After two nights and one full day at sea we arrive at Huatulco, Mexico. With
Acapulco still in our mind, Huatulco looks very different, though not less
interesting. It's still a very small place, with about 7000 residents.
The
area of Huatulco, also called 'Bahías de
Huatulco', is 52,000 acres in size with a
22-mile coast consisting of 9 beautiful bays and
over 36 beaches.
The bay where we will
dock is called Bahía de Santa Cruz.
Because
the bay where we will be docked is very small
and narrow, the captain turns the ship 180
degrees and sails her backwards into the bay to
the pier. That's what I call a nice move.
And
here we are, docked at the pier, seen from one
of the streets in the Santa Cruz marina
area.
The
Santa Cruz Marina. It all looks very new and
clean.
We
decided to do a shore excursion here: 'Biking
Huatulco', a 3 hrs tour downhill to Tongolunda
Beach Park for relaxing and swimming, then to
the upscale hotel area of Tangolunda Bay and
return along the boulevard ascending to Chahue
Bay with a stop in the little town called 'La
Crucesita', all part of the area of
Huatulco.
It's
nice to do a tour on a mountainbike, but here's
some advice: don't do it on a very hot day at
noon, when the sun is at its highest point. It
was very, very, very hot. Some of the roads go
downhill, but some go uphill. 'Guests must be in
good physical condition', the brochure says.
They can't be more right!
But here we are
being rewarded with a nice view of the
area.
The
first stop during the mountain bike tour is
Tangolunda Beach. This looks like some secret
passage from the road to the beach.
Time
to cool off on Tangolunda Beach. It's a very
quiet beach, for the time being…During the
1980's, Huatulco was chosen by the government
agency Fondo Nacional de Fomento al Turismo as
one of the ports to develop into a major tourism
destination.
In the
background you see the rooftop of one of the
most luxureous hotels in the area. One of many
to come…
After
some relaxing on the beach we are on our way
again, following the guides.
Some
colorful flowers during the mountain bike
tour.
Feeling
like Lance Armstrong on the Alpe d'Huez, all
alone. Am I the first one of the group or maybe
the last one?
The
second long stop (after many short stops to rest
and drink many bottles of cold water, provided
by the very friendly guides) is in the town
center of La Crucesita.
One of
the most colorful buildings in La
Crucesita.
A nice
church in the town of La Crucesita.
We're
leaving Huatulco again. In the coming years it
will develop itself into a larger and larger
tourist area. I think that you won't recognize
it when you come back in 10 years.
