After a stop on Medano Beach in Cabo San Lucas at a place called the Office for margaritas and chips with pico de gallo and wi-fi, we decided it would be fun to try these items at each port in Mexico. Then we would compare each stop and pick our favorites.
Cabo is beautiful and I would absolutely return there. All items in our test passed with flying colors and became the standard we used compare offerings on our future stops. Our table on the beach at the Office provided amazing views of the water with a relaxing vibe. Although they are still cleaning up from the recent hurricane, we didn’t see a lot of damage but then we hadn’t been there before Hurricane Odile.
Our next port was Puerto Vallarta. The margaritas seemed a little low on alcohol and the wi-fi didn’t work at all at the restaurant where we stopped. We thoroughly enjoyed our walk along the renovated mile-long Malecon (boardwalk) in Old Town taking pictures of many of the incredible sculptures and watching the colorful aerial show of the Voladores de Papantla. Accompanied by a flutist playing at the top of the 50 foot pole, the four flyers representing earth, water, fire, and air, fall head first from and circle the pole 13 times before reaching the ground in a religious ritual dating back 1500 years (Puerto Vallarta Official Website). After our visit to Old Town including Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, we stopped at Starbucks right on the central square to use their excellent wi-fi, then took the local bus back to the cruise port. I’m ashamed to admit we also popped into the Wal-Mart by the cruise port for some supplies.
After a day at sea, we arrived in Huatulco, my favorite of the Mexican ports on this itinerary. The beach is located directly next to the dock for cruise ships with restaurants lining the beach. This time we knew to try the wi-fi before ordering anything and then we all settled in to catch up on email and Facebook. We quickly discovered that the wi-fi was intermittent and very slow so frustration ensued. After our margaritas, we checked out the beach, determined to get into the Pacific Ocean at least once. The water was comfortable but the sun on the beach was so intensely hot that common sense soon prevailed sending all of us in search of shade.
The following day, we arrived in Puerto Chiapas to learn that the city of Tapachula was 45 minutes by shuttle with no wi-fi until we got there. Off we went to Tapachula in search of Mexican culture to accompany our margaritas, chips with pico de gallo, and wi-fi. A city of over 300,000 inhabitants, I’m sorry to report that not much about Tapachula impressed me. The wi-fi was again unreliable; the restaurant were we stopped didn’t serve margaritas; the city was crowded, loud, and dirty; and the next day I had gastroenteritis. Enough said.
When we got back to the port at Puerto Chiapas, we were surprised to discover a restaurant with good margaritas, chips and pico de gallo, and although there was no wi-fi, there was good music with a performance by local dancers and even a swimming pool. Had we known, we’d have stayed right there and not ventured into Tapachula at all.
Hands down, the voting members of our group agreed that we had the best margaritas in Cabo San Lucas. The best wi-fi was, without a doubt, at Starbucks in Puerto Vallarta. First place for chips and pico de gallo goes to the restaurant at Huatulco. Puerto Chiapas didn’t get first place in any category but if we had included entertainment as a category, I think we would all agree the local dancers were outstanding.
Next time: Quarantine!
