Day 6 – Huatalco, Mexico – Rural Communities and Traditions

I woke up when breakfast was delivered at 8am. I had the same breakfast as the last excursion day of scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, and milk and orange juice. The ship docked at 8:15 and our excursion was at 9. My mother and I were going on the same excursion and Betsy, David, and Sue were going on a catamaran to different bays in the area and Mike went on a mountain bike trip. I was feeling a little better in the morning and was glad I slept most of the day before. We were told to wear long pants and long sleeve shirt because the insects were so bad. After we got down to the group where we were supposed to meet we found out we didn’t need to wear long sleeves so I ran to my room to change. At the bottom of the gangplank the cruise director said hi to me. He said I have become famous because of the Dancing With the Stars that I have participated in. It was nice of him to say that. The excursion I was going on was:

Huatalco – RURAL COMMUNITIES

Get to the heart of Oaxaca on this off-the-beaten-track excursion that will give you a glimpse into the roots of Mexico. You’ll head into the communities adjacent to the Huatulco resort area, learning about their authentic cultural and social characteristics, and getting involved with local habits and customs. This tour visits four small communities, stopping three times along the way at some local homes. You'll see the process of hand making tortillas and tamales, visit a plot of land devoted to citrus and fruit cultivation, witness the hand crafting of cooking pots and adobe bricks for house construction and discover a wide variety of edible and medicinal plants You'll also see a low-growth caducifolia jungle tree nursery and an area devoted to the cultivation of nopales (a healthy and tasty cactus) with the opportunity to try some of its many different forms of preparation.

 We were led to vans (mine was REALLY old) and driven to the small communities. The first stop was at a cactus farm. It was interesting to learn the different uses of cactus and I wondered if people really use the cactus so much or if it was just possible. This whole trip has brought many questions in my mind I wish I could talk with my Mexican and Central American friends to find out answers to my questions. After the cactus farm we went up the road and saw them make adobe bricks. We also walked through a place where they showed dozens of different plants that were used for medicine. A lot of people with us live in Arizona and they were talking how the same plants in that area also. Next stop was a place to buy stuff so I bought something for Sarah, my daughter. We then went to a place where they showed us how they make tortillas from corn to cooking. I really liked this group and they were very helpful. I was very impressed that one of the community groups that was selling things here was the handicapped. There was a lady that used crutches to walk and she also had other problems. I was impressed because other countries I go to hide their handicapped and make it look like there are only perfect people when tourists are around. I would do anything to help this group and this community! We then went to an iguaniarium. I am not sure if that is really a word, but they used it and I guess no it is a word. There were 3 different enclosures for different kinds of iguanas. I finally had a reason to put my longer lens on my camera and I got some good close-ups of the iguanas. One enclosure was for black iguanas, one for green iguanas, and one for baby iguanas. I liked this family too and the man spoke pretty good English. This was a very interesting tour and informative. We took the rickety van back to the dock and walked through some stores near the ship. I got on the ship at 1:20 and it left port at 1:30. After I went back to my room I went to sleep for a while. At 6 my mom came and let me know we were going to the show at 6:30 and eating at 7:45. The show was pretty good and the songs were all popular tunes. Dinner was great. I decided to be myself for a night. I ordered a Diet Coke and had a steak. It felt comfortable to do things I usually do rather than try to “be on a cruise” and try different things all the time. I went to bed after dinner because I want to completely get rid of this sickness so I can start enjoying the cruise again. For the next 3 days I have a different excursion each day.