Now for your History lesson: legends say that the Toltecs and Quetzalcoatl came from the area of Huatulco, after the Spanish conquest , Huatulco thrived as a port under Hernan Cortes's control, it was later attacked by both Francis Drake and Thomas Cavendish.
Until resort development began in the 1980s it was mostly a fishing port and a coffee growing area. In 1984 FONATUR (Fondo National de Tourism) a government dedicated to developing tourism in Mexico acquired 21,000 hectares of land to develop a tourism center similar to CanCun, the existing population was relocated to Santa Maria Huatulco and roadways etc. were improved and a new resort was born. There are 4 main districts with 9 bays and 36 white sandy beaches and I must say it is a beautiful and peaceful area. Very Friendly a lot of the locals speak English. Prices are fair, Taxis are abundant and very reasonable.
We felt very blessed to have a friend from the temple who let us use his condo for the week we were there, it was in the Bahia Santa Cruz Area, within walking distance to the beach. We spent the week with our good friends the Roesberrys ad we couldn't ask for better companions. We did a lot of our cooking in the condo and we like to eat the same things, we swam in the pool and in the ocean, we played games, we laughed, and slept, and walked, and talked and read books and just had a great time.
We left Oaxaca just before midnight Sunday night on the bus and arrived in Huatulco at about eight in the morning Monday morning, needless to say, Monday we didn't do much but unpack and get groceries and rest up and walk to the beach.
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| Back view of the condo where we stayed. |
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| Courtyard and pool of the Condo, we were on the third floor. |
Wednesday we went out in a sailboat to watch the sunset and tour the bays, it was beautiful but the water was a bit rough because the wind had come up. Ross a little disappointed because they didn't use the big sail at all. They only used the little one for a short while on the way back. I was a little disappointed because as we were leaving the dock a gust caught my hat (my nice Sunday Afternoon brand Hat) and blew it away, and then even though I had taken Dramamine as the water got choppier and choppier I got sicker and sicker and pretty soon I was leaning over the rail being sick in front of all 24 people on the boat! So I lost my hat and my dinner. Not my finest moment! The bays are all so pretty and there are quite a few that are in the National park and you can only get to by boat or 4 wheeler.
The next morning we went on another boat a smaller fishing boat, this time no seasickness! We caught 8 3 to 5 lb. fish called bonitos, they have red meat, we pulled into a bay and while we snorkeled our captain cleaned some of the fish and took them to the little restaurant where they were cooked and waiting for us when we got to shore. What a fun day. The reef was amazing as were the different fish we saw as we snorkeled our way to shore. We also pulled into another bay and swam for a while. we looked for whales but were unsuccessful in that venture, although the week before Pres. Atkinson had seen some in the same area.
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| Me reeling in one of the fish. |
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| Captain Ernesto Pacheco unhooking the fish Jan reeled in. |
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| Ross in the Club where we ate lunch Friday |
Friday we went to a Beach Club, you could pay an entrance fee of 100 pesos and use their facilities for the day, pool, restrooms, shade, order food, etc. You set under their awning right on the beach. Pretty nice!
Saturday we took a trip to the Water Falls, on the way we passed a lot of little villages, it was like going back in time! We also stopped at a Mescal Factory and a Coffee Plantation (both pretty small) the guy at the Mescal Factory put on quite a show trying to sell his product. He reminded me of an old time snake oil salesman. According to him that stuff is good for everything from headaches to slow libido, especially if you buy the kind that has a little marijuana in it! He even had some in a spray bottle that would keep the bugs away! We about died laughing and he talked so fast we only understood about half of what he said, the Mexicans were really laughing hard.
The waterfalls were really pretty, we had to park and hike a little ways to them, we were the oldest in the group and like dummys we didn't have our swim suits. but we waded a little, Lunch was provided with the tour and it was beans, rice and either chicken or beef cooked on and open fire grill and it was delicious!
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| Part of the Falls |
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| The four of us at the top of the Falls |
It is great to be back in Oaxaca and to hear from President Atkinson that the Temple is on schedule to open next week, he has asked us to help Friday, Saturday and Monday to get things cleaned and ready, we are anxious to be back to work.
How very grateful we are to our Father in Heaven for the beautiful world he has allowed us to enjoy, we have often thought that we will never be able to live long enough to see and enjoy all the many and varied beautiful things that He has created. How fortunate we are that He loves us enough to let us live in such a wonderful world and to enjoy all of His creations. Truly 'How Great Thou Art'
Love to all
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