In Mazatlan, visitors can get beyond tourist traps

MAZATLAN, Mexico — The souped-up vehicle that looks like a golf cart is tearing down the Avenida del Mar with the urgency of an ambulance on its way to save a life — except that it's going so fast that we're the ones in danger of becoming the victims.

The Malecon, a 6-mile boardwalk that runs parallel to the Avenida del Mar and the Pacific Ocean that surrounds much of the Mazatlan peninsula, is a blur of lights and people. The night is a surreal blend of laughter and shouting and beep-beep, ocean breeze and clear, starry sky and the edgy adrenaline rush of the unfamiliar. ".....