Manzanillo Stop

Day 9, days are speeding by.

The Radiance of the Sea is the first ship to dock at the new pier built in Manzanillo.

Berne was set on going to the beach at the north end so that she could actually enjoy a dip in the ocean. Jim and I opted to just stay in the downtown area and experience real Mexico. Ruth and Ger went with Chambers but decided they'd rather be on the ship so they soon came back and enjoyed their day by the pool.

Jim and I walk a couple of miles to find an Iguana preservation 'farm'. They had over 100 iguanas, lots of them more than a metre long. They also had a pond of turtles which was fun to see. The yard had a huge kapok tree in it, the pods bursting with fuzz that we were told they use in pillows.

It was comforting to know that iguanas are vegetarians so we didn't have to worry about them snapping at us. Most of them were on a roof or up in the trees so I didn't feel uncomfortable. They are being protected because they have been a source of food for too many Mexicans.

Manzanilla is definitely a working city. Many container ships in harbour. It's close proximity to Mexico City makes it the largest commerical harbour in all of Mexico. We saw power plants as a source of hydro for the city.

We walked back through town, looking for items to purchase as this is our last stop in Mexico. Didn't find anything.

I did go into a couple of fabric shops and was amazed at the extremely low prices they have on all sorts of fabrics. Most of it was very colourful and suitable if you lived there.

We were back on board shortly after 3 and just relaxed before eating another wonderful meal in the dining room. Eg shrimp salad, sirloin, pecan pie – with ice cream of course.

By 9 pm we were off to enjoy the Horizons (Motown and more). They were great singers and sure knew how to shake their bootie.

Jim and I were ready to settle for the night so left our gang who went off to play cards and drink hot chocolate, etc. Ah, the young and foolish.