Just odds and ends about Mazatlan

Well today was a day we did nothing – except go out to breakfast and to the grocery store. The ocean was really rough today, big big waves and lots of wind. At least it stayed cool. I thought it was nice everyone else was freezing!

So back to yesterday – Across the street from El Clavadista [the place where I had my raspado and where the divers dive] are some pretty high cliffs. Along one is this. 

For years we speculated on what it used to be. Bill always said a road – I wasn’t sure. Well a couple of years ago we bought a book on the history of Mazatlan and discovered sure enough it was a road! Here is the old picture of it.

Notice the old Fords and pedestrians on it. According to the book in the 1920s the first cars in Mazatlan were Fords so this was an area the Ford owners took their friends to impress them. Then or now I sure wouldn’t want to go across it.

As we walked along we came to the sculpture of  La Mujer Mazatleca – Mazatlan Woman. It celebrates the beauty of the Mazatlan women. You can see the dark clouds that were around most of the day.

And going by the Hotel Freeman – where someday I want to watch the sunset from the roof lounge.

Then we came to this sculpture. No signs or anything to tell us who it was.

So Bill stopped a man walking by and asked him about it.

It is of Fernando Valades Lerjarza a famous Mexican composer. The picture on the piano above the keys is of his wife. Lucila Valdez de Valades. They had thirteen children, 8 girls and 5 boys. They also lived in a house across the street.  A picture of the real man.

The house was originally built in 1823 by a German. Through the years it fell in and out of disrepair – at one time it was an Oyster Bar and Restaurant where John Wayne, Robert Mitchum and Ernest Hemingway hung out. In 2007 one of their daughters bought it and restored it – it is now a hotel and restaurant. The Casa Lucila Hotel Boutique.

Walking a little further on we came to this statue/sculpture of Pedro Infante. The statue of him on a motorcycle honors his role in the movie A Toda Maquina. He was born here in Mazatlan and “With a golden voice, undeniable charm and devilish good looks – he marked Mexico’s Golden Age of Cinema like no other star of his time. The motorcycle looks real enough to jump on and ride away.

We got back in the car and rode out to the port and inquired about sunset boat rides, ocean rides and pangas to Stone Island. Maybe I should add them to my list!

Then just drove around town a bit. Passed this car. No idea why, but quite a paint job.

Looking down some streets. Every time there is a color change it is a different house. The one here could stand a little TLC. If you buy a house in Centro Historico you can restore it, but the exterior has to remain true to the original. One of the problems with buying one of these old homes is parking. There is very little street parking and you can’t turn the bottom floor into a garage like they used to be able to. The front door is pretty high up and small.

More homes, different street.

This old building has a bougainvillea growing on the top floor – or else it is a very tall bougainvillea.

The sun came out for a bit and lit up these buildings. Notice the narrow street.

I posted a picture of the sunset last night. This was just before when we first got to the beach. A parasail – tandem. They landed right in front of us. This is on my list too.

Well another day has passed and the wind has finally let up. We had frozen pizza for dinner. Stuff brought from home. Next time we'll go to Dominoes.