Since Acapulco is approximately 110 miles south of Z-town we calculated that it would take us about 18-20 hours to sail. We decided to leave mid afternoon so we would get there in early afternoon the next day. Well this was a good plan, what do they say about plans and sailing?? Anyway, we did arrive the next day but it was in the late afternoon (at least it was still daylight) because the wind was nil so we had to motor sail. The guidebooks mention that Acapulco is one of the largest natural harbors and the population is approximately 1 million. The books also mention that it is not an area that many cruisers visit because there is not really much area to anchor due to the poor holding and deep water plus Acapulco Yacht Club seldom has space for visitors. Once we got inside the harbor we found this to be very true! We were able to find a place to anchor (50 ft of water) sandwiched between several moorings that housed broken down boats. Looking out from our boat it appeared that Acapulco had lost its charm with many of the buildings run down. Later we found out that the second marina (La Marina) was in disrepair (as the book mentions, which is one way to describe it!). Unfortunately, I had left my camera when we went to the dinghy dock of La Marina. The docks were pretty much a shamble. The dock was broken into floating pieces that were held together by worn lines. It was almost like playing the game of Twister to find the next circle that you could land your foot or hand on to move forward along the dock. We were able to find the ramp that still had a secure anchor to the land that we could tie up our dinghy. Amazing, the marina was still in full operation with several boats tied up to the slips which were only hanging on by threads. Needless to say we did not get the warm and fuzzy feeling with Acapulco!
Acapulco harbor is a very large bay surrounded by steep hills and a big city that we only got a chance to explore the one side due to this was the area to anchor. On the other side of the harbor you could see many high-rise hotels along the beach but decided not to take the time to explore. We did explore the Acapulco Yacht Club and found that is was a pretty nice establishment with fairly high prices. The view of the city lights from the boat (lining the coast line all the way up the surrounding hills) outlined the entire harbor then reflected back into the water was an amazing sight. It was very beautiful!
Bummer!! Unfortunately, once we downloaded our pictures from the camera we noticed that our pictures for Acapulco and Puerto Escondido did not come out clearL. We found out, luckily sooner rather than later, that "somebody" during our visit at these places switched the camera to a wrong setting. We have not really met that "somebody" yet but he/she has been sailing with Brian and I!