Acapulco

It’s amazing to think that the overnight passages I used to dread so much are now just part of life. And for this one we had no moon, which makes it all the more difficult, not being able to visualize the horizon, all alone out there, miles and miles offshore in the black night. Stan asleep down below, no radio chatter. Just the occasional huffing of a dolphin taking a breath as he surfs the small wave made by our bow pushing through the water.
But now, instead of counting the minutes until my three hour watch ends and Stan comes up to relieve me, I turn on the music and rock out in the pilot house. I think I heard a dolphin chuckle the one time, but otherwise it was just me and the instruments. Radar; electronic chartplotter showing our boat’s GPS position as it makes its way toward our next waypoint; autopilot that steers the boat where the chartplotter tells it to; FLIR night vision (I know, it’s a bit much… but this one is a big safety benefit when we’re making our way in or out of a harbor in the dark, or traveling in areas with lines or nets in the water. And you know how Val loves her electronic toys!); VHF radio; wind, speed and depth monitors; graphic display of our engine data underway; and so forth.
One of our favorite features is our AIS (for Automatic Identification System.) Commercial ships have to carry it, and an increasing number of pleasure boats, like us, also install it. Used primarily for collision avoidance, it displays, on our chartplotter and radar screens, the positions of all other AIS-equipped boats in a range of over 20 miles. In some situations it will detect boats that radar can’t. It tells us how big they are, how fast they are moving, which way they are going, how close they will come to us and how long before that closest point of approach. Genius! In most cases, it tells us the name of the vessel; but in all cases it gives us the vessel’s MMSI number (like a phone number for the radio), so we can hail the boat directly if it looks like we are fated to come too close to each other. Hailing a huge tanker by calling ‘the boat off my bow at such-and-such position’ is often unrewarding. But when you hail them by name, they respond. Even if they are bored to have to talk to the flea-like Pax Nautica when they are so huge and fast and important and powerful. Then we can work out who is going to alter course which way, and avoid some tense moments. We love avoiding tense moments at sea!
Entering through the channel into the harbor of Acapulco

We had heard mostly negative reports about Acapulco. After its glory days during the 50’s and 60’s, it continued to enjoy a high volume of international tourism until about the late 70’s when it fell into decline, its position supplanted by other Mexican resort cities like Puerto Vallarta, Cancún and Cabo San Lucas. Its bay had become polluted, its hotels badly in need of updating and repair. Being a gorgeous natural harbor, it continued to enjoy Mexican tourism; but the international crowd headed elsewhere for their parties and sunbathing.
It also had developed a reputation for being inhospitable to cruisers. Marina slips and moorings were hard to come by and expensive, and poor holding ground in the bay made anchoring potentially unsafe for boats.
Our expectations were low. But we’re so glad we stopped and spent a few days there, because it proved a very pleasant surprise. The city got a grip on its wastewater management, and the bay’s waters are crystal clear once again. Investors have made many of the hotels swanky and hip, and the harbor itself is a sight of uncommon beauty, especially at night, with its twinkling lights cascading down the hills almost all the way around us. It’s been described as looking like a bowl of diamonds.
During the 16th century, the Spaniards chose Acapulco as the port from which its ‘Manila Galleon’ departed annually in order to… um, basically siphon all the silver and other wealth out of Mexico for nearly 300 years, to trade with Asia for Spanish profit. We toured the Fort of San Diego, constructed in order to protect the galleon’s riches from pirates.
Fuerte de San Diego
View of the bay from the Fort ramparts
And of course, the famous cliff divers were a must-see.
Below, the divers take a refreshing swim in the washing machine of surge, before climbing the cliffs on the right to make their dives.

And here’s a young diver making his leap from the mid-height rock. Only one diver goes from the highest point (well out of view in this clip), always pausing to pray first in front of a small shrine up there.

We enjoyed some of the city’s more cosmopolitan restaurants (something we’re not likely to see for awhile as we make our way south into Central America), in addition to the scrumptious and cheap local eats. Picked up some yummy local organic coffee beans, completed our other provisioning at what is likely the biggest WalMart on the planet, enjoyed basking around the pool at the fancy Acapulco Yacht Club and socializing with our fellow cruisers.
Part of a 30-foot-long mural that Diego Rivera installed on the wall of this woman’s home in 1956.
The two of us enjoy about a $5 lunch with fellow cruisers also headed to El Salvador: at left, Cheryl and Peter of s/v Stolen Kiss, from Australia; and Lisa and Larry of s/v Lisa Kay, from our own dock in Ventura.
Fresh fruit on a hot afternoon spent collecting provisions
A splurge at Zibu for Thai-Mexican fusion cuisine. I’m still dreaming about that fish in a banana leaf with mangos and cashews in chile sauce!
Then it was time to depart on a 30+ hour passage to the bay of Huatulco. Ho-hum, another overnight passage all by ourselves. This time we had a nice moon though, to light our way. And I’m starting to be able to sleep some, on my off-watch hours. Piece of cake!