Mexico Walk the Paseos

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Walk the Paseos
Mazatlan's Confrontation of rock and sea is studded with cliffs, lookouts and bronze statues

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There are two 'paseos', walkways constructed along the cliffs over the pounding waves. They have little plazas, benches, narrow paths that lead out to tiny perches over the surf, and some really nice bronze statues. (Most with cute breasts). Olas Altas beach is between the two paseos, and a good place to swim or to grab a drink at several view cafes.

The Paseo Centenario, south of Olas Altas, is less traveled, and for serious walkers. Just walk south--the sidewalk heads up past the Colegio Pacifico, giving great views and photo ops the whole way. Don't miss a shot of the bronze cop on the motorcycle...it's Pedro Infante, THE star of Mexico's golden age of cinema and one of the most popular singers ever. He was born in Mazatlan and the pose on the Harley is an icon, from "A Todo Maquina", its as famous in Mexico as Marilyn with her skirts blowing up is in the U.S. During annual Bike Week old Pedro gets mobbed by bikers and mamas posing on board. You pass some mansions before breaking back back out to stone-railed views of waves and islands. Some paths go out ridges, leaving you standing between sea and sky. At the far end, the Paseo descends to the ferry dock--take a right and you can climb a corkscrew footpath to the top of the lighthouse hill--the highest lighthouse in the hemisphere and a cardiac challenge--but also a heart-stopping marine view.

North of Olas Altas is the more camera-friendly Paseo Claussen. There are several high promotories to sit on, including one bench on a high tower that is kind of scary, but seats two very comfortably. Sometimes divers do torch dives off this lookout, but Acapulco it ain't quite. You'll see the lovely bronze nude Mazatleca , symbolizing the spirit of Mazatlan rising from the spray as well as the legendary beauty of Mazatlan women, overrepresented in Mexico and international beauty contests and a source of routine heartbreak for visiting men. In the seaside plaza where the huge flag flies, there is a rather wooden statue of Benito Juarez, sometimes called the Lincoln of Mexico and a tower where the cliff divers sometimes perform their semi-death-defying plunges. And the charming little mermaid showing her son the land...another symbol of Mazatlan's self image as having risen from the sea. A block later is the most-snapped pic in town, the dramatic 'Continuity of Life' fountain--a dozen life-sized bronze dolphins leaping in the water while a heroic (and anatomically correct) man and woman trail behind them in a huge conch shell. Then the Paseo Claussen continues down through the fishing boats beached at Playa Norte, passing the Marine Sciences campus, to arrive at the Fisherman's Monument...which locals call the "Monos Bichis". A look at the lewdly sprawled woman at the fisherman's feet will show why the "Naked Figures" nickname is so popular. At at this point the main Malecon leads northward to Valentinos and the Golden Zone and you can catch a city bus out there or back into the downtown.