Mazatlan, Mexico

Mazatlán spreads for 15 sunsplashed miles along a thumb of land that extends southward into the Pacific just below the Tropic of Cancer.

Mazatlán marks the beginning of the Mexican tropics: a palmy land of perpetual summer and a refuge from winter cold for growing numbers of international vacationers.

Mazatlán's beauty is renowned. Its coast sprinkled with beckoning islands and miles of golden bleaches and blue lagoons, it aptly deserves its title as "Pearl of the Pacific".

Mazatlan meaning "land of the deer" in the ancient Nahuatl language offers miles of inviting sandy beaches. It's no wonder Mazatlan plays host to more than one million visitors per year.

The vacationers come and frolic on the beach beside their " Golden Zone" hotels, while in the old town at the tip of the peninsula, life goes on in the old-Mexico style: in the markets, the churches, and the shady plazas scattered throughout the traditional neighborhoods.