Spring Break!!! (or something like it)

A few weeks ahead of the American spring-breakers, I headed down for the weekend to Acapulco with a group of friends. Sometimes I like to think of where five hours driving would get me in Ohio: that's right, Indiana.

We drove down early, early, early Saturday morning to Playa Bonfil, a precious little gem of a beach about 30 minutes south of Acapulco. We spent the entirety of Saturday laying on the beach, sleeping in hammocks, frolicking in the waves and listening to the horrible thumping bass of techno music. Whereas the beach for me has usually been peaceful and quiet, this time it involved a small wood hut outfitted with huge speakers and apparently a German DJ chained to the post. Attempts to switch the vibes to cheesy 80's pop (read: Rick Astley) were largely ignored. We set up our tents on a clearing in the sand, built a little campfire and sang some of my preschool greatest hits. Weddings took place on both sides of us further down the coast, which involves fireworks to kick off the first dance. It was a majestic show, and I've decided that I too will have fireworks on my big day, literally and figuratively.

A fun little fact I discovered: some restauranteurs along the beach will secure their animal remains (fish heads, chicken feet, etc.) in large plastic bags and deposit them at the water's edge; when the tide rises, it sweeps it all to sea. Yes, I did go swimming immediately after snapping the pic below:


Sunday morning, bright and early, the techno music resumed. We packed everything into the truck around noon and headed into Acapulco. I rode in the truck bed with two other girls, and while I was sunburned as a result, it was a fun experience. The last time I'd ridden into town was with Matt to catch a coach bus to Oaxaca. From the taxi-eye view, I thought the city looked dirty, horrendously overdeveloped and way too Spring Break-esque. But from the view of the truck bed, I could see the water and coastline and look out onto the jagged coves from our ascending point of view. A very beautiful vista.

Once in Acapulco, we took a small glass-bottom boat to Isla de la Roqueta, hiked a short path and found a really amazing beach spot to snorkel. It was small and secluded, the water completely clear and the fishies fascinating. Afterwards, we humored our vanities with a photoshoot, sufficiently creeping out the Mexican family that had later joined us at the spot. As a group of gringos (plus two Mexican friends), we did look like Spring Breakers, so why not indulge in our weird gringo antics? Post-snorkeling, we ate a late lunch at a seafood restaurant along the water. I don't really remember how the food tasted, I just remember that the one-man entertainment band was amazing. By amazing I mean tone-deaf and playing one of those keyboards with pre-recorded songs. With shrimp swimming in our bellies, we set off back home to our lovely, polluted city.