Mazatlan Old Harbor




Our home for the month was the Old Harbor of Mazatlan.  Everyone said not to go there, it is dirty and dangerous but we came to love it.  It is tucked just inside the breakwater behind a tall hill with the lighthouse on it, el Faro.  Originally el Faro was an island but was connected to the town by a causeway in the late 1800s to create the harbor.  It is lined with small businesses in various stages of disrepair, sightseeing boat docks, small restaurants, boat repair yards, our Club Nautica and a marine sciences school.   The harbor is full of sport fishing boats, pongas and stone island tour boats.  From time to time another cruiser comes in to anchor but mostly we are the only sailboat here except for a few that obviously have not moved in years and are sadly in need of repair. 

At the end of the causeway is another hill separating the harbor from the old town itself.  Over, behind or around this hill are the 3 routes into town.  We become very familiar with all 3 routes.  Over leads along a spectacular cliff among scattered homes clinging to the side of the mountain with views of the ocean is every direction.  Behind is the backside of the hill, quiet, less steep, more modest houses views of the industrial harbor.  Around takes us the flat way along the waterfront where there are always dozens of beer trucks lined up waiting to be loaded onto freighters, past the main bus turnaround, past several taco stands each with their own style of food and to the laundry where clothes are washed for 50 pesos/load.  One way or the other, we the 20 minute walk into town almost every day.  Little by little the locals get to know us and there is always a greeting se we go by.

Life aboard settles into a comfortable routine.  We have plenty of power thanks to the solar panels.  Plenty of water thanks to the water maker. We “make water” twice a week, not because we use that much water but because it has to be run to flush the filters.  We do have to carry a small gas can for gas to power the generator which runs the water maker since it draws too much power to run off of the solar panels. Our dingy has an electric motor which is charged with solar panels so we also don’t need to worry about gas for that motor.  The only thing we have to worry about is propane for the stove.  Maybe someday we will put in an electric stovetop and then we won’t need to worry about that.   We have internet access via phone service on the iPad.  If we want full internet we go ashore where the Club has a room upstairs set aside for internet.  Unfortunately, there is no glass in the windows so it gets were breezy and the lights don’t work.  But is is a very fast internet connection so we spend an afternoon there about once a week.  Because we are in a harbor, we cannot get SSB radio or hear anything on the VHF radio except for the local traffic from the port captain so we have lost contact with the cruising community except for the occasional boat that anchors for a few days before heading on south.   We hoist the dingy onto the deck at night and toss it back into the water in the morning.  When we go ashore we take the handle off and leave it with the watchman in the office.

Morning starts with the sun coloring the crumbling concrete of the buildings ashore a lovely rich orange.  A rooster crows in the distance.  Men arrive to get to work on various rebuilding projects.  The buildings in the harbor are all in various stages of falling apart but here and there new paint is going on, doors are being rebuilt, debris is being removed.  The whole place looks like it has fallen on hard times but is gradually coming back to life.  Trucks and bulldozers rev their engines and the sport fishing boats head out to sea.  About 9:30 the catamarans arrive with music blaring and pull up to their docks to load up with people  taking the day trip to stone island.  Lunch included, free drinks and a charming tour guide for your pleasure.  Some days they are full and somedays there are just a few passengers.  between 2:00 and 3:00 the stone island boats return.  Once the tourists are delivered to the waiting taxis the crews gather at one of the waterside restaurants for beer and cerviche, returning fishermen join them and the mariache bands begin to play.  It is by far the worst band we have ever heard but as the sun sets and we have a few beer of our own it takes on a certain charm.   We are definitely in Mexico.