05.21.21

Since we were only going to be in Mexico for a short while more, we made a list of places we wanted to go before we left. We had some credit card travel perks, so decided that Acapulco was it, and we spent three days there.

Once upon a time…Acapulco was IT, the Bomb, haven and destination of Hollywood glitterati, but those days were replaced by high crime and over building and in the last few years Acapulco was the place to not go. These reports came from those that live here in Mexico, or other expats, and we did find the town crowded, noisy and very busy, but manageable. Fortunately we did not encounter any crime issues beyond a dress, of all things, that was removed from our hotel room. In all my travels, THAT was a first. The front desk offered no help and we sadly concluded that it was gone for good.

Before getting there I looked up the Top XX places to go/ things to do, and the cliff divers were in the top three of all the lists. Aside from that, all the others paled by comparison, so, thanks to a very affordable $20 USD day motorcycle, we spent half of day one visiting the over rated Pie de la Questa, which was a nice enough beach, but not worth the time, IMHO. But it was early enough in the day when we were through, so on our way to La Quebrada, the cliff diving spot, we grabbed a quick (and delicious) Mexican meal at a taqueria, and made it to the cliffs about 6:45, just in time for the 7:30 show.

And the cliff divers are worth the effort since they are as iconic as any Mexico experience you can see. The video shows it all, and we were right there, actually in the way of the divers as they entered the water. Check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zh-PoP–uY

The following morning we were free until we left later in the day, had a few more hours with the bike, so we did find a cool beach which was recommended by a local from their Facebook site. Playa Bonfil was a very nice experience, which I wrote about in a prior blog (An Insider’s Guide to Learning Inside Secrets).

This was our first domestic Mexican flight, vs international, and the Cancun airport was much more crowded than we expected, so if you fly domestic, be sure to allow enough time. All along the way we were shocked how little was translated into English, so we had to guess at a lot of things. Ditto on the flight. I guess they didn’t expect too many Americans.

Some random observations:

• I have never seen so many people SHOP and eat at restaurants bare chested! Don’t get excited, it was just the men. In all our time in Mexico I never saw anyone in a grocery store without a shirt, but saw it here twice, and once at a restaurant. Weird!
• The airport there was extraordinarily security conscious and adamant about COVID distancing. Going through their security lines, which was much less busy, was made more difficult since the power mad guards kept stopping the lines and required more spacing. I found it ironic, since we all used the same bins to put luggage on, and they never got cleaned, but just kept churning over and over. Part of the (lack of) common sense in this COVID warry pandemic world.

Is Acapulco worth the time?

Except for the cliff diving, probably not. The cliffs of La Quebrada aside, there WERE other cool ones in the area that may be worth exploring. As far as this traveler, time to move on…

Here’s the direct video of the divers if you wish to share: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zh-PoP–uY