The agenda for this day was a shopping and beach trip in
Manzanillo. No water taxies this time;
the ship pulled up right to the dock.
Our group still had to wait in the theater again until we got permission
to leave the ship. Sigh.
After some shuffling, our group gathered on a bus only to
travel a few feet away to arrive at another section of the pier. Our guide brought us to the city square of
the town and filled us in on some of the history of the place. Nice to know but not exactly why I signed up
for this excursion. He spoke for about
ten minutes then gave us about ½ an hour to wander the square on what would be
the first shopping stop.
The woman who sat next to me on the bus introduced herself
as Sally. Turns out she was also a solo
black traveler. She offered to take my
picture if I asked. I declined but kept
her in mind.
Back on the bus, we traveled through the town, out in the
middle of nowhere, all while the tour guide rambled on. After climbing through steep, narrow,
cobblestone streets, we ended up at a photo op overlooking the Las Hadas By
Brisas hotel. It’s a pretty white stone
building right by the sea, most famous for being the location of the movie ‘10’
from the ’70’s. We stopped for pics,
then winded our way back down the hill.
While the area was nice, and I never would have seen it
without this tour, I was getting a little restless. I wasn’t the only one. This tour was for beach and shopping, not a
long-winded history lesson or endless driving.
Once we got back on the road, a guy interrupted the guide and asked,
“when are we getting to the beach?” The
tour guide assured us that we were on our way …
To another over-crowded shopping complex. This one was at least on the beach. We had a bathroom break, did some more
shopping (not me – no cash), and got back on the bus. We traveled just down the road to a
restaurant fronting the beach part of our tour.
The guide gave us vouchers for drinks and left us on the beach to fend
for ourselves for an hour or so.
I skipped the restaurant, put down my stuff and made a
beeline for the water. Finally! I was in the cool water, happy that it was a
few days until Christmas, and I was in the ocean. Couldn’t ask for a better present …
Until a powerful wave hit me and snatched the glasses off my
face.
Are you freaking kidding me?
I’ve been to Hawaii and Hilton Head multiple times, been in the ocean
with my glasses on and never had an issue.
My one and only trip to Mexico, at Christmastime, and the glasses were
gone, never to be seen again.
I stumbled back to the beach umbrella I shared with Sally
and told her what happened. Her
response? “Oh, they’ll turn up.” What. I
lost my glasses in the ocean, not a library.
She was more concerned that the order she’d placed with the restaurant
hadn’t arrived yet. I’m practically
blind and this woman is complaining about her food being late. Lady, I got no sympathy for you. Just lead me back to the boat and have a
happy trip.
That is indeed what happened. By the time we got back to the ship, it was
dark. My main concern was to not break my
ankle getting back on the boat. I
followed Sally back, discussing how much she loves to travel even if she can’t
get anyone to come with her. Her 21-year-old
son decided he was too old to travel with her anymore, even if she was
paying. I told her he was an idiot. Unless someone is taking you to the ninth
circle of hell, if they are willing to pay for your travel, you go. She agreed, saying she got tired of listening
to other people’s excuses, so she just planned her trips on her own. We had something in common there. But, considering how much she complained
about the restaurant and the tour on the bus, I wasn’t interested in making
friends. When she got stuck in customs
because of her purchases, I reached the nearest stairway and squinted my way
back to my room.
THANK GOD I PACKED MY SPARE GLASSES. I thought I was just overpacking and being
paranoid when I put them in my suitcase.
But no. The lenses are scratched,
the prescription very old, and the frames are discolored, but after groping my
way to my room, they were most beautiful things I’d ever seen!
After getting some dinner, I ended the evening with this big, beautiful strawberry Margarita and a nice foot soak in a hot tub. I’d chosen this tub because I’d stumbled on
it the night before, completely deserted – my kind of situation. That didn’t last for long, though, as a woman
soon appeared with her daughter.
Normally, I would have high-tailed it, but I had to give the woman some
credit. As they approached the pool, she
pointed me out to her kid, telling her not to disturb me as she entered the water. This highlights one of the issues I have with
most parents. They usually don’t know or
acknowledge that not everyone wants to deal with their children. I have nothing but respect for a parent who
realizes that, hey, other people do exist.
Thank you, ma’am. And a Merry
Christmas to you too!
We were soon joined by the woman’s husband and another
couple. Everyone began to share stories
of their day in Manzanillo and get acquainted.
The second man was from South Africa.
He lived in Cali with his American wife and they were telling us how
their town was subject to the forced blackout recently. I’d read about the wildfires all over the
state and how the government would deliberately shut off the power for days at
a time to try to prevent further fire damage from sparking power lines. The couple told tales of rotted food and
having to shower in cold water. Have I
mentioned that Cali is a nice place to visit but I would never want to
live there? Yeah. Like the earthquakes weren’t bad enough.
I told them my tales of wave swept glasses and
sphincter-clenching canyons as the crowd of people in the tub grew. Once there were at least ten people there,
including two kids who were trying to swim in the tiny space, I knew it was
time to call it a night.
The third and final excursion I’d scheduled was on the next
day, Christmas Eve; a walking tour of Puerta Vallarta. I decided to skip it. I’d lost my way in Cabo and lost my glasses
in Manzanillo. I figured if I left the
boat a third time, I’d lose my head. No
thanks. I watched Puerta Vallarta from
the safety of the ship. That night, I
found my way to the same hot tub which was again deserted. No drink this time but there was a fireworks
display from the shore as we left port. That was a nice way to end our time in
Mexico. Despite the mishaps, I wouldn’t
mind returning in the future
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