"Mission to Mazatlán" Mazatlán by klarson

I spent a week in Mazatlán with a team from my church doing mission work in the Mazatlán "colonias" (housing districts). For details on the work we did, take a look at my travelogues.

Mazatlán is a city of contrasts. We stayed in Las Flores hotel in the "Gold Zone" (tourist area) right on the beach. Just a few miles away, people live in dire poverty.

Kids in the Estero colonia.

One of the most beautiful things about Mazatlán is it's children. Though many of them live in poverty, they have such beautiful smiles!

I also noticed that almost no one begged from us. I have been in other third world nations, and there were always beggers. In Mazatlán, though, it seemed that people would rather work than beg, even if it was washing windshields in the road and then asking for a tip.

Ocean view from our patio in Las Flores hotel.

If you like to have fun in the ocean, Mazatlán is a great place for it! We stayed right on the ocean. It was so nice to jump in the water after a hard day's work in the colonias. There were some good waves to go body boarding on. It was a bit interesting, since there was this island right off the coast which caused the waves to come from two directions at the same time!

I would not recommend Mazatlán for snorkeling or scuba, though. The water is kind of murky.

• Pros:Nice surf, smiling children, good food!
• Cons:Air pollution (mainly from cars), murky water.
• In a nutshell:Muy Bien y Muy Caliente! (Very nice and very hot!)