Tom and I agreed that this was the warmest, most hospitable reception we have EVER enjoyed.....anywhere....these school children were so thrilled to be out of school, certainly, but they were obviously very proud and happy to greet us with: "Welcome to Manzanillo!!!", as they "high-fived" whoever would accommodate. Their teachers were closely monitoring every move, beaming and also welcoming us.
Just steps from that heart warming welcome was the disappointing reminder of corruption and violence in our neighbor to the south......there were armed guards on many street corners with guns longer than their bodies, but I discouraged Tom from taking THOSE pictures....this is as close as we got.
Dominating the center of town is this sculpture of a marlin, the major "trophy fish" caught in these waters.....fishing is a big industry in Manzanillo.....it is the location of the "Instituto Nacional de Pesca" which directs research and supervision of fishing in the entire South Pacific.
Look VERY closely......nearly EVERY branch has an iguana resting on it.....we stood for several minutes, watching them crawl around, making my (Kathy's) skin "crawl"
A baby.....he didn't fall out of the trees, thank heaven.....just found him crawling on the sidewalk.....took the picture.....AND RAN!!!
Together with another couple from the ship, we hired Felipe as our taxi driver.....and yep, that is the taxi....which we did not know when we hired him....a bit tiny for 5 of us.....poor long legged Tom was always in the back seat since our cruise mates were native Argentinian and could speak Spanish with Felipe.
Somewhere down there is Felipe's favorite cove......where he used to take his girlfriends during his high school years.
Las Hadas means The Fairies......a luxury golf/beach resort built in the 1950's.....the tour buses stop at the gate, but good ole Felipe got us in....
Here are The Fairies......the ones dressed in WHITE!
Las Hadas.......a lovely spot, then AND now, including hundreds of condos all over the hillside and hundreds of rooms, all with spacious balconies facing the Pacific.
Felipe took us to Portofino's, one of the many restaurants in Manzanillo owned by one of his many, many cousins......His uncle, an Italian native, taught the whole family how to make pizza....according to Felipe, the secret is in the amount of salt in the dough, keeping the crust thin and crispy....and fresh basil.....it was delicious.....
And this was the delicious view from our dining table.....best pizza, best view!
Felipe with his cousin and family......they all like the pizza......and love life!!!! Thanks, Felipe!
