We drove down the coast toward Mazatlan. We enjoyed the beach so much at San Carlos, we were eager for more time in the sand and the sun. We got to Mazatlan and found a huge, touristy city (what did you expect, you say...). We were hoping to find a spot to camp on the beach like we did in San Carlos, but with hotels and restaurants everywhere, there was not a free spot of beach to be found!
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| Driving through Mazatlan |
We ended up driving to the very edge of Mazatlan and found a trailer park that, after some bargaining, agreed to let us camp there for only 150 pesos a night. What!!? That sounds so expensive!! Not really, that's only $11 a night, not too bad, considering it included full hookups and had laundry facilities. It even had a pool, which seemed a little silly being right next to the beach. We never saw anyone using it!
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| Punta CerritosTrailer Park |
The trailer park was filled with retired Canadians who spend the winter in Mexico. For some reason, Canadians don't seem to be so scared of Mexico like people from the U.S. are. We met lots of people who have been driving back and forth for 10-15 years and have never had a problem. Interesting what fear and stereotypes can do...
Anyway, the trailer park was located right by two different beaches. On one side of the park is "Playa Bruja", or "Witch Beach". The beach was beautiful. This was the "touristy" beach. Didn't see any witches, but plenty of surfers and sunbathers.
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| Playa Bruja |
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| Ahhh...love the beach! |
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| More Playa Bruja with beach palapas |
There was a beachside restaurant (called ... "La Bruja") where we got our first taste of REAL Mexican Mariachi music. Like true beginners, we were so enthusiastic and requested a song, only to be told after they played it that there was a standard fee for each song! That was our last Mariachi request for the night :) We also were unaware that their "Happy Hour" special was in effect, and that it was 2 for 1 night. Imagine our happy surprise when, after ordering, they brought all of us 2 of what we ordered instead of one.
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| La Bruja restaurant |
When we tired of the touristy beach, we headed to the opposite side of the trailer park, where we saw no tourists, just locals hanging out. Here the beach was rockier and secluded from the big hotels on the other beach. It was beautiful (although it happened to be cloudy on the day I took the pictures) and we enjoyed the awesome view and sunsets.
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| Ready for a swim |
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| Sarah and Matt on the rocks |
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| Beach sunset |
We got daring one day and decided to have lunch at the restaurant at the end of the "locals' beach". They were advertising fresh seafood, like many places in Mazatlan, but this was where it seemed like all the locals went to eat. Must be good! We ordered raw oysters, seafood stew, and fish dishes despite the fact that there seemed to be no running water at all in the restaurant. The food was delicious, and cheap! And no, not one of us got sick from eating there. We adopted a new rule for the trip: go where the locals go to eat...they know best!
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| The restaurant where we ate is at the very end (back) of this picture. Not very picturesque but highly recommended! |
After we had our fill of lazy beach days, we decided to leave Mazatlan and head inland. Goodbye for now, Pacific Ocean!
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| Mazatlan coastline |
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