Last time we left off here on YouTube, we were sharing our overnight ferry journey from Mexico's Baja Peninsula over to the mainland. Oh, it's good to see land again! And if you're new around here, we're CHR and Sarah, a husband and wife duo who, with our dog Kramer, are currently driving from the USA all the way to the end of Argentina. We've been in Mexico for about 7 weeks now, and we're loving every second of exploring this beautiful country. The ferry dropped us off in the coastal city of Mazatlán, which is where we're picking up today.
We arrived in Mazatlán with very few expectations. We were told the seafood here was the best in the country and the historic center was beautiful, but that was about all we knew. And if we're totally being honest, our first two days here were less than ideal. We ended up in a bad campground with zero shade, no breeze, and 45 minutes from town. We knew that we needed to give this city a better chance, so we ditched the beachfront spot that had such raving reviews on iOverlander and wandered our way back to the city to see what drew thousands of tourists to this destination every year.
If you're not familiar with the city of Mazatlán, it's located on the Pacific coast of Mexico's mainland. The climate here is hot and more humid than the Baja Peninsula, so we had to adjust to the stickiness that comes with 80 to 90% humidity.
Good morning from Mazatlán! Today, we are hiking up this cliff-rock mountain. Not really sure, but it's apparently the only hike in town, and at the top, there's a lighthouse, and it's supposed to have a really beautiful view of the city. So we came here as soon as it opened at 6:00 a.m. It's already busy; let's go!
Apparently, it's one of the tallest lighthouses only because it sits really high on this mountain. So the lighthouse itself isn't very tall, but where it is, is tall. It's tall, alright, gotta go!
One of the first things that we noticed getting off the ferry was the humidity. So this is not just sweating because it's a very steep hike; it feels like home in Tennessee, just over half a mile. But you go like 750 meters, and you get to 750 meters up the hill, where it turns to steps, and there's 360 steps. Oh gosh, yeah, we just passed step 150. I'm so sweaty, you can see sweat through my black shirt. That's why I wear black; you can't see sweat, and it did not work today.
We stumbled into Little Britain; they have a statue of The Beatles, you know, during Abbey Road, the yellow submarines back here, and a little Mini Cooper. So if you're hankering for some European feel, come to Mazatlán; they've got a street called Liverpool.
Once we had a chance to explore the streets, try the food, and talk to some of the locals, we better understood why this city is a destination for many. While most people visit for the beaches, we personally fell in love with the flower-lined cobblestone streets lined with beautiful, colorful homes.
The very first thing that we noticed about Mazatlán is just how green it is—green trees, green grass, green plants, green everywhere. Having spent the better part of the last 3 months hobbing around the deserts in the USA and Baja, I found even the shade of a cactus to be a cool and refreshing sight. We realized how much we had missed lush green plants until we found ourselves walking along these tree-lined streets through the city of Mazatlán.
This city is by no means a tropical jungle, but compared to the dry Baja deserts and beaches, the greenery was very welcome. There are still signs of visitors like ourselves wandering the streets; most prominently, we notice these little gas-powered cars that were driving tourists around the city and showing them all the best spots in town. Something about these little cars always made us smile because they seemed to be the perfect way to enjoy the warm beachfront city and take in all the views of the city at the same time.
Last night, we were in the same square and were told, "You have to come back between Thursday and Sunday because between Thursday and Sunday, they do a night market." And I think we're here just a little bit on the early side. It's about 6:35 now; we wanted to get here while there's still a little bit of light outside, but it's mostly—there are a lot of tourists here, too, but there's a lot of locals, too. They've got a few little vendors setting up, selling crafts, and that kind of thing. And then what I like is that all these restaurants that line this main square, we were—yesterday there were still cars driving along the perimeter of it, but now they've shut the street off, and all the tables have flown to the outside, and it's beautiful outside. It's like a perfect 70 degrees, and there's live music, and it's so pleasant.
Today, we are having brunch—it's lunch, it's 2:00, we just haven't eaten until now. So it's breakfast for us, but we are at Totem, which is a really pretty little cafe down in the central historic area. So like the one-lane roads, they're very beautiful old buildings, very colorful, with a lot of hip cafes, historic squares, and that kind of thing. So we went for a run this morning along the waterfront, which is beautiful. So similar to what they had in La Paz, you saw that they had that 5-kilometer pathway along the water; this one's actually 13 miles, so it's very long. We obviously did not do all of that this morning, but we went for a nice run, and then we told our hotel and treated ourselves to a nice lunch today. It's a really beautiful place. We're on the second floor and have a patio upstairs, which is so nice and very pleasant.
Mazatlán was beautiful and a fun first stop during our tour through mainland Mexico. Up next, we're exploring Mexico's second-biggest city, Guadalajara. So stay tuned for behind-the-scenes and extra content. You can head on over to our Patreon community; otherwise, be sure to follow on Instagram or like and subscribe here. It really helps creators like us.
With you,
