Mexi Log Fest in Mazatlán

Mazatlán – Mexico – Land of deer

Mazatlán on the west coast of Mexico is a great place to visit and spend a couple of days, or weeks, in. Here I’ll try and answer the most common questions regarding the what, why, and how-to concerning visitis to Mazatlán. Being a photographer I’ll share some photography tips too, especially when it comes to photographing surfing, and water.

Discover Mazatlán – The Hidden Gem of Mexico’s Pacific Coast

If you’re looking for a destination that combines golden beaches, rich culture, and vibrant nightlife, you should consider a visit to Mazatlán, Mexico. Mazatlán is known as the “Pearl of the Pacific,” a coastal city that offers a very unique blend of old-world charm and modern adventure. It’s one of Mexico’s most underrated travel spots. Coming from the winter in north of Sweden I was mesmerized by all the colors in Mexico. I get stimulated by seeing colors, so the city was ideal for me and my photography. A fun fact is that the city seems to be really fond of mermaids, which is part of my logo, there where statues of mermaids everywhere, of course I took photos of the mermaids both the statues and the real ones.

What is Mazatlán?

Mazatlán is a Nahuatl word for ‘place of deer’. Nahuatl is a language and it’s also called Aztec, or Mexicano. Nahuatl t’s an old language, the language has been used at least since the seventh century CE. There are still 1,7 million people speaking Nahuatl, mainly in central Mexico but also in North America. Maybe I should write América Mexicana, instead of the US, as the Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum suggested The US should be called América Mexicana.

Mazatlán is situated in the province of Sinaloa. Its malecón, boardwalk, is a 21 km (13 miles) long stretch of sandy beaches of different characters. Some parts of the beach is a narrow path between the city and the sea, like the beach closest to Centro. Maybe you won’t stay at the beach next to Centro all day, but it’s ideal for watching beautiful sunrises and sunsets. If the conditions are right, you can even surf at the beach too.

Playa Los Pintos, further north on the Malecón, was where Mexi Log Fest was held. The log fest is a big longboard tournament. The site for the competition was at a lovely beach, Playa Los Pinitos, where I could go swimming between heats in the tournament. I was not the only one swimming there, lots of people enjoyed early morning swims without a problem since the surfing took place further out in the sea. On the beach I tasted spicy mango for the first time. The dish, sold by a guy walking around on the beach, is basically diced mango with a very spicy sauce. I thought it sounded very strange to my Swedish ears and tastebuds, but, it tasted great!

What should you do as a photographer when arriving at a new place?

Mexi Log Fest is a longboard surf contest that just happened in Mazatlán on the west coast of Mexico. Last year I was in Mazatlán for two weeks, mainly to photograph surfing but being my usual self I ended up photographing everything else too. That’s how I am when I get to a place I haven’t been to before, I soak everything up with my camera. I usually do my best photography during the first days since everything is new, and I like new stuff. It might be old stuff, like the old neighbourhood Centro in Mazatlán, but to me it was brand new. Now the song “Brand New Your Retro” by Tricky pops up in my head since I’ve got a song for everything.

So, the most important thing when you get to a new destination is to get your camera out and start snapping away.

Are all Mexican places alike?

I’ve been in Tulum previously but the Mexican west coast is completely different. Mazatlán is a big city, but it consists of different parts which are all different and the presence of the sea makes it feel like a much smaller place. The major part of my visit I stayed at a beautiful old building in Centro called Casa de Leyendas just a block off from the sea, each morning I first had coffee at the rooftop of the hotel and then took a walk along the Avenida Del Mar towards the beach where Mexi Log Fest was happening, Playa Los Pinitos.

On some days I stayed and did som photography, on other days I continued walking towards The Malecón where the fishermen where coming in with the mornings catch which they sorted out while being supervised by pelicans. Quite the sight.

Being from Sweden, where we don’t have birds like pelicans, I found them so fascinating they don’t look like any birds I’ve seen before .

I also enjoyed the most beautiful sunsets by the sea, every day for my whole visit. That’s what I really appreciate, seeing the sun rise and set by the horizon. Besides being “the place of deers”, Mazatlán seems to really like mermaids. The city is scattered with statues of mermaids which is perfect for me.

I brought along one drawstring backpack and a sun hat from my collection at HelenaTheSea.com, they were perfect travel companions.

As a conclusion, the places I’ve visited in Mexico are very different from each other.

Food in Mazatlán

The food in Mazatlán was just amazing. Mexican food is maybe my favorite food. Mexican food can be so many things, especially in Mexico where it’s spicy and fresh, the food can be traditional Mexican but I also found Mexican Nouveaux food with influences from other kitchens around the world. I discovered many restaurants with nouveau Mexican cuisine. One hot midday while wandering around in Centro I stumbled upon the best Mexican food I’ve ever had at Marde Fondo.

The restaurant was at an empty plot between two houses and it caught my eye, or my cameras eye, and I got curious and stepped in to the restaurant and asked if they served lunch. And they sure did! Centro is filled with all kinds of restaurants not just the usual tourist food like pasta, pizza and burgers there are restaurants serving bowls and sushi and other kinds of food. The atmosphere in the area is very nice and the old, restored, buildings are colorful and beautiful.

One morning when I went shopping for food I completely got sidetracked by the beauty of Centro in Mazatlán. I stopped everywhere taking pictures of the buildings. Besides buying food at a big supermarket I went into the big market Pino Suarez Mazatlan Market. Basically you can buy everything at the market from handicrafts to food. Took some pictures too, and bought a nice Mexican blanket.

I’m at my best when I have with some kind of mission, during the day, but end up getting sidetracked and discovering other things.

If you want to have some insights into Mexican cuisine you should watch the TV series starring Eva Longoria, the CNN Original Series, “Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico”, a travel and food show that premiered in 2023.

Shopping in Mazatlán

Of course I went to a shopping mall too. I like shopping malls and there’s always something I need that I can’t find in the smaller local stores. There’s a very nice and big shopping mall called Gallerías Mazatlán which has lots of shops, even an H&M, since I’m Swedish – and so is H&M – I always keep an eye out for them. There’s a movie theater and a McDonalds among their selection too. Yes, I like McDonalds. I always try the quarter pounder wherever I am. The one in Mexico sort of wins because you get the salsa verde to it. Salsa verde is a tiny bit better than the spicy ketchup you get in Indonesia. I regret that I didn’t by something from Adidas for Team Mexico since their collection was among the greatest I’ve seen. Maybe next time.

Surf photography

It’s funny what I discover when looking at my photos. Like somebody in a fishing boat filming the surfers, and just how many water photographers there was in the sea at the contest. Sometimes you even see the surfers having a hard time surfing since there are photographers in the way. I think there was an announcement at some point that the photographers should stay out of the surfers way in the water.

There are also drones in the air that I either have to edit out from my photos or, not use the photo. You really have to be a skilled drone pilot to film surfing, everything is moving. At other places I’ve seen drone pilots being dangerously close to the surfers, it’s great footage but dangerous.

Additional things that I don’t mind at all having invading my surf photos are fishermen and birds, they sort of add an element to the photo like a pelican that was sort of surfing in the sky, along the surfer, towards the shore. They sort of looked similar in posture.

Scout the location

When I’m taking pictures in a new place I always scout the location to see what the conditions are like. I try and compose the photos in my mind, is there something scenic to have as background.

In Mazatlán I loved having the white buildings on The Malecón as a backdrop. I always move around quite a lot while photographing too to have my shots from different angles. You also have to study how the sea and the waves move so you are prepared where the best shot of the surfer is.

Another nice thing is to include photos of what’s going on around the surf spot, because there always is.

Photographing longboard surfing vs shortboard surfing

It’s a big difference between photographing longboard and shortboard surfing. When photographing shortboard surfing you have to be fast, just snap away with the camera and have a good focus of the surfer. When later looking at the photos you have to see what the camera captured, edit and crop the photos afterwards.

With longboard surfing, you usually have time to compose the photos in the camera while photographing since everything moves slower. The conditions at sea dictates what kind of surfing is suitable. But of course, this is not a set rule but some waves are better for longboarding and when Mexi Log Fest happened it was great for longboarding.

Finally, when looking at my photos, I just get amazed by how the camera manages to capture the movement of water. Things like how the water moves and interacts with a surf board is not something you can see with you eyes since those photos capture what’s happening at 1/1000 of a second. No eye is that fast. The morning light at the site was just amazing too.

I realize I took more photos of women surfing, than of the men surfing, but that’s just what I always do. I prefer to photograph female athletes since usually they are not prioritized. In professional surfing though, the WSL pay the female surfers as much as the male surfers which is a great step towards equality.

Tourist tours of Mazatlán

Besides swimming and photographing surfing I also took a local tour of Mazatlán in a small open air bus together with some Mexican ladies. The tour was mainly in Spanish, and my Spanish is very limited, but I enjoyed it a lot because I got an overview of Mazatlán and some nice sights.

The tour starts at Catedral Basílica de la Inmaculada Concepción, outside of Liverpool department store. By the way, Liverpool is an also a nice big store if there’s something you’ve forgot to bring. Another shop worth a visit is Señor Frog’s which has nice t-shirts, shorts and other stuff. I’m wearing a pink t-shirt I bought there as I’m writing this. So, good quality too.

Another nice thing to do is walk up to Observatorio Mazatlán. You get great views of the sea and Mazatlán. Surprisingly, I got to do a short longboard skateboarding movie there. It’s a long curvy downhill ride from the top down to Centro.

Of course you can stop a pulmonia, the city’s signature open-air taxis, and go sightseeing in the surroundings. Besides being an open-air taxi, the pulmonias usually have a big sound system so it’s like riding in a disco taxi. And yes, people were dancing and singing in them. There are also local taxis and ride services like Uber are available in Mazatlán. I used both Uber and local taxis depending on where I was and what I was doing. In some parts Uber Food is also an option if you want to stay in and eat, which I sometimes did. Traveling by myself, for two weeks, means I don’t have the energy every day to go to restaurants two, or three, times a day.

Crime in Mazatlán

Mexico, and Mazatlán, have a bit of reputation about crime and cartels. And yes, I saw the military police patrolling the Malecón and the city. But personally I felt extremely safe, on the other hand by the evening I was usually so tiered from the days activities, or from doing yoga, so I did not do proper nightclubbing or visiting bars, my knowledge is limited. Here are some advice from the Canadian government regarding travel to Mexico.

s always with any destination you’re planning to visit – check the news. I’ve cancelled a trip to Portugal because of fires, I’ve left countries that were in political unrest and when the pandemic started I changed my travel plans and went back home to Sweden – ultimately it’s your own responsibility to take care of yourself.

To summarize: Why Visit Mazatlán?

1. Mazatlán has miles of beautiful beaches
   Mazatlán, Sinaloa, has over 12 miles of sun-soaked coastline, including the popular Playa Norte, Playa Gaviotas, and the more tranquil Playa Cerritos. It doesn’t matter if you’re surfing, swimming, or just sipping a margarita, there’s a stretch of sand for every type of traveler.

2. The Historic Centro Histórico
You can take a step back in time with a walk through Mazatlán’s beautifully restored Historic Center. Colorful colonial buildings, cobblestone streets, and landmarks like the Angela Peralta Theater make this area a must-see for culture lovers. The Centro is also filled with great restaurants, bars, art galleries and shops. In the centre of Centro there’s a scenic square called Plazuela Machado, where there are lots of good restaurants, live music is happening and on some evenings there are market stalls too selling all kinds of things like jewelry and handicrafts.

Plazuela Machado is the citys oldest public recreational park. It was built by Juan Nepomuceno Machado, a merchant of fabrics, silver and pearls. Machado is also considered to be the father of Mazatlán. Besides enjoying the food at the restaurants around the park, or doing some shopping, it’s a very nice place just to sit on one of the benches lining the square and do some people watching in the shade of the trees. Plazuela Machado is also one of the venues during the Carnaval.

3. Incredible Seafood & Culinary Scene
   Thanks to its location, Mazatlán is a seafood lover’s paradise. Try the local favorite shrimp aguachile, or head to the Mercado Pino Suárez for fresh ceviche and authentic street tacos.

Things to Do in Mazatlán

• Malecón de Mazatlán: It’s one of the longest boardwalks in the world, perfect for sunset and sunrise strolls, local art, and ocean views. You can also watch the amazing cliff divers of Mazatlán along your walk. The guided bus tour stopped at the cliffs and it was a sight, the divers were even too fast for my camera.
• El Faro Lighthouse: Hike to the top of this active lighthouse, one of the highest natural lighthouses in the world, for panoramic city views.
• Island Hopping: Explore Isla de la Piedra (Stone Island) or Isla de Venados for quieter beaches and snorkeling.

Culture, Music & Festivals

• Mazatlán isn’t just about the beach — its Carnaval is the third largest in the world. The carnival is held every February, it’s a colorful event which features parades, live music, fireworks, and a festive spirit that attracts thousands. You’ll also find local banda music echoing through plazas and beach bars all year round.

Travel Tips for Mazatlán

• The best time to visit: November through April for ideal weather and fewer crowds. I was there in early May and the weather was still great, not too cool or rainy, and not too hot. Just perfect.
• Getting there: Mazatlán has an international airport (MZT) with direct flights from several U.S. and Canadian cities. If you are like me, arriving from Europe, you have to travel via Mexico City and change flights there if you’re not flying via the US. I could already feel some excitement for Mexi Log Fest at the airport, “have you come for the surfing competition?” one official asked me when I grabbed my bag.
• Where to stay: The Zona Dorada (Golden Zone) is great for beachfront hotels and nightlife, while the Centro Histórico offers boutique hotels with a more local vibe. It all depends on what you want to do while in Mazatlán. You can also do like I did, if you’re staying longer, change hotels to experience a different vibe.

No matter when you travel, or where you stay – Mazatlán is a great destination an well worth a visit. I can’t wait to go back!

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