Acapulco was a land of extremes; beauty, fun, relaxation, and apparently violence. It is a thriving tourist city which mainly sees Mexican tourists. Is that a bad thing? Good question; does everywhere need American tourists? We definitely stuck out as tourists, but it really depends. Regardless, Acapulco is not likely to become a hot destination for non-Mexicans while the drug war and mass killings continue. Even with the serious security presence in the tourist areas, it will be a long time before it returns to it glory days.
Although we very much enjoyed our time here, as with everything, it was time to go. We woke up again feeling progressively better. Tim stocked up on some beverages and food for the bus trip back to Mexico City. We packed the room up and enjoyed our last little while sitting on our balcony with the spectacular view.
After the short taxi ride back to the Estrello de Oro bus terminal, we had about an hour wait; 1200 departure. The bus was on time and we loaded without incident; however, we forgot to get out our tablets from one of the checked bags. Crap, was going to be a long 5 hour trip.
I would have expected traffic to either be busier or lighter than the Sunday we travelled up on. The highway had some lineups at the toll station, however, the route was about the same. There was one town that was stop and go traffic; that added some time. Also the bus driver stopped to use the washroom and stopping again to visit some family and exchange gifts on the side of the road.....only in Mexico. Total trip time 6 hours.
We arrived back to Tasquena Station and prepaid a tax to our hotel. It is a system of circular zones extending from the bus station with each zone having a set price. Ours was zone 6, 175 pesos ($11). There are pros and cons as I see it to prepaid services and we got to experience at least one of each. Pros: First, you don't stress about the final cost. Second, the driver has an incentive to take the most direct route. Third, if he gets lost, you don't pay more.
For us, this translated into at least one pro and one con. As we saw the first, and to a lesser extent the second, when the driver gets paid by the job, they have an incentive to get it done as fast as possible. This ride was more like something at an amusement park or thrill experience with the driver speeding down the road narrowly missing both pedestrians and other vehicles. An experience we won't soon forget.
The pro was that although the driver looked up our hotel on GPS, he didn't follow it. That meant that when we got to the hotel area, he was stuck going around a huge multi-block circle. An experience I'm glad I didn't pay extra for.
We checked into the hotel and it was immediate that this place was different. Tim paid $25 extra a night (compared to our last Mexico city hotel) so we had high hopes. First, the hotel just seem quaint, the usher insisting to get our bags and then showing us to our room. When we walked into the apartment both our jaws dropped; amazing. With the exception of a couple used chairs, this place is brand new; we might be the first occupants. It is a traditional 1 bedroom apartment, small kitchenette and huge beautiful bedroom. All the features were well above our expectations, but the one we were happiest was the washer and dryer! Suites Contempo, highly recommended.
We got some Indian Chicken Tikka massala, rice and naan for dinner from a little Indian restaurant (Rahmania Restaurante). Although the food was pretty good, it was really expensive (240 pesos, $15) for the portion size (and considering alternatives). We just wanted quick and easy; still not ready to be adventurous with Mexican street food again. Afterwards we relax in bed.
