Photos from Acapulco, Huatulco, and the trip between....

Dolphins came to play quite often

They love jumping, especially when their efforts elicit
whoops of joy from on deck

Judy is a dolphin siren

The cliff divers of Acapulco put on a stunning
show at an equally stunning venue

Divers enter through the viewing area,
swim across to the cliff.

As you can see, the divers are just kids.  We heard the oldest were about 17 or 18.  There were some very young kids also, maybe 10 or 12 who were apprentices, diving from lower levels of the cliff.  The older fellow carrying towels stayed in the water just outside the landing zone and would swim  to the divers as they surfaced to haul them to shore if they had knocked themselves out in the landing.

They climb to the top with incredible speed and ease.

I wasn't able to take pictures of the dives, it was too dark and all I got were blurs.  They don't do simple swan dives anymore.  Now they are doing twisting flips.  It was amazing.  At the end of the show the divers stood at the top of the stairs holding tip jars.  I hope this was not the only money they were paid.  There are restaurants, bars, and trinket shops all around the cliff making tons of money off these kids.

A couple things I will remember about Acapulco:

If you want to take a taxi get ready to ride in an old VW Beetle.  Most look really old, and really tired.  We caught one for our provisioning trip to Costco, across town and over a very high and steep hill.  Our VW didn't make it.  One of the rear tires went flat about half way up.  The driver would not stop, continuing the climb. eventually overheating the engine near the top.  We flagged down another VW, got over the hill and on to do our shopping.  The poor guy was still parked when we came back a couple hours later.

The other thing I will remember: the police.  I would be exaggerating if I said there were as many police on the road as Beetles, but it seemed like there were.  It was unsettling to see a truck filled with unsmiling, Kevlar clad young men packing automatic rifles staring intently at.... me. 

Its not a bad thing.  Acapulco has had some tough times lately with crime and drug problems being acted out in the streets.  A couple weeks ago a tourist was raped by some thugs.  They were caught and will never see the light of day again, if they are seeing anything at all.  There was a lot of coverage in the US and European press.  But Acapulco is probably no more violent then Seattle, and the government is taking very aggressive steps against the local troublemakers. 



One more thing about Acapulco, the marinas suck.  If you are coming in try to get a slip at Marina Acapulco.  It looks like it may have floating docks.  The other marina, Club De Yates Acapulco, does not have floating docks.  You must make adjustments to lines and fenders throughout the day.  They have no cleats, instead there are loops of chain embedded in the dock that you tie lines to.  Some of the chain is old and corroded, having sharp edges that chew lines incredibly fast.  Plus there is a gigantic surge.  Never seen anything like it.  Our boat was being thrown around constantly  It was awful, and on top of that they charged Cabo prices.  The best thing to do is anchor out, or find a mooring ball.



Acapulco mushrooms

Lastly some photos from Haultulco...

The church on Hualtulco's plaza looks nice, but fairly ordinary from across the street. Come closer.......

The arched dark wood front door is covered with carvings. 

 

Running the length of the central vault is a painting of the Virgin Mary.

In her womb is the embryonic Jesus, with his sacred heart fully charged up.

The ceiling on each side of the central vault is a beautiful dark blue studded with stars.  At each end are brilliantly colored paintings.



The meaning of the painting above the alter is a mystery to me. 

I took a twenty or thirty pictures of the paintings, and feel the every one of them is worth putting in the blog, but I don't think blogspot would be pleased if I did.

The paintings don't strike me as masterpieces or anything close, but in their entirety they speak of  incredible vision and commitment.