Zihuatanejo, Mexico

I'm writing this blog sitting in the White Tank Regional Library on a rainy Arizona day. I'm physically in Arizona to work Baseball Spring Training at Surprise Stadium but on a day like today its easy to be transported back just a couple of weeks when I was heading out, at about this time of day, on a snorkeling excursion in the Pacific town of Zihuatanejo, Mexico. Just for fun I looked up the weather there today and its 86 degrees and sunny and as nice as Arizona weather can be, Zihuatanejo has it beat.

Our stop in Zihuatanejo was a return to just having plain old fun in the sun after having played tourist in Columbia, Panama, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Guatemala. I loved having the chance to see, and learn lots about, all those beautiful countries but hey, going on a cruise also involves sitting back, soaking in rays, and simply taking a dip in the ocean.

Welcome to Mexico!

Mexico has been taking care of sun-loving tourists for a long time and they certainly know how to do it right. From the lovely ladies who serenaded us when we came on shore to the fun-loving crew of the catamaran Picante all you had to do was relax and enjoy.

The sail from Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala had seen some rough weather which you'll see a sample of in the video below. We also had an unscheduled detour to Acapulco so that a passenger who had taken ill could be taken off the ship and to a hospital. There is, of course, an infirmary on board most cruise ships and many are well equipped but they're meant primarily to treat minor health issues and to stabilize for transport those in more serious need of advanced care. We learned a lesson though. Apparently, from what we were told from some passengers who have utilized the shipboard medical services, the ship infirmary does not accept insurance so if you use these services you must pay up front and then submit a claim once you are home and hope for reimbursement. I can only imagine the expenses incurred for this unfortunate passenger who had to be evacuated from the ship and will take to heart our travel agent's recommendation to get additional coverage when traveling abroad in the future.

Tenders act as water taxis

But back to more fun things. Zihuatanejo is a beautiful town nestled in a nice harbor that is too small to dock cruise ships of the size we were on (and our ship, the Norwegian Gem, is relatively small compared to some of the behemoths sailing these waters today) so we were shuttled (or in nautical terms 'tendered') ashore in the ship's life boats. These life boats (AKA 'tenders') made for fine water taxis but I wouldn't want to spend hours or days rocking to and fro in one of these cramped vessels in an emergency. Once ashore we transferred to the catamaran Picante and soon found ourselves sailing back out to sea and around the point to our snorkeling spot. Water temps were delightfully warm, the waters were crystal clear, and the life beneath the waves were colorful and abundant. Lots of tropical fish and I got to get up close and personal with some Brittle Sea Stars. All in all, not a bad way to spend a day. And I'd go back in an instant...

Here's a hint why: