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              on souvenirs to be higher than other places but it is fun to look. Shops around
the perimeter sell fake Gucci, Seiko or Rolex watches for cheap prices. If you
sew, be sure to check the material shops on the streets around the market,
where I bought sheeting material for $ 1 per meter. If you are interested in
buying shoes or cowboy boots, prices seem to get better as you get farther
away from the central market.
Plan a whole day to explore downtown. Sit in the shade at the plaza
across from the cathedral and enjoy a cold drink from the restaurant under the
bandstand while watching the pigeons. Banamex, across the street, will
change Canadian money, and upstairs seating at the Panama Restaurant,
across from the Cathedral, is clean and quiet.
There are three malls. Actually there are five, now, but one I don't like
and the other is so new I don't know where it is. La Gran Plaza, Plaza Ley del
Mar, and Gigante Gust one large store) are my choices. The shops in the malls
are expensive but their main stores, Commercial Mexicans, Gigante and Ley
( combination food, liquor and dry goods), offer good prices. Check the low
prices of fruit and veggies and you can understand why I lose weight while in
Mexico; I eat them constantly.
There are hundreds of souvenir stores in the tourist area offering
traditional silver, turquoise and topaz, pottery, leather goods, stone and wood
carving, painting, weaving and, of course, some junk. Sea Shell Museum has
great prices on all sorts of interesting and innovative seashell crafts. Designers
Bazaar offers high quality Mexican arts and clothing and Constantinos Leather
Factory can custom tailor leather goods in a couple days. Any place that has
prices posted on the merchandise will not negotiate price, but will sometimes
give you a deal if you buy more than one thing. The beach sellers and small
shops will often give you the best deal when they are not busy ( morning and
late afternoon). Don't ever pay what they ask; offer half and then haggle.
If you want to buy a hat, look for ' Henry' on the beach in front of the
Playa Mazatlan. Be sure it is Henry, as others will say they are. His hats all
have ' Hats by Henry' on the band around the crown. Henry has been on the
beach forever ( or so it seems). He's a great guy and a wonderful fund of
information if you stop and talk.
You can buy copies of nearly any perfume at about $ 7 for a spray
bottle of cologne or $ 4 for a small bottle of pure essence. I suggest the
Perfumeria downtown, on Angel Flores Street. Just walk west from the
Banamex: you'll find it by its smell!
A great sightseeing tour is a walk along the Malecon. Southward from
Valentino's ( a large, Arabian nights styled building that houses numerous
restaurants, bars and dance clubs), this magnificent 5- 6 mile boulevard runs
atop the raised seawall. You will pass many of Mazatlan's beautiful fountains
and monuments, the cliff divers, Playa Los Pinos where the local fishermen
sell their fresh catch, well known eateries such as Senor Frogs and Shrimp
Bucket, ending at the Olas Atlas Beach. If you continue up the hill ( Cerro de
Vigia) and keep to the right, you will come to the bottom of a very long
staircase that