"Alan" wrote in message
news:471f7698$0$25681$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...
>I have a free airline ticket for me and a friend from Los Angeles to any
>one of the following cities in Mexico: Loreto, La Paz, Los Cabos, Mazatlan,
>Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta, Manzanillo, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo. Which city
>should we visit?
>
> We are active, fifties, travel a lot, tend to want to see things as
> opposed to doing (e.g. scuba diving) things, avoid eating in the chain
> restaurants we can visit back home, like nice accommodations but it
> doesn't have to be a Big Fancy American Hotel.
While none of these cities would rate in my top ten I have to agree
with Don and Jerry, with your criteria Guadalajara is the top choice on this
list. I haven't visited Baja and I deliberately avoid resort cities unless
there's some reason to go there. The one negative is that Guadalajara is
Mexico's second largest city. It's probably the most Mexican city on this
list, but it's also a pretty typical modern city. There is a colonial
section, but that's a small part of the city. The best part of Guadalajara
is the places outside of the city so I would suggest a rental car and a good
guidebook.
My second choice on this list would be Mazatlan. Outside of the
tourist district it's a very Mexican city. It has a nice small traditional
mercado and a small INAH museum. Again many of the more interesting sights
in the area are outside of the city, but it's a small city and easier to
drive in and get out of. If you're into birding you'll see a lot of birds
that we generally only see in zoos here in the swamps south of Mazatlan.
East of town the "Devil's Spine" is one of the most scenic drives in North
American. It winds around mountain peaks on its way to Durango. It's not a
drive for people who are bothered by heights. At times there are sharp drop
offs on both sides of the highway. You also have to watch out for drivers
who are using both lanes regardless of oncoming traffic. During the Winter I
like Teacapan, south of Mazatlan. The town isn't much, but during the Winter
hundreds of dolphins swim near the beach. Just outside of Teacapan the Hotel
San Francisco is a passable little place right on a beautiful long white
sand beach.
If you have enough time you could take a bus up to Los Mochis and take
the Copper Canyon train to Creel. It must be around a 5 hour drive from
Mazatlan to Los Mochis. Two trains leave Los Mochis early every morning,
first class and second class. I like the second class train, because it's
clean and comfortable and you can meet some of the locals. I don't suggest
going past Creel because you're nearly out of the scenic part of the train
ride at that point. Again, depending on time, there's a lot to see around
Creel or you could spend the night and ride back to Los Mochis the next day
on one of the two trains that leave Chihuahua early every morning.
TB
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