What a difference a day makes! After rain and clouds all day yesterday, we awoke to sunny skies as we pulled into our next port of call. Manzanillo is a commercial port and handles the largest amount of freight coming into Mexico from China and Japan. We loved that we weren’t bombarded by hustlers as we departed the ship and boarded a bus for a tour of the city.
Our first stop was in the downtown area where we had about 45 minutes to shop and ssee the sights on our own. Burl quickly found an emergency plan in case he ever has to return to work.
Pizza delivery in Manzanillo on little Hondas
These little Honda motorcycles have covered and heated areas on the back for delivering pizzas. He even discovered a Harley-Davidson ball cap that he bought just to annoy some of his friends!
The tour bus continued through Manzanillo and into Santiago where we got some great views of the bay. The next stop was at a local mercado where we assured the locals shop! Since we were part of a tour, we didn’t have to pay the 8 peso fee to use the bano and get toilet paper too! However, most of the items being offered were geared to tourists so we have our doubts that the locals really shop there.
We did get to walk on the beach and had it been a bit warmer, I would have waded into the ocean.
Barb and Ron enjoy a walk on the beach
The last stop on this tour was at the largest cantina in Manzanillo where we were treated to a so-so Mexican buffet and unlimited drinks for $7 US. I think I had one margarita and six pina coladas and I know the liquor content was pretty low since I was still standing!
The entertainment for the group included a bingo game where Ron accidentally yelled BINGO and had to down a shot of tequila as punishment, breaking a pinata and a Mexican hat contest which I entered. Six of us played “pass the hat” until there were two left standing – me and one other. At that point we were playing for a bottle of tequila and I was in full competitive mode….and I lost! My friends shared with me that the MC asked the audience to call “stop” and everyone was cheering for me but guess I was a bit too slow.
Larry and Nancy with one of the performers
By early afternoon we were back on ship with plans to lay in the sun for an hour or two and then take a taxi back to town since we didn’t sail until 6. But the ship stopped letting passengers debark at 3 which meant more sun time on the top deck for me!
Tonight was another early show and we saw a comedian named Marcus Raymond who was a hoot. His body language was hysterical and we’re going to try to catch his show in Chandler where he’s performing later in the month.
More food……….more watching the dancing under the stars………another day in paradise.
