NCL Cruise LA to Miami: Cabo San Lucas and Acapulco

Acapulco, Mexico

November 29, 2016

Latitude 16° 85’

There was no joy embarking on this trip. My grief was real, but there was nothing I could do if I returned home.  Nothing would bring back Bob, the beloved cat.

We left the hotel, returned the car and let NCL deposit us at the port in San Pedro where we set sail twenty minutes early on November 25^th.   That night it was everything I could do just to go through the motions of unpacking, eat dinner and watch the 9:00 pm show. I wasn’t much company.  But later that night, when I finally did get to bed, I was able to sleep, something I’d not done the night before

And that sleep allowed me to feel better on Day 2—a sea day.  The deep sadness was lifting and I spent a quiet day on board.  Gym.  Hot tub.  Spa.  Writing alone in my stateroom.  As the day progressed the clouds began to lift and it started to get warmer.  We were entering more temperate waters as we slid further down the coast of Baja California.  By the end of the day we were at 24° North—easily on a direct line with south Texas.  From here on it would just get hotter.  Gone would be gray November days and in their place we’d have full sun and soaring temperatures.

On Sunday the 27^th we arrived in Cabo San Lucas and spent the day.  I was in a serious state of disconnect and could never bond with the place.  It was hot and humid and full of tourists and the bars, even in the morning, were full of people.  I wasn’t there for the beach and the town I really wanted to see—Todos Santos—seemed too far away and too difficult to reach. Plus, I’d seen a hundred charming little Mexican towns and doubted this would be any different.  In truth, I didn’t even care.

Instead, I joined Glenda on an hour-long glass bottom boat tour to Land’s End—the southernmost tip of Baja California.  That would be the extent of my site-seeing.  From there I found a mall, found and place within to have a haircut and pedicure, and did just that.  550 pesos which was less than I’d have paid at home, but far more expensive than I’d have paid in Mexico City. And then I was back on the boat.  I still didn’t care.

Sadly, Cabo will always remind me of my sadness and, to be honest, there was nothing to see that would make me return.  Of course, if I’d had a car that would be different, but I didn’t.

The following day was another sea day.  I spent it under the sun, at the gym, and writing.  Writing is what I do best when I’m very upset.  Writing has always been one of the ways I deal with things that go wrong.

And then it was Acapulco. Acapulco.  A city I’ve been to a score of times, a city I come to when I want to go to the beach but don’t want to expend too much energy doing so.  But it was mighty strange to be a cruise-ship tourist in this city then to get back on the boat after a short visit ashore. This is a country I call home.

Twenty years ago Acapulco had been a little slice of blue heaven with a miles-long crescent of breezy blue beach, but the years have taken a grim toll on the city.  The bay is polluted, and depending on whose lists it’s on, it’s considered the third or fourth most dangerous city in the world.  It’s a very hot place with more problems than Mexico can solve.  Two weekends before we arrived ten people had been murdered within a 24-hour period.  I really had to wonder why this cruise ship had even stopped in port.

For me, there was nothing I hadn’t already seen more than once, but I did have plenty of things to do, as well as enough time in which to do them.  Grocery shopping, Internet, uploading this entry to my blog, some online research.

But by late morning I’d completed all my tasks and set off for the beach.  There was a warm, yellow sun and a few hours on the infamous beach where I’d been harassed earlier in the year seemed the right thing to do.  This time, however, I made sure I wasn’t alone.

The beach.  In another life I would have loved to be here at this time of the year.  But I’ve been retired long enough not to now want to be in the sun all the time.  Last year in Europe was wonderful.  Short, cold days.  Gray overcast skies.  Christmas markets.  I was quite happy in all that frosty pre-Christmas glory.

I have always enjoyed Acapulco.  Well, almost.  Weekends it’s crowded, but midweek it’s quiet.  No one goes there anymore except Chilangos—the residents of Mexico City.  In 1993, when we first went there on a one-week last-minute deal out of Montreal, there wasn’t a room to be had.  But that was another time.

By day’s end I was back on the boat.  And that was ok.  Acapulco will be here again when I return this winter.  I know my mood will be better then.