Mazatlan is a Pacific port on the coast of Sinaloa, with a long beach, a historic centre and a seafront promenade, the malecon, which stretches for more than twenty kilometres and counts among the longest in the world. It has a population of about three hundred and eighty thousand, a fishing and shrimping fleet, a ferry to Baja California and a reputation for fun. Old Mazatlan has restored plazas, a cathedral from the nineteenth century and a lovely opera house, and the street food, especially the shrimp, is excellent. Pacifico beer has been brewed here since 1900, and the carnival, held before Lent, is among the largest in Mexico.
The seafront has some surprises. On the headland of Cerro del Crestón stands a lighthouse, said to be one of the highest natural lighthouses in the world, a steep climb rewarded by a view over the city and the ocean. On the rocks below the malecon, cliff divers launch into the surf for tips, and the beaches fill with families at weekends. In winter, humpback whales can be seen offshore.
For motorcyclists, the road east from Mazatlan is the draw. Highway 40 climbs into the Sierra Madre Occidental toward Durango, crossing the Tropic of Cancer, and the stretch known as the Espinazo del Diablo, the Devil's Backbone, runs along a narrow ridge with drops on both sides. It is a legendary road with hundreds of curves, tunnels and sweeping views, and the Baluarte Bridge, opened in 2012, is a cable-stayed span over 390 metres above the canyon floor, one of the tallest of its kind in the world. The climb takes you from tropical heat to pine forest, and fog and rain can reduce visibility. Trucks are slow on the grades, and rockfalls occur.
Mazatlan has fuel everywhere, and the road has stations at intervals, but fill before the climb. Tolls are collected on the new highway, and an older free road runs alongside in sections. Start early to avoid the afternoon storms in summer. The best season is winter and spring, when the days are warm and dry. Allow a full day to enjoy the road, and eat a plate of fresh shrimp at the end.