Hualtuco, Mexico

May 6, 2023

Today was Brian’s birthday and we were spending it in Hualtuco. The area around the dock was easy to walk to and busy with lots of restaurants and shops. There was also a nearby beach that was well used by both tourists and local families.

After enjoying breakfast in the dining room for the first time on our voyage (we had, until then, eaten in the buffet), Brian and I lingered on board until about 10:00 am. We then headed out to explore a place we had never been to before. The walk down the pier was not too long and, if you didn’t wish to walk, drivers were offering rides, in their electric carts, into the town square. There was no set charge. All they wanted was a tip. We decided to walk.

Hualtuco was hot and muggy just like Costa Rica. The difference this time was that we didn’t have a nice air conditioned bus to take us where we wanted to go. The sweating started immediately. We passed some shops and entered the town square and began wandering around.

There was a farmers market in the park a block or so away, so we headed that way to check it out. People selling organic vegetables, pastries, crafts, flowers and food. This market obviously catered to the residents of the town. The bird songs were amazing. It truly sounded like a jungle. I did my best, but I couldn’t spot which bird was making which sound. Later I was able to see, from a distance, some exotic birds. I still don’t know what kind they were.

Our main goal in town was to find a place to eat. Brian noticed a small restaurant in the shade and we could tell there was a breeze by the way the decorations were waving in the wind. All of the restaurants were open air. Our restaurant was called Bahias.

The first thing we ordered was cold beer. It was delivered along with a basket of whole fried corn tortillas and salsa.

We had so much food. Brian ordered a ceviche-like dish and lobster. I added chicken nachos to the order.

Everything was quite good and we enjoyed our stay here. It was good people watching and the flowers and plants were lovely. There was even a restaurant cat.

Brunch over, we decided we would head back to the ship. We had enjoyed this sleepy town very much and thought it would be a great place to visit during the winter. Still sweating, we thought we’d jump in one of the carts if we found one. We didn’t, so we hoofed it back. A breeze had come up so it was a bit more comfortable than anticipated.

We noticed the entry to our cabin had something new. Everyone who walked by could see it was Brian’s birthday.

The rest of our day was going along as normal. The sip was going to be docked until 5:00 pm and it was way to hot to go back out. Again, the temperature was in the mid-90s with 85% humidity.

As we were trying to stay cool in our cabin, the power went out. I had heard of this happening randomly in cabins and was wondering if this was just us. Then the Captain made an announcement. Power was out throughout the whole ship. We had no electricity, engines, or air conditioning. The crew was working frantically to get the problem fixed. The ship had auxiliary power but the elevators weren’t working and the ship’s stabilizers weren’t functioning. We would feel the movement of the ship a little more.

The electricity came back in around two hours. This was great since the ship was getting uncomfortably warm. Unfortunately, we still didn’t have any engines. The Captain made an announcement every half hour to let us know what was going on. Finally, while we were at dinner, the ship began to move again. We were told that we could still make it to Puerto Vallarta on time. Then, the power went out again. No electricity, no air conditioning, no engines. This time we were at sea.

There was a farewell cocktail party scheduled that evening for the people on the World Cruise. It was being held on the 14th deck. We were on the 6th deck. After climbing up the stairs to the 10th floor, I decided that the party was not going to happen for me. The combination of the heat and climbing was too much, and I knew it wasn’t going to be cooler at the party. We went back to our cabin. Eventually the engines got up and running again and we were back on our way to Puerto Vallarta, our last port before we disembark in Los Angeles next Thursday.

All in all, Brian’s birthday would be a day to remember!