We are in Huatulco, Mexico, today. It’s on Mexico’s Pacific coast, way down in Oaxaca. Huatulco, population 50,000, is an eco-tourism destination as it is located near a large national park. The area has 9 bays and 36 beaches.
As we sailed into the port, we passed a Mexican Coast Guard station. On the boats there we saw coast guard members and army soldiers who were heavily armed with Uzi-type automatic weapons. They had flak vests on, and some of them wore balaclavas which concealed their faces. They looked just like ICE in the US. We also saw police on the shore who were similarly equipped. It seemed a little like overkill, but I really don’t know what they have to deal with here in the way of cartels and drug smugglers. Obviously, a lot of money is being spent to recruit and equip these officers and their boats. I also noticed that 95% of the officers I saw were young males, and they were tall and muscular.
Before leaving the ship we were reminded that no food or drink could be taken off the ship (other than water). We had to pass by agents with dogs, and we had to let the dogs sniff our purses and bags. They had a table with some fruit and a sandwich on it. I think the food had been discovered by the dogs. These guys also looked like they meant business. I wonder if the dogs were also trained to detect drugs.
We have been here before. Once we went to the beach, and once we did a kayak tour in the bay. Today we followed a suggestion made by AI to take a boat tour. It was a beautiful day and the water looked very calm, so it seemed like a good idea to take advantage of the favorable conditions.
We walked to the marina to see if we could find a boat to take us sightseeing. I saw a boat that had about 8 or 10 seats and thought it was a tour boat. I asked the man on the boat what he charged for a one-hour tour, so I would have a ball park idea of the cost.
We continued walking and came to another place that looked like it might offer tours. I spoke to a guy who approached us. We ended up making a deal for a one-hour private tour on a boat named Dilan. He sent someone to get the boat and bring it over to the dock we were on. We were introduced to George, who would be the captain. All accomplished quickly and easily. Then we climbed on board and the tour began.
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| Passing the Zuiderdam as head out toward the open water |
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| I have marked the location of our wrap-around balcony |
We drove right up to a couple of beaches in the Bay of Santa Cruz Huatulco. They looked inviting and less developed than the beach by the cruise ship dock.  |
| The water was so clear! |
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| Such interesting rock formations |
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| The Lighthouse of the Bays of Huatulco |
George drove us to a blowhole. I got a good look at it and was finally able to understand how blowholes work. There is a cave right at the waterline. When a wave comes in, it fills up the cave and continues to flow forcefully into the cave. This forces water out of the part of the cave that is just above the waterline.
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| The blowhole |
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| An unspoiled beach farther up the coast in the national park, one of many |
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| Pelican |
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| A rock that looked like a face, but not so much from this angle |
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| Playa Maguey (I think) |
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| Another perfect beach |
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| The lighthouse seen from the other side |
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| Sea tortoises in love |
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| Captain George |
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| One last bay on the other side of Huatulco |
The boat ride was thrilling. It was gorgeous scenery along an unspoiled section of coastline. The wind and the waves were exhilarating. The wildness of the place made it really special. I loved this experience.
I don’t think it would have occurred to me to try such a tour without the suggestion from AI. I never really thought about it, but I don’t think I fully realized that you could just walk up to someone in a marina and arrange a tour like that. To be clear, the place did appear to be a tour company and not some random guy with a boat, but I would have thought it would be a little more structured.
To celebrate our wonderful tour, we decided to have lunch on the beach. It was literally on the beach. We were sitting (on chairs) on the sand.
Back on the ship, we helped out with the Orange Party by wearing the brightest orange shirts we could find. They had a Dutch dinner and we got to try “hodge podge klapstuck.” With a name like that, how could you not try it? It was basically pot roast. And there were stroopwaffles in our dessert.
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