42 replies to this topic

[edwyun]

We recently booked our hotel and plane tix using credit card mileage points. Makes things easier for a refund, if needed. One thing with hotels on the beach at Mazatlan - will the height of the hotels get in the way of viewing the TSE?

Edited by edwyun, 05 June 2023 - 05:09 PM.

[rockethead26]

We recently booked our hotel and plane tix using credit card mileage points. Makes things easier for a refund, if needed. One thing with hotels on the beach at Mazatlan - will the height of the hotels get in the way of viewing the TSE?

Not if you're on the beach! I really don't know. It depends where you are trying to view from. We are right on the beach. There is nothing in front of you when on the beach except the Pacific Ocean and the supersonic shadow of the moon coming at you.

[SteveInNZ]

We are right on the beach and depending on the room we get, won't be able to see first contact. The building next door will block our view of that.

While there is nothing but ocean in front of you, the eclipse is in the south-east.

Have a look with the little man on Google maps.

 

Steve.

[bunyon]

According to sky safari, totality happens with the sun at azimuth 134, so southeast as Steve says. However, its altitude will be 68 degrees. I doubt anyone can watch from a room or west/north facing patio but I’d guess it won’t be hard to get buildings out of the way.

[bunyon]

Meant to just say patio. Obviously north/west facing wouldn’t work.

[edwyun]

We're on the beach also.  But many of the hotels there are fairly tall and the beaches are several feet below the hotel .  So I am not sure if the beachfront at the hotel would be the best choice for viewing.  I guess we (and most of us) will have a day or two to scope that out and look for alternatives. 

As an example:

https://www.marriott...n-beach-resort/

Edited by edwyun, 06 June 2023 - 12:30 AM.

[R Botero]

We chose an Airbnb with a roof terrace. Seem to be very popular - the roof terrace design I mean - and it should be good for observing that morning. Otherwise there’s a parking lot in front of our building also. And yes, Google street view is your friend if you are not local. 
 

Roberto

[rockethead26]

We are right on the beach and depending on the room we get, won't be able to see first contact. The building next door will block our view of that.

While there is nothing but ocean in front of you, the eclipse is in the south-east.

Have a look with the little man on Google maps.

 

Steve.

Yes, it does appear to the southeast as you say, but the beach in front of our hotel (and most of Mazatlan) runs to the SE within a few degrees of totality and at 68° altitude, nothing along our stretch should be in the way. Beach chairs for us should be perfect. Of course we'll have to check on that when we're actually there, but it looks good on Google Maps using the street view. There's a small peninsula about 1/2 mile to the SE, but nothing over a few meters of elevation. 

[kfiscus]

Speaking of beaches in the correct place...  I'm hoping to see the green flash over the Pacific while we're in Mazatlan.

[Cajundaddy]

Speaking of beaches in the correct place...  I'm hoping to see the green flash over the Pacific while we're in Mazatlan.

Mazatlan is the only place I have seen the green flash twice.  Good luck!  

Mazatlan is a nice spot if they can keep the cartel crime wave to a minimum.

[Alan D. Whitman]

Speaking of beaches in the correct place...  I'm hoping to see the green flash over the Pacific while we're in Mazatlan.

My recollection from Mazatlan in 1991 was that there was a high jagged island not too far offshore from our hotel, the superb Playa Mazatlan, so I looked at Xavier Jubier's excellent Google map of the path of totality:

 

http://xjubier.free....gleMapFull.html

 

There are two islands close offshore, so you will have to pick your spot to see the sun set over the Pacific in April.

 

Green flashes are great. I once saw two in one January day, at both sunrise and sunset. Sunrise is better because you can see where the Sun will rise, unlike sunset green flashes when you have to keep glancing towards the Sun to see how close it is to setting (of course you will have eclipse glasses handy, so you can check comfortably). My two green flashes in one day were from a 300-foot high cape with the Pacific Ocean through about 300 degrees of the horizon, Cape St. James Weather Station at the southern tip of Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands). It is so far west of the British Columbia mainland that the Sun rises out of the sea -- I could never spot any of the 13,000-foot mountains on the mainland, not even with binoculars.

[gordtulloch]

Mazatlan is the only place I have seen the green flash twice.  Good luck!  

Mazatlan is a nice spot if they can keep the cartel crime wave to a minimum.

Mazatlan is fine, the cartel activity is to the north in Culiacan. When the press was making a big deal out of issues in Sinoloa, the local expat population was posting on Facebook what a crock the coverage was, everything was calm and safe. We felt very safe in Mazatlan, there is considerable presence of various levels of Policia and as I understand it, the cartels don't want to have issues with foreign tourists, bad for business (witness the reaction of the cartels when two Americans wandered into Maramoros and were killed, profuse apologies and delivery of the perps to the authorities.

[kfiscus]

Just bought our airline tickets to Mazatlan.  We fly north to Calgary, Canada first for a layover.

[Plutón]

I will be in Mazatlan, if all goes well. What happens with this kind of event, is that everything, from hotels, to the airport is going to be fully loaded. There is no margin of error for cancelled flights or hotel. I really hope to watch my first total eclipse. 

[kfiscus]

Just bought our airline tickets to Mazatlan.  We fly north to Calgary, Canada first for a layover.

Our airline changed our flight plan.  We'll now be flying directly from Minneapolis to Mazatlan. 

[tony873004]

I'm driving to Mazatlán from San Francisco. I plan on arriving on the 5th. That gives me a chance to scope out a place to observe.

I'm not sure about the beach though. King Tides are when:

• The Sun and Moon line up 
• The Moon is at perigee
• The Sun/Moon lineup is high in the sky.

Being that there's a Total Solar Eclipse that day between 11-12 noon, all 3 of these are happening at the same time.

Checking out the beach at the same time, but the day before should give a good indication of how much beach there will be. I don't want a sneaker wave washing over my setup.

Mazatlán has one of the longest boardwalks in the world. It begins about 1km south of the Gold Zone, where many of the large hotels are located. That might be a great place to set up.

 

For those worried about the tall buildings, TAN^-1 (300/120) = 68 degrees. So as long as you are more than 120 feet away from a 300 foot-tall building, it can't block your view of totality. I doubt any of the hotels are that tall.

[swaroopshere]

I'm driving to Mazatlán from San Francisco. I plan on arriving on the 5th. That gives me a chance to scope out a place to observe.

I'm not sure about the beach though. King Tides are when:

• The Sun and Moon line up 
• The Moon is at perigee
• The Sun/Moon lineup is high in the sky.

Being that there's a Total Solar Eclipse that day between 11-12 noon, all 3 of these are happening at the same time.

Checking out the beach at the same time, but the day before should give a good indication of how much beach there will be. I don't want a sneaker wave washing over my setup.

Mazatlán has one of the longest boardwalks in the world. It begins about 1km south of the Gold Zone, where many of the large hotels are located. That might be a great place to set up.

 

For those worried about the tall buildings, TAN^-1 (300/120) = 68 degrees. So as long as you are more than 120 feet away from a 300 foot-tall building, it can't block your view of totality. I doubt any of the hotels are that tall.

Wow! thats quite a long drive!! Btw, Im from the bay area as well (East bay) and planning to fly into Mazatlan. Ive been thinking of the right location to setup imaging as well.. perhaps we can exchange notes?

[swaroopshere]

Im traveling to Mazatlan as well and staying at a hotel in the Golden Zone area. Planning to bring my imaging setup but finding a good location to setup for the entirety of the eclipse from C1-C4 is going to be challenging. Perhaps the Malecon. On a side note, it appears that the astronomy club in Mazatlan (SAMAZ) is pretty active in spreading awareness of the eclipse as well as reaching out to travelers.