Andrew Groves, Travis Chapman

We booked online a private excursion to go horseback riding on the beaches of Stone Island, which is just across from where the ship docks in Mazatlan’s industrial waterfront area. We were greeted in the terminal by Randi, proprietor and namesake of the well-known Randi’s Happy Horses excursion. Since the Mercury was the only ship in port that day, there were only seven of us doing the excursion. Randi arranged all the various modes of transportation from the terminal to the horses and back, which was a convenient way to experience a taste of the “real” Mazatlan and rustic Stone Island.

Once we were all paired up with our horses, we rode through coconut groves and onto the deserted beaches, all the while in the care of Randi’s excellent guides. Although none of our group was a particularly experienced rider, we all had a wonderful time that was well worth a few sore muscles later on! Randi’s horses were beautiful and obviously well cared for.

We ended with a leisurely lunch at Victor’s, a quaint local establishment right on the beach. We dined on generous portions of grilled and fried shrimp, mahi mahi, onion rings and fresh fruit. The food was accompanied by even more generous servings of Pacifico beer, which is made right in Mazatlan. Our tab at Victor’s came out to just $61 for our group of five, which was quite a value for all the delicious food and 3-5 beers apiece. We were also visited by several local jewelry and handicraft vendors, and we got the best deals of the entire trip right here. Our only regret later was that we did not do more shopping at this time, especially for beautiful silver jewelry that was more expensive in Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas.

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