Into Lovely Homes and Jazzy Art Galleries

Two weeks ago, I wrote about how much I think about Mazatlan as our third home country. And then I saw a poster at the El Cid Country Club advertising an Annual Tour of Mazatlan Homes sponsored by the Damas Trabajandos for the “A Drop in the Ocean” cause. What if we upped our investment and bought a home in this city? I reasoned that, even if we do not, the tour would give us excellent ideas about how to decorate our new Viewpoint home base with a Mexican theme. There were seven homes on the tour but these are the five I liked. Two of them I really, really liked.

Casa Maria Cortez

the second floor garden at Casa Maria Cortez

I was immediately enamored by this home. The color yellow is everywhere, unifying the home and brightening the look. The main house has the living room, dining room, kitchen, and a portico. There are also three bedrooms on the upper floor. A two-story casita with an upper and lower bedroom has a beautiful garden area on the second floor that joins the two houses. Also connecting the two houses on the ground level is a swimming pool. With lots of space filled with plants, flowers, and greens, the entire compound feels very open and refreshing. Big décor pieces are flushed into huge windows. The beautiful owner, Maria, operates a popular restaurant across the street.

courtyard, Casa Constitution

Casa Constitucion

Angelina, the owner of the second house, also owns a restaurant named after her. She didn't have a name for her house but, when I pressed her, she said, "Call it Casa Constitucion." The one-story main house has the portico, the kitchen, dining, bar, and master’s bedroom. Built in the 1850s, it feels old Spanish. A small courtyard is in front with lots of greens and a central fountain. The lot is fairly small and the newer yellow casita has one bedroom on the ground and two on the second.

the Catedral Spires
from the Casa Las Campanas

Casa de Las Campanas

We were not allowed to take pictures of the inside of the third home so I only have photos of the garden and porticos. Also built in the 1850s, it feels a lot like a house museum. With many antique fixtures, furniture and décor, American owners Greg and Renee enthusiastically talked about the distinctive features of their home, especially those that the previous owner was able to obtain from Bel Mar, the original Malecon Hotel when they did an update.  The living room, the playroom, the dining room, the kitchen, and the bedrooms are on one floor laid out as an L-shape. There is a two-level courtyard: the upper level with a garden and a central fountain and the lower level with a patio/bar and a small swimming pool. The property is called Casa de Las Campanas. The Mazatlan Catedral’s spires can be seen from the garden and you can hear the bells that begin to chime at 5 am.

dining room, Casa Delaney

Casa Delaney

This property is owned by Kim and Tom Delaney who decided to retire in beautiful Mazatlan just a few years ago. It sits on the area called El Rebajo which means a recess. The original hill was cut-off to create a beautiful raised residential space for the now multi-colored homes (see headline photo). This house is the one with the yellow façade. The entrance opens to a sitting room and a spacious living room that leads to a dining room, split level, that then leads to the kitchen. Between the dining room and the living room are stairs to the family room and two bedrooms upstairs. The dining room looks out to a small garden while the kitchen leads to the bar/patio and a good-sized blue swimming pool at the back.

Casa Guzman

what you see when you walk into Casa Guzman

As they say, “Save the best for last.” The Casa Guzman is on the highest point of Mazatlan, beside the  Observatorio Historico de Mazatlan which is being converted into a museum, atop Cerro del Vigia. So we had to change to smaller buses since the big bus would not be able to climb the winding uphill road. And this house wowed us all. It has a 360-degree view of the city of Mazatlan/ and all the waters around it, It overlooks the El Faro Lighthouse which is the highest operating lighthouse in the world sitting atop the opposite hill, Cerro del Creston, and the twin Mexican “icebergs” so called because they are white with bird poop. More than 17,000 square feet in three levels, new sections are still being built (the renovations started a couple of years ago). The main level has the receiving area, a formal living area, a den, a dining /family area, and a large kitchen that all open to the majestic views. The lower level has a family room, a cellar, and another social area that opens to a garden. There you will find a modern infinity pool and a cedar fire pit area for relaxing. The garden continues on to a play area for the young couple Karla and Amado’s children. The upper floor with the bedrooms was not open for us to see, however. This gorgeous home is elegantly laid out, decorated with stunning art pieces, and built with classy high ceilings.

fire pit, infinity pool, and jacuzzi at Casa Guzman

Dorey and her "Mazatlan Doors"

We took the opportunity to visit the Old Observatory beside it for more photos of the views. This house (and the first) gave rise to the following question: “Should we settle into a beautiful home and forego our wandering life?” After some talk, we decided not just yet or maybe not ever. We could never afford this last one and, even if we are able to buy something like the first, both of us do not really like maintaining a house. All-inclusive vacation and resort community are perfect for us.

Jazzy Art Galleries

But we got lots of ideas for decorating our little Viewpoint home base. At the Casa de Las Campanas was a wall full of Spanish masks. They may be perfect for the space above our bed headboard. If we find at least six pieces we love, we will string them together. Actually, we also got a lot of ideas from the Art Walk in Centro Hispanico that happens every first Friday of the month. We were able to visit around ten of the fifty galleries and stopped only because we had found an art piece that we fell for at the Beau Pres Gallery. It is a collection of sixteen photographs of beautiful Mazatlan doors set in two door panels each with eight frames. Since we have a car, we can easily bring it home! Next year, we will go to more galleries. And we may again tour a new set of homes. It’s not only fun but also enriching.

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