Wednesday - April 10, 2024 Arrive 8:00AM - Depart 5:00PM (Daily Diary Synopsis)
We made it to the west coast of Mexico again and a visit to Huatulco. Huatulco (Spanish pronunciation: [wa'tulko]; wah-TOOL-coh), formally Bahías de Huatulco, centered on the town of La Crucecita, is a tourist development in Mexico. It is located on the Pacific coast in the state of Oaxaca. Huatulco's tourism industry is centered on its nine bays, thus the name Bahías de Huatulco, but has since been unofficially shortened to simply Huatulco.
We arrived just after sunrise!
The ocean was on fire!
Sleepy head opened her eyes, went back to sleep...
We will have two more weeks of winter!
The Sun was having a hard time getting started today!
We had our morning coffee in the room and the port was insight.
The shoreline was rocky but behind the rocks was a beautiful but small harbor.
New hotels are going up all the time as it is a nice place to visit plus they have an international airport just a few miles away!
The inlets all had nets to keep the sea creatures out.
It looks like a sleepy village and it was for a long time.
The city is straight ahead.
It was a short walk to the buses.
The ship looks huge and indeed it is!
Nice to be here! Until resort development began in the 1980s, Huatulco was little known except as a coffee-growing area.
We walked through town.
Did You Know? - In addition to the beaches, there are small communities of Bahias de Huatulco, such as Santa Cruz, La Crucecita, or old Santa María Huatulco (the municipal seat). Transportation between the communities is available by bus or taxi. The entire area has a small-town feel about it and is rarely crowded with tourists exception in the Christmas and Easter holiday periods.
Indeed tropical!!
Did You Know? - Puerto Ángel (English: "Angel Port") is a small coastal town in the Mexican state of Oaxaca located in the municipality of San Pedro Pochutla. It, along with San Agustinillo and Playa Zipolite, is known as the "Riviera Oaxaqueña". It is located 9 km south of the city of Pochutla, approximately 50 kilometers west of Huatulco, and 80 kilometers east of Puerto Escondido. Despite tourism development since the 1960s, the town is still mostly a fishing village, located on a small bay surrounded by rocky hills that lead into the Sierra Madre del Sur. It was founded in the mid-19th century as a port for the region's coffee and lumber industries but since then other means of shipping these products has replaced it.
The bus ride was about an hour long!
About 80% of all tourism in Bahias de Huatulco is domestic in nature. Only about 20% of Huatulco's tourism is foreign, mainly because international air access is limited. Bahias de Huatulco has a small international airport just 20 minutes from the main resorts in Tangolunda Bay.
We arrived at our destination and parked; we walked another mile to the boats!
First things first; restrooms?
We had to walk through the little town.
The down a path to the river.
It was in the 90s but the humidity was not too bad.
Mary kept looking for snakes!
I was a dutiful husband, I pointed them out!
Our boat was in process of arriving!
There were crocs in the lake!
It was paddled out to the sand which separated the brackish water form the ocean.
Did You Know? - Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuaries, or it may occur in brackish fossil aquifers.
Keep an eye out!
There he was and he looked hungry!
Then I spotted the sign!
He and the vulture had a symbiotic relationship!
The birds screamed and it was almost deafening!
They were telling the Iguana's to come out and play!
In the wild, iguanas live an average of 8 years, but can live up to 20 years in captivity.
Look carefully, they are bright green! The Iguana is a genus of herbivorous lizards that are native to tropical areas of Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean
The guide brought their favorite food.
There are at least four in this picture.
Did You Know? - Iguanas are able to hold their breath for up to 30 minutes. They will often jump from tree to water using their powerful tail for swimming to escape. They are also able to leap down 40-50 feet without injury.
Look carefully!
Easier to see!
Did You Know? - Primarily herbivores, iguanas are active during the day, feeding on leaves, flowers, and fruit. They generally live near water and are excellent swimmers. If threatened, they will leap from a branch, often from great heights, and escape with a splash to the water below.
Easier yet!
They are not dangerous to humans unless you look like a carrot or other vegetable?!
His tummy was full, he is going back up the tree.
Did You Know? - Iguanas are really afraid of water spraying because they don't like the sound produced by the water when it gushes of a hose pipe. Spraying water on iguanas will scare them and they run away immediately from a yard. Iguanas are really scared of light produced by some products.
These guys were blabbermouths!
We walked to the museum and croc farm!
Stuffed but average size.
They lay their eggs deep in the sand.
Other stuffed beasts that frequent this area of Mexico.
NOT stuffed! Very very alive.
Did You Know? - Crocodiles are highly intelligent. Research has shown that crocodiles are very quick learners and are extremely good at retaining information. They can learn how to navigate mazes, remember where food has been hidden, and even use tools to catch their prey. They also have extremely good memories.
Two crocs for the price of one.
Did You Know? The biggest difference between alligators and crocodiles is their snout shape – according to Britannica, alligators have a broad, U-shaped snout while crocodiles have a narrow, V-shaped one. The two animals also have different teeth.
An adult crocodile can grow up to roughly 19 feet long, whereas for alligators, the maximum length is around 14 feet. Crocodile hides tend to be more of a light tan or olive color, whereas alligators are usually a dark blackish grey. (The exact shade of an alligator skin depends on the quality of the water it swims in.
Smile for the camera!
I think we have the same dentists!
"No, I am not going to shake his paw!"
This is where they keep the baby crocs!
Soon they will be 15 feet long, and hungry!
They like the heat!
They are good swimmers from birth!
Say hello to Mr.
Green.
He can get to be two feet long!
We also visited the deer farm!
Mary named it Bambi.
He is keeping an eye out for the crocs!
We decided to be brave and dine on tacos and burritos figuring they would not want to poison their guests!
We are glowing as it is 90 degrees and 90 percent! humidity
Paul was surprised as we are going to get a tour of the kitchen!!
Tacos made fresh!
The stone is quite hot!
The sauces are made fresh!
The wait staff were very efficient!
Getting hot!
The oven was fed with charcoal!
She assisted me in getting into the boat!
One slight slip and splash, Paul for lunch!
It was a very short trip to the shore line!
It was nearing 3:00 pm and time for a siesta!
We were in the front of the bus and got an excellent view of the highway!
There were farms and homes on both side of the road.
The roads were in good shape!
The road signs were plentiful BUT the highway was loaded with speed bumps!
This highway was a truck route.
We are closing in on the city!
Downtown Huatulco.
The city was quite clean and traffic was minimal!
We are off the bus and ready to board the ship!
Air conditioning here we come!
We were the only ship in today!
She is a beauty!
Focus please!
We headed for the Skywalker Lounge to watch the ship depart!
Time for dinner!
Oh my, fresh shrimp salad!
Freshly made buratta cheese and melt in your mouth tomatoes.
We are having a magnificent time!
We lined up our sweet cocktails! MY oh my, we did these??
David and Paul each tried the special drinks!
You might ask why were we tired?
We were so tired that there was no dancing tonight; we crashed!!
