Cruising to Huatulco, Oaxaca, Mexico

December 10th, 2016

Friday December 9, 2016

Two nights and a full day at sea with ‘light air’ – 81 degrees, sunny with light clouds. 

dsc_8866

We had traveled 1292 miles from Los Angeles and our cruise continued south-easterly along the Mexican coast. We kept ourselves busy with a few silly shipboard activities and explored the gigantic floating hotel.  The heated Lotus Pool in the photo below was covered with a retractable glass roof.  The Island Princess sails to Alaska in the summer so we surmised this feature would be well used during chilly sub-Arctic days.

dsc_8872

Soft relaxing Asian music played in the Lotus Pool which was surrounded by thick soft green lounge chairs.  In contrast, the Lido Pool had loud harsh music blaring out of speakers all day and night.  

dsc_8875

Jeff and I had filled our iPhones with free audio books from our local library’s Hoopla site so we were well armed with our own entertainment.  

Saturday, December 10th   Southwesterly Force 3 ‘gentle breeze’ – 84 degrees and sunny

I awoke at 6:30 to a change in movement of the ship.  Island Princess had slowed as we approached land and the behemoth slowly and effortlessly backed into the narrow port alongside a long dock.  Amazing!

Land looked perilously close to our balcony during this maneuver:

dsc_8900

We had not reserved a guided excursion in Huatulco (pronounced Wa-tool-ko) because prior research showed it to be a small manageable town.  According to Wikipedia, Huatulco is a Mexican “tourist development” begun in the late 1980s.

dsc_8924

Huatulco was a charming walkable town whose architecture reminded me of Delray Beach, Florida although it’s located in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico.  There was a nice little beach and modern condo developments spread across the foothills of the Sierra Madre del Sur mountains. 

dsc_8928

After a leisurely breakfast we walked down the gangplank off the ship.  The sun beat down on us and there was no cooling breeze.  

dsc_9005

dsc_8947

The Island Princess and the Holland America ship, Veendam, dominated the seascape.  We wondered if the brightly colored shops were open after the ships left.  

dsc_8952

dsc_8985

dsc_8998

There was a small park in the center of town and local people had set up a market in the shade.  Huatulco had restaurants, bars, variety stores, and shops selling tourist stuff.  

dsc_8983

Jeff and I talked about seniors who lived on ships and sailed to foreign ports instead of living in ‘senior housing’ or ‘assisted living’ facilities or relatives homes.  While it sounded adventurous, I have to admit I enjoy getting off the ship and standing on terra firma.

dsc_8966

We walked around for a while seeking cooler shade as we went.  The sun was strong and the temperature was hot and humid.  Sweat trickled down my back and drenched my shirt.  We took photos, then decided to return to the ship’s air conditioning and the coffee bar for iced drinks.  

dsc_9055

In the afternoon, while Jeff relaxed with one of his audio-tapes, I participated in a Ring Toss game and won a Princess lanyard on the fourth try.  Jeff joined me later for a Trivia Contest in one of the lounges and we listened to the Romantica Quartet play selections from The Nutcracker Suite.

We had a Mexican dinner in the Horizon Court then enjoyed a comedy act in the Princess Theater.  By the time the show was finished, the wind was blowing 55 knots creating huge waves outside.  The Princess rolled and shook and we held onto the railings which line all the walls to return to our room.

Comments are closed.