Day 3 (Mazatlan)

Our third day was spent in Mazatlan. I didn't really know much about Mazatlan but I read about a great horseback riding place operated by an American where you could ride horses on the beach, and they let you gallap if you wanted. The place had really good reviews on TripAdvisor so we booked it several months prior to our trip. When we had to move our trip they were great about making the changes for us. We were told to take a taxi to Playa Bruja, a restaurant at the far end of a long beach. It was about a 20 minute cab ride (the cab was open air...like a fast golf cart...kinda scary!) so we got to see a lot of the city. We drove through the "golden zone" full of stores, bars and restaurants. I think we saw at least 6 Senor Frogs! We reached the restaurant, filled out release forms, and began our ride.  I had a great horse, Brandy who liked to be in the front of the pack. Therefore, when Jeff would make his horse run, Brandy would automatically run to keep up :) We had so much fun running up the beach! The beach was pretty but seemed so dead. There were so many high rise condos/hotels, which were all really new. But it seemed like no one was there. Maybe because its the off season (so hot/humid)?

After the hour and a half ride we sat at the restaurant and had the best guacamole and drinks while waiting for the cab. We met a nice couple who rode with us, who was also on our cruise ship, and I admired her fancy lenses for her camera :) I also talked with the lady who was in charge of the horseback riding for about 30 minutes. She was so nice and had nothing but great things to say about living in Mazatlan. She moved there from the US about 7 years ago.

The cab drive took a different route back to the ship and we got to see some more of the city. We saw brand new condo's around a beautiful marina, neighborhoods with homes that would be millions of dollars here in LA, and then really poor areas with shacks along a river, as well as the "projects" where people just used ply wood and tarps to make their homes. It was all very interesting to see. Overall, we liked Mazatlan as it seemed to have some really nice/new areas yet some great authentic Mexican areas with good shopping and food.

Best guacamole!

Views of the city from the top deck of the ship: