Bahias de Hautulco

Santa Cruz is a beautiful little port town with beaches and marinas right at the pier where cruise ships land.

In fact, the beach is so close that many passengers decide not to take any of the shore excursions and just loll on this beach, get something to eat, or just drink underneath the shade of the palupas.

There are nine distinct bays (bahias)—collectively called Bahias de Hautulco (‘wa tul ko) that stretch along a 22 mile pristine coastline and boast of having no less than 36 beaches. Only half of them are developed.

Just north of Huatulco is Acapulco which has drawn international visitors for decades. So Mexican vacationers slipped away to Hautulco to get away from these crowds and relax on these secluded beaches and enjoy the fresh seafood. But the Mexican government found out about it and started to develop the area hoping to attract visitors while maintaining the area’s delicate ecological balances.

Most of this Oaxaca coast is protected which is why it is called the Western Hemisphere’s first eco-tourism resort.

Tangolunda Bay is the most “developed” with lavish resorts, including the largest Club Med in the Western Hemisphere.

However, since the financial bust of 2008, many planned condos, shopping areas, have come to a halt because the stream of tourists has slowed. Our guide told us that only 39 ships have stopped this year, while in the past around 140 did.

The buildings on the left are examples of half-built condos.

Construction on the wide dirt road (shown in the background to the right of the ship leads to the town of Las Crucecitas) was planned to be a shopping approach to and from the port, with shops and restaurants lining the two mile stretch, hoping to be the 5th Avenue of Huatulco.

Work has stopped.

Even though Las Crucecitas is the town where most of the people who work around the port in Santa Cruz live, it is becoming touristy, too. Our guide took us to see a demonstration of how the rugs (well-known from this area) are woven.

Other shops are filled with souvenir items like these colorful wooden animals called alebrijes. LIke the rugs, these are a regional specialty as is silver.

The Las Crucecitas town square is surrounded by many of these little shops and restaurants, as well as a church.

 

 

After our tour of the town, we were taken to have a snack of tamales, quesadillas, black beans, guacamole, and beer. The restaurant is family owned and is run by Clara who is in her 80’s. The food was que rico!

 

 

Our bus took us back to Santa Cruz to roam the town before going back to the ship. I walked along the marina:

This bright pink chapel is right on the beach and can be seen as you enter the port. 

 
It is an open air building which provides respite in several ways in this hot and humid climate.

Even though it is winter here, the temperature was in the high 80’s and the humidity in the 90’s. It felt like Florida in the summer.

This was a nice visit to a very beautiful little place.