El Malecon - the coastal heart of Mazatlan

Friday, February 20, 2015 Mexico 0 Comments

Roller bladers, skater, bikers, sight seers, joggers or walkers can be seen daily on Mazatlan Malecon” – the longest coastal path (about 10km long) in the whole Latin America which connects the old town – downtown, and the new city – the Golden zone. I am not going to lie, without a doubt Malecon is my favourite part of this city. Everything comes to the life over here and you have x options of how to spend your time. Malecon has become the most popular place in Mazatlan to hang out, exercise and enjoy the spectacular ocean views, wonderful sunsets, cool breezes and monuments. Lots of streetside vendors, restaurants, nightlife are also located along the beautiful beaches. Malecon is also the stage for many big city events such as The Pacific Great Marathon, Mazatlan Biking Tour, International Motorcycle week or famous Carnaval. It’s a perfect place for liberating stress and enjoying the beach atmosphere. Looking for peace, solitude, fun, friends…whatever you are looking for, you will definitely find it here. You can do everything and also nothing over here J I myself come here every day, usually after my work, to relax a bit, watch the sun slipping into the sea and painting the sky into some incredibly beautiful colours. Considering the proximity to my apartment, I take part of Malecon named Olas Altas (the section in downtown) as my backyard and so like at home, I take off my shoes, walk barefoot along the shore while smiling widely on the world around. 

Walking a bit further from the Olas Alas, I come to a place called Parque Glorieta Rodolfo Sanchez Taboada, but locals call it “El Clavadista” due to cliff divers who make their evening performances over here. Definitely something to watch besides the never-ending beauty of sunsets. Divers must be skillfull and very experienced to jump of the cliff because there are rocks all around and the water at this point is not that deep, plus the sea is often very rough with higher waves beating the cliffs. These brave men are of course trying to get some money before the jumps although often it is something around 20-25pesos. By getting through all the yummi food stalls and walking more north we get to a Pescadero Beach (Fisherman’s Beach), well-known as a base of the fishermen fleets, gaily painted wooden fishing boats with many different names (even found a name of my brother). Every morning, fishermen gather on the beach just before dawn, form crews and help each other drag their simple boats across the sand and into the sea. Later they are back with their fresh catches! Usually they go fishing for “El Dorado”, “pargo rojo” (red snapper) or others. Hard job to do for sure!

Just next to the Pescadero Beach is Playa Norte, another amazing part of the malecon where I spent lots of my time. It’s kind of a central point of the malecon where people come to have fun, eat, swim but especially exercise and so do I (more in a next post). The symbol of Playa Norte is definitely Mono’s Bichis – monument for the fishermen, “naked human figures in perfect harmony with marine elements such as fish and a dolphin besides the silhouette of a lying down woman, all of this under a lighthouse”. In fact, from the beginning to the end of the Malecon you can find many interesting statues and monuments. Other includes: monument to the Mazatleca woman, monumento a la contunuidad de la vida (monumend of continuity of life), monument of the shield of Sinaloa, La Reina de los mares (the queen of the seas), Pulmonia car, Seals. Malecon is a definitely a “must go place”. Once you visit you will come back again and again. Without much hesitation I can say I have a weakness for this place!