Mexico
Comunidad Isla de la Piedra

Discover travel destinations of travelers writing a travel journal on FindPenguins.
Travelers at this place
    • Day 4

      Centro Historico

      March 25, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

      Beautiful day exploring Centro Historico, or old town. The temp is an ideal 75-79 and blue sky - amazing. Sat oceanside and had seafood tostadas and guac — and a HUGE pina colada. Simple pleasures. It was awesome.

      Still feeling like an infant. Making inaccurate assumptions - like the bus must only take coins, or have to have exact change like olden day US buses. We walked around for an hour trying to get pesos in the form of coins … they make change from bills on the bus. Who knew? Oh yeah .. they did! 😂Woops. And the money - I feel so stupid trying to figure out how much their coins are worth. The bills are so much more resilient than ours (plastic coated) and are beautifully colored. (Honestly everything is so colorful here - the buildings are gorgeous.)

      it’s going to take a bit for me to not instinctively think something is way too expensive when it’s marked $100. They use the $ sign here even tho it’s in pesos. Jordan has to keep reminding me that it’s only $5 - if not, my mind thinks $100.
      Read more

    • Day 73

      Combate Naval

      February 23, 2020 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

      In 1864, the Mexican army and navy succeeded in repelling a French force that was intent on capturing Mazatlan. The French flagship, La Cordelière, was heavily damaged by Mexican cannon fire during the battle.

      Every year during Carnaval, the battle is recreated with a free fireworks display that is, for many, the highlight of the celebrations.

      Last night, Brenda and I braved the crowds and patiently awaited the 11:00 PM start of the pyrotechnics. The number of people attending was truly impressive, with every inch of El Malecon filled with revelers.

      The show started with a spectacular display put on by dozens of drones that was, as far as we were concerned, the highlight of the show. "Mazatlan" was spelled out in the night sky with a pulsating red heart behind the word. Then the drones reformed to announce "Carnaval '20". The music changed and the drones drew out a line of three cannons and a blue, blanc et rouge masted ship, which was rapidly sunk by cannon fire.

      The drones retreated and the fireworks got under way with a bombastic, but somewhat frenetic, display. Frankly, both Brenda and I were a little disappointed by the performance which was impressive in its aggressivity, but chaotic in its presentation. There was no lull in the action with shells constantly exploding at both low and high altitudes. Although one could argue the display was synchronized to the non-stop upbeat Latin rhythms blasting over the PA system, it all came across as a little heavy-handed.

      Nonetheless, it was something we felt compelled to attend and can now check it off our to do list.
      Read more

    • Day 54

      📍 -Mazatlan

      December 10, 2021 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

      Journée avec les 2 couples suisses à profiter de Mazatlan
      Café/pain le matin
      Puis une version de la raclette mexicaine en resto typique après avoir chercher longtemps.
      Visite d'un vendeur de tortillas et des décos de NoëlRead more

    • Day 75

      Carnaval Parade

      February 25, 2020 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

      Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Tuesday, call it what you will, but the days leading up to Ash Wednesday, the commencement of Lent, inspires celebration throughout the Christian world. The forty day period leading up to Easter Sunday is a time where many Catholics commit to fasting, as well as giving up certain luxuries in order to replicate the sacrifice of Jesus Christ's journey into the desert for 40 days; this is known as one's Lenten sacrifice. Thus the elaborate parties in preparation for the fast.

      The Mazatlan Carnaval celebrations ended on Tuesday with the second of two parades along the Malecón. This parade and celebration is much more tame and family oriented than the parades at New Orleans’ Mardi Gras. Drinking is done on a small scale and there is none of the nudity that is so prevalent in the USA, although some of the parader’s costumes left little to the imagination. All of the country’s respective floats matched the themes of their statues that have decorated the city for the last couple of weeks. Each float was preceded by a dance troupe clad in colourful and imaginative costumes aso matching the theme. Candies, t-shirts, noise-makers and water bottles were tossed into the crowd by the people riding on the floats and all of this was backed by a non-stop barrage of up-beat Latin music.

      Brenda and I left before the end of the parade as our bellies were starting to cry out for food by 7:30, but we thoroughly enjoyed the two hours of it that we saw.

      As much as we enjoyed Carnaval, we’re glad the city is now returning to the peaceful, uncrowded place we’ve come to love.
      Read more

    • Day 28

      Jesterday....

      January 9, 2020 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

      When we arrived in Mazatlan we saw posters everywhere advertising a Beatles tribute concert at El Teatro Angela Peralta, a fully restored 19th century opera house. Given my love of the Fab Four and our desire to visit the opera house, we went to the box office and snapped up tickets for the January 9 show.

      The opera house is a beautiful piece of architecture with a facade graced by four Roman columns. The theater originally opened in 1874 and, while it operated continuously until 1964, poor maintenance caused it to fall into disrepair and, eventually, ruin. In 1975, it was flooded by Hurricane Olivia and was for a time used as a parking garage with a giant ficus tree growing at center stage. In 1985, the city had the building slated for demolition, but a group of concerned citizens staged the first Mazatlan Cultural Festival in the ruined and roofless structure, complete with a symphony orchestra performing in front of the dilapidated stage and under the ficus tree at it's center. The grand lady was saved!

      Through public and private funding, the building was restored to it's former glory and was declared a national historical site in 1990.

      Attending a concert there is a treat. The hall has only eight hundred forty one seats, and there's not a bad one in the house. Acoustics are outstanding and the restored cast iron balconies project the history of the venue.

      It's a must see for any visitor to this city.

      Now, about the show. Last year Brenda and I attended a "Beatles" concert in Vancouver that included orchestration provided by the VSO. Admittedly, we were a little spoiled by that one and I guess our expectations for last night's show were pretty high.

      As it turns out, the band on stage this night, Grupo Help!, was formed in Mexico City in 1985 by three Beatles-loving brothers. During the show, they covered three eras of the Fab Four's career, and did an admirable job with the music and hitting the right notes vocally. But there was no disguising their Spanish accents.

      She loves you, ja, ja, ja....

      Jesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away...

      They even managed to perform one of my favorites from 1967's Sargento Pimienta, A Day In The Life.

      And despite the Latin rather than Liverpudlian accents and a few annoying technical glitches, the show was very entertaining and well worth the 500 peso price of admission.

      I am the walrus, koo koo kachoo!
      Read more

    • Day 7

      Mazatlán

      October 21, 2022 in Mexico

      Mit dem Uber lassen wir uns für 10.- 30 Minuten in und durch die Strandhotel-Zone zum Strand vor der Altstadt fahren. Das Centro ist sehr authentisch d.h. mit bewohnten und sonst genutzten 2-stöckigen, farbigen Gebäuden. Touristenläden sind keine zu sehen ebensowenig Touristen (zumindest Gringos) selber. Nach 3 beschaulichen kleinen Plazas, dem grössten bei der Basilika der unbefleckten Empfängnis sind wir schon beim angepriesenen Highlight für die Stadttouristen: der Markthalle in der alles mögliche des täglichen Bedarfs und Lebensmittel angeboten werden. Zumindest um diese Tages- und Jahreszeit hat es erstaunlich wenige Touristen. Die Einheimischen kommen meist mit Bussen oder Sammeltaxis (Pickup mit Schattendach), für die Touristen gibt's Pulmonias, die teilweise optisch aufgemotzten weissen Golfwägelchen auf VW Käfer Basis die aber auch meist leer sind. Am gemütlichen Plazedo Machado für 4.50 noch einen Capuccino und frischen Saft dann nehmen wir ein Pulmonia zum frühen Sushi-Lunch anstelle Frühstück. An der heissen Sonne dann noch zu Fuss eine halbe Stunde ins Hotel und mit dem Auto tanken und einkaufen für's Wochenende, es soll ja in Puerto Vallarte ziemlich stürmisch sein in der ersten Nacht 🌧🌬Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Comunidad Isla de la Piedra

    Join us:

    FindPenguins for iOSFindPenguins for Android