Today’s port of call came with a safety advisory printed on the front of our Daily newsletter. It was the usual warning concerning being aware of our surroundings, and the people around you. Be careful handling money in public and separate the bills before you leave the ship. Do not give out private info to people you do not know and be careful with handbags and valuables such as jewelry. Best to leave these things onboard. Be more careful in crowded high traffic areas like markets and train stations. OK….we got it, but now many folks will be scared to go ashore?
We have visited Manzanillo at least twice in the past and found it to be one of the least scary when it comes to safety. Or maybe we just are more trusting. However, no matter where we go, we have never left our guard down. And with the number of tours available here, we feel that the majority of passengers booked something. The city streets were mostly filled with locals and not tourists from what we saw. This area of Mexico is more suited for those who seek the adventure of deep-sea fishing, and not so much the resort scene. There are a few stretches of beach near the town, but nothing like you see in Cabo or Puerto Vallarta. Doing some research, we discovered there are some high-end resorts and beaches, but out of this area. You would need a taxi to get there and you might not be welcomed.
Manzanillo has a population of 191,000 people and we guess are employed by the commercial area of town as well as tourist-related industries of hotelier and fishing. The city is also known as the sailfish capital of the world and well-documented with the tallest blue sailfish sculpture in the world.
The Volendam pulled into the Santiago Bay around 6am and was docked portside to the pier. The ship was not cleared by the local authorities until well after 7:30am. Erin had to remind the tour guests not to crowd the hallways and the show lounge, as she would announce the time to leave as soon as she could. We did get a lot of photos of the birds that live her such as the pirate frigates, a vulture or two, pelicans, white egrets, cormorants, gulls, and boobies a few surf scoters. During the heat of the day, these birds laid low.
The weather was a factor today with temperatures beginning in the mid 70’s and 79% humidity. The skies were overcast with some sun and some clouds. The entire area was shrouded in a sea or sun haze, common to this part of the world. A light breeze of 2.4 mph did help cool us off slightly.
There was another crew drill held at 9:30am, but we left the ship after 10am. The pier walk from the ship to the shoreline had to be .25 of a mile, mostly in the blazing sun. Even those who were on excursions had to walk half that distance to get to the waiting buses. About the same time we were snapping a photo of a different type of commercial ship, something big flew out of the water making a big and loud splash. It had to be a sailfish, and the photo caught it as it splashed down. On our first visit here, a whale stayed in the harbor and appeared surfacing and diving all afternoon. It had to be a different time of year, so we did not expect to see whales today.
Once out the gate, we turned left to walk the Malecon de Manzanillo Promenade along the waterfront. The rocked shoreline had dozens of small fishing boats along with a few charter-type vessels. The area was relaxed, sort of falling apart in places, with views of cargo ships and tankers slowly coming and going into the busy harbor. Manzanillo happens to be one of the busiest ports on the Pacific side. Along the way, there were wide open patios with picnic tables and benches where the locals can buy street food and eat lunch under the shade of a tree. There was one long stall of souvenirs and beach toys for the local kids. Come to think of it, we did not see any young kids out with their moms. It was a school day, so that was probably where they were. We did see some skinny wild cats and some pigeons and grackles building nests.
That’s when we stumbled upon a small pier where some fishing boats had just arrived. One such boat had just left the pier and was back 20 minutes later with a large sailfish on the deck. It appeared there were a couple that had gone out deep-sea fishing and did not have to go far for this catch. The 7-foot-long sailfish was hung by the tail and perhaps weighed. Pictures were taken with the couple who caught it, then it was dropped and lifted onto a nearby carving table. Getting closer to the pier, one of us went down to get some close-up pictures as the sailfish was carved by an expert butcher. Only the filets along the spine were sliced and bagged, with the remaining fish to be taken or picked up by local restauranteurs. Later on while back onboard , we watched while three more sailfish were hung in the same place, carved up, then hauled away in a van. That was the first time we ever saw sailfish close-up and not in a video. We have seen the much larger marlin when we arrived to Huatulco during a competition years ago. That was really exciting. Also while here, we watched as another young fellow cast a weighted fish net in hopes of catching some fish by the gills. One puffer fish was caught but quickly discarded back to the water.
We passed by a possible spot near this pier for beer and lunch, but it was too early for us. So we headed back towards the terminal and continued to the other end of town. This is where the monument of the sailfish is located as well as the 12-month sculptures of the Zodiac. Right in the center of these futuristic sculptures is the large printed sign of Manzanillo where people like to pose for a photo. We have seen these familiar signs in many South American countries as well as in the Caribbean.
At this end of the promenade is a garden with trees, grass and many ornate benches. Taking advantage of some shade, we relaxed long enough to cool down. There were a string of cafes and even a pizzeria or two, but they appeared to be more of a take-away venue. There were no customers despite the fact it was noontime. The downtown centro shopping center was located right up Mexico Avenue with small shops, pharmacies, clothes stores, and some street truck food. Lunch was not in the cards today. We did pass the local church on the way here, but it was closed up tight.
Back at the pier, we stopped to look into a small corner of the harbor where we saw people looking into the water. There was a shelf of rocks and discarded clam shells where we could see some tropical fish swimming. Some of them were the pufferfish, which were pretty large. We did read that snorkeling is good here, but more at the far-away resorts. Definitely, not here.
There were several tents set up beyond the gate, so we checked out their souvenirs, which were the typical wooden plaques, Mexican clothing, silver jewelry and ceramics. Hats and t-shirts were down the opposite end but knowing we are close to being overweight for the luggage shipping home, we resisted any temptation to buy more stuff.
Back to the coolness of our room, we enjoyed a light lunch of a club sandwich and mini sliders. By the way, the final delivery of our President Club 2-week amenity was delivered today. That was 20 Coke Zeros and a very lovely bouquet of flowers. This will be the final $60 gift per person of this cruise.
Captain Frank came on with his departure talk but said it would be delayed due to two buses that were caught in traffic. We learned later that the roads out of town were under construction, and the traffic was held up often enough for the buses to return over an hour late. The only other news was that we could expect similar weather tomorrow with 12 knot winds and temps in the 80’s. There will be 3-foot swells with partly cloudy and sunny skies. The sunset would be at 7:30pm and the sunrise at 6:15am.
We watched as the last of the guests returned to the ship, and the lines were dropped by 5:15pm. For the first time in a few weeks, we were able to sit out on the veranda as we sailed out of the bay, passing the towers of the power plant out of town. Keeping a sharp eye out for possible dolphin sightings, we saw none. But we did spot many types of birds like the pelicans, cormorants, egrets, surf scoters, and eventually some brown boobies, who put on a diving show for a few miles out to sea.
Dinner arrived soon enough and we ordered Caesar salads with mains of a crispy mint-flavored parsley slices of lamb. The other entrée was a tenderloin minus the “Oscar” which was a scoop of crabmeat. Desserts were simple – Jello and watermelon. It happened to be a “dressy” evening with the Vivace strings entertaining us until 8:30pm. Captain Frank and Alexandra were hosting the large table down below on deck four. Our head waiter has asked repeatedly if we would like to join a group with the Captain, and we said thanks, but we prefer eating at our regular railing table. We did have dinners with both Captains and were glad we did. More than that was appreciated, but not necessary.
The show in the big stage was the World Stage Cast with a repeat if “Feeling Groovy” with music from the 60’s. The cast seems to do one show a week but keep busy doing other activities during the rest of the week.
Looking forward to one day at sea.
Bill & Mary Ann
