Find the beach of Valentinos in Mazatlan. Head to the north end and there you will see a rocky point. There is a large white hotel(?) on the top. Around the point (to the north) is Camerones (shrimps). There is a small dirt parking lot right in front of the break. You can pay to park there.
This is a great little point reef break that starts a little mushy and builds speed as it hits the sand bars on the inside. Watch out for the submerged rocks at the point. I found out the hard way. The locals were telling me there are two seperate peaks when it gets really big and I can only imagine how much fun it can be. Next time I visit I will definately get some photos.
Overview
Atmosphere
All the locals that I ran into were very willing to talk and were very interested in where I am from (San Diego). At first, they thought I lived there (I am very dark and I look Hispanic) until I opened my mouth. They were very respectful and always seemed to take there turn. I think it helped that I tried to speak all Spanish and I knew how to surf pretty well. How different from surfing in San Diego!
General
I can not wait to spend more time there, hopefully in the spring and hunt down some fun south swells. I will be in Ixtapa in a few months and I will make sure to bring my camera...
el Tigre
About the last message on "El Tigre". El Tigre is not a tiger shark. Itīs a very sharp rock with sea urchins on it that pokes out of the take off zone, especially at low tide. The locals take off on top of it because they have the place wired, but I do not recommend this. If you do try it, donīt fall! Itīs called tigre because it has claws and teeth! There is a huge local population of surfers and boogie boarders in Mazatlan. Eventhough they are generally mellow, they have the few spots in the city very wired and generally get all of the waves, at least when the surf is small to medium. Be nice to them and they may let you have a few.As in all of Mexico, the best waves are caught early in the morning, from dusk until around 11:00 AM, when the sea breezes kick in. Also, you may catch the evening glass offs right before dark.Camarones is the easiest spot to surf in Mazatlan, but is a very mushy wave, even when big. Itīs slow and very easy to take off, but no tubes, just a wall that peters out very fast. There are better breaks. There is just one takeoff and everyone knows where it is. The place is usually crowded out when the surf is on and on the weekends.
comment by jelati@sbcglobal.net, 2005-06-13 03:09:01
El Tigre a Camerones
Been surfing the area since 1970 and want to note that there is one hazard not mentioned about Camerones/Valentinos. The old and still frisky El Tigre, a big tiger shark, affectionatly dubbed "El Tigre" by the locals. When he's spotted, all locals spin for la playa. Suggest turistas do same.The white building on the point has been a disco forever, even as late as 1999.(my last visit)Glad to hear, from your post, that the crowd factor seems small now. It was generally a very crowded spot. A tip: give away lots of cerra (wax) to the locals and you will get all the waves you can handle and do them a great favor. Also, the right off the Valentino's point can be wicked fun.(watch out for the razor sharp inside reefs on the right, or you will end up at the local Cruz Roja)The disco on top of the point was/is named Valentino's, giving us turistas a name to reference the break.
comment by webmaster, 2005-01-14 23:05:53
As we've pointed out before....
we do this in our spare time (or something we used to call 'spare-time') and have a back-log of over 6000 submitted spots: so all in all, 1yr isn't so bad. If you wanna help out and add some spots as an 'editor' mail me at webmaster@ wannasurf.com. Thanks!
comment by el Coqui, 2005-08-31 02:23:16