I don't know what exactly I was expecting. A bit of high-end Costa, a bit of Las Vegas and a large dollop of Mexico perhaps. Maybe it was like that in its hey day but no longer.
The weather for the first two days was inclement to say the least. There are 2 or 3 tropical storms and the remnants fo a hurricane about at the minute. Think flooded roads, sidewalks, sand bags - even the beach. So we just bought a larger umbrella to shelter the two of us and continued on regardless. Even went swimming in the rain (sin umbrella of course).
We visited the Zocalo, the Cathedral and the pentagonal Fuerte de San Diego: which was very interesting and a great place to be on a very wet, but warm, day.
OK -a question worthy of Trivial Pursuit (I can see your ears pricking up Rocky): Why were the Philipines so called?
Read on:- Magellan accidentally discovered the islands on St Patrick's Day 1521, the Spanish colonised them in 1565, after Friar Andres de Urdante, leaving from Acapulco, discovered Pacific tradewinds which allowed ships to safely and quickly reach the Orient, and they were given their name in honour of the King of Spain - Philip II. Pie!!
The Fort was built in 1616 to protect the Spanish 'naos' (galleys),which traded between the Philipines and Acapulco for 250 years, from Dutch and English buccaneers. It's home to the Museo Historico de Acapulco, charting the history of the trading between Nueva Espana and Asia. It was very well done - different sections housed in the different rooms of the Fort.
The next day was a bit dryer so we took a local bus - 5 pesos each (6 pesos if the bus was air conditioned!) for a half hour trip all the way to one end of the Bay.
This is the real Acapulco - Caletilla (with its beach packed with local people in the calm waters and boys diving for shells and corals to sell) and Caleta - where well to do Mexicans holidayed after a paved road from DF was built in 1927. By the '50s it was a glitzy jet set resort with American and Mexican film stars building homes there. JFK and Jackie honeymooned in the Hotel Caleta. The Mexican comedian, stage and film star Cantinflas - born 100 years ago this year - had a house (photo in album)at the edge of the sea. John Wayne, Johnny Tarzan Weissmuller and others owned the Hotel Los Flamingos. I think I would have liked to have experienced it in those days.
We then took another bus, or should I say mobile disco without the dancing but with the heart stopping bass speakers, all the way to the other end of the Bay via the centre of the town. Another 5 pesos and one hour later, deafened and with numb bums, we got off at Costa Diamante - the newly developed part of Acapulco. High rise hotels, posh shops, up market restaurants. Such a contrast to the centre of the town which I thought was dirty, run down, uncared for and with crazy traffic and non existent car/pedestrian etiquette.
The local buses were fun though - most decorated and pimped to the hilt,including sound systems and various stuffed toys, balloons and other adornments hanging from the front windows. We even saw one with 'fue nino' painted on both sides. The driver obviously had become a Dad and was broadcasting it to all and sundry.
Our Hotel Emporio was in the middle part of La Costera - the road which runs right around the Bay - with its own private access to the beach, 11 floors, all rooms with an ocean view balcony, 3 swimming pools, 3 restaurants, 1 cockatoo, 1 parakeet, 1 very sad looking toucan and a dozen or so turtles.
On Friday we woke up to the Acapulco in the brochures. The sun had come out. Blue, blue skies and not a cloud in sight.
After our morning stroll along the beach, swim and breakfast in one of two restaurants across the road, we took a bus to the Zocalo and from there walked uphill to la Quebrada and the Clavadistas: the famous cliff divers. One experience I didn't want to miss.
When we got there we saw 6 or 7 boys already in the water of the very narrow cove. The water was so rough and they were trying to hang on to the rocks but the waves kept washing them off. I don't know how they weren't hurt. Then they climbed up onto the rocks on our side to practice their dives. There was one chubby one who stayed on the other side and 'scored' them after they had re surfaced. They were having so much fun.
At 1 o'clock 8 of them climbed the 35 metres of sheer rock. Two separate divers went from maybe 10 metres lower down, 2 jumped together from the same height and then the remaining four did different dives from the top. The last guy came down backwards: into a cove with a really rough sea washing in and out. It was breath taking.
After that we walked back down to the beach and took a glass bottomed launch out for a trip in the bay to an island called Isla de la Roqueta. Saw some Frigate Birds and two different types of pelicans but there weren't that many birds about - same in Huatulco.
We had our own private Clavadista with us who did a dive into the water thrashing aginst the rocks from a sheer cliff face, swam under the boat with food so that we could see the fishes and showed us the la Virgen de las Mares, a submerged bronze statue of the Virgen of Guadalupe.
We also found the Titanic, and there we were thinking it had sunk - another launch which was linked up to one of the kitchen/bar/shop boats servicing the day trippers.
And went we disembarked I actually bought the photograph of me with the Captain's cap on! Must have been the sun.
We enjoyed our wee holiday, and the excellent bus service to and from Mexico DF.
I guess that, if the weather is normal in Acapulco - i.e. warm, hot, hotter - most people don't venture far from their hotels and the beach. We weren't able to go in the sea because the surf and currents are too dangerous at this time of year but it's a beautiful golden beach cleaned every morning.
But, you know what? I'm coming to realise that, as beaches go, nothing I've seen has come close to Culdaff Strand in Donegal on a good sunny day :)
I'm now back in D.F. It was Dulce's birthday today - will tell you how we celebrated in the next post.
xx
PS: I don't know what I would have done on this trip without my birthday present from Peter and Claire - my "bible" : Lonely Planet's "Mexico". Excellent book which has told me everything I could ever have needed to know about everywhere I've gone. Weighs a ton but worth it.
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