Huatulco, Mexico

[celem]

For what it is worth, below is my journal entry for Huatulco, Mexico while on a Panama Canal full transit cruise on the Celebrity Constellation:

 

2010-01-12 - Huatulco, Mexico

Before we arrived in Huatulco, we attended the fancy brunch in the Main Dining Room. Arrived at Noon to a beautiful harbor. Huatulco's port town, Santa Cruz is very clean and lower key than previous ports. A lovely sand beach is right next to the ship. We walked around Huatulco and purchased a gourd purse from a Carlos Perez at his cart near the park. At the end of the park was a co-op and we purchased a purse made from candy wrappers and a box made from rolled newspapers. Next we took a can over to La Crucecita, the adjacent, larger town. We toured the church with its amazing, colorful frescos, shopped in the religious store, and purchased snacks and fruit from a local market. A nice young lady assisted me in the Spanish only ATM so that I could get 500 pesos. If you pay in dollars they jack up the price, sometimes doubling it. It is better to pay in pesos. We stopped and ate at the Tostada Grill, which was recommended by a shipmate that has vacationed many times in Huatulco. A local told me that he preferred La Mejor, which is upstairs in a nearby building. We had beer, tostadas with cheese and a shared order of chicken enchilada in red mole - all for about $7US. The friendly couple from Norway, that we met earlier in the cruise at a shipboard wine tasting event, was seated next to our table so we invited them to join us at our table. They are very nice and the wife understands some English but never speaks except to say goodbye.

We took a taxi back to the ship and then went swimming in Huatulco's very cool water. Brisk but you get used to it. After swimming we sat in a beach-side bar and drank a beer and margarita before returning to the ship. We managed to stay up for the Perry Grant show. The sun makes us very tired.

[Itzmyn]

I absolutely loved this port!! Stopped there on our Panama Canal cruise in March. We did the bird watching tour and is was great. So many birds and a nice hike through the sanctuary:)

 

Mosquito repellent is highly advised!!! Glad I slathered it on before we left the ship!!

[cruisinnanna]

If you ever find yourself with an opportunity to visit Huatulco, you’ll be doing yourself a huge favor by looking up Mario Cobos, www.mariocobos.com, and letting him arrange your tour. He is such a professional and a real gem. He speaks fluent English and Spanish. He arranged a cooking lesson along with a snorkeling trip(La Entrega) and we were so pleased. Everything greatly exceeded expectations. Mario is a ‘rock star ‘ in Huatulco. Everyone knows and respects him – with good reason. He’s a genuine, sincere individual and he takes great pride in sharing Huatulco with tourists – whatever their interest might be. Also, his prices are very reasonable. We had 5 port stops on our cruise, and Huatulco was by far the best – mainly because of Mario’s exceptional services.