All around town

We spent the next morning exploring the old town center. This part of the day was my idea but everyone else went along (surprisingly) willingly. Our designation was the market in the center of town, but first we explored the streets of the old city on foot. Below is a photo of one of the streets we walked along. The photo is pretty basic, but it gives you a sense of the architecture and style of the homes and businesses on the back streets. We did not see a lot of people walking around the non-tourist areas.

This bank building in the same square as the cathedral was still decorated for Christmas. As you likely know, the words along the top of the building, "Feliz Navidad", translate to "Merry Christmas".

Next stop was the cathedral. The cathedral (translated) is called the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, is a traditional Catholic cathedral. According to sources I read after we returned from Mexico, construction on the cathedral started in 1856 but wasn't completed until 1899 due to turbulence in the region. Still, the cathedral building is over 100 years old and is unlike any church or cathedral that John and Amelia have ever seen before. Below is the view from the outside. Apparently a "basilica" is a special designation given to a Roman Catholic cathedral given special ceremonial privileges by the Pope.

The photo below shows the main altar inside the cathedral. The gold letters in the arch above the altar roughly translate to, "Come to me all who are conflicted and I will console you". 

Next we walked to the town market. We found a mixture of items for sale - fresh produce, meat (FDA-type regulations were not enforced, as most of the meat was not refrigerated), souvenir trinkets and candies. We purchased some candies for the kids but left after about 30 minutes due to the congestion and general chaos in the market.

We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the sister hotel property to the resort where we were staying. We stayed at Pueblo Bonito Mazatlán, which is the first Pueblo Bonito resort in town. Our hotel is an older property that is located closer to the city center. The other property is called Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay, and is a newer resort that is located farther outside of the city. The hotel provides shuttle buses (about a 20 minute ride) between the two locations so that guests of each resort can enjoy the other property. 

PB Emerald Bay was a more expansive property, about six times the size of our resort. We all enjoyed swimming in the infinity pools before lunch. We enjoyed our time at PB Emerald Bay, but we concluded in the end that we are glad we chose to stay at PB Mazatlán closer to town. 

Lunch poolside!

Citrus shrimp salad for me and shrimp cocktail and guacamole with tortilla chips for Scott. I swear the guac and tortilla chips in Mexico are the best. The guacamole always tastes super fresh (local avocados) and the tortilla chips are always handmade and thicker than we are accustomed to in the U.S. And Pacificos always! The hotel was smart to offer happy hour from 12:00-1:00 every day. Happy hour plus the cheap price for beer made for a good excuse to enjoy a Pacifico or two with lunch. 

Below is a meal that I enjoyed one evening. While we were at PB Emerald Bay, I overhead another family talking about a restaurant in town that I had remembered seeing, La Casa Country. From what I overheard, this family seemed to have been vacationing annually in Mazatlán for over ten years, and that day they were talking about how they had to visit this restaurant soon to enjoy the dishes that they craved. The dish I enjoyed was chicken, peppers, and onions stewed in a think, smoky tomato sauce. The stew was served with fresh corn tortillas, and it was so delicious. I love that it was served in a huge mojacete.

And finally, two more photos from the last night we were in Mazatlán. This was New Year's Eve, and most of the restaurants were offering fancy prix fixe menus to celebrate the New Year. Scott and I wanted something more low-key, so we ended up trying a restaurant called El Fish Market. Amelia said that the mixed English/Spanish name bothered her, but the food was delicious. I ordered grilled shrimp and vegetable skewers, swerved with potato wedges and creamy coleslaw.

And Scott got to enjoy his beloved aguachile one last time. Aguachile is a Mexican dish made of shrimp, submerged in liquid seasoned with chili peppers, lime juice, salt, coriander, and slices of onion. From what we understand, aguachile is only available in certain regions of Mexico (Scott enjoyed it when we were in Puerto Vallarta several years ago). I think it's tasty, but it is way too spicy for me. It's like eating a seafood ceviche with a strong spicy kick that gets you a minute after you swallow. Scott says it is one of his favorite foods of all time and I am glad he enjoyed it so much (four times in four days!) while we were in Mazatlán.