Old Town

Monday we headed into town on a tour bus. We took the City Tour, which everybody who visits Mazatlan should do at least once. It helps to have someone who knows about the area you're visiting. Our tour guide was Carlos, aka "Charlie Brown." Charlie Brown told us he leads tours during the day and goes to college at night. We drove by his school and he pointed it out. He's studying "Tourism." My guess is that in the USA this would be called Hotel/Motel Management.

We went downtown and visited the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. What a beautiful cathedral. This is actually the third time I've visited the Cathedral and I'm not even Catholic!

The front of the Cathedral

Beautiful altar area

Back when the cathedral was being built, they ran out of money partway through. There was a Jewish family living in Mazatlan who decided to donate enough money to finish the project. In thanks, all of the stained glass windows have the Star of David in them.

We visited the Mercado, the open-air market that covers an entire city block. There are souvenirs, but mostly they sell produce, meats, cheeses and other foods. The locals buy most of their vegetables there. You can find whole pig's heads and huge cheeses.

Charlie Brown took us up a hill, driving narrow turns and switchbacks, so we could get this beautiful view of Mazatlan.

I can't believe this beautiful tree grows out of the rocks.

We visited a museum that was near Machado Square, where all the action is on the weekends. They put out tables and serve food and drink, and people watch. The museum had a lot of Spanish furniture and Mardi Gras costumes from the 1930's.

The requisite cliff diver. They work only for tips, so if you go be sure to tip.

The bus dropped us off in the Golden Zone so we could eat lunch at Panama. Panama has a fabulous bakery and is my favorite restaurant in Mazatlan. It's spotless with waitresses in starched sea-green uniforms and white shoes and stockings.

The rest of that day was spent soaking up tropical air and watching more sunset.

Stan and Jesus. Jesus is a vendor that works the beach in front of our resort. He's been in the same spot for many years. He quit drinking several years back and dedicates his life and livelihood to his family and God. He's made many friends over the years, including Stan.