We enjoy another great sea day and once again the weather and the sea
have been perfect. We spend the day reading and listening to the
music groups that pop up around the ship in various forty-five minute
programs. We invariably end back on our balcony with our feet propped
up watching the countless sea birds dive for fish alongside the ship.
We’ve been accompanied by several large pods of dolphins that
really put on a show right next to the ship as well. The calm waters
are interrupted by our bow wake and they can’t seem to resist using
the wake as a springboard, leaping and twirling before splashing back
into the sea.
We notice some of our regular passengers are conspicuous by their absence. Several couples we’ve seen many times during the early stages of the cruise haven’t been around the regular venues such as dinner or the theater as we start the second half of the cruise. We’re hearing sneezes and coughs more frequently throughout the ship. We wash our hands and use alcohol every time we go to eat, but we notice there are always a few who brusquely ignore the stewards standing by the doors politely reminding everyone to wash.
Everyone handles the community ladles and spoons in the Grill and Bar, as opposed to the COVID protocols on the Celebrity Millennium where only the staff handled the food serving. There was no self-service there, which I didn’t mind at all. I don’t like the possibility of uncaring or unconscious passenger’s actions spoiling our long-awaited, rescheduled vacation. We hope that isn’t a foreboding of things to come. We begin to only use the elevators when we are alone, and avoid crowded venues, including the theater. We had our COVID shots and flu shots well in advance of the cruise, but there is no reason to be stupid about precautions.
As
I roam around the top deck to find the best views, the captain turns
the boat around within its own length so he docks the ship headed out
to sea. We have not made any plans for a tour or excursion. We’ll
again walk the town and see what we can see. It is a Saturday so, if
we are in luck, the local market should be in full swing.
As I head back on a side galley, I notice a large seabird sitting on the green, artificial turf of the sports deck. I slowly approach the bird and it lifts its head to watch me. It is a juvenile Man of War, a Frigatebird, still in the grays and white plumage of a young adult. It turns its head to watch me, but makes no other moves. I make a note of where I am on the ship and head back inside where I meet a young steward with a clipboard doing some uninspiring, administrative duty. I tell him about the bird and he makes a call on his hand held radio. “It’s not uncommon on this leg of the cruise,” he said. “The young ones without the stamina of the adults pick us out at sea at night and land on the green grass areas to rest. Usually they are only exhausted. This is the fourth one this morning, so our environmental people have been busy.”
Frigatebirds can not float as their feathers, exactly like the Anhinga's of Florida, are not waterproof. Unlike Anhingas, Frigatebirds can not land in water: It's fly or land on dry earth. A passing ship is as good as any island to a tired youngster.
I have no doubt my tired world traveler will recover. I’ve only seen one other photographer on deck this morning and he was concentrating on the town and its unusual features of being tucked into a beautiful, hill-side harbor that has a man-made valley in the middle. He hasn’t seen the birds and only smiles at me complacently when I told him about the one I found. Language. I wonder what he thought I was talking about.
The biggest difference we see here are the tour buses are over in a parking lot outside the dock area. There are two police cars parked nearby for image, I’m not even sure they were functional.
While we actually dock in Santa Cruz – the actual town of Huatulco is about twenty miles away, on the other side of the International airport – the port town is bustling. The city square is a beautiful lush, park, with banyans and other tropical trees giving shade to the many vendors and crowds. The streets are bustling with traffic as opposed to Puntarenas where we could have walked in the streets. The whole economic picture here is different. Buildings are well taken care of and the streets and yards are manicured, There is no trash.
We chat with people we meet in the park and surprisingly, none are from the ship. Several couples are Canadian who winter in condos that surround the harbor. Apparently, Huatulco is very popular with Canadians.
As we wander up the newly constructed street up the newly cut pass through the hillside on our way to nearby La Crucecita, we meet the worn-out Del and Cynthia, headed back to the ship. Again, we join forces and wind up back in the park enjoying drinks under a huge Banyan tree that stretches across the entire courtyard, taking relief from the warm afternoon sun.
This is an area we want to check out later, perhaps a week or so here. It might be a nice place to escape the winter doldrums. While we are sitting and enjoying the atmosphere, I notice two older women sitting silently on the edge of the lawn doing whatever they were doing with large bags between them. I think they may have been basket weaving, but I think it was more for show than substance.
I began watching them in earnest when I realized the were surreptitiously watching every single person in the park. They missed no one. Occasionally they would exchange glances, but one of them caught me looking at her and the staring match started. Soon, her friend caught on and I had them both staring at me, sitting there, working with their hands from at least forty feet away. I waved and raised my camera. The glares continued so I decided not to press my luck and I turned my attention elsewhere. I couldn’t help but wonder if they had two-way radios in those big, woven handbags.
We were soon back on ship, again with a great dinner, but fewer guests than before. The weather was as good as anywhere on planet earth in January and we would have another great day at sea before we reached Puerto Vallarta, our last stop before Los Angeles.
Ándale! Vamos!
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