Acapulco, Mexico

Acapulco is still primarily a resort town as far as we could see. They get on average one cruise ship per day from September until April. So our tour showed us one of the gorgeous hotels and one of the popular entertainments, watching young men dive off a cliff. The QM2 was in Acapulco only from 7 am to 5 pm so no one got a chance to sample the discos.

*	The QM2 is too deep to come into port, so it anchored in the middle of the bay and we went in and out on tenders --- the life boats become tenders when there is no emergency. It is rather reassuring to see them used and know they are being maintained.
*	One stop on our tour: the Fairmont Acapulco Princess hotel for some mariachi music and a drink. It is a gorgeous hotel, like a cross between Las Vegas and Waikiki.
*	Cliff divers risk broken arms and legs to dive from a cliff into the water. It started decades ago as competition among pearl divers. Now it is a business; you have to be a member of the club, and you share in the proceeds paid by the tour companies. You can tip, too, as well, and see the divers up close. Sorry I didn't get my picture taken with a dripping wet young man. Hovering over this picture takes you to the full shot; the small picture is a detail so that you can see the divers.
*	This is just one small part of Acapulco Bay. The entire area is overbuilt.
*	On the sail-away, 3 humpback whales cut across our bow. Our normally taciturn captain was on the loudspeaker 3 or 4 times to tell us which side to be on to be able to see them, to explain the ship's actions (slow down, try to avoid), and to hypothesize what the whales were doing (2 males courting a female and ignoring us). Hovering over this picture takes you to the full shot; the small picture is a detail so that you can see the whales. On to San Francisco next.

*Hover over pictures marked with an asterisk to enlarge them.