Manzanillo, Mexico (2024)
We were out on our veranda as the Zuiderdam pulled into Manzanillo harbor late in the morning on January 29. Manzanillo has a population of about 160,000 and its port is the busiest one in Mexico. Some military boats were in the water nearby as we sailed in, one of which had a soldier in front with a machine gun over his shoulder. When I looked again he seemed to be taking a picture of me while I took one of him (more likely he was photographing the ship).
Manzanillo bay was discovered by the Spanish in 1527 and it served as a base for shipbuilding and exploration for the next 300 years, while pirates roamed these seas. Today it is a center for sport fishing, calling itself the “Sailfish Capital of the World.” If you have seen the Bo Derek-Dudley Moore film “10” you have seen Manzanillo, where much of it was filmed. From the ship the town appeared colorful, with a huge sculpture of a blue sailfish in the center of the Malecon. But later in the day we would drive through the town and it seemed rather drab and uncolorful, with many American businesses familiar from home (like Home Depot), all with signs in English.
So we did not regret having booked an excursion that would take us to a town called La Central to visit one of the largest orchid farms in Mexico, called VivePlants. We picked this primarily because Mary wanted some tips on how not to kill orchids (sounds funny, but they are very fussy). We exited the bus in an area with many large tent-like areas set up in neat rows, with a beautiful Bougainvillia array about 10 feet tall at the place were we alighted.
We were guided through several of these vast areas covered with a shady mesh sheeting and full of growing tables holding orchid plants in various stages of growth, some with flowers and some without any yet. They sell most of their orchids as cut flowers, though they are expanding into the sale of plants as well.
Fidel, the founder and owner of VivePlants, addressed our group. He has studied horticulture and orchids in Japan and the Netherlands and explained the history and current state of the orchid industry. It turns out there are some 25,000 to 30,000 natural types of orchids and more than twice that many that have been bred by humans. And did Mary get the orchid tips she was hoping for? Oh yes, several of which Fidel says are his alone so we should keep them among ourselves. So I won’t be sharing those tips here (also because I really don’t remember most of them). Before leaving we were shown to the gift shop, which had plants for sale and other orchid related products, notably some necklaces displaying actual orchid blossoms that had been treated somehow for preservation.
We were taken to a nearby place with a walled patio where we sat under a canopy made of leaves for some lunch and a performance of Mexican dancing in a festive atmosphere. The food was very good, including tostadas with guacamole, empanadas and very sweet fresh local fruit, particularly the pineapple and mangoes.
The young dancers looked like they might be high school age, but danced very well and wore very colorful costumes. They received an enthusiastic response and a good time was had by all. Rick stayed in his seat and took some pictures over the heads of other diners, but Robert cleverly walked to the edge of the stage to get cleaner pictures of the dancers. He generously shared those, some of which are included here.
After the drive through the hills back to Manzanillo we were left at the Malecon, a mile long waterfront promenade near where the ship was docked. It is a nice area for walking or sitting on one of the many benches, and there are a number of sculptures and other things to see. We showed you the distinctive blue sailfish sculpture that dominates the area, but we also saw a skeleton of what we think is a whale and a few other unusual sculptures as well.
That’s all from Manzanillo as we headed to our second and last Mexican port. We will leave you with a towel animal, which is much rarer than it used to be on these voyages.
BADER JOURNAL 