Even though today was a port day, we would not get to shore until 2pm. So it felt more like a sea morning, we guess.
So, here we are in Mexico, country of 111,212,000 (2012) Spanish-speaking people, with the capital being Mexico City. The country of Mexico goes from arid to green with a mix of European and indigenous peoples. Many of those are lost civilizations, such as the Mayans and Aztecs.
Life here is varied, colorful, spicy, and commercialized. There is no doubt that there are uneasy relations with their North American neighbors. Due to sensitive border towns, mixed with violence over drugs and illegal migrations, it is something we have known as realities of modern history.
The best time to visit is October through May to avoid the extreme temperatures. There was a noticeable difference today, since we had some cloud cover, and the unrelenting rays of the beating sun were far less intense. However, the humidity made up for the lower temps.
What is there to see and do? Try going to Mexico City, which is enormously vast and heaving with people. Visit hidden Mayan temples in deep jungles, or see Copper Canyon in the north. Beach resorts, surfing, and a road trip down Baja California are a must.
Dining on the cheap but tasty food is fun, but their chocolate mole is the world’s best. Sweet tamales, cactus leaves, enchiladas, and chilies will satisfy every palate. Their special drink is jugos naturales, a fruit juice of beets and carrots. Also famous has to be their tequila, mescal, and pulque – all alcoholic drinks from cactus.
Trademarks are mariachi bands, malaria, lawless border towns, and margeritas, the drink, not the pizza (too bad).
Random fact: Old civilizations, Olmecs and Aztecs had achievements and cultures beyond what is thought possible today. In fact, they were incredibly advanced in the sciences, but eventually became part of the lost civilizations …..a mystery to this day.
Now, to our port today….Huatulco. It has always been more of a sleepy hamlet, a destination known more for their deep sea fishing expeditions. It wasn’t until the 1980’s that resort developments put this place on the map. Compared to other famous seaside ports like Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, or Cancun, this smaller, more subdued atmosphere appeals to many travelers. With nine bays, a load of restaurants, bars, coffee plantations, gardens, bird-watching, and rivers, it has it all…just on a smaller scale.
Shore excursions offered here included tours from 2½ to 5½ hours for $60 to $190. The highest priced tour was for deep sea fishing (catch and release), with a chance to land blue marlin, dorado, sailfish, yellow fin tuna, and swordfish. Their tours included some we have done on past visits such as rural communities and traditions, where we ate cactus and learned how to make tortilla shells the hard way – by hand.
Bird-watching and five bays by catamaran were also fun excursions. The bird one would have been better, since we expected to see orioles, woodpeckers, egrets, gulls, falcons, sparrow hawks, parrots, and 20 types of hummingbirds. It depends on the time of year you visit, and May was not the time, we guess. Always present are the vultures, gulls, terns, boobys, and frigates. And you can spot these for free on the sail into the harbor.
Speaking of arriving, we went to deck six and made our way to the front of the ship to watch from noon to almost 2pm. We remembered from previous stops here, that the sea life could be seen from the ship. We were not disappointed. The flying fish brought the boobys….always a pleasure to watch as they hunt and dive constantly. Keeping a sharp eye out for turtles, we saw several of the green variety as they floated by, gasping for air every now and then. They appear to be about 18 to 24 inches round, and look like brown plates or platters passing by.
We did not expect to see manta rays, but we did see a pair of them as they swam by under the surface near the ship. Just before we got to the pier, we spotted anther huge manta, but barely had a chance to get good shot of it.
But the highlight of the morning had to be the pod of dolphins we saw swarming and jumping in the distance. We noticed a dark streak of blue water, which had to be caused by a shoal of small fish, we are guessing. Then we saw the telltale splashing of the jumping dolphins. Surrounding them were at least one hundred dolphins swimming on the surface…so many we could not count the dorsal fins. Never while sailing on the entire world cruise did we see a display like this. The pods could have been there, but you have to be in the right place at the right time. Today, we were.
The local authorities sent out a boat to escort us, as well as the required pilot boat, who brought the pilot captain out to us. We were at the pier, all by ourselves (no other ships) at 2pm. We waited in the comfort of our room, downloading the photos, until the ship was cleared. For some unknown reason, that did not happen until 2:45pm, leaving many folks lined up in the hallway, waiting to get off on deck A. Most of the tours were scheduled to leave at 2:30pm, but they must have held those folks in the Mainstage, where they hand out the stickers on the way out of the lounge.
We went off around 3pm, and found the groups of tour people gathering with their guides on the dock. They would have to walk to the buses or the waiting tour boats in the marina. At least it wasn’t quite as hot as we remembered it to be. Coming later might be a better idea.
We noticed there was an unusually larger amount of fishing boats in the bay and marina. And we soon discovered why. There was a huge tournament happening for deep sea fishing. We walked right into the middle of the fishermen and their guides, who were hauling the monster blue marlins that had been caught earlier. First they are weighed, recorded, and then taken to an area where they are measured, cleaned, and fileted. Wow, what a thrill to see.
Right across from the marina set-up was a band stand with live music so loud it shook the ground we stood on. The locals were digging it big time, but that’s the fun of the whole affair. Local vendors were cashing in with their food and ice cream carts. A whole complex of souvenir stalls are back here, but we did not even go near them, as they were full of people shopping for treasures.
Instead, we walked through the small central park, and went towards the beach and the cafes that lined the beach. Each one of the restaurants has promoters that entice you to come in. Their big draw is cheap beers and free wifi. We were interested in the beer, but not the wifi, since we usually don’t mess with that onshore. Actually, the internet has been quite decent on the ship, and for us, it is mostly free.
We had no problem passing by the tables of silver jewelry, masks, clothing, and brightly-painted plates and trays. Our luggage weighs too much already. But the shopping ended up finding us anyway, when we went to the nicest restaurant on the water’s edge. It’s called Vel de Mer, and is recommended by Trip Advisor. Having gone there the last few times we were here, we knew we could order an appetizer and ice cold beers. We even added a dessert to share, which was chocolate-drizzled coffee ice cream. All of that for $14 USD. And some vendors were allowed to drift around the tables. Probably relatives. We purchased a carved mug made out of bamboo, and a beaded necklace/earring set. Set us back $15 and made some local ladies very happy.
We were back onboard by 6pm, and at dinner in the Pinnacle Grill by 8pm. It worked better for us that we did not have a big lunch today, because we were nice and hungry for dinner. We started with the Caesar salad, followed by our entrees of a sirloin strip and lamb chops, which were delicious with ½ of a baked potato each. Desserts were the chocolate volcano and the lemon brulee. Oh yes, we wanted to mention that on our reminder about our Pinnacle Grill dinnertime tonight, there was a sentence that read: Please be advised that long pants are required. Guess we can assume that going in shorts has been an issue in this venue for dinner.
Looking put of our cabin window, we noticed that the Amsterdam was leaving the port before 11pm. Once cleared of the harbor, it was also noticeable that there was lightning happening every few minutes. Not a surprise, as the later it got, it became really overcast and dark outside. A sign that the rainy season will begin soon.
Looking forward to some sea days now.
Bill & Mary Ann
A booby
Surfacing briefly to get air
Feeding and jumping
Abandoned construction
More boats
The headlands