterson Field Guide. I love it, but I still am never quite sure what a bird is (yes, I have the Merlin Bird ID on my phone, too). I believe the birds below are a Mexican Cacique (there were sooooo many of these!) and a Black-Throated Magpie Jay that was quite fascinated with me.

Before the heat and humidity set in, I do hope you’ll get out and enjoy this wonderful weather. It’s been cloudier than usual, which makes it more pleasant to be out and about as well.