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Monterrey and Mazatlán (15 - 22 March 2025)

For spring break this year (when the kids get a random week off school early each spring) we decided to jump on a plane and go somewhere, as opposed to what we usually do for spring break which is nothing. Kristina, the professional travel agent, threw out a few ideas, and the one that stuck was the coastal city of Mazatlán. Although Mexico is a regular destination for us given the short flights from Texas, we try to hit up new locations when we can, so Mazatlán fit the bill. The flights to Mazatlán required a layover in the inland city of Monterrey which we'd heard lots of good things about, so we included a couple days there too for a quick look-see.

Looking south from our hotel in central Monterrey. The city is Mexico's ninth-largest with a population of just over a million, and second-largest metropolitan area behind Mexico City (which is still on the to-do list). Monterrey is considered one of the most livable cities in Mexico, but as a major industrial hub completely surrounded by tall hills and mountains, it suffers from significant air pollution with relentless smog clearly visible in all directions. That aside, Monterrey is also rich in history and culture, and is one of the most developed cities in the country.

We stayed right in the central hub of the city, and had just a couple days to scratch the surface. This here is in and around the Macroplaza area, apparently the fifth-largest plaza in the world (according to Wikipedia). It's full of various monuments and gardens, and is a great spot to meander around. There are stalls set up all over the place selling a myriad of food, clothing, souvenirs, and general crap, and lots of quiet back streets with a myriad of restaurants, bars, shopping, and general crap.

After checking out a few of the sights, including the Monterrey Cathedral (built during the 18th century) and the Palacio de Gobierno (Government Palace), we jumped on a small motorboat for a cruise along the 1.5-mile Santa Lucia riverwalk, which is lined with modern parks and various other attractions.

The riverwalk connects the Macroplaza to the large Fundidora Park, which occupies what was once a steel foundry, and is full of interesting stuff which would have be great to see if we had more time.		Dinner that night consisted of goat, lots of goat, at El Rey del Cabrito (The King of the Goat). Look tasty don't they (and they were)!
About an hour's drive northwest of Monterrey are the huge Grutas de Garcia (Garcia Caves), buried deep inside a steep mountain. There's a walking track up to the entrance of the caves for those who enjoy punishment, but the rest of us crammed into a cable car that took us up there instead. The caves are believed to have formed up to 60 million years ago and were once submerged in sea water, leaving marine fossils scattered about the cave walls. Impressive stuff!

A short drive from the Garcia Caves is the small city of Garcia. We stopped here for lunch and a quick look around.

We were told that "people with money" flock to an area of Monterrey called San Pedro Garza Garcia. In 2018 this area was evaluated as having the best quality of life in Mexico. We like to pretend that we're people with money, we like quality of life, and it was a short taxi ride from our hotel, so we ventured out there for an evening. This here is Arboleda, a large area with residential buildings, luxury shopping, and restaurants. Really nice spot! And that was all we had time for in (and around) Monterrey. Persistent smog aside, it's a great destination, and we could have easily spent the entire week here. Somewhere to return to later.

We can't really drag the girls to Mexico without taking them to an all-inclusive resort on a beach somewhere. Despite our best efforts to educate them otherwise, this is what they think Mexico is haha! This was our hotel in Mazatlán on Mexico's Pacific coast. As per usual, Jade got stuck into the pools and waterslides, and Siena got stuck into the kids' club.

Mazatlán is home to half a million people, and we spent half a day wandering through its awesome historic center.

The area is full of colorful buildings, public parks, and various points of interest.				The girls can only tolerate so much wandering however, so bribes had to be made eventually.

One such point of interest we stumbled on is Mazatlán Cathedral, the city's main religious building, dating back to the mid-19th century.				Mazatlán is a growing tourist destination, and its main beach here is full of future hotels and whatnot that are in various stages of construction.

We organized a guide for a day to drive us inland from Mazatlán and show us around. First stop was the little village of Puerta de Canoas (Canoe Door; no idea why it's call that hehe). We visited a horse farm, and what I assume is the village candy store to sample some home-made fudge. Yummy!

Horse rides and fudge for the kids, tequila for the adults! This is the Los Osuna tequila distillery, with field after field of endless blue agave plants to make that Mexican nectar! This small distillery has been producing 100% blue agave tequila since 1876 using a completely organic process. Kristina and I had multiple samples of the product, and we approved. They also produce tequila-based liqueurs, which are a big hit with the bees (one drowned in my shot).

Up the road from the distillery is the beautiful little town of La Noria de San Antonio.

Apparently not worthy of its own Wikipedia page, all I can say is it's pretty, it's quiet, and it's a great place to find a tree and just hang out under it, evidently.

After a busy day of horse riding, fudge eating, and tequila drinking, we feasted at the Aureliano restaurant, which is also a hotel. Maybe somewhere else to return to later.				Along with more weight gain at the resort (as always), that was it for our spring break! It's always nice to take in some new destinations, and these two were particularly cool.

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