Acapulco to Golfo de Tehuantepec

100-foot free-falling cliff diver, Acapulco.

ACAPULCO.  DUSTY STREETS AND CAR-SIZED SINKHOLES. Slanted sidewalks and unfinished building construction with reinforcing re-bar reaching for the sky above - a promise of more construction to come; just not anytime soon. Thunderous, booming, wildly lit buses zigging and zagging the flat lands and spiraling up the steep hills, alongside the ocean cliffs where high divers scale the rocks and sheer face of cliffs to perform swans and jackknifes and reverses, at night, from more than 100 feet above the booming, turbulent surf. A fleet of older, omnipresent, mostly beat up VW-bug taxis, seemingly waiting for you to whistle or flag them down, prowl the streets all day, all night. Two or three passengers on scooters made for one, zoom through the heavy traffic snarls. A mass of humanity roaming the neighborhoods from the hilltops to the zocalo, converge in the centro district, at the iglesia, singing, holding candles, celebrating Navidad. Firecrackers and cherry bombs randomly explode, in all neigborhoods, simultaneously. A surround sound of pops and crackles and deep bass beats heighten the contagious energy level. Bustling street stands and markets and eateries at all hours. Kids in tow, and babies asleep in the arms of their mothers or fathers or grandparents or brothers or sisters. Hot during the daytime, cool at night. The city is lit up, a bowl of diamonds after dark. Densely populated neighborhoods with raw, bare bulbs burning in each house, and every street stand. Yet with all this humanity, and traffic pollution, and dug up roads revealing a sketchy sanitation system, the waters in the bahia remain crystal clear, transparent, clean. Tropical fish thrive along the waterfront. We can swim in aquamarine sea water just off the docks, as if it were a diving destination. A true enigma. 

Small boats, early evening, along the Acapulco coast.

Acapulco bus at night.

Acapulco centro.

Acapulco's busy  zocalo.

Acapulco cityscape by night.

Tacos al pastor with pineapple topping, Acapulco.

Public transportation, Acapulco.

View of Acapulco cityscape from Anna's moorage.

We sailed to Acapulco, from Zihuatanejo to fuel up and rest for one evening before continuing on to the Bays of Huatulco, a couple hundred nautical miles further along the way, to the east-southeast. But we stayed, intrigued, entranced, for a week. What a surprisingly colorful, traditional city lurking just behind the facade of the beachfront hotel row. A lot of bad publicity about Acapulco (and for that matter, much of the rest of Mexico) still persists - drug wars, crime, the bad rap goes on, everyone has heard it all before. But in reality, Acapulco like most other once-upon-a-time tourist destinations in Mexico has a lot to offer. Tourism in Mexico, other than vacationing Mexican nationals from Mexico City, is virtually nonexistent. We've not seen a cruise ship along the Pacific coast of Mexico in over a year now. There are a few Canadians, some Germans, and a sprinkling of Japanese, and some South Americans who aren't swayed by the bad press. And for the few foreigners that do chance to come here, the rewards are great. This is okay for us foreigners. We of course benefit from the resultant lower prices and lack of tourist crowds. It's the off, off, off-season all year long. But we can see that this reluctance, by most foreigners, to visit Mexico has taken a toll on the economy and people here. Survival and subsistence is somewhat more difficult, challenging. All we can say is that most of the ugly stories that scare people away from this colorful, genuine place are for the most part exaggerated fabrications, simple untruths. We've been met with gracious hospitality everywhere we've been during the last year along the Pacific coast of Mexico, from the grittiest of cities to isolated fishing villages and remote anchorages. We will be departing Mexico for points south shortly. And we can only hope that the next group of countries that we visit will be as hospitable, kind and forgiving as Mexico has proven to be. 

Acapulco bus ride late at night, lots of sound, lots of light.

VW-bug taxis are everywhere you turn, in Acapulco.

Iglesia, at the zocalo, Acapulco.

***

Acapulco cliffs:  high-dive series...

Night diver with torch.

Cliff divers scale vertical walls.

Taking positions.

Acapulco cliff diver swan dive.

One diver leaps. others on deck.

Guadalupe protects the cliff divers.

Double-down high dive.

Jackknife.

Taking a leap of faith.

***

Infant in tow and on the go.

Family outing, at the zocalo.

Corn on the cob, street stand, Acapulco.

Children in tow, at all hours. No strollers, no backpacks. Just hand held.

Sisters, Acapulco.

Cooking up a storm, at a street stand, zocalo, in Acapulco.

Little boy, out for a stroll with his mom.

Evening in Acapulco centro.

When we left Acapulco, for the Bays of Huatulco, we transitioned from the intensity of city life, into the intensity of raw nature. We spent a week anchored out in Bahia Rescalillo, a small, primitive cove eight nautical miles due west of Chahue, which is just east of Huatulco. Rescalillo has no road access, or electricity, or cell towers. It is not a tour boat destination. The only thing Rescalillo has is a small white sand beach backed by a vine jungle. The entrance reefs are loaded with coral and fish (nice snorkeling spot). This small anchorage is somewhat protected from a southeast swell. But to keep from rolling when the wind dies down at night, we drop a second (stern) anchor to keep us lined up with the direction of the swells; this dampens the wave action, more specifically, the rolling and makes it more comfortable onboard. The coastline here consists of numerous bays and small coves backed by broad, white, sandy beaches and mountains beyond that. And with the exception of a couple of tourist beaches, lined with palapas and cantinas for day trippers out of Huatulco, the coastline goes on for miles and miles of deserted, unspoilt sandy beaches and surf. The local town of La Crucecita, about a mile away from Huatulco, is unlike any other town we have seen in Pacific Mexico. The streets are all paved; no dusty, dirt roads. The landscape is lush and manicured. The sound level is ramped down. The housing is more modern. 

Infrastructure wasn't an after thought here; there was a plan. 

La Crucecita is a bit like Sausalito. A cutesy tourist town that has been sanitized. But you can still walk down some of the side streets and deeper into the neighborhoods and get the feel of authenticity. You still know that you are in Mexico, regardless of the facade and bistros and ATMs around the corner, just a couple of blocks away.   

Anna anchored at Rescalillo. We swim to the beach.

Anna anchored out at Bahia Rescalillo.

Panga fishermen work the entrance to Rescalillo.

Reefs at Rescalillo entrance.

Anna sits patiently in the cove.


***

Sea turtle sequence at Rescalillo...

A large, 300-pound sea turtle drifts in to Rescalillo.

Vultures discover that sea turtle had died
 after getting caught up in a fish line.

Vultures work on the last of the turtle meat,

Within 24 hours, 300-pound sea turtle
 is reduced to bones and tangled fish line.

The remains of the day: a shell and cartilage.

-- CSI: Rescalillo


***

We are currently looking at storm force wind and waves screaming across the Gulf of Tehuantepec, a 254 nautical-mile crossing. To get to Central America from the Bays of Huatulco, we will need to cross the Tehuantepec by skirting the curve of the beach, close to shore, where the fetch of the wind waves, through the gap at the northeast side of the isthmus, hasn't had a chance to develop. 

Storm warning for Gulf of Tehuantepec, December 20:
50-60 knot winds and 20-foot seas forecast. Expected to settle down
on December 23 with a  2-day window for transiting
 before the next wind event rolls through.

Weather guidance indicates a 60-hour window opening up on December 24 where the wind and seas will flatten out somewhat, giving us a chance to get to the other side of the gulf before the next strong wind event is forecast to arrive, just two and one-half days later. December and January are the most volatile months to cross the T-pecker. The trade off is arriving in Central America during the dry season. Less lightning, no hurricanes, tropical storms. There's always a trade off. 

Always on watch...for a good cup of coffee. We're in coffee country now. Recently
bought some dark, rich beans in Oaxaca. Pluma coffee. And nothing
we've ever had compares to the deep, complex, smooth
taste of these fresh beans, from the source.