Tom Ogg

I had heard about Stone Island from a friend of mine that spent a couple of weeks surfing in Mazatlan with some friends of his that live there. He shared stories about a break with quality surf on it that resembled Honolua Bay on Maui, so I was keen on finding the spot. There was a swell that was supposed to be filling in on the day we had arrived in Mazatlan, so I prepared to make the trip over to the island to see if I could find the break. Having never been there, I was going on information that I had garnered through conversations with other surfers.

I had to spend time in the morning on the telephone cleaning up some business before I could change into my bathing suit, grab my surfboard and head out to find the break and I ran into two couples from our group that wanted to tag along with me.

The Stone Island Ferry Sign (Isla de la Piedra)

We left the ship, took the tram into the cruise terminal, negotiated our way through the throngs of cruise passengers in the terminal and walked to the gated exit. We wandered through the gate into what seemed like 100 taxi drivers all wanting to take us somewhere. We turned left towards the marina and continued along the port wall until it finally ended. Across the street we saw the Stone Island Ferry sign and followed the road until we finally arrived at the Stone Island Ferry Terminal.

The Stone Island Ferry Terminal

After paying the ten pesos ($1.00) for the round trip to Stone Island, we boarded the ferry and began our trip across the harbor. Once on the other side, we walked across the isthmus to the beach. Unfortunately, the swell had not yet started to fill in and we were greeted by one-foot waves.

The Beach at Stone Island

There was a substantial point to the right that looked as if it could have surf on it with the right swell, but I started asking around about any potential surf spots and was directed to the south about 1/2 of a mile. We started walking until we hit the group of palapa restaurants and decided to set up camp at one of them. We made a great choice and entered the restaurant known as Lety's.

Lety's Restaurant on Stone Island

Lety was a wonderful woman who had her entire family helping with the business. We enjoyed beer and soft drinks all day, ate guacamole, chips, a chicken dinner and a total bill for the five of us came to a whopping $21.00. I was sure they had made a mistake, but no, that was the correct amount.

The Chef at Lety's

The food was excellent and the beers were ice cold. They offered sun and shade lounge chairs for free and had an excellent beach right in front of the restaurant.

The Beach in Front of Lety's Restaurant

After everyone was settled, I took off down the beach with my surfboard looking for the break. I finally came upon two guys in the water on a sand bottomed point with a reasonable right on it. I suspect that with some size it might have been a great break, but it was simply too small for the surfboard that I had brought with me. I made my way back to the restaurant and spent the day going from the restaurant to the ocean and back. It was a very relaxing day. The two wives wanted to try surfing, so I got them in the water and pushed them into the small surf. They loved the feeling it gave them.

After spending the afternoon enjoying the laid back nature of Stone Island, we decided it was time to return to the ship. We made our way back to the ferry wharf and boarded the ferry back to the other side of the harbor.

Boarding the Return Ferry Back to the Ship

I decided that on future cruises to Mazatlan that I would rather come to Stone Island than go to the Golden Zone and/or Senior Frogs simply because it was a true Mexican experience. Even though the ship's horseback riding shore excursion took place here, it was not a touristy feeling being on the beach. There were not the hoards of cruise passengers milling around and the hospitality was genuine and giving freely without the expectation of money in return. If you like a relaxed beach day rather than being with throngs of tourists on a crowded beach, try Stone Island. I think you will find it very satisfying.

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Home Based Travel Agent