Hot and steamy does not come close to describing the weather this morning. Living where we do in California, we are used to hot summers where the temperature climbs over 100 degrees on many days. The big difference is the humidity which is excessive here this time of year in southern Mexico. At 10am, the temperature was already 86 degrees with 74% humidity. By 3:30pm, the temperature had risen to 91 degrees with a 10.4 mph wind which did help ever so slightly. There were scattered clouds early in the morning, and overcast skies by the late afternoon.
This port of Puerto Chiapas is not really a town, but a complex with two large palapas, the largest one with some handicraft shopping, a beverage counter, and a center entertainment venue where the dancers put on a show, like they did this morning on the pier. The smaller palapa houses a mini-restaurant and bar with a swimming pool for public use. The area around this complex is planted with grass and palm trees. However, what they are not saying is that this place is isolated with no notable points of interest nearby. Bottom line: do not go walking away from this complex and expect to be safe. We were told that many years ago when a ship first stopped here.
There were some tours today starting with one trip that went to nearby Tapachula, an 18 mile drive from the pier combined with mysteries of the Maya for 4.5 hours and $120. There was a local shuttle taking people to the town of Tapachula for a special price of $25 for two people round trip. You would be on your own and come back on any shuttle which was running every half hour. We have done that one past cruises, but back then it could have been $10 per person for the round-trip ride. Other excursions were a banana plantation for 4.5 hours and $90 or Mayan tree of life and chocolate experience for 4 hours and $90. Argovia Estate and Flower Plantation was 7 hours for $220. It included a buffet lunch. Izapa ruins and Tapachula was 4.75 hours for $125. The Captain had warned everyone yesterday to chose tours wisely since the temperatures would climb even higher as they traveled inland.
Speaking of Captain Frank, with his extra efforts to get the Volendam to this port on time, it paid off. The pilot boarded the ship by 8am, and we were docked portside by 10am. Breakfast was at 8am instead of 7:30am due to the later arrival. Kumar came out from the office which we pass every day on the way to the Pinnacle Grill. He presented us with two nice GWV aprons, gifted to us at a luncheon we did not attend. They are nice and will be useful at home.
A funny thing happened on or way back to our room. Well, not really funny. We instantly spotted a lot of commotion in our section of hallway, only to see Kuz from the housekeeping staff coming out of room 6110 with no shoes or socks on and his dress slacks rolled up to his knees. Good grief…..what happened? Obviously, there was a flood which our room stewards said was a big broken pipe in the wall. Sounds like what happened to us back in January. Only worse. The plumbers were running with their tools and Metka, the head of housekeeping was shaking her head in disbelief. She said it was a good thing someone was in that room, or else the leak may have gone undetected a lot longer. As it was, the water was already leaking down to deck five.
Our first thought was that we might be without water all day and possibly most of the night once again. But it appeared only the hot water was shut down and was turned back on later in the afternoon. We were in no big hurry to go ashore, knowing we did not intend to leave the complex and probably not eat lunch in the palapa. So we did some computer work and research for yesterday’s port, then left the ship by 11am. Most of the tour groups had poured off of the gangway and joined their buses on the other side of the large palapa. And at 11am, there was a crew drill, also a good time to leave. I almost forgot to wear the new neck fan, so I went back to the room for it. It really is nice on days as hot as this one.
As soon as the ship was cleared, a few folks headed for the swimming pool. Beverages from the bar were brought out for those who stayed in the pool. Needless to say, by the end of the day, some of the swimmers were really having a good time aided with the help of cheap beers and margheritas no doubt. We could hear the noise through our closed veranda door and thought it was coming from a flock of birds. Actually, most of the birds hid out in the palm trees and did not re-appear until the pool and bar were closed. Then the grackles and some egrets flew to the edges of the pool to drink to their heart’s content.
We walked to the palapa, stopping to take some photos of the rocked sea wall where iguanas like to bask in the sun. If you did not stop and watch, you might never see them. Other wildlife here were birds such as the grackles, pigeons and occasional egrets and terns. And there were small yellow butterflies coming from the nearby mangroves. Going into the palapa, we had just missed another short-lived performance by the local dancers. All that was left was to check out the several small shops where souvenirs were being sold. We felt that the items offered were over-priced and the vendors had signs saying no bargaining on their windows. So much for that.
We walked out the back exit and sat on a wall in the shade for a bit. Then we strolled back under the palm trees and through the grassy area. We ended up at the restaurant/bar palapa where all of the tables were taken by the cruise folks. There was more activity around the pool area where we spotted one lady in a white floppy hat that had gone in this pool after 10am, and never left it ……like all day long. Oh well, at least it was something to do in a terminal with little to do unless you booked a tour.
We came back onboard the cooler ship and spent the rest of the afternoon with a light room service lunch and time for down-loading photos. We had considered Dive In hotdogs or burgers, but waiting in the Lido poolside might have been terribly hot.
Captain Frank came on with his talk around 6:15pm with the all aboard time at 6pm. The lines were dropped and we were on our way to El Salvadore, a new stop for most everyone. Although it is a short distance, he will need to do a high-speed run. He mentioned that there will be many commercial vessels in the port tomorrow and we will need to use shuttles to go anywhere. More info to follow. He expected the weather to be the same as today, with high temperatures and humidity once again. Tonight’s sunset was 6:30pm with a sunrise at 7am tomorrow.
Dinner was back in the dining room where we ordered shrimp quesadillas with jalapeno guacamole and salsa. One of us had ordered the tortilla soup, but it did not appear, so I forgot about it. Mains were Oaxacan lamb leg barbacoa with chipotle, red cabbage slaw, and a warm tortilla. The lamb was shredded making it easier to mix with the toppings. The other entrée was a coconut-crusted stuffed chicken breast with mango and ginger. Really different and extra large. It came with a stuffed half potato which was good. Desserts were one custard coconut pie and one bowl of butter pecan ice cream. We suspect that will be the last of the Mexican cuisine for a while.
There was a comedian Steve Caquette in the World Stage tonight. He worked at the Late Show with David Letterman as well as Stephen King. The dining room was about empty by 9pm, but we think it was due to the long tours and the excessive heat of the day. It does tend to drain the energy.
Tomorrow we will be in a new country….El Salvador.
Bill & Mary Ann
