Located about a half-hour's drive from the high-rise hotels of Mazatlan, the small, charming town of El Quelite offers a glimpse into traditional Mexican village life. There, children ride burros along cobblestoned streets, and on Sunday after Mass, families gather for barbecue at roadside restaurants.
Perhaps the main appeal of El Quelite is its sleepy, Old Mexico atmosphere. There isn't a T-shirt or postcard for sale anywhere, although a few tourists visit on day trips and shore excursions offered by tour companies. There’s not a lot to see in El Quelite—it's mainly a town for a quiet stroll.
Stops are made at a small bakery, which bakes bread in a clay oven, and at the largest fighting-rooster farm in northwest Mexico. There's also time to stroll and enjoy the colorful houses draped in bougainvillea.
You may be lucky enough to catch a game of ulama, a pre-Hispanic ball game still practiced by the men and boys of the region. It is played wearing deerskin loincloths and using a 7-pound rubber ball.
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