Day 8 - Wednesday Jan 04 in transit to Huatulco, Mexico

Huatulco photos

position: 15:20:26 N latitude x 95:25:23 W longitude
(75 ESE of Huatulco, Mexico, our next stop)
temperature: 80F and 93% humidity at 8:00 am - very windy with 20mph headwinds (early gusts up to 35-40 mph)

We got to Huatulco about 2 hours early. We had choppy seas early this morning and strong winds. Debbie was laid up in bed and missed all her exercise classes. But, Clay brought her chocolate croissants and cafe latte in bed! By midmorning we were closer to land and the captain announced that the mountains were blocking the strong winds we had been fighting and we would arrive a little earlier than expected. Debbie starting moving around and turned on the TV. The port talk for Huatulco said that we would drop anchor and tender. Debbie was sure that she had read on Cruise Critic on a virtual cruise report that there was a dock there now and she crossed her fingers. We wound up on the front of deck 12 getting sunburned to see the arrival of the pilot and the dock. (The Observation Lounge had been Debbie's modest goal, but both sides were booked with a private reception for Carlson TA clients and Bridge lessons.) Debbie pointed out that we would not need a pilot if we weren't docking. Then she said he is going to back in and dock on the port side and her wish was granted as that is exactly what happened. Debbie has sadly developed an allergic reaction to her Relief Bands and/or their conductive gel. She has used a half a tube of Benadryl already. When we find somewhere to shop for replacements for our stolen toiletries/office supplies we will have to look for something else for controlling that rash.

We had lunch at the Pool Grill for the Pacific Fish BBQ. It was decorated with the giant fronds that Laurens had cut with a giant butcher knife at the Gatun Yacht Club! Clay had mahi mahi, tuna, grouper and a salad and ice cream. Debbie discovered the Cuban sandwich, which was a custom ordered item off the grill. It will be a keeper. She liked it. Very thin panini sandwich with very thin slices of roast port, ham and and a paper-thin slice of pickle served with fat french fries and ice cream.

Then, we walked into the little touristy government-built town. All shops and restaurants around a marina and a beach. It was scenic.

It was sunny, hot and humid. Clay got a $6 T-shirt, had a $1 of pistachio helado and drank a $3 Negra Modelo beer to pay for a shady place to sit with a view of the ship and the beach. Debbie bought an embroidered blouse and a wooden bookmark. We walked all the way to end of the mercado and found T's at 5 for $10 but Clay is still not disappointed in his purchase.
Walking back to the ship we identified our cabin from the dock. Debbie pointed out that the outdoor remote monitoring station that Clay had taped to the top of the sliding glass door cover should be visible if we were angled far enough out from the ship. Sure enough, there it was a thin black shape that was not on the other balconies. Clay is happy to report that the balcony was 82 degrees F and 60% humidity in the shade!

Tonight is country club casual and Debbie is skipping all exercise classes today because... after walking through the afternoon in what she called hotter than hades she weighed herself and she had lost 1.5 pounds since boarding (and after her giant meal last night!). Debbie sink washed her new blouse after trying it on in the cabin. It looked like she had mixed up some raspberry Koolaid in the sink! She let it soak repeated for over an hour until she got only pale pink water. The blouse may now dry out to a pastel color yet.

We decided to just stop by Latitudes tonight on our way to eat and see if they could seat us. She told us we could share a table at 7pm. It was 6:35, so we told her we would come back in 10 minutes. Clay checked email at Club.com and we went back and the party with the reserved table was already started because of the Rose Bowl tonight. We felt bad that we did not go ahead and sit down the first time when she told us that we could, but who knew. We wound up sitting at a table set for 6 with only one other couple, Dr. Alan Fisher, a lecturer on this segment and his wife. They were very fun and interesting dining companions and Debbie was sad that she had been seasick this morning and missed his lecture "Mexican Music: More than Mariachi." Debbie accidently ate duck in what had been identified as a black bean spring roll. Oops! The meal was the tiniest portions yet and and the appetizers and the main courses were served family-style on a lazy susan in the middle of the table. The salad, soup and dessert were served individually. There was a fixed menu at this restuarant. All the dishes were served and you either ate them or not, no ordering involved. They served a Welschriesling white wine and another Austrian red wine as well as either San Miguel beer from the Philippines or Tiger Lager from Singapore. It was different and interesting. Today was a different menu than had been served during the past week but it was still Asian or Indochine. Sorry, none of the pictures came out here.

Huatulco photos