Manzanillo

This is our second time in Manzanillo on this voyage. Thus, it is no longer a new-to-us port. That’s not to say that we didn’t find plenty of new-to-us places to explore.

The first time around, we stayed in Old Town and went to a public beach … San Pedrito. It was Sunday and the town itself was fairly dead. But we had a nice time on the beach with the locals.

For this second stop, we were thinking of going to Las Brisas — the original hotel zone — and find a beach there. That was the decision when I left Mui to go do laps on the deck 10 track. After all, we had a morning at sea with an 11:00a arrival in Manzanillo … might as well get some steps in. Hah! Little did I know then that I’d be getting plenty more steps in town.

When I returned to the cabin, Mui said that he’d changed his mind. He wanted to wander around Old Town instead of beaching it. Alright by me … I’m not a water person and would have just sat in the shade and read anyway (hence the walking on deck 10).

We were first off the ship at 11:00a, hoping to at least get in a couple of cool(ish) hours of walking under our belt. Having scoped out the area, we knew to head in the direction of the zocalo (central square) and the “big blue marlin” that is the symbol of Manzanillo … the self-proclaimed “Sailfish Capital of the World.”

From there, it was a meandering walk on downtown streets that were filled with locals going about daily life. Everyone seemed to have a smile and a “Buenas Dias” (or Tardes, as the case might be) for us … which added to our pleasure in being amongst them.

Using the map we had picked up the first time we were here, we found our way to Iglesia de Guadalupe; art alley … with its colorful murals; Mercado 5 de Mayo … the central market where I found more murals and Mui found tiny, sweet bananas; and steps painted in every color of the rainbow … leading up to hillside houses painted in every color of the rainbow.

We also went to the Iguanario Archundia … an iguana hideout that has been going strong since the owner began feeding the animals 20 years ago (free; donations gladly accepted). The granddaughter is now in charge and explained that they have hundreds of iguanas that are now fed thanks to the produce departments of local markets donating their left over lettuce to the cause. She also explained that it is mating season, otherwise we’d see a lot more iguanas out and about. No worries … we saw plenty … including several pairs enjoying some nookie while males in another area were chasing after females who wanted nothing to do with them 😄

We had a wonderful day visiting Manzanillo. The temp was comfy early on, but when the wind died down, it became downright hot … Mui noticed that at one point it was a humid 84F … not sure if that was today’s high. We managed to find shade on the downtown streets. But the heat put paid to our plans to climb up to Mirador del Vigia … an overlook with panoramic views of the waterfront and the city.

A tepid shower when we returned to Insignia was most welcome.

Tomorrow is another port call in Mexico.Read more