SoAmerica Blog #1

South America BLOG #1
12 November 2008
Our South America adventure began wonderfully as Joy volunteered to drive us to Pier 35 on the San Francisco Embarcadero. Even though we arrived early we were greeted by several hundred fellow passengers waiting in line for the embarkation process. Within minutes we were well acquainted with a wonderful couple, Ann and Roger from Hawaii. We knew we would see them often during the next 34 days.
Our first port of call was Los Angeles harbor at San Pedro. As one of the world’s largest container ports, our landing had all of the characteristics of arriving in Chicago by train. We really didn’t plan to go ashore but our unpacking found a couple of necessities missing. Since walking anywhere from the port is 1)a long way and 2) not particularly safe, we opted for a cab to take us to the nearest Walmart or whatever. The cabs that were available were choosing passengers that wanted their $75 quickie tour of LA highlights and not particularly interested in short hauls. After waiting patiently for the best part of an hour, we found another couple with a similar need and decided to share a rented car. The car rental turned out to be a godsend. It was cheaper by far than a local cab and gave us an opportunity to make some new friends; Debbie and Trevor from Texas.
Arrival at Acapulco followed three great days at sea as each day became warmer and longer. We took the city tour that included a stop at the famous Mirador Hotel where Mexican divers have been diving off a cliff into 12 feet of water for forty years to entertain guests. After a quick Marguerita we were treated to the famous spectacle of normal looking men diving 110 feet into a rising tide to make us happy. Since the divers do their thing five times a day, seven days a week they must know how to do what they do. We enjoyed the dives and a ten minute folkloric show and we were on our way.
We learned a lot about Acapulco from our seasoned guide who still smiled after telling the same jokes for the twelve years. The wonderful bay was home to the Nahua tribe for 2000 years before they were conquered by the Aztecs a hundred years or so before Hernan Cortez and his sailors took the port in 1521. Acapulco ultimately became the jumping off point for later Spanish exploration of Mexico and points south as far as Peru. Later it became the only port authorized by Spain to receive Spanish galleons from the Philippines and China. Legend has it that the first foreign visitor to Acapulco was a Chinese monk named Fa Hsien sometime around 417 AD.
Our ship parked just below the Spanish Fort San Diego constructed in 1616 and rebuilt in 1776 after a great earthquake. The fort is now a national museum that we decided not to visit.
J Paul Getty recognized the resort potential of the area and built the first major hotel, the Pierre Marquez, in 1957. In the fifties an international airport was built and the Mexican government encouraged the development of more resort facilities. Today the bay is surrounded by luxury hotels that attract visitors from all over the world. Acapulco is the major vacation spot for Mexicans. Just a four hour drive from Mexico City, many Mexicans frequent the area annually. Today, the older area, known by locals as Acapulco Traditional, has hotels available for as little as $10 a day per person.
Our tour took us by the “Black Lagoon”, the site of many movies including the African Queen, Tarzan, Papillon and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. We drove by the Acapulco Princess Hilton and the Pierre Marquez all near the little neighboring town of Puerto Marquez.
After our tour, we set out on foot to explore the Zocolo, the town square, and strolled along the waterfront where local fishermen were selling the catch of the day.
Another day at Sea brought us to the Guatemala port of Puerto Queztal. The temperature had now reached the mid eighties accompanied by a humidity of 95%. We opted to go ashore and visit the small group of merchants who live off of the cruise ship tourist trade. Some fellow passengers took excursions into Guatemala City and/or Antigua, an hour’s drive away.
Our stroll ashore gave us an opportunity to be confronted by the usual aggressive merchants of all kinds of handicrafts, watch mothers teaching their kids how to weave the wonderful stuff that folks like us will pay big bucks for, tour a “Jade Museum” where we learned a lot of stuff about Jade and it’s many colors, listen to some marvelous marimba music played by eight marimba players working two huge marimbas and see a staged fashion show where lovely ladies and handsome gentlemen modeled Guatemala traditional clothes that one would never see on the street.
The next few days we will be visiting ports every other day with days at sea in between. As we creep closer to the Equator it gets warmer and muggier; but not inside where the ship’s air conditioning system keeps all at a marvelous if not a bit chilly 70 degrees.
We’ve had some interesting moments during our first week at sea that we will tell about later. For now, we’re happy as clams, we are well and smiling, life couldn’t be better….unless maybe if we could spot one of those giant sea turtles that people keep seeing pass our ship.
We send our love to all……
Gram and Grampa Bill, Mom and Dad, Dottie and Bill