Acapulco Baby!

Coconut and Pina Colada
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Hola boys and girls!  I have just returned from 4 fabulous fun-filled days in Acapulco!

Gabriel and I arrived into Acapulco 7pm Saturday night and drove down the busy tourist-packed main road.  Then we found a restaurant and had dinner.  After dinner, we dumped our bags at the hotel and walked to the Hard Rock Bar.

I discovered that I do in fact like beer!  Not all beers, but I like Corona and Sol - with lime of course!  We had a couple of beers at the Hard Rock, listened to the live band, had a yummy ice-cream, then walked the streets some more.

Make mine a Corona
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The night lights of Acapulco Bay are beautiful.  The air was warm with a teeny hint of breeze to cool me down, it was safe, and it was exciting to be out exploring somewhere so pretty.

The next day we strolled down the gorgeous beach of Acapulco Bay.  I can’t describe how good it was walking with my feet in the warm sea, the clean cream-coloured sand, and the hot sun on my shoulders.  There were a lot of people enjoying the day at the beach.

We headed out of Acapulco to another beach that Gabriel knew.  We arrived at Ely’s Restaurant and sat under huts on the beach.  We ate delicious fish for lunch, and drank heavenly piña coladas and fresh coconut water - from the coconut.  It was wonderful to relax at the beach, eat good food, watch the surf, and enjoy the sun.  After lunch, we snoozed in hammocks all afternoon.  Ah, this is the life!  I went for a swim at 5pm and the sea was so warm.  After a quick snack we headed back to the Bay.

Hammock Time
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The nightlife in Acapulco is on every night.  Even on a Sunday night all the bars were open and people were partying.  The bars on the beachfront are open-air style; there is the floor, the bar, some posts and a roof.  It is great for a light breeze while you dance, and it’s not all smoky.  Even at 11pm at night it was 27°C.

And that was the night I did my first bungy jump!  At Paradise Bungy on the Beachfront there is a 50m tower that you jump from, a pool below, and a 6m platform off to the side that you get pulled-to to release from the bungy.  You can either ‘tocar el agua’ or stay dry.  I wanted to get wet!  So I got into my bikini and t-shirt and took the slow elevator to the top.  I like heights, I love diving, so this sounds like a great time for me.  But when I shuffled my bound feet to the edge of the tower and looked at the tiny pool below, I was little worried.  I had to confirm with the instructor that he wanted me to dive out, not down; and I would touch the pool, not hit the deck with tables and people!  He assured me it was all good and safe, so I jumped.  And it was fast!  It was a real rush, I was amazed at how fast I fell (…face first towards the deck…).  However, I felt the stretch of the bungy kick-in and I curved towards the pool and slowed down, then I was pinged back into the air.  I was a little disappointed that I didn’t get to touch the water after all that.  (Too light???  Haha).  I soon stopped bouncing and the man on the platform passed me a rope and pulled me off to the side.

Taxco
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However, that was not the end of my jumping experience.  Once I was unshackled from the bungy, I walked to the edge of the 6m platform, turned to the crowd, and did a backward somersault into the pool.  It was good to be diving again!  It was so good that I raced up to the unshackling platform and did a 1.5 forward somersault to the pool.  Then I got dressed and we went to the bar for drinking, dancing, and post-bungy buzzing.  We watched many people doing their bungies, the last one jumped at 1am.

La Quebrada
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The next day we decided to go water skiing, another first for me!  Gabriel went first.  He has water skied before so he was doing it one-handed, swinging out to the sides, smiling, waving; he was good - he made it look easy.  However, in real life, in MY real life, it is not easy!  I made 8 attempts to stand up on the skis but I either fell forwards or backwards, and got a mouthful of salty water for my efforts!  I decided I was not a natural that this water sport, but it was loads of fun and laughed at myself all afternoon.

Bungy
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We returned to Ely’s for some more beach, sun, piña coladas and hammock time.  Bliss.  And headed back to Acapulco to see the La Quebrada divers.

Now, these guys are completely nutty.  There is a 40m cliff, sharp rocks below, pounding seas, and they have to dive way out from the edge just to avoid being smashed on the cliff!  And they do this at night (hourly) until 10.30pm!  Crazy!  We saw the 7.30pm show.  6 men ran down our side of the viewing stand with torches, and dived into the sea.  They swam over to their cliff, and started climbing the rocks with wet bare feet and no safety equipment.  They climbed to an alter at the top, and offered a short prayer.  Then 5 of the men climbed back down the rocks to a diving-perch on the cliff (perhaps 30m high).  The first diver went.  Then the next diver did a 1.5 somersault (made mine the night before seem easy peesy!).  Then 3 divers went together.  One lone man stayed at the top of the cliff, and he dived from there.  Wow, that was impressive.  Very crazy, but impressive.

We headed back to the centre of town for some more nightlife.  Walking down the street we found a small market with goods from Oaxaca (a region in Mexico).  There were sweet liqueurs to sample, samurai swords, and… grasshoppers!  Yummy (sarcastic…)  Very nutritious, high in protein, good for ya, but not so tasty.  I tried one, and one was enough.  Then we found the Italian Ice-cream man, and THAT was good!  (One was not enough…)  And another night of dancing and partying until the early hours.

We drove home on Tuesday via Taxco; a small hillside town famous for silver and quaint colonial buildings.  I picked up a lovely ‘Tiffany’s’ bracelet and a pendant for a ridiculously low price, and we had lunch at La Parroquia [the parish] overlooking the pretty town square.  We looked inside the Iglesia de Santa Prisca (church), before getting back on the road to Mexico City.

If there is one place I recommend you see in Mexico, it is Acapulco!  (And pick me up a silver charm from Taxco.)

Marina xx