Mazatlán became uncool with travellers over the years, usurped by upstart PV (Puerto Vallarta).

One thing I like about Maz is that it is a real city, with an economy outside tourism. It is a major port, a fishing centre, an agricultural centre.

For our last night in Mazatlan we moved out of the beach resorts (seen in the distance) to the “old town”. Many gringo tourists never see “el centro”.

The original harbour & townsite was built here. El Faro (the lighthouse) on the rocky point is one of the highest in the world.

Years ago I visited the gymnastics club downtown. The space was vacant in 2006.

Bar atop the Posada Freeman hotel with a great sea view.

The gates of Hell? The sign says “Devil”.

We speculated (wildly) that ice for fish may have once been stored deep in the mountain.

The shoreline promenade for tourists provides a series of statue photo-ops.

Dolphins cavorting.

The Inn at Mazatlan must have adopted this statue as their logo.

Parked outside a local college.

The old town is brightly painted. Old Maz reminds me of places in Europe.

Artists, especially bohemian gringo artists, have reclaimed the downtown in a big way.

Cathedral in the main plaza.

I booked a small B&B called El Meson de Cynthia. WARNING – get a quote in writing before making a reservation. The otherwise kindly manager added US$10 / room AFTER we checked in.

Music is the main focus of Plazuela Muchado. We had an outdoor dinner there on a Saturday night. The famous Angela Peralta theatre was not open that night.

The $10 cot at El Meson de Cynthia was useless. Randy slept on the floor instead.

A famous actor-statue.

Dancers on the central plaza.

I rolled my ugly dog up to the Belmar, the BEST hotel in Mazatlan. (In 1922.) It fell out of favour after the State Governor was shot dead at a fiesta there.

It was rundown but very good, I thought. They are starting to think about remodelling on advice from regular guests like Jack Kerouac.

The Belmar pool needs some work.

NEXT? I take the ferry to La Paz, Baja. 🙂