Distance from Puerto Vallarta to Huatulco, Mexico - 705 Nautical Miles
A calmer night and some sleep – the ship is still very sensitive to the motion of the ocean.
Standard Breakfast today – real cottage cheese has reappeared on the Lido Buffet.
Ellen is on tour today and I am going to find the only spa in Huatulco for my next pampering session. The Maya Spa is just across the street from the main square. There was one therapist there (unfortunately she spoke no English – I had an interpreter from a nearby store help us both out) so I was able to get right it. The spa is very clean and cool (some kind of AC maybe). The session, which was $35 for 60 minutes, was very good. The spa, which is very clean and bright, has added one of those fish tanks used to strip the dead skin off your feet – I am not there yet and probably never will be.
After the Spa, I put into about 5000 steps checking out the town to see what was new. Not much and many of the buildings are up for sale.
I walked down to the beach (all of the bars and restaurants have barkers in front to get you check out their cerveza). All I wanted was a good picture of the Symphony docked and the town's very nice beach. Success on both fronts.
Symphony Docked
Huatulco Beach
Many of the homes up on the hill across from the dock appeared to be abandoned. That's how they looked the last time we were here and not much has been done to bring them back to life.
Abandoned Homes
On my way back to the ship, I was able to get a nice picture of the beach from the pier.
I had lunch in the Trident Grill and Lido Café – Red Pepper Gazpacho (I know, addicted...but the soup is delicious), Tuna Melt, and salad.
After lunch I took a little walk on Deck 7 and watched the HAL Amsterdam pull in along side of us. The ship was not that much larger than the Symphony. This is the first time that I can remember a second ship docking in Huatulco.
In the afternoon, I used the Guest Laundry to wash our sweaty stuff from the week. It was a good time to do that since most of the ship was off on excursions. The washers are really high tech (soap is added via a push of a button) and do a good job as do the nifty driers.
It was a pretty warm day so I spent most of the afternoon in the Crystal Plaza Bar with a mojito and my Kindle.
Huatulco From Crystal Cove Bar
Ellen got back from her excursion about 3 PM or so.
At 4:30 PM, we went to the Shabbat Service in the Hollywood Theater. Steve was supposed to lead the service but he was bumped by a cantor from Deerfield, IL (the reformed synagogue across the street from Noah’s school). The service was very nice. The ship supplied wine (not Manischewitz, unfortunately) and challah.
From there, we hustled over to the Galaxy Lounge to listen to Ilene Graff perform her concert – “My Life of Song”. She did a lot of songs from her shows. A very enjoyable afternoon. So many good performers.
Ilene Graff Performs
We have been assigned a permanent table in the Dining Room - #65 – a table for four just for two. Our waitress, Alexandra, is from Constata, Romania and she is terrific. We also have an assistant Maitre D’ who seems to be looking after us. Tonight, we both had ribeye steaks plus onion rings and sweet potatoes. Ellen also ordered chicken chopped liver which was surprising good. They also baked us a delicious mini-challah. A really good meal.
At 7:45 PM, we went to Jimmy Travis’ second show – again a hoot. At the end of the show, I was surprised to hear Paul give me a serious plug for tomorrow’s initial lecture.
We went up to the Avenue Saloon to hear Dan Davies, the piano player, but instead wound up chatting away the evening with the very interesting, Rick Senat. Ellen met him at the Shabbat Service and he joined us at the Saloon. We talked for about an hour on all sorts of things. It was very pleasant.
Back in the room, the shuddering of the ocean could be felt.
Hoping for a decent night’s sleep but I have my doubts.
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