The five crazy days of Carnival in Mazatlán is the time to see the city at its very best – and worst – when this usually bustling fishing port and low-key beach resort transforms itself into a frantic maelstrom of party-goers, hawkers and bug-eyed tourists. Carnival here is an excuse to eke out the last of your sins before Lent, and you are likely to encounter some of the thickest, craziest crowds you’ll ever see. Mazatlán’s celebration of Mardi Gras is said to be the third largest carnival in the world after those in New Orleans and Rio de Janeiro, attracting as many as 300,000 – 400,000 revellers. The countdown to Mazatlán’s Carnival begins five days before Ash Wednesday, but predictably the festivities are at their wildest on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, before people head home to be with their family or their church.