Tuesday, February 23, 2016 – Manzanillo, Mexico – Sunny – 86F

Distance from Huatulco to Manzanillo, Mexico: 549 Nautical Miles

Port Trivia. The city, Manzanillo, gets its name from the Manzanilla trees that are (were) found growing in the sand dunes.  The town was put on the map following the filming of the movie “10” starring Dudley Moore and Bo Derek. Do I need to say anything further.

The ship is due to arrive in port at around 12:45 PM.  I had the usual breakfast in the Windows Café. 

I tried to catch up on some journaling in the Mosaic Café in the morning.

The sail in to Manzanillo was scenic…

Sail In

Once docked, the ship was patrolled by two armed Mexican soldiers (they stayed a little while and were gone later in the afternoon).

Mexican Military Guards

This morning the Journey is having its “Jazz Brunch” in the Discoveries Restaurant.  The orchestra is located in the corner of the raised center area, where all the food is located.  It can be a little loud depending on where you sit.  The brunch had the usual items with the exception of picked herring (the only thing I really look for at the brunch since I don’t like to have herring early in the morning for breakfast).  I asked one of the suits and he said he would see if there was any downstairs.  A few minutes later he came back with a nice plate of herring (four pieces), tomato, onions, and capers.  Very nice.

Ellen has a tour today - “Manzanillo Highlights” and I am planning to do my usual walkabout.  For the first time on this cruise, Ellen will be carrying a “HazMat Kit” on her excursion – sanitizing wipes.  

Ellen went on her way and I set off on my walk.

The port area had a series of plastic dogs (I think) – all the same shape but sporting different designs and colors.  They were like the cows in Chicago a few years back.

I headed initially toward the huge stylized marlin at the town square.  The square was occupied today mostly by hundreds of pigeons (I gave them a wide berth). 

The Big Blue Fish

From the fish, I headed up the main street to just about where the city ended – I was able to get a nice shot of the Big Blue Fish down at the end of this street.

Once I hit the end of town, I criss-crossed the sides streets, avoiding any streets not having any foot traffic.  I found no spas (for future reference), lots of shoe stores, a few clinical labs (yes), many hamburguesa joints, and a new DQ. I did find a number of Belezas but couldn’t find any one who spoke English so I was on my own.  The people were friendly enough; they just didn’t understand anything.  Many new stores were now occupying the same old buildings.  Many people were about and no one paid any attention to me. 

I did come across a most unusual store – a Chinese Restaurant.  I wonder what the food must be like and how popular it is.

Once I had pretty much covered the town, I went back down to main street that fronts the harbor.  From there, I went away from the pier entrance to where the town also seems to end.  Stopping there, I found a good spot to shoot more pictures of the marina, harbor, and Journey.  I was also surprised to find some interesting statues at that location.  Also interesting were the number of street food places – all full of locals taking in the food and cerveza. 

Manzanillo Marina

Harbor Statue and Journey

Azamara Journey and Marina Boats

Instead of returning to the ship at that point, I headed instead to the building that had housed a Spa the last time we were here.  The building right across from the Fish, now had a chiropractic office and apartments.  I also went a little further down that street and found a new pizza restaurant (look and feel of a Pizza Hut).  At the end of that street, the town ended in a series of single level condos.  Nothing further to see.

As I started back toward the ship, I came across a very interesting statue of a man (near the square of the Fish).   I took a picture of the statue because at a certain angle, it looks like he is pointing right at the Journey.

“Yes, that is your ship”

By the time I was finished about an hour and a half later, I had covered about 4 miles plus and logged about 9500 steps.  It was pretty warm so I burned quite a few calories on my trek (even more than my bracelet registered since there was some elevation on this route). 

Once back on the ship, a Bloody Mary and a bottle of water (reverse order) served to cool me off.  I spent the rest of the afternoon on Deck 5, which now sported a cooling breeze.  I took a nice picture from my Croc Cam. 

Manzanillo Post Walkabout

I received a text from Ellen that she was on her way back to the ship.  She had taken several pictures on excursion.

We met up in the Mosaic Café where she was able to pick up a snack.  It looks like we are in the early stages of bio-lockdown because self service has disappeared from the Mosaic Café.  It is a limited lockdown as self serve is still going on in the Windows Café.  I can see evidence of stepped up cleaning and some crew stationed at the sanitizing stations.

We had dinner in the Discoveries Restaurant (passing on the Indian Buffet) – I had the Halibut and a Cesar Salad – we shared the veggie cutlets, which were just as good the second time around.  We actually requested a table for a particular waiter that was very quick on service.  The dinner was very good.

We skipped the Production Show (“Café Del Amour”) and spent some time on Deck 5 including watching the sail away.

We spent the rest of the evening on the very pleasant open deck.

Pilot Boat – Sail Away

The night time sail away was very nice.