Blog 6 – Acapulco and more

By a quirk of fate, Linda, who simply loves beaches, had not been near one in two long years. 

And it just seemed silly, living in Mexico, with borders stretching along two Gulfs, one Sea, and the Pacific Ocean...

...not to have the opportunity to sink our toes into some deep warm sand.

And so, our tribe, now three (Jennifer having returned to Querétaro to work), set course for...

...Acapulco, Mexico’s oldest and largest beach town.

From the plane window, we got a first-hand view of Mexico City .....

.....and even caught sight of the elusive Popocatépetl Volcano...

....or “Popo”, as the locals like to call it. 

Recent activity in the volcano caused so much heat that there’s little or no glacier cover left.

And in just 50 minutes, our plane had left Mexico City (altitude 2000 + meters), crossed the Sierra Madre del Sur Mountains and dropped us down
to sea level…. 

….where we got our first look in a very long time at the grand Pacific Ocean. 

What a thrill !!

The objective here: Some serious R. and R.

Yes, even retired people can use some good R. and R.!!!

It took me about a day to catch on but not Linda!  She got it immediately. 

“But hey! What a concept!

We should do this every year?”

It all seems so right… unlimited pool and beach time, no beds to make, breakfast served until noon…and all you can eat!

I could get used to this… say, once or twice a year. 

“Wow!!!  Sign me up!!”

But I digress.  Linda was so excited, we just had to get out onto the beach.

Strolling along, arm-in-arm (nice, eh?), it was really gorgeous. 

I did notice that the flags were out and that today’s was red. 

As beautiful as it was, it appears that rip tides claim a few lives every year down here...

...and although a flag warning system is in place and you do see the occasional armed naval officer patrolling the beach, ...

.....there is no such thing as a life guard post….none!

Now it was high vacation time.  Drinks, food,and umbrellas were ubiquitous….and always at the top of the beach. 

But many of the children were playing, seemingly unwatched at water’s edge.   

On this particular day, the ocean had a rhythm and if you listened carefully, you could hear a change coming. 

It was kind of eerie so I pulled out my camera, only to see a huge and very unexpected wave inundate the entire beach,...

....pushing and pulling people all over the place, especially the children.

No harm was done and luckily, things did calm down…but... such things sure give you pause to think.

Historically, Acapulco's warm water bay and pristine beaches have been irresistible to humans....

....since the days of the Aztec Empire.

The Spanish immediately recognized the strategic advantages of the perfectly formed bay....

.....and of course, instead of chilling out like us....

...used Acapulco as their base to explore, conquer, and trade all across the Pacific.

In fact, this was the only port in the New World authorized to receive Spanish galleons from the Philippines and China...

But it wasn't only for conquistadors like Cortez but also for English pirates like Sir Francis Drake too.

Jeremy and Linda enjoying the pool.

After five days of surf, sun, and sand... 

.

...and greetings each morning from "Hola!"...

...and seeing Linda's big toe in soooo many pictures.

...I call those her piña colada shots.....,

...it was time to head back to the city...

... where by chance, we had 5 hours of free tour guide service...

....so why not explore the little known southern end of the city. 

There was much to discover….

....the two houses where Rivera and Kahlo...

.....(the larger-than-life painters who became the most acclaimed artists in Mexican history, and whose tempestuous love affair, landmark journeys to America, and outrageous personalities made them legendary)....

...lived, loved, and fought,

..and the wonderful and impressive public university, UNAM... or....The National Autonomous University of Mexico,...the largest university in Latin America

(343 thousand students enrolled this year alone), ...

....widely regarded by many university world rankings as the leading university of the Spanish-speaking world...

...and whose tuition for life is....10 cents !!!....that's right...10 cents!!!!!

….but most of all, we loved our time in...

...the Floating Gardens of Xochimilco

Pronounced "Solchiminko",...

...the last remaining part of the canal system used by the Aztecs, ....

....canals which once were the highways of the city.

Making our way on a “Trajinera” or canal boat....

....we all  ate, drank, laughed, and were
amazed....

....as we travelled down canals and past islands built by the Aztecs, in boats...

.....whose design had hardly changed through the ages. 

Some of us even bought hats.  :)

The next day, our tribe was down to two. 

Linda was off to Nova Scotia to see her ailing mother. 

After our goodbyes, Jeremy and I sat down to see what he would most like to do over his last two days. 

Visiting, the pyramids, something that Jeremy had already had the good fortune to have done in Egypt, seemed like a good idea.

There are many differences that distinguish the Aztec-Mesoamerican from the Egyptian pyramids...

...but what most stands out is that the Egyptians were building tombs, each a single project, for one ruler…
...whereas the Aztec-Mesoamerican pyramids were more the result of “pyramid stacking”

...a little thing done  by new conquering civilizations...

...whereby a new pyramid was built upon the previous one, ...

.....all to serve the political, religious and ritualistic practices of the bigger and better conquering civilization.

On his final day, and on his wish,.....

.....we shuffled through Mexico’s town centre... ....accompanied by a million other friends…

...a strategy, I believe, to get himself tired for the flight that night....

...but the best part of the day was the meal at our now “favorite” restaurant: Quebracho...

...after coffee at my favorite bookstore/café lakeside at Chapultepec Park.

Hasta luego, Jeremy. :)

Thank you all for stopping by!  See you next time.