In Mazatlan, on the other hand, we had bright blue skies, warm breeze and 0 humidity (or so it felt) and 80F+. My favorite kind of weather!
While our goal was to lie for several days on the beach doing nothing but relaxing, swimming, tanning and reading books, we gave into a pressure of local sales people and ended up listening to a 90 minute presentation about the timeshares. The reward? Free breakfast, discount to a Fiesta Mexicana (a dinner show), free trip to Stone Island (a small nearby Island with free alcohol and free lunch)- the best part of the whole trip was taking the fairy to get to the Island and on the way observing some wild sea lions, and a free tour of the Old Town of Mazatlan. Not bad!
We liked Mazatlan quite a bit. I tried to apply my minimal Spanish conversational skills though everyone speaks English. Overall, the place is not crowded and not a major party town- in other words after 6PM the place would turn into a ghost town. We stayed at Las Flores resort (or rather a hotel) right on the beach (approximately 15 kilometers away from the airport but package that we got through U.S. Airways also offered a free shuttle from and to the airport) with a large and clean room and facing the ocean. The staff was friendly and hotel had two decent size and clean swimming pools (unfortunately, the water was too cold during this season), mini gym, jacuzzi, free internet and a restaurant with decent food. The prices there are fairly low (lunch for $8-$12 per person and dinner $10-$15 per person) and beers were priced almost the same as in a regular Columbus bar. Mixed drinks, especially the popular ones such as Mojito, Margarita, Pina Colada were pricier but at least came in a decent size glass. Majority of the activities were a lot cheaper than in other popular vacation destinations. For instance, horse back riding on Stone Island cost additional $5 per person and a half an hour ride on a jet ski in the ocean cost $80 for two people (my bargaining skills saved us $15 so it cost us $65). The only thing that we didn’t like as much was constant interruption by sales people walking on the beach trying to sell sarongs, jewelry, pastries, souvenirs, etc. The beach itself was fairly small and fairly clean.
What a good way to start a new year! We recommend the place and would definitely visit again..
