We are located on the water below the red dot

Our next passage brought us to Zihuatinajo. This was the destination that RJ and his friend Mike met us back in Feb. and was the furthest south we had travelled. A huge cruise ship was in port so it was a bustling place.
Onward we pushed into new territory. Acapulco would be the next destination. The moon did not make an appearance until 0345 and it was only a quarter moon not giving off much light. Things went smooth. The AIS picked up several cargo ships en-route. Ken had to make an adjustment for one. We were almost 2 miles away from it but the wake woke me up. It was a challenge but “Auto” did his job and kept us heading in the right direction. A note to ourselves: Be More than 2 Miles Away from Big Boats!
We made great time in fact arrived a little too early to enter the bay. We slowed down and watch the sailboat ahead of us drift closer. They also had arrived early and whee just waiting for sunrise. The sight was fabulous, a million lights lit up the mountain side.
As the sun was beginning to rise we headed into Performance Marina. This marina is an old government dock that was taken over 2 years ago. It offers Med ties and has a wonderful helping staff. Best of all it is downtown Old Acapulco where the locals hang out not the gringos. No Senior Frogs around there. The manager Rene speaks perfect English which always helps when you need to search out repairs and purchase new extra parts. We are actually getting to use our Spanish more than we have to date.
Upon our arrival we took a walk to the Cliff Divers. The La Quebrada cliff divers are a group of professional high divers. They perform daily shows for the public, which involve diving 45 metres (148 ft) from the cliffs of La Quebrada cove, into the sea below. It was worth watching them scale the cliffs to get to their diving platform. They first pray at an alter that

is set up on the mountain. They came awfully close to the side of the mountain for my liking.
We took a walk to the old Fort San Diego. A museum is set up with the history of the area.
Acapulco was inhabited by the Nahua Indians (the predecessors of the Aztecs). Recent discoveries have surfaced in the form of Petroglyphs which may indicate even previous settlements around 3000 B.C.There are even theories about early encounters and commerce with the Chinese culture as early as 412. Although testimonies of this exist in several Chinese records, physical evidence is scarce. The name the Chinese gave Acapulco was “Ye Pa Ti”, or the “Place with Beautiful Waters”. Centuries later, Acapulco was conquered by the Spaniard Hernan Cortes when the Aztec Empire fell in 1521. Conquered, but not colonized, Acapulco was turned into a big shipyard where Cortes built ships in order to conquer more territories. Spanish settlements and colonization began in 1550 and it was until then when the Nahoa Indians were enslaved and displaced from their more than 1000 years homeland.
Since 1571, Acapulco retained its importance as the most important commerce and trading port for Europe with the Philippines and other Asian and South American ports for the next 400 years. During that time, Acapulco became a haven for pirates including Sir Francis Drake. The Fort of San Diego was built to defend the city from their attacks. I find it ironic that Drake was knighted for his thieveries, killing and all in the name of England.
The tourist industry started in the 1930’s when the road from Mexico City was built. The rich and famous decided to make it one of their main destinations.
We spent a whole morning getting an unexpected tour. Ken had heard that there was an Auto Zone where he could purchase a new alternator. This would give us a new spare and a reworked spare. Well it wasn’t in Acapulco. As we travelled the high cliffs with awesome views and an hour later we arrived. They didn’t have the alternator we needed but they sent us to where they thought we could find one. That took us to MANY places. In the end we have a new alternator. The taxi driver made a full days wages, had lunch paid for and numerous waters purchased. I got to attempt my Spanish. Ken loves it he lets me try then just holds up the part. That always works. My Spanish not so much! We ordered the same lunch as our taxi amigo. We had beef parts. I tried not to think too much about what we were eating. It was a fun time and quite the experience. Oh our driver spoke no English. He has 3 kids. He has lived in Acapulco all his life. He knows someone in Toronto. Mostly he was very patient. The taxi was a Volkswagen Beetle with no air conditioning and it was 90.
When the sun went down the people came out of their homes in droves. The town square was alive with buscars. A professional band from Mexico City played for hours. It was a wonderful 3 days.
Onward we went. We now sit in Huatulco, our last Mexican stop, waiting for the right weather window to cross the Tehuanepec. Our good friend Antonio has arranged to have Yellow Fever Shots administered here for us. We anticipate being here for at least a week then leave at the right time to make the 3 – 4 day passage to El Salvador. There will probably be multiple postings this week as for once I have a few topics to talk about while we have internet.