January/February 2022 - Beach life in Mazatlán

We arrived in Mazatlán on a Sunday afternoon. Traffic was reasonable and we easily found our condo. The owners met us for check in and a quick tour, then left us to move in. We had debated a number of locations, some south towards the Centro and malecon, mainly attractive because they had large grassy areas within the condo complex. We “settled” on this one because it appeared to have a small grassy area outside and we thought walks along the beach would be pretty easy. Once we became more familiar with Mazatlán, we confirmed that we had made the best choice.

This was our walk to the south

Our neighborhood was mostly new construction, with many houses and condos in good condition. We felt comfortable walking Gunner, and saw many other expats out and about. The small grassy area in front of our condo worked great for taking Gunner out from time to time, and we loved walking on the beach. I would check the tide charts to confirm if a morning walk would work; if not, we found a reasonable loop through the neighborhood. But most of the time it was a beach walk in the morning, and another in the evening. The majority of the sand was very fine and packed firm near the water, which made for easy walking. We all loved it. Sandy spent time looking for shells, and we also found some strange sea creatures washed up on the beach. The condo was 1 block away from the main thoroughfare, so there was some noise, but not bad. It was most apparent at night, when some of the local bars would have live music. We were within walking distance of a large number of restaurants, so that made going out easy and gave us an extra chance to get some exercise.

The condo was a single-story unit on the first floor, inside an electronic gated area. The first floor was nice because we didn’t have to carry all of our clothes and supplies up/down. The gated area provided secure parking and some reassurance outside our condo. We had 2 bedrooms, each with a double bed and a single bed. It was an interesting setup and a bit crowded, but worked out well. We used 1 bedroom as a clothes closet and slept in the other. All of the infrastructure (water, gas, power) worked well, and the wifi was decent. We had a good-sized refrigerator, microwave, stove, and washer/dryer. Halfway through our trip, the wifi speed dropped to a crawl. I checked with the owner a couple of times and she said it was due to service issues in the area, but we wondered if we had used up their allowance of high-speed data. For the last couple days of our trip, the speeds had returned to normal.

Due to the slow internet speed, we explored the option of a local Telcel SIM card with data plan. I picked one up at the local convenience store for 150 pesos, then added a 30-day 3GB talk/data plan for 200 pesos, and installed the SIM in my old Motorola phone that I had brought just for this reason. One day later, the service stopped working. We located a Telcel office in the mall and went for support. It turns out that the convenience store did not activate my SIM/plan correctly and I ended up on a pay-as-you-go plan, which had already run out. Another 200 pesos later, I had a new 3GB plan, which has been working well. Using my phone as a hotspot really helped out when the internet speeds were poor or when our U.S. phones are approaching the data cap.

In general, we’ve settled into a food routine of cereal for breakfast in the condo, then a restaurant meal around 2-3PM, then (typically healthy) snacks at home around 7 or 8. The food in Mazatlán is very good. Most of our meals were Mexican food, and most of those included seafood in some form – broiled fish, tacos, burritos, molcajetes, etc. We had the occasional pizza, BBQ, cheeseburger, and other more typically American food. Some of the restaurants were based on recommendations in Facebook groups, but most were based on reviews in Google maps. Sandy’s favorite was the modern-Mexican food we found at Neighborfood in Olas Altas. While I agreed, my favorite was probably the papellote-style fish we had at Pancho’s. Both of us also enjoy molcajetes - a stew served in a hot clay pot. If you find one of these at your local Mexican restaurant, they are typically sharable and highly recommended! Most of our meals out were in the $20-$25 range for the 2 of us, including drinks and tip.

Neighborfood burrito and tacos

Pancho's papellote fish

GusYGus ceviche and molcajete

As I noted before, there is a large expat population in Mazatlán. Some are obviously longer-term residents, but many are short-term tourists. Some of the people that we talked to return annually for 2-3 months duration. Because it was hard to tell which expats were temporary vs. permanent, it’s hard to determine the average age of the longer-term residents. In the areas we went, there was always a mix of older and younger people. Also, the restaurants, businesses, and beaches are generally a mix of expats and locals, and there were very few places filled exclusively with expats.

One of the first things we did in Mazatlán was finalize our Mexican Temporary Residency. We weren’t sure how hard it would be or how long it would take, so we figured we should get started asap. We arrived at their local office around 9AM and waited (sitting) in the queue. A woman talked with us around 9:30, got us some forms and gave us instructions. We got assistance from a local lady named Hogla, who has a business down the street assisting expats with their forms. We paid 550 pesos for each of us (approx. $55 total). She filled out all of our forms and then we walked to a local bank to pay the residency fees. We were back at the immigration office around 12, then sat around until 1:30 or so waiting for our turn. By 2PM, we were done and leaving with our new residency cards! The next step, accomplished a few days later, was to visit the local Aduana office to extend the expiration date on the importation permit for our car. I wanted copies of the forms, so we got that done, then back to the Aduana office to file, no additional fees required. Less than an hour total, and our car is legal for another year.

While we were in Mazatlán, we scheduled an emergency preparedness class with a resident expat. She gave us lots to think about with regards to phone numbers and information we should have on hand (i.e., how to give directions to our condo), and also some information to provide to family members back home. During our visit, Sandy started some online Spanish classes. She interacts with a Mexican teacher based in Cozumel through Zoom, for 1 hour, two days per week and then gets homework assignments to review. The total cost for this was $105 per month, so about $13 per class.

Blowing and surfacing

Tail!

Close to the boat

Probably our favorite excursion in Mazatlán was a whale watching trip. We arranged this in advance with Orca Adventures, and it included transport from a local hotel.to the marina. The marina is north of town, and a bit out of the way. The excursion was very good, and the captain and guide were both very eager to find whales and excited when there was a lot of activity close to the boat. We initially followed some pods, but those whales didn’t want to play. The second group we encountered was much more fun. They circled the boat multiple times, breaching and swimming around, giving us lots of chances to see them up close and take some good pictures. Unfortunately, we didn’t get any large breaches during our trip.

We also got some exposure to the Mazatlán arts scene at the Angela Peralta theater. We watched a preview show for the local orchestra, prompting us to buy tickets for the full show. Both were very entertaining and well-done. Twice we went to Brenster’s beach bash (live country music on the beach), and one night we went out to see some local music at the bar around the corner from our house. That band played mostly 70s and 80s rock covers and were “just ok”. Since we’re not into nightlife and still not comfortable walking around at night, the 1 time out was enough for us.

Las Labradas

Sandy at Las Labradas

We visited the older parts of Mazatlán on many occasions. A few times we would drive and park, but in general found it easier to use Uber. The typical cost of our 10-minute drive was 60-70 pesos. One of our favorite destinations was Stone Island. It involved an Uber ride to the south end of town, then a 30-peso boat ride over to the island. Once there, we walked down the beach until we found a restaurant with open umbrellas and lounge chairs. They were free to sit in as long as we were eating or drinking. We also took a drive north to Las Labradas - an area with prehistoric carvings on many rocks along the coast. Other places we explored included the Faro (lighthouse), the Centro area, Olas Altas, and the malecon / seaside.

Mazatlán’s central plaza has been refurbished, now surrounded by modern restaurants and shops, giving it a laid-back feel instead of an active spot for daily business. For that, we had to visit the local market nearby. While the fruit and vegetable vendors were similar to the U.S., we were surprised by the meat and fish vendors. Meat and fish are typically cut up on the spot, then laid out in the open air for purchase.

Mazatlán’s malecon is reportedly the longest in Mexico and is kept in very good condition, but unfortunately is not close to many shops or restaurants. Instead, it’s located between the beach and the street, making for a nice walk, but more for those with a destination in mind rather than for wandering and watching. By taking Uber to the older parts of Mazatlán, and walking in the Golden Zone, driving was primarily limited to grocery trips every 4-5 days (mainly because we only had 2 water jugs, and that’s how often we would replace the empty one). Overall, after 5 weeks in Mazatlán, we only had to buy a half-tank of gas before we headed on to our next destination. And I can't talk about driving in Mazatlan without mentioning the pulmonias. These golf-cart-looking vehicles are widely available as taxis, though often at a bit higher rate due to their uniqueness and gas consumption.

Pulmonia on Calle Constitution

Meat for sale at the mercado

Street entertainment

Both Sandy and I really enjoyed our time in Mazatlán. We appreciated the walkability of the area and the variety of restaurants around our condo. We also really liked living 2 blocks from the beach, and Gunner seemed to enjoy being off-leash and running along/in the ocean. We would definitely return to Mazatlán again. There is a part of me that would like to stay in the Centro/Olas Altas area to get to know it better, but I know that we would also enjoy staying in the Golden Zone again. If possible, we’d like to visit during Carnaval. We didn’t think about the dates when booking this visit, and ended up leaving town right before the party started. Mazatlán’s Carnaval is one of the biggest in Mexico and would be worth a return visit just for that.