Well we made it. Docked in Acapulco Mexico at 6:00 am this morning. They have given us the security clearance and said that we needed to be cautious and would have security with us. There was what I consider plenty of police not just with us, but throughout the city. We saw no violence or issues.
I was able to get several panoramic views from several places in the city. Also we went to a hotel and had a private performance by cliff divers. While we waited, there were some other dancers for entertainment. Oh, and the mid-morning margaritas were not bad either. Not sure if I will be able to get one of the videos to upload, but hopefully I will be able to share at a later time. Like in most major cities, we saw a lot of variation from the “haves to the have-nots”. We saw the stadium where they held the Mexican Open Tennis Tournament this past weekend.
Acapulco is a major seaport in the state of Guerrero. Acapulco is the largest city in the state, with a population of around 2 million and about 190 miles southwest of Mexico City. The name comes from the Nahuatl language and means “At the big reeds” or “At the broken reeds” with the seal of the city showing broken reeds or cane. In the 1950’s, because of the semicircular bay and largest beach area in Mexico, it became a getaway for Hollywood stars and millionaires. On the northern end of the bay, the “original” Acapulco had hotels owned by personalities such as Johnny Weissmuller and John Wayne. Today much of the modern area has huge hotels and restaurants right on the beach. Although tourism remains their number one industry, their cruise ship business has gone down from about 100 to 20 port stops per year. According to our guide this is because of the publicity about crime, the pandemic, and a huge category 5 hurricane three years ago. While their international tourism is down, they are still very popular with Mexican celebrities and wealthy who maintain homes in the area. The most historic building is the San Diego Fort, built in 1616 to protect the city from pirate attacks. After an earthquake in 1776, it was rebuilt in 1783 and remains the same except for renovations done in 2000. Unfortunately this was not part of our tour, so we only got to see it from a distance.
Although we only saw a small part of Acapulco, I am glad we got to check this city off, as it was another site on our bucket list.
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