Our original plan was to have a quick 3 day visit to Mazatlán. We recently heard of friends getting stuff robbed off their boat in the middle of the night in the anchorage south of old town, so we anchored off of Isla Venados the first night. The next day we brought the boat to Marina Mazatlán. We heard the marina wasn’t too expensive and we rather pay a little money versus having items stolen off our boat. It also would allow us to make day field trips away from the boat without worrying about theft or dragging anchor.

Two days after our luxurious days in a marina, we noticed the leak in our boat was more serious than we expected. Everything was closed for boat repair/haul out, so we had to wait until Tuesday to do an emergency haulout to repair a broken thruhull for our engine intake. We managed to keep the boat floating through the weekend by using a plunger and bung. Yay! In the mean time we made the best of our forced extended stay in Mazatlán.

In hindsight, I’m grateful for the extended stay, even though our cruising kitty isn’t. Mazatlán is rich in history, full of beautiful people, good food, and has easy bus,taxi, and walks. The mall was in walking distance, which the girls loved. Walmart was also in walking distance, making provisioning easier.  The bus ride to historic Mazatlán only costs $1 round trip. The taxi cost anywhere between 70-100 pesos ($5-$6) from downtown to the Marina. We did a lot of walking as well, including the “self-guided walking tour” of the historic district.

We recommend stopping in Mazatlán to all boaters. And definitely eat at Dock7 restaurant at Marina Mazatlán. The seafood is so fresh and amazing and the guys running it are super cool. They also play surfs videos, for an added bonus. 🙂

walking tour map (above)

a cool street just south of the art museum (below)

The kids posing with Pedro the famous Actor and singer at the Pedro Infante Museum (above)

A little history at the Museo Arqueologico

A stroll through the Mercado

The Basilica, Cliff Divers, and public salt water pool.

Out door activities. Above: all three kids climbing ropes at the outdoor adult jungle gym. Below: Ellamae catching waves at Playa Bruja!

Above: Boatschool abroad at La Playa Bruja

Below: science experiment on the dock. Thanks Homeschool Ahoy

Below: Iguanas and kids at Marina El Cid

Our favorite restaurant in Mazatlan, Dock7

Above: Taj’s favorite spot, helping Mom cook in the galley.