TRAVEL:

Living It Up in Maz

Bob McDonald fishes Mazatlan, a fishing port on the northwestern coast of Mexico, well out of the path of hurricanes, is a great place for a holiday.

Today "Maz" is invaded by refugees from the cold north by airplane, sailboat and cruise ship. Small wonder, the temperatures hover in the 70's for ten months of the year, the beaches are superb and the deep-sea fishing grounds are among the world's best.

The city of Mazatlan lacks the chic of Cancun and Puerto Vallarta just down the coast. Its casual air reminds one more of Key West than Palm Beach, for one never needs to dress up. Furthermore, many Mexicans vacation there, which makes the city seem more real than the swank resorts built solely for wealthy tourists.

In the Zona Dorado (Golden Zone) to the north, hotels along the beach offer every comfort and price range. From there, the best way to get around town is by pulmonia (a local joke meaning, "pneumonia"), a wide-open jitney that can be hailed at any corner.

Beach at Mazatlan

The Historic District is a good starting point, for its low-slung nineteenth-century structures are springing to life, painted in bold colors that contrast with the black ironwork of balconies and baroque embellishments on doorways and windows in white. Young entrepreneurs from the U.S. and Canada are buying up these old buildings, installing B&B's and shops to sell Mexican artifacts. "How long you been in Maz?" they ask, expecting us to stay, as well.

A small verdant park of palms and shrubs is surrounded by newly renovated Mexican restaurants. The recently opened Museum of Modern Art is showing a pungent collection of prints, serigraphs and paintings, the Archeological Museum has a collection of regional artifacts, and the old Angela Peralta Theater offers drama, ballet and music.

On the Plaza Revolucion the blue-and-gold domes of the Mazatlan cathedral beckon for a peek at the ornate triple gold altar. And as in anv Mexican enclave, you mustn't miss the fun of the Central Market, where fifteen varieties of chili are sold. Farther uptown is a small bullring, but the city's large baseball stadium is more popular among Mazatlecos. We enjoyed the well-equipped aquarium stocked with an amazing variety of tropical fish. Here, a daring diver cavorted with two large sharks in a small tank.

Because deep-sea fishing is a major attraction here, we hired a craft with a crew of two. Carlos, perched up in the superstructure, piloted us out beyond the tiny lighthouse on Its steep hill, beyond the huge rocks resembling pachyderms, out, out, out twenty miles over the gentle swells of the Pacific (so unlike our Atlantic), while we trolled with live bait.

Suddenly Juan, stationed below, sighted eight inches of transparent blue fin protruding from the surface and the boat veered into a circle. By now a plastic squid with a huge eye and trailing ribbons had been substituted for the live bait on the outer lines to attract marlin. The circling maneuver occurred several times before my husband Bob suddenly found a huge Blue Marlin tugging on his line. ("Wow! A 120-pounder! " cried Juan.)

Three times the huge fish, a shiny shaft of resplendent blue, soared into the air, arching and quivering, before wriggling free. It was a bit disappointing, but I was secretly glad that this gorgeous creature was still live and free; we had the pleasure of seeing him.

Among other fish more available in other seasons are tuna, maha-mahi, sailfish and sharks. Back in the harbor, frigate birds swooped low, vying for left-over bait tossed up by the crew, while the clumsier pelicans, unable to catch them in the air, dove spectacularly straight into the water.

By nature we are explorers, and so we spent our first outing in our rented car in search of ancient Indian rock carvings near the village of Dimas to the north. After crisscrossing the countryside and getting directions from helpful local people, we found magnificent petroglyphs on large boulders by the water. Many centuries old, they were well worth photographing.

Beware, however! We traveled on the new expressway and paid thirteen dollars. These Mexican toll roads are magnificent and safe, but expensive. Normal two-lane roads serve just as well for short excursions by rented car. Fortunately, the national Pemex gas stations abound and offer good service.

Another day we visited the colorful little town of El Quelite, where residents grow roses in their tiny front yards and in December were showing incongruous posters of snowmen and Santa Claus. Later, at the Mazatlan Marina and Isla Marina, we discovered huge sailboats--schooners, yawls, trimarans--and motorboats flying U.S., Canadian and Mexican flags. Apparently, hundreds of craft and their owners winter in this warm climate 700 miles from the U.S. border.

Our farthest excursion (60 miles') took us into a verdant land of cattle ranches and huge groves of coconut palms and the tropical marshiands of Teacapan, an ecological reserve. Around this tiny fishing hamlet we saw a variety of wildlife, including a large roadrunner and an iguana to add to our growing list. In a small restaurant we were served delicious fresh fish. Another day we drove east to Concordia, where furniture is made, and farther up into the jagged Sierra Madre mountains among the graceful branches of the jacaranda to a onetime mining village dating from 1565 named Copala. The small, exquisite church was built in 1765. Here we reveled in the banana cream pie for which Daniel's Restaurant is justly famous.

For food, say seafood, for you'll never have fresher fish and shellfish, especially shrimp, than in Mazatlan. Food in good restaurants is delicious and well-prepared. Filtered water is always at hand, no need to buy a bottle. Everyone seems to speak English in shops as well as eateries, and courtesy is the hallmark of the city. No need to step off the beach to shop, for vendors carry silver jeweiry, clothing, carved animals and basketry.

Tennis, golf, sailing, parachuting and horseback-riding are readily available in the Golden Zone. Of course another great attraction to this resort situated right on the Tropic of Cancer is that prices are reasonable, with the peso at ten to the dollar.

To get there: Fly to Houston and from there directly to Mazatlan airport. We picked up our rental car at the airport. Taxis are available everywhere, but don't forget the sociable pulmonias!