Marvelous Sunsets and Exploring Downtown Mazatlan
The best part of living on the west coast, was our proximity to western Mexico. Quick trips to the Caribbean were a thing of the past, but quick trips to Mexico were a welcome change!
The Beachside Hotel
We stayed in a cool resort right on the ocean and made plenty of use of the pool. Giant pools and poolside bars are basically our favorite thing ever on vacation. The beach is fun for exploring and sunset (or sunrise) views, but we would rather spend our lounging hours poolside. Each night, we'd grab a bottle of wine or a few beers and head out to the beach area and watch the sun set over the Pacific. It was one of the most spectacular sunsets I've ever seen (even the Oia sunset couldn't top it!).
Exploring Historic Downtown Mazatlan
It took sheer willpower to pulls ourselves away from the water for a day, but we were excited to explore the history and architecture of the city of Mazatlan. The downtown area was hushed and peaceful on the day we wandered, but every quiet corner had something new and beautiful to photograph.
We started our tour in the town square, Plaza Machado. As with any town square, lots of activity takes place here but we were lucky to catch it on a quiet day when we had our pick of outdoor dining and people watching. We dined at La Tramoya and enjoyed our traditional hardy Mexican meal.
Like many cities in the Latin regions of the world, Mazatlan's downtown included many beautiful old buildings painted with vibrant colors. Long before Instagram #walltraveled, I wanted to pose in front of all of them. It is an understatement to say I really enjoyed the brightly colored walls of this Mexican seaside town (and freshly baked cookies from the local bakery on the plaza)!
As we left the Centro Historico and headed towards the beach (Paseo Claussen), Matt became very eager to cliff dive! Mazatlan is known for its cliff divers and there are very specific sites set up just for this activity. The cliff jumping on the main drag even has stairs to help daredevils reached the top effortlessly. Locals, and tourists alike, were climbing to the top and showing off their best swan dive. As someone with anxiety who is afraid of heights and ocean wildlife, I was not to keen on letting Matt dive but it was exciting to watch others from a distance.
Back near the hotel, we wanted to check out a few of the hopping beach bars and found the most fun restaurant for dinner, Loco's Loco's. Is there anything better than being in the home of Pacifico, drinking beers on the beach? We are always huge fans of Mexican food and there is no better place to eat than in the Mexican beach towns. The seafood is fresh & the drinks are refreshing!
Since we were celebrating Matt's birthday on this trip, we decided to hit up the bars and paint the town red. We were in our 20s and this was a touristy area, so I will admit, we spent our night dancing at Senior Frog's. It's slightly embarrassing now, but at the time, we had one of the best nights out! To end the night on a high note, our mode of transportation home was a tuk tuk ride across town.
Our last day in town consisted of relaxing in the sun and dipping our toes in the pool. We had dinner at the hotel and pre-drinks in our room to celebrate Matt's actual date of birth. Thanks to Matt's summertime birthday and the fact that he is impossible to shop for, we've been taking a trip almost every year to celebrate the occasion. While I wish I could purchase him a meaningful gift that he would love for years, I have to admit that these trips are a great gift for him and really fun for me too. Win/Win for both of us!
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