Acapulco - down Mexico way

Now we we were in the Pacific Ocean but we were not heading directly west, we were heading north – to Acapulco.

 After another 3 days at sea we arrived in Acapulco to the sound of a Mariachi band and stood on the deck enjoying the music and dancers before heading down to the gangway and out onto Mexican soil. 

We were welcomed by larger than life characters and then went into the cruise centre.

Here we met a very helpful man at an information booth and he called over a taxi driver, Miguel, to help us with our request.

We wanted a statue of the Madonna, Our Lady of Guadalupe in this part of the world.

We have been looking for years and came close to buying one in Ireland a few years ago but unfortunately the look on her face was more of a smirk than a beautiful smile.

Miguel made a few phone calls and then showed us some photos on his phone, we were getting closer to finding her. Then we saw a photo that looked just right, but we couldn’t see the actual statue until tomorrow morning as today was Sunday. Miguel promised to return in the morning and take us to see her, so we agreed on a time and set off to do some Sunday evening sightseeing.

We walked across the busy road to the Fort of San Diego. We walked over the pedestrian overpass enjoying and being amazed at the number of VW Beetles still on the road, the majority of them being used as taxis. (We wondered if Miguel would turn up in one in the morning).

The Fort was just about to close and despite information that the entry was free on Sunday, they wanted to charge us to get in. We were allowed to quickly walk around the top of the walls and then we left to wander down the streets of the Old Town.

We were hoping to find the Cathedral in the main square, the Zocalo, but I made the mistake of listening to a ‘guide’ who insisted on taking us to the market instead. After a couple of blocks we made a stand and refused to continue, turning around and heading back to the ship.

The next morning, Miguel was waiting for us and true to his word (but not in a VW) he took us to a little market stall and we met Abraham. We looked at more photos, discussed sizes and prices and then agreed on a statue. Abraham went off to the factory to collect her and we waited.

His assistant tried to sell us some silver jewellery, and although it was really lovely and beautifully crafted we only had thoughts on a statue. He finally gave up trying when I declared that I didn’t wear jewellery, showing him that I was only wearing 2 rings, no earrings, necklace not even a watch. He then turned to Michael and said, “You are a very lucky man.”

Abraham returned and placed the statue, still wrapped up, on a glass topped table; Michael was sure it was going to smash the top but it didn’t because it’s made of fibreglass. (Nice and handy for us to carry home). My heart was in my mouth as they unwrapped her because I was thinking that after all of this trouble that they’d gone to if she had a smirk on her face we’d just run away.

We need not have worried, she is really lovely.

She’s a little taller than we had expected at 1.5 metres (not 1.2) so she cost a little more but we agreed a new price and then she was wrapped up. They put her in a clear plastic bag and then started to wrap newspaper around her. Abraham’s assistant was not making a good job of this and soon his wife came over to help. This improved things a little but in the end I stepped forward and between us we two ladies soon had her neatly and safely wrapped up.

We had met Miguel at 9:15 and it was now 11:00 so we had 2 hours before having to be back on board. We had told Miguel what we wanted to see in Acapulco and he was an excellent guide.

He drove us out to La Quebrada where the Cliff Divers do their thing, but as they had done their performances and all was quiet we didn’t get out of the taxi. 

Then he took us around the beautiful Old Town to the street that I’d requested.

To the Diego Rivera Mural. 

 

Created in 1956 and located on the side of a house, this mural is one of the city’s most important cultural artifacts. The Mural is located in the Traditional area of Acapulco in the home of the late Dolores Olmedo who possessed the largest collection of Diego Rivera paintings in the world and a long-time friend of Rivera, and the woman that Diego Rivera asked to marry him after the death of his wife, the controversial painter, Frida Kahlo. Rivera spent 18 months creating the 60 feet long street wide mural of tiles, seashells, and stones.

Rivera lived here during the last two years of his life.

The house which is called “Exekatlkalli” or “House of the Winds”

The mosaic depicts Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent Aztec god and Xoloitzcuintle, the pre-Hispanic dog. And a frog because Diego was born in Guanajuato,”The Place of the Frogs” and Olmedo’s loving words for Diego were ” You’re my beloved Frog”

Then we drove to The Zócalo and the Cathedral, The “Nuestra Señora de la Soledad”, (Our Lady of Solitude). A modern but unusual church, a bizarre structure built in 1930.

The church was originally a movie set, once the film company left, the building was adapted as a house of worship. Today, it is one of Acapulco’s most recognizable landmarks.

The cathedral has a mosque-like dome and Byzantine towers; its interior is fairly plain, with yellow-gold tile work and white and blue walls.

This church is a perfect example of Acapulco’s rich history with Spanish, Moorish and native influences. Its distinctive sky blue domes dominate the downtown plaza.

Although the square was not full of music and dancing as it had been on Sunday night it was still magnificent. 

Too soon it was time to head back to the ship, we thanked Miguel and after a brief stop at a shop in the cruise centre for me to buy a couple of quirky souvenirs, 5 little Mariachi snowmen Christmas decorations and a 14 piece clay Mexican Nativity set, we climbed back on board. 

We caused a few stares and strange looks as we carried Our Lady on board but she was soon safely in our cabin.

That evening at dinner I spoke to the lecturer (who had said that we could always go up and chat) and told him that his comment that he couldn’t fill 45 minutes talking about Acapulco and so only talked for 25 he did a great dis-service to the city, I told him that I could talk for 45 minutes and we'd only been to the Old Town, didn’t go to the modern area. I showed him photos of the mural which he knew nothing about and he promised to check it out online.

Now there’s a novel idea, research something before giving a lecture on the subject. This is the same lecturer who didn’t know where the Rue de la Santa Maria in Funchal was and didn’t know about the painted doors. He did give an interesting talk on the Panama Canal though, but 1 out of 3 is not a good score.

We loved Acapulco;  The more we travel the more places we love but IF we had to choose one of the nicest places that we'd ever been to Acapulco would be in the running for that position.

We could have spent longer but the Captain had his itinerary to keep to and we sailed away.