Las playas de Mexico

From Taxco, I took a bus out to Acapulco, where found a cheap hotel and then set out to see the sights of the city. Acapulco is built on an enormous cove with white sand beaches and huge resort hotels. Not wanting to be the only foreigner on the beach in a bikini, I found a fancy resort with a pool where I could enjoy their pool and deck as long as I purchased something from the bar. Not having to be asked twice, I settled down with my margarita for an afternoon in the sun.

When the sun began to set, I headed back to the hotel to shower and change and make my way up the hill to watch the famous La Quebrada cliff divers of whom my father had told me years before.

The cliffs rising from the ocean themselves are a sight to see, but at one particular spot, every hour beginning each afternoon and continuing until the final show at 10:30, a group of six men dive from the top of a cliff into a narrow canyon of raging water that gushes in and out every few minutes drastically changing in depth, giving the divers a brief window in which to safely make their dives. I stayed for two shows after one of the divers told me he would dedicate his next dive to me as he walked past, and was treated to the sight of individual dives, double dives, and even a triple dive before the last jump of the night in which the last diver dove from the highest point on the cliff in complete darkness except for the light of the fire from the torches he held in each of his hands.

I left Acapulco the next day for Puerto Escondido, which I planned to pass through on my way to Mazunte, a smaller more out-of-the way beach, for a few days before heading back to Guatemala. With just a week left in my trip, I can honestly say that I am ready to come home. As much as I love the open road, there is something to be said for stability, friendly faces and a familar place to rest your head. So if anyone knows of any good jobs out there...

But for now, off to the beach.