Zihuatenajo, Mexico
Pronounced Zee-what-in-eh-ho, this was my first exposure to Mexico. If you recall this was the port I flew into from Miami when I came to join the ship in January. Looking at it now, I again wish I had been able to just 'enjoy the ride' when I was coming into the port as this is one of my favourites. I tend to spend most of the time down by the water, but apparently the town is quite quaint as well.
Being another tender port, it is a bit of a pain getting off. With a tender service, as crew we need to wait until all guests have been taken by tender and there are no more queues to speak of. At that time, the ship will call 'Open Tender' and it is at this time that we are able to get off the ship. Generally this is about 2 hours after the ship has been cleared by customs ~ for me, this means around 11am. With our 2 different itineraries, the departure times vary, meaning that we alternate between 5pm and 2pm departures. Needless to say, we try to get out as early as possible.
When you get to the pier, there is a boardwalk which takes you along the shore. The first thing you run into is the local fishing boats and the markets. It is here where the locals will barter and sell you just about any Mexican souvenir your heart could desire.
Walking a bit further along there are restaurants ~ with the seating area firmly entrenched in the sand. It is quite relaxing as you sit and catch the breeze, hear the sounds of the ocean and enjoy the new location for the Corona patio...
And if you require entertainment ~ there always seems to be someone around who will sing to you... for a price.
If you keep walking along, you end up on a quieter strip of beach which also has it's own restaurants. Appearing to be a bit more posh, I did have to wonder how people would get to them as the only way in appeared to be the hike from the boardwalk ~ although I didn't really go out to discover, so surely there is some back way in.
I did manage to stop in a quaint restaurant to spend the afternoon. Took a book, put up my feet and just enjoyed the afternoon. As you can tell, the wind in my hair was also a highlight of the afternoon.
Being another tender port, it is a bit of a pain getting off. With a tender service, as crew we need to wait until all guests have been taken by tender and there are no more queues to speak of. At that time, the ship will call 'Open Tender' and it is at this time that we are able to get off the ship. Generally this is about 2 hours after the ship has been cleared by customs ~ for me, this means around 11am. With our 2 different itineraries, the departure times vary, meaning that we alternate between 5pm and 2pm departures. Needless to say, we try to get out as early as possible.
When you get to the pier, there is a boardwalk which takes you along the shore. The first thing you run into is the local fishing boats and the markets. It is here where the locals will barter and sell you just about any Mexican souvenir your heart could desire.
Walking a bit further along there are restaurants ~ with the seating area firmly entrenched in the sand. It is quite relaxing as you sit and catch the breeze, hear the sounds of the ocean and enjoy the new location for the Corona patio...
And if you require entertainment ~ there always seems to be someone around who will sing to you... for a price.
If you keep walking along, you end up on a quieter strip of beach which also has it's own restaurants. Appearing to be a bit more posh, I did have to wonder how people would get to them as the only way in appeared to be the hike from the boardwalk ~ although I didn't really go out to discover, so surely there is some back way in.
I did manage to stop in a quaint restaurant to spend the afternoon. Took a book, put up my feet and just enjoyed the afternoon. As you can tell, the wind in my hair was also a highlight of the afternoon.
posted by Carrie @ 5:13 AM
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