patriciawatt

The weather has been wonderful as we sail along the Pacific coast of Mexico. Some days the ocean has been like glass. The weather Gods are really making up for all that bad weather at the start.

ZIHUATANEJO was a tender stop where we anchored nearby in the ocean. Since I didn’t have a tour booked here I just made my way into town. Zihuatanejo was put on the map in the movie Shankshaw Redemption. When prisoner Andy tells another prisoner Red that he dreams of escaping and living in Zihuatanejo, a Mexican town on the Pacific coast, because the Mexicans believe the Pacific Ocean has no memory. “That’s where I want to live the rest of my life, a warm place with no memory.” The town hugs the beaches and there are restaurants situated right on the sand, But I was on a mission. Flowers. I walked around town just looking in the shops which were very nice and looking for a flower shop. I finally found one and got a lovely bouquet of flowers for my cabin. I am happy. I also got to practice my Spanish which is much better than I thought, especially when you have to speak because they don’t speak English. My teachers would be proud. I think!! Today is the start of the Chinese Lunar New Year. It’s the year of the Rabbit bringing peace, diplomacy, integrity & prosperity. God knows we could all use some of these in our world today.

ACAPULCO Not much to say about Acapulco. Not my favourite spot in Mexico and I have been here many times with the last visit in 2020. I’ve seen the cliff divers several times. I almost drowned here once a long long time ago. So I decided to stay on board and relax.

PUERTO CHIAPAS Three of us, Milt, Jenny & me had decided not to do a tour here and just take a shuttle bus into the little town of Tapachula and wander around. The ship didn’t have a shuttle because there apparently is a strong taxi union here so Oceania is not allowed to have their own shuttle. So we found a very nice taxi driver, young, well dressed, clean and cute. He agreed to take us into town, along with Larry, a chap we picked up at the taxi stand. Our driver agreed to stay with us and return us to the ship for a reasonable amount and off we went.

The port area of Puerto Chiapas is one of the prettiest I’ve seen. However, Tapachula leaves a lot to he desired. It is pretty run down and the market is small and messy. They do have a museum that was interesting and a beautiful city hall right in the centre of town. However the biggest surprise for me was all the people, just hanging out, all over town and especially in the city square. Our driver told us they were all immigrants seeking asylum. You see huge line ups outside the immigration offices here , where the majority of asylum claims are made. Lots of young people and families with little children in tow. I mean I have heard the stories of masses of people just walking and making their way north, but I really had not conceptualized it. For the most part they are stuck here, and they come from all over, Africa, Haiti, El Salvador, the Middle East, Honduras and more recently Russia and the Ukraine, and most come over the border via Guatemala.

With so many struggling to get immigration papers, the system is overloaded, and many are just like prisoners here in this city. They can’t leave until they get their immigration papers and apparently it is a very slow progress. I can’t imagine the impact it must be having on the local population. There are many armed police around. But I did not see any evidence of violence. Nor did I feel unsafe. Just people sitting around and waiting. Thank God the weather is nice. Mexico has sent the military to their southern border to try and stop the number of people coming in and they have asked for help in sending these people to other countries in Central America, but I don’t think that is happening. Sad to see.

Sea Days are some of my favourite times on board. There is always lots to do, Or nothing. I like to try and keep up with my blog, but also there are games, lectures and art classes and my favourite thing to do, not only on sea days – Team Trivia. Always so much fun with cruise director par excellence, Ray Carr. Our team is called the Mixed Nuts because we have people from Australia, UK, USA & Canada. So we think we have the world covered.