Pie de la Cuesta, Guerrero, Mexico, June 3rd & 4th.

Thursday finds us refreshed after a good night's sleep. It is also car wash day. It has been over 2 months since we left California and more than 3000 miles. The motor home is filthy. Yesterday, Nico had indicated that his son would do the washing whilst we went to the restaurant's grand opening. On the way there, we drop off our laundry and Tom gets his haircut. We pull up, the kid (later I find out his name is Eddie) almost keels over. "It's big," he mutters "and really dirty." Tom and I acknowledge both these facts and we feel bad for him. Also, we have Winston and the restaurant is upstairs and no dogs are allowed. Nico confers with his sister and it is agreed that we can leave Winston in the courtyard which is completely fenced in and there are people around to keep an eye on him. There are quite a few people here for it being early afternoon, midweek. Mexico is playing Italy in a soccer match, so they are quite exuberant especially so since Mexico won, 2 - 1. Tom and I had a couple of beers and the fish soup which was quite tasty. The place is clean and modern with large flat screen TV's with satelite, so during football season they will show the NFL which should be popular with the Americans who come here during the winter. As we are making these observations the door opens and in bursts.. Winston. He is quite pleased with himself, he has found us! I gather him up and go down to the motorhome. Eddie is just finishing and I chat with him. He speaks English and tells me during the school year he lives with his aunt in San Diego and goes to high school. Next year he will be in 10th grade. He has done a great job. We go find Tom and feeling a little guilty we give him 150 pesos for his work and it's back to the trailer park. Friday we have decided to leave Winston for a couple of hours and go into Acapulco to do some sightseeing and to try what is supposed to be an excellent Japanese sushi restaurant. We are both in sushi withdrawal mode but have been leary about trying raw fish in Mexico. Going into Acapulco involves riding the bus, again. It is just as crazy as the first time. I sit by the window and hold on to the bar attached to the seat in front of me, with both hands. It is akin to being on Mr. Toad's wild ride. We want to see the old fort (Fuerte de San Diego) and the cathedral before going to lunch. Luck is on our side. As the bus makes it's turn onto the Costera (the main street), we see the sign for the fort. We jump up, "aqui, alto" (here, stop) we yell and the driver pulls over. One of the nice things about the crazy system is that you don't have to wait for a bus stop. At any point you just yell and the bus stops, this probably also contributes to the traffic gridlock..but when in Rome etc. We cross the street and climb the hill to the fort. It is now a museum, with a lot of history dating back to the 1500's. We spent a pleasurable hour or so wandering about. From here the directions to the cathedral were also simple. Just 2 blocks, through the zocala (market place) and we arrived. It is large and has 2 beautiful blue tiled domes from the outside. Inside is cool and for the main church in Acapulco, remarkably simple. We sit for 20 mins or so, say our prayers and we are headed to sushi. We know it is at the south end on Acapulco Bay so elect to take a cab. Restaurant Suntory. We find out they are actually an elite chain with restaurants in quite a few big cities - Tokyo, Honolulu, Mexico City, London to name a few. For the most part it is also mainly Teppan stlye but we find items to our liking. Edamame, prawn tempura, chicken yakitori, a sushi plate with tuna, salmon and yellow fin and 2 different rolls, one spicy tuna and the other with prawns and cream cheese. Interestingly, the restaurant had some tourists but mostly Mexican families. Obviously wealthy by Mexican standards because the restaurant was the most expensive we dined in so far. The food was okay..let's face it, we are so spoiled in California with our selection of sushi places, that our standards are pretty high. But, we are not in California anymore, Toto, so this was as good as it gets. Since we know where we are and we are getting good at this, we catch the bus to the north end, get off, cross the street and catch another bus home. Did I mention the buses are very inexpensive. 5 pesos (about 35 cents) per person, no matter how far you go. Tom gets off to go pick up our laundry and I continue to the trailer park to find a very excited animal waiting for us. He has been alone for 6 hours, in the RV but with fans and AC on high. We wait for Tom to bring the laundry and head to the beach for a walk and to frolic in the waves. It has been a long day but we will stay put for the next few days and relax.