December 9, 2007 - Acapulco


Before I left Taxco El Amigo gave me the name of the California Inn, where one of his friends stays when he is in Acapulco. He said it would only be $10 (or thereabouts). After a little consideration, I decided to go to the K3 Hostel even though it got some bad reviews on the internet. (After all, I've always found hostels to be a great deal for the money.) I took a cab from the bus station and told the driver I wanted to go to the hostel at Plaza la Condesa. He said, "I think that one is full, but I know a good hotel, very inexpensive." I said, "No gracias."

Well, K3 modified my general view of hostels. After the first night I almost decided to look for the California Inn. (I will probably stay there on my return trip.) The bad reviews of K3 on the net were entirely correct: the dorm rooms were tiny (about 10 feet by 12 feet) and at night were so 'air conditioned' I felt as though I had walked into a refrigerator. There were some inside rooms that had no windows. (Fortunately, the icebox I shared with one other woman had a window; but, unfortunately, it was one of those that doesn't open.) And the cost was $16 a night. I stayed a second night only because of the hostel's proximity to the beach and because I planned to move on after a couple of days. I figured I could put off recovering from my cold for that long.

On the second day I was up early to take pictures on the beach. Acapulco’s beach is beautiful, with huge piles of volcanic boulders on the sand and volcanic outcroppings in the water. The effect is spoiled by the standard, expensive hotels that command the beachfront and by the people aggressively hawking their wares. (I was getting tired of saying, "No, gracias” as gracefully as possible and dealing with my guilty feelings about saying no to people who desperately need money.) As I walked along the beach, I was set upon by Wencho, who owns a little bar with beach chairs and tables under thatched umbrellas. He also has a catamaran, and tried to interest me in parasailing. I said I would think about it and would probably be back later,"mas tardes” – which is one of the brush-offs I’ve developed, along with, "Mañana. No tengo dinero” and "No tengo espacio en mi bolsa”, which is probably incorrect, but seems to get my point across. As I thought about it, I decided that a sunset sailing (but no parasailing, since I have no traveler’s insurance – and no experience with parasailing) would probably be a pleasant thing to do in Acapulco. We bargained and arrived at a price of 400 pesos. I don’t think I got the better end of the"bargain,” but I did have a great time and took some photos of a beautiful sunset. Later, Wencho showed me his living space, a cabaña on stilts, with a thatched roof, that he built himself. I would love to live in a place like that – but not on the beach in Acapulco.

This dispatch is only three paragraphs long because Acapulco was just not that interesting. It is not the "Mexico” I’m looking for; but it is a good example of Norte Americano exploitation of a third-world country. It has lots of MacDonalds, at least one Walmart, a Home Hardware, and many American-owned hotels – and all the imported economic aspirations that make life so difficult for people who live on approximately one-tenth the average wages of people in first-world countries. Vendors vie with each other for those precious tourist dollars, and are not above exploiting the guilt of people who have, relatively, too much money. Need and greed set into motion a complex of the worst impulses in human beings.

Today is Sunday. I am about to set off, happily, to my next destination, Puerto Escondido.

feral@renegaderesearch.org