Introduction
Mazatlán has old beautiful 19th-century landmarks such as Teatro Angela Peralta and the Immaculate Conception Basilica Cathedral. It’s known as the most beautiful historic town in Mexico and started out as a resort town. The population is 600,000 and the main language is Spanish but English is spoken in tourist areas. The most accepted currencies are pesos, US dollars, and credit cards.
Some hidden treasures in Mazatlán are: Vanilla; a pure vanilla extract that is amber-colored and not synthetic at all. Mexican coffee; small farms that are run by Indigenous people give coffees a slight fruity flavor. Huichol Native Crafts; Made colored yarn paintings and beadwork by Indigenous people. Molcajete; Kitchen tools made from volcanic rock, bringing the flavors of Mexico in guacamole and salsa.
Local foods consist of: Breaded Shrimp Tamales; whole breaded shrimp with guajillo chiles in a tamale. Governor’s Tacos; is the second most popular seafood with shrimp, cheese, onions, and chiles in a tortilla. Aguachile; which means “chili water” in Spanish and is made of raw shrimp, in water seasoned with chiltpin peppers, lime juice, salt, with cucumbers and onions.
Why we walked in Mazatlán
The next stop on our bizarre Mexican cruise was Mazatlán, where the air was hot and the sea was inviting. It’s known for its gorgeous swimming beaches and resort hotels. It was a really memorable day for more than one reason and will change a course in my life.
Our group headed off the boat together and started walking the town of Mazatlán, It was quite vibrant. Then the most interesting and entertaining thing happened; a Local transport person asked if we needed a ride and if he could be our driver for the day.
At first, we agreed and tried to get in his truck but our group was too big; so we all couldn’t fit. After that, we tried to decline but the local said he could call a friend; we could get two trucks but it would cost more for both of the transport. We declined again but the local kept insisting, all of this was being spoken in Spanish by the way. One of the people with us though was very fluent in Spanish but she was the definition of a white American lady; the local was trying to pull a fast one on her but she put her foot down.
When the locals started arguing about the whole situation our lovely friend argued back…In Spanish! Our group tried walking away but the locals started following us and was yelling at us; when our white American lady friend yelled saying she was going to get the authorities involved they immediately stopped.
Art Museums and Cathedrals!
After that fun interaction, we decided to walk around the whole time. We walked down streets and ended up finding a cool art museum. It was funny because when we first tried to walk in a lady stopped us and we thought It was because of our camera; we started walking away but the lady motioned us back, what happened was she didn’t want us to bring in our water because she didn’t want any accidents to happen.
We also Happened to see a cathedral while exploring It was such a treat, we got to go in and see all the rooms.
While walking, we saw colorful flowers/plants and different cool-looking buildings. It was such a wonderful experience to smell the foods, hear the birds, and see all the vibrant colors Mazatlán had to offer.
Pastries and Directions
We stumbled across a small bakery on our sightseeing journey and decided to stop in. They had lots of different sweet breads, creamed-fill pastries, and cakes. I got a simple bread pastry and it was delicious. Sadly I didn’t get any pictures but next time!
Once our stomachs were full and the day seemed to be getting hotter, the ocean sounded really good. Getting to the ocean was the hardest part of the whole day, the dad of one of our friends kept getting us lost. He kept stopping and asking where the ocean was located then we would walk in circles. He had no sense of direction and after an hour of walking we had someone else take over directions; within 5 minutes he figured out where the ocean was and in 20 minutes we were there.
Swimming in the Mazatlán Ocean
It was quite gorgeous and the smell of the sea made me so excited to get in, If only the sea would let me in. All of my friends and I got in and were having an awesome time. I wanted to see how deep I could go so I kept going, it got deep at one point then there was a sand bar after that. While I was out there in the ocean I found a spot where I could stand and most of my body was out of the water. It was so cool!
After 10 minutes of swimming, the ocean decided that it didn’t want me In it anymore. It kept knocking me down and bringing me underwater, I couldn’t stand for more than 2 minutes before getting knocked down again. Of course, all of my friends were laughing at me and so was the guy I liked. The most embarrassing thing that happened was one of the times I got knocked down, my top was pulled down and my chest got exposed. Luckily the only people who saw me were my best friend and another friend who was a girl, they helped me get it back on.
Blush, I’ve got a crush
Before we got out of the water, I was talking to my crush and asked if he knew. By knew I meant me liking him to which he replied yes. I don’t have a good poker face and apparently, I wore my heart on my sleeve. Some background information; My crush was a friend of my best friend’s sister, confusing yet? I hadn’t met him until this cruise and I fell for him pretty hard. I didn’t think it would go anywhere but fast forward to the present time and he’s now my boyfriend of 9 months. Past me wouldn’t believe it!
Ending the Day
A couple hours of swimming passed and we were ready to head back to the ship. We took one last sightseeing walk towards the cruise ship.
To finish the night we had dinner and did some of the cruise activities, I wish I could tell you more about them but I don’t remember. The one thing I remember is how much fun I had with my friends and how much laughter was shared that day. Thank you Mazatlán for an amazing day and for all of the memories you left me with!
Many of the photos used in this post are from Jeron Osg Photography Go check out his website he takes gorgeous pictures; he has some really cool ones from Canada!
