Acapulco and Zihuatanejo. A quick perspective in photographs.
These are from a cruise that my wife and I took I believe in 2006. The camera was a joke, but I tried to fix them up with Photoshop Element 7 and hope they turned out satisfactorily.
This is coming up on the harbor entrance to Acapulco in the mid-morning. The entrance can be seen on the photo's left, but I think the hills are beautiful in their own right.
This is the large Cross that stands over the harbor and city. Of course most people know that most Mexicans are Catholic and there seems to me no end of small shrines throughout every town we visited. I'll post me of them at a different time.
This is what was at the time and for many years the main tourist hotels. At the time we were here if you ventured outside of the hotel district you were in crime ridden streets. Now today in 2017 even the hotels are not safe as drug lords battle for control of the city and state and many of them are deserted. Sadly the entire area is now in the grips of a full scale drug war and no one is safe.
This is the old Fort of San Diego where the ships dock. Fewer and fewer Cruise ships will even venture into the port any longer. We went down there five times and it was worse every time. If we go again we will not be getting off from the ship except in the well guarded park next to the docks.
This is the only reason we kept going to Acapulco after the first time. Because the next stop was about 150 miles up the coast at the fishing village of Zihuatanejo, which we fell in love with. Anyone who has read or seen the movie "The Shawshank Redemption" has heard of Zihuatanejo as it is the fishing village that the main character, Andy Dufresne, is trying to escape to when he breaks out of prison. It is a fishing village with fresh fish every morning and if you stay close to the coast, very safe a fantastic place to visit.
My wife and I seriously considered retiring here, but in the end decided that it was just too far from the States. Still, the people were warm and friendly and very welcoming. There is also a fairly large American population in condos along the shore of the harbor.
Every morning the local fisherman venture out in smaller boats to large ones to catch fish and other seafood to sell at the market.
Sadly as you can see that, unfortunately, a shack type urban sprawl has climbed up the side of the hill behind the village. From the shore line to perhaps a mile inland the area is safe and heavily patrolled by Mexican Federal Police, Army and even Navy troops and even has modern grocery, clothing, electronic stores and every other type shop you would expect in a very small American city (which is who they are catering to), but that is another reason to hesitate about retiring here. Do you want to feel as if you are pushed up against the sea?
Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed this short travelogue and if you have I have plenty more, including many of the Cathedrals and churches and other photos of Taxco, photos of Puerto Vallarta and some shots around Cabo San Lucas.
Randy
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I hope I was not too "wordy" in explaining what the photos were of and I hope everyone enjoys them. If so then I have many more of the Mexican West Coast and Baja.
It's a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. Sure looks beautiful from the deck of a cruise liner though.
It is and it's a shame it's dangerous inland. On our 2nd trip we took a trip to Taxco where the Mexican silver mines are. It was 4 hours in land from Acapulco, we spent 4 hours there and a 4 hour trip back on mountain roads in the dark.
Acapulco sure isn't what it was when The Love Boat was always going there.
Great photo essay and really good explanations of what we are looking at. Glad to see you are putting that camera to fine use.
Thanks. I'm really having cabin fever as this time of year is sort of like our winter, except every one tries not to go out because it's too hot. It was 114 today, so I am going through old pictures and posting them. During the times I am going out I am scouting out some locations for some great mountain shots of the mountains behind Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage and La Quinta and places to stop and park to take them after the weather cools down some.
Thanks for posting this, Randy. I had known the name Zihuatanejo long before The Shawshank Redemption, and the movie really shows nothing of it, so I'm happy to see the first photos I've ever seen of that city.
You're welcome. In spite of the shack city of the poor that has sprouted up in the hill behind it it really is a wonderful place and we still love it. We still look for cruises that stop there and want tothree room apartments in the old town near the sea. go back. We have been there five times and the owner of the local Tequila shop knows me on sight. lol
Maybe if (someone forbid) something happens to Joan I may end up there eventually as a little old man, speaking terrible Spanish, in one of the small three room apartments in the old town near the sea. There are worse ways and places to end out your life and there is already a small population of veterans doing the same thing there now.
If you're considering retiring there, and as an older man, the most important thing to consider is the quality of their health care. My brother once told me that the health care in Costa Rica is modern and high quality. He retired to Manila in the Philappines, however, to be closer to his only child, a son who lives in China.
It's something I'll be sure to look into if it comes to that.
Outstanding essay Randy.
Your dialogue explaining what we were looking at was excellent.
Well done.
Thanks. The next ones will be on Puerto Vallarta and Cabo.
Looking forward to you posting that photo essay Randy.
Great story and beautiful pictures, Randy. I always wanted to visit Acapulco and/or Cabo San Lucas, and living in San Diego CA for many years it would not have been that far to go to either one. But, The timing was never right for me to go. It is really nice to see some of Acapulco area other than tourist promos, ad your pictures and descriptions really bring it life.
My Son was able to visit Cabo San Lucas through Make A Wish before he walked on from cancer. He was able to land a trophy Dorodo on his last day there. They quickly took the specifics for the records and a picture, then he released it back into the ocean. The entire trip was his dream come true and he truly enjoyed being there.
I look forward to seeing your pictures from Puerto Vallarta and Cabo. Well done!
It is great to see these photo essays and particularly so from several different members; these are visually rich, informative and unique … feathers in the NT cap!
Nice work, Randy.