Mazatlán, Mexico
Shrimp capital of the world & home to the refreshing Mexican cerveza: Pacifico
The day after our arrival to Mazatlán, we made our way up the channel to the boatyard, Astilleros Maresca, to give Brizo a new bottom paint amongst other projects.
As we worked our way up the channel, we were shocked to see so many abandoned shrimping boats. In speaking to locals, we learned the shrimping industry has taken a toll with climate change. As the temperature of the Sea of Cortez has risen, the shrimp have moved further out to sea, resulting in many small shrimping companies closing. Nevertheless, shrimp was still the staple dish at local restaurants and just as Bubba described in Forest Gump, “shrimp is the fruit of the sea” and we enjoyed it prepared every which way: ceviche, smoked, barbecued, baked…. you name it!
A brief history on the “astillero” , which was built in World War II (1942), went under a few public - private partnerships and modernizations between the 70s-90s and then went dormant for 7 years during a union strike. Current owner, Gabriel, purchased the yard In 2012 and it has since served commercial shrimping boats, sailing vessels & some mega yachts.
We lived aboard Brizo while work was underway — quite the experience — but the yard had 24/7 security, including 3 guard dogs and 2 guard cats. In addition to getting to know the owner- Gabriel, union workers managed by Jesus, and security staff - we also got to know another sailing couple working & living on their sailboat - Frank & Patsy from Idaho.
While our time in Mazatlán was primarily spent working on the boat, we did escape the yard to explore. We hiked to El Faro - one of the highest lighthouses in the world sitting at 745m, walked through Old Town, enjoyed a Friday evening “art walk” with open galleries & live music, and even ran through various neighborhoods. Mazatlán is a mix of industry & beach with a charming old town. Highlights included:
1) the people — everyone was so welcoming!
2) the food scene— every restaurant was delicious!
The work, which was estimated to take 5-7 days ended up taking 2.5 weeks - at which point we were ready to say goodbye to the shrimp capital and make our way south;
