Kathy checked with some old acquaintances who lived in Mazatlan to get a few places to visit. The first recommendation was a breakfast place called Pancho’s up north on the Malecon. We navigated the traffic and streets and found a place to park a block from the beach, restaurants, and shops. I took the pups for a long walk, something they were looking forward to since getting on the ferry the day before. They were so happy to be out and walking for 45 minutes or so. Kathy and I then took to the streets to check on some shops, the beach, and then on to Pancho’s.
It is not really hotter here, but with the sun and the higher humidity it feels hotter, so after a 90 minutes of walking and browsing, we were back at Pancho’s for breakfast. It was definitely a good recommendation as the coffee was great, the atmosphere right on the beach was delightful, and the food was tasty and not overly priced. The whole meal was $430 pesos ($25). We have been eating out a lot lately and that has had a bit of a hit on our budget, so we will be stepping back on this to get back on track.
We decided to visit the old town of Mazatlan, down near the port as it was a recommended highlight. I looked on iOverlander for some street camping spots and checked out a few, but most were too narrow for Howie so we moved on to an area next to some construction and a wider street that was pretty level. We parked and took the pups for a walk in the old town area, first heading to the beach off the Malecon to do some beach combing and wading in the surf (Maggie is a beach bum, Zuzu prefers the sidewalks).
The cobblestone streets, colorful buildings, concrete and stucco architecture is so beautiful. There are several parks with restaurants and outdoor dining along the street and the vibe there is relaxing and peaceful. We took the pups back to the truck and then Kathy and I went back for some more exploring. We wandered for a couple of hours, taking in the sights and sounds of the beautiful place.
When we got back to the truck, we met a local guy named Luis, who recommended a better place to park for the night. He walked me a couple of blocks over to the park, which was really nice in a quiet neighborhood, but had a bit of a sewer smell. I told him that might not work, and he said where we were was fine, but the traffic and pedestrians on a Saturday and Sunday would be pretty heavy. We decided to chance it.
Luis was really helpful as he touted his neighborhood, the local shops, the convenience and grocery stores, and some of the sights. I offered him a beer and we sat on the curb and he taught me a bit of Spanish. 10 beers later, I was out of beers, and we headed around the corner to the Oxxo to get restocked. He helped me “get a good deal” and then we carried it back to the truck and had a few more. Overall it was a couple of hours of BSing and after hinting of a tip several times, I gave him a couple hundred pesos. Kathy came out of the camper after the ciesta and had some questions of pharmacies, and Luis, of course, knew the exact pharmacy to take us to. We walked there and they had the “natural” pills for the two things Kathy was asking for, and we paid about $15 for several month’s supply. Then back to the truck where we bid Luis a good evening.
Kathy and I freshened up and then decided we wanted Italian for dinner as we had passed several of these places while wandering. We found a place called La Venzia that had good ratings, and as we approached, also had live music for the Saturday evening. We got a table just around the corner and ordered a pizza and a Caprese salad. And we were not disappointed. This was probably the best pizza we have had. The crust was crispy on the bottom, but not greasy like pan crusts, plus the mushrooms and other toppings were cooked perfectly. Yum. Or we may have been just hungry. LOL.
We wandered the city at night for an hour or so after dinner and then returned to the truck to walk the pups and get some sleep. It was about 10 and things had picked up in the area. Luis was not wrong on the traffic, loud motorcycles and cars, music, and pedestrians, but about 12:30 is calmed down and got quiet. We woke around 4am to police lights outside and I figured out it was just a road block. All of the other cars on the street had left and we were alone with our police guards.
It turned out the roadblock was due to an event on the 18th, a 5K fun run along the malecon that included multicolored food dyes thrown over the runners. I took a walk with my coffee and watched the runners and skaters as well as the waves along the sea wall. It started to get a bit hot and after walking the pups up the hill and back, we decided to get some pastries at one of the bakeries and then find a new place to spend the night. We have been nursing the batteries since the ferry ride and needed to find a place with power so we could get them properly charged. Solar with a cloudy sky, parking between buildings, and even idleing the truck for 90 minutes only got us back to 35% (we were down to 12% and the system was dinging warnings at us for low battery voltage).
There are no camping or RV lots in south, east, or central Mazatlan. Several are listed in the northern suburbs, so we headed north of the marina to a little place that was listed on iOverlander. The park is really nice, but suprisingly vacant. It was 600 pesos for the night, and had a dump and electricity, some shade, and a nice cement pad to put the chairs out. It is only a block from the beach, and the pups and I made it down there last night after dark. Looking forward to the morning walk to explore it a bit more. There was also an iguana walking by the swimming pool as we drove in to the camp.
There are these interesting birds here that are extremely loud. Sounds like something is screaming/screeching. They are called chachalacas (means chatterbox) and can get quite close.
I wish we were 100% off-grid, but there is always the little bits of things we need; water, black/grey water dump, power to recharge the batteries if our driving is not long enough. So every 10 days or so we need to plug in. We are still deciding if we want to leave Mazatlan today or wait another day. And I am now caught up on my blogging after several weeks of being behind.
Here are some additional photos of Mazatlan; a place we love and would recommend to folks to visit.