Manzanillo, Mexico

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Friday, April 27 - Manzanillo

The day began as most other port days…waking up earlier than I would like, gathering the essentials (and being thankful that Bob is willing to carry a backpack so I don’t have to) and finally having breakfast at the Lido buffet. 

Our view as we arrived in Manzanillo.

The ship was slightly late getting cleared and by that point, people were lined up trying to get off. At least the lines were orderly…not the pushing and shoving that we have encountered on other ships.

Orderly chaos.

Our tour met at the end of the dock which was a little bit of a hike. There were 2 buses doing the tour and we were some of the first to board the second one. Yay! No back seats this time!

Our tour was called “Magical Pueblos” with a tour guide named Chito (which he emphasized was NOT spelled Cheeto.) The description said the tour was scheduled to last 7 hours with 3.5 hours of travel time and we spent every bit that much time on the bus…possibly more. Here is the tour description:

Head out to Nogueras, where you will feel as if you have stepped back in time. Start with a visit to the Nogueras Museum that is housed in an old, colonial style Mexican hacienda. At an old, local coffeehouse, watch a demonstration of the roasting process and enjoy some tasting. Enjoy a Mexican botana (snack lunch) at the State of Colima, a declared Historical Monument in 1988 and became part of the Magical Pueblos in 2002 initiative led by the Federal and State Tourism Offices.

Manzanillo is one of the busiest ports in Mexico and responsible for handling Pacific Ocean cargo for the Mexico City area. This was quite evident, with massive shipping facilities surrounding the cruise ship dock.

We drove past miles and miles…and more miles of coconut plantations. Chito also pointed out EVERY other type of agriculture product growing along our route…tamarind, mango, coffee, sugar cane, bananas, melons, papaya, etc. In fact, Chito talked nonstop about many things, but his accent and the poor sound system prevented me from understanding about half of what he said.

Not long after we left the city, the bus pulled over at a toll booth for everyone to use the baños. I sort of felt like we were on a school field trip and the teacher was saying…”now everyone go potty!” There weren’t going to be restrooms at the next stop and I guess they have learned from experience that this was necessary. Chito pointed out a plum tree there and Bob managed to get a sample from the few fruits that were left.

The first official stop on the tour was at the Nogueras Museum. The museum was in a historic setting and had artwork and pottery on display by artist Alejandro Rangel Hidalgo. There was also a room filled with UNICEF Christmas cards for which the artist is remembered.

Chito tried to keep the group together and kept saying “look at this…look at this” but the group slowly spread out. Bob was somewhat interested in the ceramics collection, but I admit I didn’t spend much time looking at the displays.

Instead, I wandered around outside admiring the historic architecture, the beautiful flowers and just enjoying the most beautiful, blue sky day.

As we were walking, we discovered an art class for children in one of the buildings. We popped in for a couple of minutes to see what they were doing.

Before reaching our next planned stop, the bus pulled off on a small section of outer road and stopped. The driver put the bus in neutral and we watched as the bus appeared to be rolling backwards and UPHILL! This was a “gravity hill” as explained on Wikipedia…

A gravity hill is a place where a slight downhill slope appears to be an uphill slope due to the layout of the surrounding land, creating the optical illusion that water flows uphill or that a car left out of gear will roll uphill. Many of these sites have no specific name and are often called just "Gravity Hill", "Magnetic Hill", "Magic Road" or something similar.

From there we traveled on to a small coffee shop. We were given small cups of coffee to sample and Bob bought a brownie. Chito guided us through the very small coffee roasting facility on the property but work was not being done so we were basically looking at idle machinery.

Comala was our next stop…a 500-year-old community that sits in the shadow of two volcanoes. 

We were given some time to shop and then Chito walked us to a local bakery where he had arranged a deal where we could purchase 3 pastries for a dollar (which most everyone did.) It was interesting to see them working and the aroma from the freshly baked breads was delicious! We have a Mexican bakery in our hometown that makes the same type of breads and rolls so we knew what to expect, but these were all still warm…hot even…and so fresh!

In one of the shops...

Cobblestone streets.

Yummm...fresh, hot pastries!

Chito led the group on a walk to an open-air restaurant where he said we would have Mexican tapas…or as the tour description said, a Mexican "botana." The uneven sidewalk went up a hill with a steep drop off straight down to the highway below…and no railing. It was easy to envision someone trying to text while they were walking, tumbling down the embankment and being run over by a car. A liability nightmare for sure if it were in the U.S.

Once seated, the waiter took our drink orders. We had the choice of water, pop, or beer and we chose the pop. It was served in a small bottle with a glass of ice to pour it over. I crossed my fingers and hoped the ice was made from purified water.

The first plates that arrived contained sliced fruit garnished with a tropical flower. The waiter also brought us a plate of guacamole with a few chips and I assumed that would be it for our “snack”. But then…plate after plate of tacos, tostados, etc. arrived and by the time we were finished we were well satisfied.

Our feast! (And you can see the grease-soaked bag with our bakery goods as well!)

The long drive back to the port turned into a siesta for most people. Shortly before we reached the ship, we passed by a construction zone where a mile-long tunnel was being built through a mountain.

Colima (near Manzanillo) is known for these dog scuptures.
Also had to get a photo of the ambulance for paramedic husband!)

Before showering for dinner, I took some photos of the city from the promenade deck while Bob did some walking. 

Sail away happened while we were at dinner, but we had a pretty good view right from our table.

Turkey Roast & Cranberries

Prior to the cruise, we had gotten an email from Holland America saying they would be celebrating “King’s Day” on the ship on April 27^th. The holiday is celebrated in the Netherlands in honor of King Willem-Alexander’s birthday and it is customary to wear the color orange which is the national color of the Netherlands and the Dutch Royal Family.

Many dressed in orange for dinner!

The entertainment in the main theater was Fantastick Patrick. The When & Where described him as a: "jaw-dropping, gut-bursting act that combines breathtaking circus tricks and ridiculous humor." My comment? Patrick was not fantastik and the breathtaking circus tricks were pretty pathetic. The humor was the main part of his show and as predicted it was ridiculous (as in "not funny".) I was not a fan.

We had missed the King’s Day afternoon tea at 3 pm that was highlighted in the When & Where but it is just as well. Our friends attended and said it was a bit of a fiasco. They hadn’t planned on a large crowd so there wasn’t enough food or seating available. We did, however, make it to the Lido for the King’s Day Orange Deck Party by the pool at 9:00 pm. When we arrived (a few minutes after 9:00) all of the tables were taken and most everyone was wearing either an orange ball cap or an orange wig in addition to all of the orange clothing. (They were all gone by the time we got there.) The officers were all in attendance, but otherwise it didn’t seem like there was much to the party. Some thought free drinks would be offered, but that wasn’t the case. With another busy port day coming up, we didn’t stay long.