mexico travel, travel in mexico, visiting mexico, retiring in mexico, magazine about mexico
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Mazatlan A Port, A People and A Pearl Mazatlan is a one-of-a-kind tourist and gringo retirement destination. Driving in from the modernised airport one passes through the coastal plain farmlands and, on entering the city's outskirts one is struck by the thriving pulse of a real working city not just a tourist development dreamed up on a computer by planners in distant Mexico City. It is not only a tourist resort but a port, commercial fishing centre and an ndustrial city of one half million souls. It proudly proclaims itself to be 'The Pearl of the Pacific' but, with its location on the Pacific Ocean at the eastern gateway to the Sea of Cortez, it could also proclaim itself 'The Sportsfishing Capital of the Sea of Cortez'. The rainy season which lasts from July to October can bring heavy downpours and hot humid days, but the rest of the year is delightful: ambient temperatures hover around 20 -24 degrees celsius with cooling breezes and low humidity. The mountains to the north and east separate it from the heat of the Sonoran Desert and the Pacific breezes penetrate this bottom edge of the Sea of Cortez. The original tourist area near the old city certainly has a look of past glory. This is where less expensive hotels - such as the popular Hotel Siesta - overlook the sweeping sand-fringed bay and the thriving activity along the malecon. The malecon is the 4-lane palm studded road that stretches the length of the sea front that exudes the flavour of an old Victorian seaside town. Moving north one comes to The Golden Zone, the prime tourist area developed in the '60s and '70s. Here you will find North American tourists, time-share and property owners in their thousands. Hotels like Costa de Oro and Playa Mazatlan offer top of the line accommodation with all the facilities tourists expect at rates that often put other holiday destinations to shame - and all are located right on the longest sandy beach on Mexico's west coast. Time-share apartments intersperse the hotels and behind these are the tree-lined residential neighbourhoods that are home to North American and Mexican families. The original and biggest of these is the El Cid, a development that continues to grow. But the big development news is just to the north of here. The long dormant Marina Mazatlan has come to life with a vengeance. The number and range of properties from high-rise condos through townhouses to private villas are being built and sold at a rapid pace. Tropical flowers, trees and bushes line the winding avenues and canalized inlets.These inlets house both public marinas and private moorings. In fact the newer northern extensions of this and other developments house some of the most beautifully designed, expansive (and no doubt expensive) homes and villas in Mexico. Many surround this, Mexico's largest marina, and continue north to where a number of new state-of-the-art hotel, full ownership and timeshare properties are being completed along the pristine beaches of northern Mazatlan. But, despite all the above, can Mazatlan be recommended as a real tourist and retirement destination when it is, after all, a predominantly industrial and port city. The answer is a resounding yes because it is this thriving working city that maintains the Mexican atmosphere of 'Tourist Mazatlan'. This is certainly unique among major resorts on the west coast, (this mix is matched only by Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico). To put Mazatlan's importance in perspective, it is: the largest port on the Pacific between San Diego and Panama; Mexico's largest commercial fishing centre; arguably North America's shrimp capital and, last but not least, the industrial and service centre for the towns, mines and agricultural enterprises of the region. But, while a part of the whole, the working city does not obviously intrude on the tourist area and so need not affect vacationers who'd rather not experience real Mexico. In fact, I'm sure many vacationers are blissfully unaware of its presence (or at least the extent of its presence). This is their misfortune. One only has to visit the Mercado (central market) in old Mazatlan to enjoy a true Mexican flavour. Here you will mingle among Mazatlecos who many North Americans - and they themselves - proudly proclaim to be the friendliest people in the country. Old Mazatlan - also known as 'Centro' - lay neglected for years, but now (through the vision of a few long-time prominent Mazatlan families and demand for homes from foreigners), the buildings along the narrow cobblestone streets are being extensively renovated and even rebuilt . It has become Mazatlan's thriving cultural heart and, for Mexico, it exudes a unique post-colonial feel because much of the architecture is in the French Empire style of the latter half of the 19th century. So is the tag line 'The Pearl of the Pacific' really justified. Strictly no. Promoters cleverly invented it using Mazatlan's historical position as the entrepot for pearls discovered off Baja California as a justification to attract tourism. Today the original pearls are gone but have been replaced by a new pearl - a unique tourist and retirement destination - whose value is now being rediscovered by North Americans
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