Oldies On Tour

The Historic playground of the rich and famous, although these days they are venturing to pastures new; Acapulco is getting a reputation for drugs and violence and we were strongly recommended not to take any jewelry or valuables ashore as pick pockets and other disreputable characters are hovering around tourists: nothing different from other destinations though!!!

After our normal excellent weight watching breakfast we went on deck to watch the ship dock alongside a quay full of new Volkswagen cars, no doubt awaiting delivery.

We were off around 10.30 am and walked straight into the usual

army of guides, taxi drivers and tour operators, all offering the cheapest deal for what ever we wanted to do. We on the other hand had our own ideas; we were going to mooch around the old town amongst the locals taking in their ambience, after which we were heading off to see the cliff divers.   We had found out their show started at 1300 hrs.’ and organised our morning to suit.

We wandered around this very busy and bustling square full of “arts and crafts” stalls and workmen laying pattern concrete walkways, all at the same time; very interesting, especially as where there were manholes, the covers were missing; how nobody fell down these holes, I don’t know.

We enjoyed a cup of coffee watching the mad world of the local Mexicans going about their daily business before venturing out to the cliff divers who were over the hill and in the next bay, approximately 1 KM away. Most sensible folk took taxis or went on a tour, but not us, we walked. We struggled up this steep hill with a fully loaded rucksack (water), it was very hot and we stopped every 100 meters or so to get our breath; 1 KM in theses conditions was hard work, still we arrived at the top, overlooking the area where they performed however, we then had to walk down numerous steps to the viewing deck, just above sea level!!!!! To make matters even more uncomfortable we arrived 20 minutes early and with no shade we were roasted, but we had front line viewing so long as we stayed there, with the sun beating down on us.

The appointed hour arrived and went, Spanish style; still eventually the divers arrived in ones and twos. Firstly they dived into the sea from our side of the Channel, had a swim

around then climbed out on the other side and proceeded to ascend, bare footed, up the cliff on the other side of the channel to their diving positions.   I have to say the cliff was high and very steep but more importantly, the area of water they dived into was pretty narrow, no wonder they said a little prayer to an effigy of the virgin Mary before they “went for it”

For folks who like a few facts, here we go:-

• The highest dive is 41 meters (135 Ft.) above the water
• The width of the channel they dive into is about 13 meters (43ft)
• The depth of the water varies from 4.8 meters (16 ft.) to 5.8 meters (19 ft.) Depending on the state of the tide.

Naturally we had to pay an entrance fee to see them, a little different from when I was last here, 20 years ago when it was free, just a donation but still worth every penny.

OK, now we had to re-climb all those steps, it was still

extremely hot; our cloths were soaking and we were knackered as well. Standing in the sun, no shade, waiting for the performance took its toll, still we made it. Once at the top of the steps we were in free fall, it was downhill all the way back into the town. We recognized a number of our fellow cruisers who had taken the tour getting back onto their buses but strangely we arrived back In town the same time as their coaches: too much traffic!!!

By now we had had enough and headed back to the ship, however we had one more task to perform; we had to buy a fridge magnet. Now you would think this was a simple task but no, we looked at numerous stalls, looked into a number of stores and regretted we didn’t get one at the cliff diving area. After much looking we called it a day and headed back into the port and guess what, here we bought a fridge magnet.

Whilst walking around we noticed all taxis were white and blue and the majority of them were beaten up Volkswagens; maybe this is why the dock is full of new ones, to replace the current fleet!!!!

One thing I did note was the total lack of pickpockets, muggers and drug dealers, again it was the cruise line being over cautious and American, though I did note a lot of Army and Police armed to the hilt which probably acted as a deterrent

Back on board we changed, had a cupper and then up to the pool for a dip, afternoon cocktails in the sun, as if we hadn’t had enough!!!

Tonight we had booked to go into Red Ginger, one of the specialist restaurants on board and we weren’t disappointed, we had an excellent meal with all the necessary “trimmings” This was followed by tonight’s show, Christine’s magician, and what another spectacular performance it was, even though he chose a different person to help!!!! He did some amazing and un-believable tricks that defy any logic: it’s a shame he is leaving the ship; he is probably the best entertainment we have had on this trip so far.

Tomorrow we’re at sea, relaxing is the order of the day so there will probably be no post until we have been to our next port of call, Guatemala.

After breakfast we disembarked, we realised quickly why we were not stopping here long, Manzanillo is located on the Pacific Ocean and is the busiest port in Mexico. It is the largest producing municipality for the business sector and tourism in the state of Colima. The city is well known for deep-sea fishing, it is also known as “Sailfish Capital of the World” it has since 1957 hosted important national and international fishing competitions.

We walked along the promenade, and headed for the town, well

actually to me it was more like a shanty Village, with tiny shops, there was only one main high street, we were looking for batteries which we found, we also went to the bank to change some dollars into the local currency, to make it easier and cheaper to buy things. Having walked around, and not really found anything to see, we meandered back to the boat, we did not even bother with coffee, as everywhere looked very dirty, shabby and not inviting. I was worried about getting a bug ? so we went back on board.

We could have gone on one of the trips, but we have seen turtle farms in Galapagos which were brilliant, don’t think they can compete with that, also they had beach and shopping excursions to see where Bo Derek and Dudley Moore made the film 10, as we cannot really buy anything as we are up to our limit on baggage plus when we get home we wonder why we did buy in the first place, for a mere $100 we decided to stay in town.

Back on the boat, we grabbed a coffee, I caught up with the washing, we took a swim in the pool, which is now lovely and warm, we went in the jacuzzi with no bubbles, relaxed until time for dinner.

The show tonight was Tom Drake, he is an American comedian, we were a bit apprehensive about going as we have been before where all they did was make American jokes, this guy was good, he talked about all the different nationalities, of course the British are gentle people who love queues, mind you I think the gentle is changing these days! We both enjoyed him and will go back and watch his second show.

We sailed into Puerto Vallarta

after two relaxing days at sea. Whilst we were enjoying Breakfast another cruise ship, the Ruby Princess, followed us in, but as we had arrived first, space was at a premium and she had very little room in which to spin around 360 degrees before berthing. Her stern passed our dining room window where we could virtually see the “whites of their eyes”; another coat of paint and that would have been it!!!!!

Archaeologists have found evidence that this area was inhabited around 580BC but documented history of Puerto Vallarta starts with the Spanish invading in the early 16^th centaury and, in 1524 a major battle took place, which pretty well saw off the local Indians and left the Spanish in full control. From that moment in time a town grew, firstly it was a safe haven due in part to its deep-water bay and surrounding mountains. During the 17^th and 18^th Centaury when there was inclement weather this area was used as a safe haven for the coastal seafarers, it also became a base for pirates.

Today Puerto Vallarta is a throbbing tourist town and stopover

port for the cruise ships. But talking to one guy, he was telling us there are many more Mexicans arriving now, mainly I suppose to the proximity of Mexico’s second largest city, Guadalajara, being fairly close by.

Having enjoyed yet another excellent leisurely breakfast we sorted ourselves and headed off to town. Naturally, waiting to accost us whilst heading out of the port were taxi Drivers, dodgy tour operators and most probably genuine ones, guides etc., etc., etc., but not for us, after all we had decided not to avail ourselves with the ship’s tours. We were going “local style” and waited at the bus stop as the centre was around 4 miles away, far too far to walk and it was getting hotter by the minute. The bus arrived, well, what could I say:

we have been in some “interesting” public transport in the past but I think this takes the cherry. The buses don’t have numbers, it’s the way they are painted that tells passengers which route it is doing, and as an added aid, there is a piece of cardboard stuck on the front screen saying, in our case, “Centro”. I have to say they were normal size buses but minimal seating and as for soft furnishings, forget it. Standing was in fact the more comfortable way to travel. The roads are cobbled or not, and where not, there are large potholes. We think our driver found them all!!! Now picture this, a narrow street, two buses side by side, each trying to get in front of the other, it was as if they were starting a F1 Grand Prix and if that wasn’t enough, add in many cars, motorbikes, cycles and of course pedestrians; a 15 minute nail biting ride; all good and exciting stuff, got the adrenaline going.

Having had our teeth nearly shaken out, we arrived and yes first, all we needed were facilities. We went into a small hotel, sorted what had been shaken down! Enjoyed a coffee and a yes you’ve got it a Spanish brandy, fizzy water for Christine! And we were now ready for the off. We were told there was “a” flee market worth visiting though “this” turned out to be “those”, a number of buildings housing touristy tat/souvenirs, still we got our fridge magnet having bartered it down from 6 dollars to 3; I think there was another 1$ to get off but Christine had had enough so hence, $3 paid.

Next we went looking for the Cathedral that actually turned out to be a Church called “Church of our Our Lady of Guadalupe’ (well that’s in English). This church has been called one of the most enduring city’s landmarks. We found it, went inside but there was a service taking place so left. What we saw of the inside was rather plain, most un-like the R.C. churches we have seen in the past, still the church tower was rather impressive.

We then walked the length of the promenade, busy with tourists, restaurants, and shops selling Tequila and yes, more souvenir shops. Along the promenade were numerous bronze statutes depicting various sea myths. We were not too sure why they had these all along the promenade but no doubt they all added to the ambience of the place.

We decided there was little more to see so ventured back from the beech towards the town, even passing a McDonald’s on the way,  to find the bus back to the cruise terminal. Perhaps we should have had a taxi rather than punish ourselves again but hey, we’re tough so just got on with it. We arrived back at the bus stop we started from, put our teeth back in, re-arranged our bones then walked back onto the ship.

When we were walking out of the port earlier, numerous taxi drivers offered to take us to town; they started quoting us by the ship $20, by the time we reached the port gates it was down to around $12, we did both journeys for a total of $2 on public transport and we got to see the locals going about their daily life: no contest in our book.

Back on board we had a spot of lunch then into the Jacuzzi; unfortunately they didn’t have buttons to get the jets going and when we asked, were told if we wanted a full Jacuzzi, we had to go into the health spa!!! So, we went to the pool but unfortunately the pool hasn’t warmed up yet so gave it a miss and returned to our cabin.

We had booked a table at the “Tuscan” specialty steak restaurant but before that we went to the pool area as there was a local Mexican band on board and by heck they were very good.

We shared a table in the “Tuscan” but in reality this was un-necessary as the restaurant was only 20% full, still they were a nice couple from Oregon. We discussed the usual; Trump, Brexit, Food, cost of living, Teresa May, Jeremy Corbin etc., but we had a fun dinner and the food was great.

The show tonight wasn’t up to the standard we had come to expect, it was all mediocre singing by the resident show “boys and girls”, and unfortunately it lacked “pizzazz”

Back to our cabin as we are knackered after such a “tiring” day in the hot sun!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tomorrow we are visiting Manzanillo