Puerto Chapais, Mexico.

This was our first time to Puerto Chapais, which is very close to the Guatemalan border. Rumours swirled around the ship of how dangerous it was due to the cartels and drug running. One passenger told us the MARSEC level, which identifies the port security level, had been raised to Level IV. Well, for starters, the highest MARSEC level is III. I politely nodded and managed to say nothing (out loud anyway). The normal MARSEC level is I. In all my time in the Navy, with very few exceptions, MARSEC I is the only level I’ve seen. While I don’t discount intelligence, I will certainly discount unintelligence.

The tours offered by the ship didn’t seem to visit many places and the cruise ship advised there were limited transport options to Tapachula, the nearest town. Puerto Chapais literally had nothing other than a welcome centre and stevedore equipment for container ships. We had been told it was difficult to get a shuttle into town due to the limited number of seats. We thought we were fortunate to get a seat on the shuttle for $10 return. It turned out there were lots of seats. The drive in was about an hour and as we headed into town, the bus passed banana and mango plantations, haciendas and shanty areas. Once in town, we explored a Mexican town that is neither used to nor set up for tourists. 

A “Real” Mexican town

This was a great experience and the first time, in all of our times in Mexico, we were able to see a “real” Mexican town. There were stores of all types, selling everything. Numerous street food stalls, clothing stores, hardware, cell phones, you name it. People going about their daily business. Colectivos picking up and dropping off people, parents herding little ones along, children in school uniforms going to school. And us, taking it all in. 

The local museum was open and we wandered through. It would not rival a Smithsonian and there were basically no signs in English. There were a number of neat artifacts. Lunch was empanadas, made right before our eyes, in a hole in the wall restaurant. When I say “hole in the wall”, it was literally a hole in the wall! Those empanadas were so good! It was a bit tricky to order as no English was spoken. Not a single word. In the end, I held out my money, and said “dos” or two. The grandma who was running the operation, took twenty pesos and prepared two “pollo” or chicken empanadas, covered in a salad and cheese. Eating these on a park bench with a drink made me feel like a local and filled me up. 

Doing some more exploring and snacking, the time came for the return journey to the ship. On our next visit, we might consider visiting the Aztec ruins which, we heard from other passengers, were being restored and, although not the best ruins, were still interesting. 

Huatulco, Mexico

This was our first visit to Huatulco, our fall stop here had been cancelled due to a storm. The area is marketed as having nine bays and beaches at every bay. We headed ashore with no plan. The first few offered tours were not appealing and somehow, we ended up in a dive shop. We were offered a snorkel tour for $300, then $200. It was a private tour and would take us to five bays with snorkeling at each if we wanted as well as beach time. It would have us back at 3PM and, after checking out another tour operator, we booked it. 

Snorkelling in Clear Blue Water

We had our own boat, snorkel gear and headed out. Unfortunately, our captain could not speak English. We managed to communicate and he pointed out a number of interesting things. The snorkel stops were wonderful and the fish we saw were colourful. The beaches were vast with very few other people on them. There was a strong current/undertow, so you should be able to swim well, fins certainly helped. After about 3 ½ hours we had had enough and returned to the ship. On our way back, the captain abruptly stopped the boat and pointed to a sea turtle. This magnificent creature was simply swimming in the ocean, going about his (or her) business. The captain stopped the boat and explained he was not allowed to follow the turtle. We floated along and the turtle kept going on its way, eventually diving down out of sight.

Once back in town, we took a taxi into downtown for lunch, Mexican street food is so much better than ship’s food, even though the latter is free. Our tour guide had recommended a taco stand in town and it did not disappoint. We then wandered around, taking in the sights and headed back to the ship. It turns out there were only two other passengers after us to return to the ship so we certainly maximized our time in Huatulco. 

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

We returned, again to Puerto Vallarta, or PV. This was our third visit in the past six-months. We weren’t sure what to do given the limited time we had during our cruise ship stop. One thing we noticed was the cooler weather. It was about 5C cooler with no humidity which was a welcome relief from the intense heat of Costa Rica and Panama. 

We spent our first half hour ashore “running the gauntlet” of time shares, souvenir shops, taxi touts and more. The cruise ship terminal is structured so you have to pass each stall. The easy exits are for crew only, passengers are politely pointed to the maze of hawkers. Once outside, we headed for a local grocery store called Chedraui. This is a full-size grocery store and it seemed better to shop here at a local store versus the Walmart. Most people head to the Walmart as it is right across the road from the terminal, however you have to cross 10 lanes of traffic. That takes a fair amount of time and, once on the other side, you have the massive parking lot to traverse. Chedraui had everything we wanted including a tour organizer that offered better prices than in town. 

Travel like a local on a local bus

We then headed into town on the local bus for 20 Pesos. Arriving at the south end of town, we wandered aimlessly, remembering the Romantic Zone is just too touristy for us. Eventually we arrived at a taco place we like and had a lunch of street tacos. Lunch perked us up, however, there was still nothing we wanted to do.

The one thing that appealed to us, which we have not done before, was to take a tour to San Sebastian. Unfortunately, this tour only ran three days a week on Mon, Wed and Fri. and we arrived on a Saturday. The tour also leaves at 9AM and is about 8 hours long with 90 minutes of travel each way. Arriving back at 5PM would have had us miss the cruise ship. For our next cruise ship visit to PV, if we remember, we will try and see if we can arrange a tour that works with our cruise ship.

International Wine Tasting On Board

Once onboard the ship, we settled in for our two sea days as we approached LA. On our last sea day, we signed up for a wine tasting. It was the best one we have ever experienced on a cruise ship. There were six countries represented, with a red and white from each country. The capacity was limited to 30 people and you wandered from station to station trying the wines as you wished. The pours were “honest” and in the span of an hour, we think we each had the equivalent of a full bottle of wine. When we tried a wine we did not like, we simply dumped it in the dumping bin. 

Grey rainy skies and cool temperatures greeted us when we arrived in LA. Our plan had been to store our luggage and wander Long Beach, but that is a thing for sunnier days. In the end, we simply headed to the airport and returned home.

Two cruises, totalling 23 days was in the books. We were refreshed and ready for our next adventure. 

Thanks for reading and please feel free to leave any comments or reach out by email via the contact form above.

Cam and Meg