"Mazatlan - Sunshine, Smiles, & Seafood " a Mazatlán Travel Page by JetlagCity

After numerous winter months of depressing grey skies, Mazatlan is the cure for me! It's relatively convenient and inexpensive for those of us living in the Northwest U.S., and its brilliant sunshine always brings a smile back to my face.

Unlike some resort towns whose entire existence was built around tourists (e.g. Cancun), Mazatlan is a great fishing town and has been peopled for hundreds of years at least, first by the native Nahuatl Indians and later, in the 1500's, as a Spanish colony. Its name means "land of the deer" in Nahuatl.

Mazatlan is just south of the tropic line, right between the more humid area to the south (Puerta Vallarta) and the desert to the north and east. It has lots of palm trees waving in the breeze, but the air is wonderfully dry, not humid at all.

I also love the giant, gentle pelicans who share the beaches and skies with you. They just add to the exotic atmosphere for me. I only wish I had taken a decent picture of them! Oh well, something to busy myself with next time... : )