Today's adventure is divided into two parts: the first is the tour arranged by Joe and Perla, from Cruise Critic, which was fantastic and rated an A, and the second is our self-guided walking tour of Old Acapulco, a city without charm. (Can we give it an F?)
We board the tour van with our guide Miquel, who told us that Acapulco is 80 percent Catholic and 20 percent alcoholic. Our van took us through the Central Market where we saw whole chickens, fish and pigs, all with free flies (not fries). Miguel told us that the salary in Acapulco is $6 a day and the citizens supplement it by doing other things because most families in Mexico are large with more than five children. We also drove by an orphanage that is run by Miquel's brother, who is a priest, and a 2-kilometer children's park that he helped to build in the middle of the street with rainbow colored posts so that the children had a safe place to play. We saw little girls in white pinafores with ruffles and little boys in navy shorts and shirts being taken by their mothers to kindergarten. All education in Acapulco is free and often includes breakfast. After completing college, the graduates work for the government for two years in exchange for their educations. Because there are not enough schools, the schools offer three shifts: 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. and high school from 7 p.m. to midnight. Sara knows many older students who would like the late shift. Also, Miquel says there is no need for police in Mexico because there are no big problems. If there are big problems, the country calls Uncle Sam!
Most of the taxi cabs in the city are Volkswagens, and we have never seen so many Volkswagens in one place. All the beaches are public with no fees, and hotels within walking's distance of the beaches are very reasonable.
We passed Los Flamingos, the hot-pink, cliff-side hotel that was a favorite hangout of co-owners John Wayne and Johnny Weissmuller of Tarzan fame, and admired the Black Lagoon where the Tarzan films and Rambo was shot. Taxi drivers tell the tourists that a yellow house on a cliff was owned by Sylvester Stallone, Michael Jackson or Jackie Chan, depending upon the tourists' race. Actually, it is owned by one of the owners of Levi Strauss, who rented the house to Stallone when he was shooting the Rambo movies. We saw the Pierre Marquis Hotel, owned by J. Paul Getty, who did not even come to Acapulco when he sold the hotel. His reply to the city's citizens for not showing up was, "I don't go to Acapulco. It is a very expensive place!" The Princess Hotel is a very religious place. When tourists check in and view the lobby, they say, "Jesus Christ," and when they check out and see their bills, they say, "Oh, my God!"
The highlights of the tour were the Capella de Las Paz (the Chapel of Peace) with its Trouyet Cross and one of the best views of the bay, and La Quebrada Cliff Divers. We drove up a winding mountain road that is open to the public only the days that the cruise ships are in town to one of the most beautiful and peaceful churches we have ever seen that has one of the most tragic and sad histories for its construction. The 28- and 30-year-old sons of a wealthy Mexican family were flying to Mexico City for a fun week-end when their plane crashed in the Sierra Madres in 1967. The mother promised God that if the sons' bodies could be found so that the family could give them a proper funeral, she would build a chapel. The bodies were eventually found and cremated before the ashes were returned to Acapulco for burial. The mother realized that the place was too beautiful to be for the family only so she allowed other people to buy vaults that could be used for up to six urns. Then the mother died in 1969 and the father in 1971, reportedly of broken hearts. The giant cross is magnificent. When it is lit at night, it can be seen from all around the entire bay. The bay at Acapulco is one of the top five bays in the world--along with Hong Kong, San Francisco, Sydney and Rio.
Seeing the cliff divers from the Hotel Mirador is an experience not to be missed. They dive from a height of almost 130 feet into water that is only 10 feet deep. Their training is rigorous and only the most successful make it to the top. (Pun intended.) Before the jump, the diver prays at a small shrine and then approaches the edge and usually goes back and forth one or more times, seemingly to build suspense. But in actuality, the diver must coordinate his dive with the wave and tide action to land in the maximum amount of water to prevent broken bones and other serious injuries. The diver starts with a beautiful horizontal dive to clear the cliffs and then plummets past the boulders to the cheering and applause of the adoring crowd. We saw three single dives and a trio. The divers must have an elevator at the bottom of the cliff that brings them up to where we watched because all six divers were there when the show ended to accept tips from the grateful crowd.
As for Old Acapulco, maybe I (Sara) am being too harsh. (Okay, Mom, Robin and Joe, what is the charm?) We had a self-appointed guide who told us he worked for the government (but then changed his occupation at least twice on this unofficial tour) who took us to a street market where the store owners only turned on the lights and the fans when someone wandered into their shops. I couldn't wait to get out of there, and everyone knows how much I like shopping. Ken was sorry that we had not bought one of the handcrafted and handpainted plates. After giving the "tour guide" a tip, he left us alone. The Zocalo, Old Acapulco's hub, is a depressed-looking city park with a cathedral dedicated to the Lady of Guadalupe that was once a theater showing B-movies from the United States.
But the number one reason for visiting Acapulco is not the tourist attractions, shops, beaches or bars but the nightlife. The nightclubs open at 10 p.m. or later and do not close until dawn. Our ship sailed away at 10 p.m. and we have never seen so many lights on the mountains--the lights looked like the type one drapes over bushes for Christmas decorations.
The show on board tonight was the Mexican Folklorico Festival presented by Tony Rameriz, who is well known in Acapulco. It turns out that Tony was a bus boy on one of the original Princess ships (the Love Boats), who got off the ship and made it big in Acapulco. Now he pays homage to his early employer.
Some of the pointers that we learned for visiting Acapulco, or just about anywhere in Mexico, included these (most of which are to prevent Montezuma's Revenge):
o Don't drink the water. Stick to bottled beverages.
o Don't use ice in your drinks (you don't want to see how it is delivered).
o Don't buy any food from street vendors, no matter how tempting. In fact, our guide told us to stick with the American fast food chains because they know how to take care of us. (Hello, McDonald's, KFC and Applebees!)
o Don't buy the fruit. (Yes, it has skin but you don't want to see the cutting boards.)
o Don't buy silver jewelry in the markets. It is really made from alpaco.
o Don't buy the first "rubbish" (shore talk presenter's term) you see. Bargain for 50 percent off in the markets and 30 percent off in the stores.
o Don't be overwhelmed by the hoards of men rushing at you when you get off the boat. (They are really taxi drivers and street vendors.)
o Don't take a taxi or a tour without agreeing on the price before you do.
o Remember that the drivers trained at the kamakazie school of driving. They don't steer the cars, they aim them.
Loved Aca.... La Torre was great and so were the restaurants. We (Ruth-Bob-Joe-Robin) had great times there. OK, the Market was another story, as was "old" Acapulco. Would I go back... no. Wouldn't be the same.
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