Famed as an angling center, Mazatlán also has numerous beaches and facilities for surfing, skindiving, tennis, golf, riding and shooting. The name of the town means ‘Place of the Deer’ in the Nahuatl language, an indication of the town’s longstanding association with sporting activities. The malecón, which runs along the beachfront, is disguised by a variety of names, being named Avenida Camaron in the north and then proceeding through a number of name changes until it becomes Olas Atlas in the south. In the evening, strollers promenade along this beachfront among the arañas (covered carts), 4-wheeled carriages and 3-wheeled taxis. The Mirador is a tower on the malecón from which divers give a spectacular display twice a day. ‘El Faro’ on the promontory of Cerro del Creston is one of the highest lighthouses in the world. There are direct flights from Los Angeles as well as from numerous Mexican cities, and a ferry crosses regularly from La Paz in Baja California. The island of Mexcaltitán nearby is said to be the original home of the Aztecs.