Overstaying in Acapulco

Acapulco has a bit of a bad rep in the cruising world as unfriendly, expensive, dirty, and crime-ridden. Once again, we’re finding the conventional wisdom to be a bit misguided.DSC_0047

Always with the good food...
Always with the good food…

We pulled in to the anchorage at Bahia Puerto Marques after an uneventful two-night passage, to try and sleep a bit before entering the city itself. Christmas week means beach vacation to many Mexicans, and the bay was packed with jet skiers, wakeboarders, and folks being towed on giant inflatable bananas.

Pool time at the Club de Yates
Pool time at the Club de Yates

The next day, we took a slip at the lovely Club de Yates Acapulco. This marina is right in the old part of the city, and it’s so easy to imagine the glamour days of old Acapulco—fancy drinks at the Flamingo and Elvis sashaying by. We’d planned for one night, two at the most, before trucking ahead to Zihuatanejo, but New Year’s Eve and the company of friends proved to be too strong a draw.

We’ve seen the famous cliff divers, flashing back to our youth in the 70’s and ABC’s Wide World of Sports; we’ve strolled through town and checked out the beaches; we’ve indulged in fancy groceries, in the name of “passage food”; we’ve hung out at the pool and sipped tropical drinks. We’ve found ourselves a little too relaxed, in fact.Version 2

Acapulco taxi
Acapulco taxi

DSCF3497On New Year’s Eve, we hung out with our friends on Scooby II, watching the lights and sipping Prosecco. Our friends treated us to a delicious meal, and we set off some fireworks of our own–a tricky procedure involving an old wine bottle taped to the end of a long pole–before watching the fireworks surrounding the bay that went off at midnight. We’ve surely made our lives more difficult for the rest of the week, needing to run up the coast in time to meet family in Puerto Vallerta, but Acapulco was worth it.DSCF3501

One Comment on “Overstaying in Acapulco

  1. Missing you but loving your stories. Hooray for Acapulco! Lots of history there… besos y abrazos!

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