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Panama Cruise--2012: << Part 1  << Part 2  << Part 3  << Part 4  << Part 5  << Part 6  << Part 7 << Part 8
Part 9  Part 10 >> Part 11 >> Part 12 >>

 

As we sail into Puerto Chiapas, Mexico, we enjoy a beautiful sunrise. Just look at these colors! We hope you can feel the energy in the air as the sun slowly arises from the sea.

Not too many ships come here, so it's considered a boutique port. Just a note, if you're familiar with Mexico's west coast, on why we stopped here instead of the much more famous Acapulco. The captain informed us that while the central city is considered to be relatively safe, the outlying regions are not because of violence between the drug cartels. Holland America has chosen not to stop there until "things" change for the better.

   

We were escorted by both the Navy and the Coast Guard, plus fishermen racing past us.

 

We passed the Mexican Marine base on our way into the bay. The navy recruits were out on their morning run and they scared up a bunch of terns and pelicans from the beach. 

On the other side of the bay entrance, a thatched hut neighborhood is nestled in around the palm trees and lighthouse.

 

As we sidle up to the dock, a member of our crew tosses out a ball with a lightweight line attached. After the guys onshore grab the ball, they pull up our heavy loops to hook over the stanchions. 

 

Two huge thatched structures called palapas were in the port area. One was the entertainment center with a swimming pool, bar, and loud music, while the other was the visitors center where several Day of the Dead displays had been set up in the central pit. We walked out toward the port gate expecting to see a bevy of taxis and vans awaiting our arrival.

There was nothing outside the gate but countryside--no taxis, no vans, and no vendors. Plus once we walked through the gate a military officer called us back inside. So the only way out to the local sights was by ship tour or a paid shuttle bus to a town square in Tapachula.  We took the shuttle.

 

Some sights from the shuttle: a traffic circle with over-sized Mexican pottery, and at another location, what looks like a Muslim temple, but it's a church. The inscription on the front says," Iglesia La Luz del Mundo."

  

After 45 minutes or so, we reached the square. I love that the woman's flowers have been pulled up by the roots.  During the ride we agreed to share a cab with two of our fellow passengers from here to the ruins and some other sites. So we left the area fairly quickly. We'd have some time to spend here in the square later. 

Our first stop is the Izapa Ruins, an ancient Mayan archeological site which has been restored to some extent. The towers are not as large as some other Mayan areas, but it is aligned with a volcano here which is mostly shrouded in a haze.

The ball court is a long narrow alley with slightly graded side platforms.

   

 

 

After the ruins, we went to the town square in Tuxtla Chico with a market and a chocolate demonstration. Pilar, one of our taxi mates is a native Spanish speaker, so she and Carlos our driver figured out the best places to stop. Several of the ships tours were at this square as well, so people were ready for us, which is good and bad as far as we are concerned.

  

The chocolate demonstration starts with a basket of the cacoa fruits and ends up with delicious samples at the end of the line. While these demos were set up for the tours, this was mostly a local market with heavy emphasis on the flowers for Day of the Dead. It's a holiday so kids are off from school.

These three girls were volunteers around the celebrations. There is an interesting mix of races here with a number of European-looking people.  

Some kids are happier than others to be here...

   

 

The chicken man!  This cute kid rides on a pedal-powered cab with his mother, grandmother, and flower arrangements for the family cemetery plot. 

While most of the market consisted of temporary stalls, some are in buildings that open up to the street like this pet store with the live chicks for sale next to the cat food.

  

Cute kids and a girl lights a candle of the Day of the Dead display set up around the edge of the square.

    

We visited the church just off the square. A banner for the Day of the Dead hangs inside.

We wait with Pilar for Carlos to return at the edge of the square. On our drive out of town, we spotted this cute devil with his big sister looking out their doorway. Our next stop was a large cemetery.

On the way, we saw a long lineup of hand-pushed or pedaled carts waiting to get into the dump.

 

Whole families stream into the cemetery with flowers, vases, and brooms to work on their family plots.

There were no tour buses here, just the locals and us. It's very busy with an almost carnival atmosphere. Many enticing fragrances from the cooking food and the flowers.  After a while we climbed back into the cab and Carlos took us back to the square where we could catch the shuttle bus back to Puerto Chiapas. 

   

Across the square we took several photos of this lovely church. The noon mass was in session, but right next to the open side door a card shark with a high volume microphone was working the crowd under the green tent. >>

Behind the church we walked through a local market. These are always interesting to us because we get a better idea of how the real people of the area live their day-to-day lives.

 

Vans called colectivos were jammed packed with people--almost like a circus act; they were sitting on top of each other.

 

We loved the total indifference of the woman next to a pharmacy character who was working the passers-by.  Then back to the square to catch the shuttle bus at the top of the hour.

Once back on the ship, costumed dancers entertain us while we wait.  As we untie from the dock and move out, all the workers from both palapas line up to wave goodbye.

Tomorrow is another port just across the bay, but we'll no longer be in Mexico. Puerto Quetzal is our only stop in Guatemala. 

On to Puerto Quetzal... >>

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