Day 16 (Acapulco)
After breakfast we stood on deck and watched the ship approach the Bay of Acapulco. We were mesmerised as we came closer to this vibrant and beautiful city. An American Cruise Ship the "Norwegian Star was also entering the Port of Acapulco.
Today, we have booked a trip on the Shotover Jet Boat, which is not for the faint hearted. As we travelled to our destination we had some beautiful views of the bay and saw many luxury villas, including one owned by Sylvester Stallone.
When we arrived at the Puerto Marques tropical lagoon, we were issued with life jackets and got into the speed boat. We sped through the mangroves at incredible speeds and held on tight as the boat performed high speed 360 degree spins within inches of trees and rocks. Fortunately, we were wearing swimsuits as we were getting wet on every turn. I now know what they mean by "white knuckle rides". During the quieter moments we observed the wildlife in this Mangrove Swamp. Salt Water Crocodiles, Iguana's, Termite Mounds, Kingfishers, Egret's and many more unusual creatures'. It appears that the film "African Queen was filmed here, starring Humphrey Bogart and also some of the Tarzan films. The smell of the jungle was indescribable and we couldn't wait to have a shower as we got out of the jet boat. Needless to say, I immediately headed for the bar for a Mexican Tequila.
We ordered a CD containing photographs of our adventure together with the many creatures that live in the swamp. I was amazed when I realised that there were 312 pictures on the CD.
When we arrived back on ship we showered once again to get rid of that horrible smell. After our lunch on the balcony we went by taxi with Dave and Christine to see the cliff divers that dive from 130 feet into the sea. This is a world famous tourist attraction and well worth the visit.
After the show we headed back to the Port and did a bit of shopping before we boarded the Aurora.
At 6pm Aurora released the ropes and moved away from the quayside. Just at that moment there was a bit of commotion on the quay as two young men waved frantically for the ship to stop. The Ship remained in position approximately 3 feet from the quayside. We thought that the young men were waiters who had missed the departure. It transpired that they were tour guides who had just returned four passengers from an excursion and mistakenly thought that the Aurora was their ship. When it was confirmed that they were from the Norwegian Star, Aurora continued her departure from Acapulco. Also, it appears that the Celebrity "Lord Brocket" is onboard as a Celebrity Speaker.
We have been invited to join Chris and Gill for a meal in the Pennant Grill as it was their Wedding Anniversary. Dave and Patricia also joined us for a really enjoyable evening under the stars. Amazingly, there was a full moon again which created the perfect setting.
We left the Restaurant at around midnight and for some reason decided to have a game of deck quoits with Chris and Gill (Maybe, we had a few drinks too many).
We won the game and retired to bed.
DAY 17 - 19 (At Sea)
As we cruise north towards San Francisco, the temperature is slowly dropping as expected. We played Terry and Elaine at deck quoits and somehow Mary managed to throw one of the rings overboard. We lost at Quoits but decided to play Shuffleboard which we won. Because of our renewed confidence, we played competitively against the other passengers and haven't won yet (watch this space). Me and Mary also played one another and she was determined to beat me. At the moment it always end's up as a draw.
On Wednesday we went to the Playhouse to listen to a talk on the "History of P&O" which we found very interesting.
In the evening, we decided to join our friends for the quiz night and were quite surprised that we managed to answer most of the questions.
On Thursday we saw at least 50 Dolphins from our Cabin Balcony, which was great entertainment.
After dinner we went to the Casino to try our luck on the Roulette Wheel. It didn't take long to lose our
£20 (the last of the big spenders) so we ventured into the Champions Bar for Karaoke.
We sat next to a New Zealand couple that we had met in Madeira, and had a great laugh listening to future X factor contestants. Needless to say that neither of us got up to sing (watch this space, you never know).
The weather deteriated on Friday with rough seas and cloudy skies. Although the ship was rocking and rolling, we still went to the Theatre that evening to watch the Aurora Theatre Company, perform crazy songs and crazy tunes which were very good.
Walking back to the cabin like two drunkards was quite difficult as we were now in a Severe Storm with winds up to force 12.
The storm continued throughout the night with things falling about the cabin. I don't think we have ever cruised in such poor conditions. All you can do in these conditions is sing:-
"We are going to San Fran Cisco, we'll be wearing flowers in our hair".........
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