Sunday, January 20: A Morning Ride

We’ve been here four weeks and haven’t done one of our favorite activities…taken our bikes down to ride on the Malecon. The temp this morning was a little warmer than it had been and it seemed like a perfect day for a leisurely ride, so we loaded up our bikes and off we went. The Malecon is a seaside avenue in the old Mazatlan district that sports a newly constructed beachfront sidewalk 6.7 kilometers long. We ride on the wide sidewalk along with the walkers and joggers and occasional skateboarders. This morning there were very few people out.On the other side of the street are hotels, storefronts and many restaurants with small sidewalk cafés, including the Shrimp Bucket that is one of the oldest and more well-known seafood restaurants in Mazatlan. We were surprised there was very little traffic on the street, and it was no problem finding a place to park. The photo above is looking south along the Malecon.

There were a few bikers and joggers out this morning; some people were just sitting enjoying the beach and vendors were beginning to set up stands with their crafts.





We stopped at various places along the way, one where the fisherman bring their pongas (boats) onto the beach with their daily catch. A great place to buy fresh fish but we had to pass since we didn’t have a cooler






We rode by the huge rocks where cliff divers perform with amazing dives from a platform high atop a huge rock. After a lot of prancing and posing for the benefit of the audience, dives into the tide pools just as that certain big wave comes in. When tour buses stop here, their pals are out working the crowd for tips.

















This photo was taken facing north from the Malecon. The "castle" in the background houses Valentino's disco and either one or two restaurants.











Among the many thing to see along the Malecon are monuments that characterize Mazatlan. This one, a little open-air vehicle was designed in the early 60s by a local as a new form of public transportation. It's called a Pulmonia. In December of 1965, they first appeared on the streets of Mazatlan and quickly caught on and now serve as Mazatlan's "taxis." You see them scooting around all over town. They don't have meters, but quote you a fare and sometimes you can negotiate a little better price.





As we headed back to where we had parked our car, the breakfast patrons were beginning to fill up the sidewalk cafes. What a great way to begin a Sunday.