Здравствуйте! Я рад предложить вашему вниманию очередной выпуск рассылки! Уже совсем скоро июнь, а значит и лето. Поэтому сегодняшний выпуск будет посвящен сезону отпусков. Сегодня мы в буквальном смысле "едем" в мексиканский город Акапулько. Оказывается, Мексика не такая уж богом забытая страна. И все-таки есть на Земле чертовски красивые места! Фотографии смотрите на сайте, указанном ниже.

City: Acapulco
Country: Mexico
Text difficulty: from easy to medium
It's fun for: youth, adults

Acapulco (Officially: Acapulco de Juárez) is a city and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, 300 km (190 miles) southwest from Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semi-circular bay. It is a port of call for shipping and cruising lines running between Panama and San Francisco, California, USA. As of the 2005 census the population of the city was 616,394, while that of its surrounding municipality of the same name was 717,766 people. The municipality, which has an area of 1,882.6 km2(726.88 sq mi), includes numerous small localities outside of the city. The tourist resort city of Acapulco is the largest city in the state, by far larger than the state capital of Chilpancingo, in second place.

More info on http://en.wikipedia.org

Trip to Acapulco

I had originally planned to board a bus from Mexico City to Acapulco, a ride that takes around four hours. It’s almost as quick to take the bus as it is to fly, once you have arrived at the airport, checked-in, waited around, taken off, landed, reclaimed your bags and taken a taxi into Acapulco from the airport there.

Juan, a friend of mine who lives in Mexico City, asks me if I want a tour guide in Acapulco. He has been there loads of times before, so I agree and we decide to drive to Acapulco in his car. Late Sunday night, we leave Mexico City and take the toll road south towards Cuernavaca. As the car speeds by the colonial city which we’ll return to on our way back, I look out of the window to catch glimpses of the surrounding mountainous countryside that glows silver under the light of a nearly full moon.

It’s 2am on Monday morning when we arrive in Acapulco. I’ve watched the car’s outer air thermometer rise to 27 degrees centigrade as we travelled southwest across the mountains. As we pass through the final toll booth at the entrance to Acapulco, ahead I see a huge mountain; lit by lights of the houses and streets on its surface; at its summit, the red lights of two towers flash in a constant rhythm.   Our hotel is on the other side of that mountain. “We’re going under it” says Juan, “It’s called the Maxi Tunel”. It costs $60 pesos (currency converter) one way, but saves having to go over the mountain (free) and besides, at 2am there won’t be much of a view up there. It’s quite eerie driving through the tunnel, knowing that there is a whole mountain, several neighbourhoods, roads and two communication towers above you, but it’s certainly efficient.

Acapulco is a coastal town of two halves. The old part, where in the 60’s and 70’s the movie stars and millionaires hung out is showing its age; the houses look rustic and need remodelling; the feeling is of days gone by. The other half, further north and around the corner from the main bay, is where today’s celebrities hang and buy property. It’s also home to comfortable resort hotels offering all the creature comforts that people expect from them.

The Camino Real Hotel in the area known as Acapulco Diamante where we’re staying is situated at the foot of a private road; as we drive down the hill, we see ocean-front houses and apartments on either side; they look like home rental properties for part-time visitors and holiday makers that come here to get away from things.

The heat wraps itself around me like a warm blanket as I step out of the air-conditioned car; it’s hot, humid and the sun isn’t even shining; most excellent. The lobby opens out into a bar-terrace with a white-coloured grand piano at its centre: The next morning, I can see that the whole scene is open-air and flanked by the Pacific Ocean in the background. The room at the hotel is very spacious; has every creature comfort you could hope for and a stunning view across the tops of palm trees to the ocean bay ahead.

Most hotels in Mexico offer excellent buffet breakfasts, except when they are very quiet and don’t have enough people resident to make it viable; then you choose from the menu. Whatever you like to eat for breakfast, you’ll find it.  The buffet at the Camino Real hotel offers locally sourced fresh fruit sliced and ready to eat; cereals and bread, omelettes made to order as you wait with a choice of different meats and vegetables to accompany it, a row of hot plates with every Mexican breakfast favourite; a selection of fresh fruit juices, cold meats and cheeses, tea, coffee… All served at the terrace restaurant; the outside tables overlook the Pacific Ocean as we sit in the warm morning sun and enjoy the light sea breeze.

We get to La Quebrada, (The Break) by 1pm in time for the divers' display.   Probably Acapulco’s most famous attraction, a small team of men dive from the rocks at La Quebrada into a pool of sea water below; the area is located just around the corner from Playa Angosta, on Acapulco’s south side.    They work with the tides and always start on time (unlike many other things in Mexico!) 1pm, 730pm, 830pm and 930pm – at night the divers hold two flaming torches as they dive from the rugged stone cliff into the narrow pool of water below. They must get their timing absolutely right: if they jump out of synch with the incoming wave, they will kill themselves on the rocks below.

Five divers psyche themselves up for the event, as two – maybe – three hundred spectators watch from the viewing platform which has an access fee of $25 pesos (currency converter). Some people arrive in boats, without doubt the best view, which anchor a perhaps 20 metres away from the cliffs. As the spectacle begins, the divers raise their arms to draw support and applause from the crowds. They scale the edge of the cliff to a flat pinnacle they use as a makeshift diving board.   There is a tense wait; the silence is awkward.  Suddenly the diver jumps, and the sound of hundreds of camera apertures, like night crickets, fills the air for a split instant. There is the sound of a splash as the diver's body catches the cusp of the wave below; the crowds cheer and clap; the next of the five divers is waiting for his jump, as the one in the water below swims furiously away from the tide that would otherwise throw him against the cliff wall.

After the event, the crowds disperse, and three of the divers are waiting at the top the hill ready to take cash tips from the entertained crowds of mainly foreign tourists. The divers will be back after dark to repeat the spectacle again.   As I walk past and pay my tip, a series of thoughts flash through my mind about what it would be like to make a living every day by chancing death.

On the way back to town, the old town of Acapulco shows off its lack of upkeep and underdevelopment; everywhere hawkers are trying to get us to pull over and park near their cafe or market; the sun’s heat is intense as we crawl down the hill in a car that’s quickly becoming an oven along with the rest of the crowd that has just left the diving spectacle.

For all of its contrasts, it’s ups and downs, lovers and critics – Acapulco still has two things going for it: Like Heaven, everyone has heard of Acapulco (even if they don’t know where it is) and Acapulco still has, in my view, one of the most stunning bays of any coastal resort.   There’s a perfect view of the bay at sea level and we park to look around and pick up some downtown Acapulco atmosphere and walk around tanning for a while.

Juan points to the right, to a unique looking property overlooking the bay. “That’s Sylvester Stallone’s house” he remarks as we drive back up the hill towards Acapulco Diamante. Up above the road is today’s exclusive neighbourhood of plush houses; on the road below are signs telling motorists not to sound their horn.

As we drive back past the ocean-front houses, we see a sign offering an apartment for sale, so we decide to stop and ask for information. The apartment is small, just 80 square metres total. The bathroom and kitchen are tiny and the hot water boiler protrudes from the corner in the kitchen. There are three small bedrooms, a small lounge and a view across the bay. There’s a communal plunge pool at the front that everyone at the apartment block can use.  The asking price is US$270,000 (currency converter).

The hotel has three pools on multi-levels; the children’s pool, and an upper pool which spills over in three places to the lower one, which is an infinity effect pool which looks directly out onto the bay ahead.   This isn’t Acapulco’s main bay; it’s the more secluded Playa Pilchingue around the corner. The pool isn’t heated; when I jumped in my whole body was engulfed by a refreshing tingle.   It’s not chilly, it’s not warm – it’s perfect.  Juan has wandered down to the beach which is small in comparison with the beach at the Camino Real's hotel in Puerto Vallarta, but great for swimming from and relaxing on – and very exclusive and secluded.

I spend a couple of hours sitting in the sun, watching the world go by.  Two couples lounge in the sun as their children play in the pools; their ball keeps getting stuck in the cascade shelves between the upper and lower pools; there are several retired couples here, and I’ve seen one group which looks like a corporate team-building event. The atmosphere is relaxed and resort-like: everything you need is around you; waiters bring you cold drinks and snacks to the poolside; there is a perfect blue sky surrounding me as the sun swings slowly around to the west and begins to set behind the headland.

Acapulco’s main drag is called Costera Miguel Aleman and its host to the big (and smaller) hotels that front Acapulco’s famous main bay as well as a cornucopia of bars, cafes, restaurants and night clubs. Every flavour is catered for, and if it’s Acapulco’s night life you’ve come to taste, this is where most of it is dished up. It’s the place where open-air bars overlook the bay, restaurants serve every type of food going and night clubs, some with beaches for the dance-floor, attract people from late until the sun comes up again.

Most young people arrive in Acapulco to sleep in the day and live in the night, especially over weekends.   Conversely, people arriving to enjoy Acapulco’s attractive climate, its great beaches, famed attractions and surrounds and who want a place to get away from the nightlife (either afterwards or permanently) are more likely to accommodate themselves in the newer, more cultured Acapulco Diamante area; if you’re looking for a wild week or weekend, then you’ll be closer to the night action further south closer to the old town, but if you're looking for more culture and style then head to Acapulco Diamante.

More info on http://www.mexperience.com/inmexico/diary/7weekseven.htm

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проект "Увлекательный Английский"
автор Ирина Арамова

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