Mazatlán is a multi-faceted town.  We have a huge shrimp fleet.  We are the home of Pacifico Beer, Café Marino and Coppel. But tourism is a large part of what sustains the town, and part of those tourists are visitors from cruise ships that visit the port.

Usually on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday there are cruise ships in town.  This month there are 24 cruise ships expected.  That’s great, because for every cruise ship of 3,500 passengers, approximately 80% leave the ship to explore the city.  Of those who visit, the average spent for the day is $80 USD.  That adds up!

The cruise ships arrive in the early morning and people debark around 8 or 8:30.  There are swarms of taxis and pulmonias at the terminal, offering basic transportation or full city tours.  The taxis are the only vehicles allowed into the terminal because the cruise lines have deemed pulmonias unsafe since they don’t have seatbelts for the passengers.  But most people wanting a taste of Mazatlán should try one if only to experience having your hair blown in the wind while driving along the malecon.  It is great!

Today I ran up to the mall on an errand and took the pictures that accompany this post on my way home.  You can see the cruise ships from a long ways away. The picture at the top I’ve marked with a few of the local landmarks.  The middle one is a closeup of the cruise ships on the other side of downtown, and the one below is a two-fer.  Two pulmonias filled with happy cruisers heading back to the ship after a day of fun!