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Harry and Bunny Eyer's La Jolla Pension in Mazatlan, Mexico, is a focal point for a quiet revolution under way in restoring the city's Centro Historico district, with much of the effort coming from a growing number of American ex-pats. Long an important Pacific Ocean port, Mazatlan got its start in 1527, and since the 1950s it has been a favorite with Coloradans seeking sunny beaches and the challenge of open sea billfishing for marlin and sailfish. Among those traveling a short two-hour plus flight from Denver to Mazatlan over the years were the Eyers.  For Harry, known to old friends as "Moose", his trips were an escape from the Colorado ski industry coupled with a little real estate development. Bunny's out-of-country adventures were in contrast to formerly teaching art for Denver Public Schools. Initially, running the South of the Border operation was Harry, and Bunny joined him for the longer holidays. They had planned to do it hand-in-hand after she retired, but feeling the unique property, located two blocks from the famous Shrimp Bucket on the Malecon, the ocean-lining walled street, might get away from them, the timetable was accelerated. Harry got there first full-time. "We frequently came to Mazatlan to vacation," Harry recalls while sitting on the multitiered patio shaded by a huge bougainvillea after a breakfast of tamales baked in banana leaves.

The exterior of La Jolla Pension in Matzatlan, Mexico. (Photos by Mary Staby)

They bought the house in November 1999.

The property, whether in periods of being vacant or finely restored as it is today, stands out because it is set back off the narrow street and presents an imposing three-story colorful residence, well-guarded by heavy iron ornamental gates.

"La Jolla was built between 150 and 200 years ago by a gentleman from Seville in Spain," Harry explains. "That is why its appearance is so unique to the area".

It has been a single family home, a two-flat, a dentist's office and family rentals. The house was renovated in the late 1920s. During that renovation baths were added and fixtures were updated. 

"La Jolla had been vacant for eight years prior to our purchasing it", he adds.

"Our goal was to preserve what remained of the original design."

They redid the roof, plumbing, updated the electrical system and added the downstairs main room bath and retiled the Presidente Suite bath. 

"Of course, we repainted and added missing elements," continues Harry. "Otherwise, what you will experience is original and its ambiance is unique".
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Top photo is of Harry Eyer. Bottom photo is of the beach in Mazatlan.

The Eyers talk about La Jolla's centurylong past in detail and with enthusiastic pride of ownership, which is coupled with a "movement" zeal in seeing properties surrounding theirs being bought by Mexicans and Americans and an emerging neighborhood is helping to polish The Jewel, the translation of La Jolla. The gleaming jewel part was sometimes elusive to Harry and Bunny, as the dump truck loads of debris carted off - natural and human - totaled 35. Today, La Jolla's Honeymoon Suite offers a romantic repose, complete with queen bed, stained glass window, two private balconies, a private sitting room with pull out futon couch, and a hot tub  "You will live in the lap of luxury," Harry promises. The Blue Room has twin beds and a sleeping loft for kids, the Green Room has two queen-sized beds, while the El Presidente Suite is the ultimate in elegance.  A three-day minimum is required for all rooms and prices range from $80 to $140 per night for two persons. La Jolla offers telephone, TV and Internet access in the common area at all times. Around the corner from the La Jolla Pension is a much larger project adding to reformation of the Centro Historic, that being The Melville, a full-service retirement center offering 20 apartments, with more planned by the investment group of Swiss, German, Spanish and Mexican interests, who see the growing boomer retirement market meshing well with the Mexican Riviera and Mazatlan's Tropic of Cancer location.

The 12-square block historical district is surrounded on three sides by a city now numbering approximately 700,000 inhabitants, encircling the park-like Plazuelto Machado, a small square of shops, bars, cafes, and the renovated Angela Peralta Theater provides an acoustic experience worth noting.

The walking tour with "Moose" is another because the district is like a small town.

All over the district, which seemingly is filled with real estate opportunities like that seized by the Eyers, the cleanly shaved head of Harry is easily recognized and attracts acknowledging shouts of "Hola, Harry"!
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He knows the nightspots like Restaurant Pedro & Lola on the plaza that does a great bar and dinner business frequently entertained by an American ex-college music prof. flute player from the Northwest who bought a yacht and sailed south to Mazatlan with a younger woman he'd just met. Still together, they've moved on land. Two nights later at P&L's it is a local rock Ôn roll band with a great Gringo play list. The owner stops by the table, thanking Harry and his guests for their patronage. And you can't get back to the La Jolla Pension without a one-drink stop at Davy's SonSin bar, an ex-patriot hang out. The Old Mazatlan district is pulsating with life, Harry says, noting that every evening "Mazatlecos" gather to enjoy the warm breezes and the mouthwatering fragrances that float through the neighborhood carried by ocean-spawned wind currents.

Moon over Mazatlan.

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Classical melodies from the art school, invite you to peek through the windows to watch sculptors, painters, and musicians at their work, he explains. "Anyone who loves culture will be enchanted by the Centro Historico experience".

Just outside the district is the centuries-old Mazatlan port and its marina, now being left mainly to commercial vessels, cruise ships included, and shrimp and game fishing fleets.

Also nearby are the El Centro Mercado and the Moorish-style twin spires of Mazatlan's Catholic Cathedral, the Catedral Basilica de la Purisima Concepcion. Started in 1856 by the Bishop Pedro Loza y Pardave, the cathedral was built at the site of an Indian temple, but because of Mazatlan's turbulent history, it was not completed until 1899 and then elevated to basilica status in 1937. The city's patron saint, the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception, rises over the gilded main alter.

Just to the south from the Centro Historico rises Cerro Creston, which is topped by El Faro, a lighthouse, with its 515-foot elevation.

And from this southern most point of Mazatlan, which means, "Land of the Deer",traveling north for a few heavily trafficked miles up the Malecon, filled with cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, and Mazatlan's unique vehicle, the Pulomonia taxi, an open-air golf cart-looking VW, to the north is the Zona Dorada or the Golden Zone, where most turistas are more familiar. 

Hotels like the Playa Mazatlan, visited by John Wayne, or the once private Denverite-laden Balboa Beach Club, and others such as Los Sabalos, the time-sharing Pueblo Bonito, and El Cid, a mega ocean and golf resort, along with two new marinas, are making Mazatlan even more attractive.

Not long ago, PGA pro Lee Trevino's nine-hole  addition to El Cid's 18 holes opened up. The newest course is a Robert Trent Jones Jr. design for Estrella del Mar, a new residential community where Harry is getting a good deal on his golf by working as a course marshal. 

Mainland Mazatlan is known for attracting Americans and Canadians for vacations and maybe to become seasonal, if not full-time, residents. Nearly directly across the Pacific-fed Sea of Cortez to the west is the tip of Baja California and Mexico's Aspen, the upscale, tony Cabo San Lucas.

Getting to Los Cabos from Mainland Mazatlan is less than an hour's jet plane flight away or overnight on the ferry to La Paz. Porter-Staby, former resort newspaper owners,  are now freelance travel writers/photographers living in Frisco, Colorado, located between Vail and Breckenridge.

To contact Miles Click Here
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