Acapulco Announces the Official Opening of Tehuacalco

The Acapulco Destination Marketing Office is pleased to announce that the recently discovered archeological zone of Tehuacalco is officially open to the public in 2009. Just 50 minutes from Acapulco, Tehuacalco includes the remains of a ball court, residential space and holy temple dating back to the year 750 B.C. With the support of the government of the state of Guerrero and the Secretary of Tourism, the site was discovered as part of extensive research of pre-Hispanic culture in the region aimed to further identify the history of the state of Guerrero.

To mark the occasion, government officials including Zeferino Torreblanca, Governor of the State of Guerrero and Rodolfo Elizono, Secretary of Tourism for Mexico participated in the official opening ceremony in late December 2008. Also in attendance was Ernesto Rodriguez, Secretary of Tourism for Guerrero and Laura Pescador, National Coordinator of Archaeology at INAH, the National Institute of Anthropology and History, the organization that has worked with the government to research, explore, conserve and promote the site since 2006.

“This project represents the joint efforts between the federal and local government to support research of pre-Hispanic civilizations and to promote the cultural identity of the State of Guerrero and the country of Mexico as a whole,” said Rodolfo Elizondo, Secretary of Tourism for Mexico. “This is a great opportunity to attract tourism in this part of Mexico. The State of Guerrero has an enormous amount of cultural and historic wealth.”

The archeological zone of Tehuacalco is located in Chilpancingo in the southern region of the state called El Yopitzingo, where the Yope civilization once resided. Believed to be a ceremonial center, the name Tehuacalco has three different meanings in the ancient Nahuatl tongue: a place of the stone box, place of the priests’ houses and place of the sacred water house.

Acapulco continues to diversify itself from other tourist destinations throughout Mexico by going beyond the sun and sand to offer travelers an opportunity to experience the culture of the destination and its surrounding region. Serving as a central point along the Jaguar Route, a new tourism adventure that highlights the history and attractions of the state of Guerrero, Acapulco’s location enables visitors to the destination to experience Guerrero’s rich history and culture without the inconvenience of long and arduous travel times.

Also announced by Governor Torreblanca at the opening of Tehuacalco were plans to open Cerro del Huixteco, an eco-tourism park in Taxco, in 2009 as well as another archeological site currently under research in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo called La Soledad de Maciel.

The pre-Hispanic settlement of Tehuacalco is the most recent addition to the many cultural offerings accessible to visitors of Acapulco. Additional offerings include the San Diego Fort, Archeological Zone of Palma Sola (petroglyphics), Diego Rivera’s Wall and The Mask Musuem within the city of Acapulco, as well as the easy day trip to Taxco de Alarcon, where visitors can purchase silver crafts and more.

A magical combination of incredible beauty and hypnotic charm, Acapulco is Mexico’s largest and most dazzling seaside resort attracting over 5 million visitors annually. Acapulco is exotic yet easily accessible via direct or convenient connections via all major airline carriers from gateway cities across the U.S. For more information about Acapulco, visit http://www.visitacapulco.com.mx.

Acapulco Tourism Alive and Well
Posted: 13 May 2009 01:52 PM PDT
By MP Mexico News Staff

Acapulco Infrastructure Fully Operational Following Impact of A (H1N1) Virus

Acapulco, Mexico (May 13, 2009) - The Acapulco Destination Marketing office announced that the destination’s tourism infrastructure including hotels, restaurants, discotheques and bars are fully operational with complete visitor services available. Businesses in Acapulco like those in cities across the globe were faced with temporary closures when the A (H1N1) spread internationally.

Swift planning by Manuel Anorve Banos, Mayor of Acapulco in cooperation with Ernesto Rodriguez Escalona, Secretary of Tourism for the state of Guerrero benefitted the city’s residents and visitors when multiple preventative measures were immediately implemented throughout the destination to avoid spread of A (H1N1). These initiatives included enhanced health and hygiene practices, the establishment of on-site medical centers in hotels and other places of business, and the cancellation of previously planned public gatherings and events.

“While all of Mexico works to recover from the economic effects of A (H1N1), Acapulco remains vigilant in taking proactive steps to safeguard our citizens and guests against the A (H1N1) virus,” said President of the Acapulco Destination Marketing Office, Mary Bertha Medina. “Tourism is of primary importance to us and we are solely dedicated to the comfort and wellbeing of our visitors.”

Health experts and respected news authorities are now reporting a possible overreaction to the risks associated with the A (H1N1) virus. In a clarifying and reassuring statement, the New York Times reported on May 4 “While the disease has continued to spread across the United States and around the world, it is far less deadly than initially feared. And in Mexico, where the outbreak apparently had its origins, new cases have begun to ebb.”

Nonetheless, the World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control suggest the following simple precautionary steps to protect against A (H1N1):

· Cover your nose and mouth when sneezing or coughing and throw away disposable tissues after using them
· Wash your hands frequently with soap and water, especially after sneezing and coughing. Alcohol-based antibacterial soaps are very effective
· Avoid contact with people who have respiratory infections or who are contaminated with the virus
· If you get sick, the CDC recommends that you stay home and not go to school or work and avoid contact with other people to avoid spreading the virus
· Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth

These guidelines are also being communicated in customs, immigration points and are being distributed to all travelers through airlines, tour operators, hotels and travel agencies worldwide.

A magical combination of incredible beauty and hypnotic charm, Acapulco is Mexico’s largest and most dazzling seaside resort attracting over five million visitors annually. Acapulco is exotic yet easily accessible via direct or convenient connections via all major airline carriers from gateway cities across the U.S. For more information about Acapulco, visit www.visiteacapulco.com.

November 30, 2008
Zihuatenejo was both a pleasure and a disappointment. We had heard so much about this small, Mexican city and were anxious to spend some time here. From the water the town is very pretty with palm treed beaches and a large, calm anchorage. Ashore the beach restaurants and bars are pleasant, the clubs and restaurants in town were lively, and the entire city is geared towards tourists from all over the world. It is a walking city with small streets and alleys, a large mercado centro, and many small stores selling t-shirts and souvenirs. We had one memorable dinner when we found an old restaurant that specialized in “pozole” the spicy Mexican soup that is the specialty of the state of Guererro. We dined in upper 80s temperatures ( 10 PM ) eating soup that definitely had some kick. Crazy, but the complimentary Mezcal served with every dinner was a help. Late beers at the Sunset Bar on the beach also helped. We sat on the beach under a thatched roof watching our boat float calmly just 200 yards away. We could have swum home.

The disappointment in Zihua was the quality of the water in the bay. This was the worst water we had seen in our travels and, despite the constant temperatures in the 90s, we were unable to swim in the area. The bottom of our boat grew foul with marine life (or death), and although we enjoyed our time ashore we were uncomfortably warm with little hope of cooling off even on the boat. We elected to cut a few days off of our stay in Zuhua for the next leg of our sea passage where the ocean breezes would be a welcome change from the sweltering heat in the bay.

We had almost decided to bypass Acapulco (24 hours from Zihua) in favor of sailing all the way to Puerto Angel (another 40 hours south). Normally we like to limit overnights to one at a time, but we had heard many bad things about Acapulco from crime to dirty water to lack of anchorage or mooring space, but we had two good reasons for stopping and we thought we would make the decision when we approached Acapulco .

Our two reasons for stopping were (1) I had seen the cliff divers of Acapulco years ago on Wide World of Sports, and I really did want to see them live and (2) way back in 1945 Andrea’s parents had taken a delayed honeymoon trip (delayed by WWII) driving from Minneapolis to Acapulco. Driving from Minneapolis to Acapulco would be enough of an adventure now with highways, regular gas stations, etc., but we think it must have been a true odyssey in 1945 with limited roads, hard to find fuel, and a population that had not been exposed to the English language via TV and music. We had talked about this trip before and of course we had talked about Acapulco .

We approached Acapulco at 9 AM after a day of sailing and a long, dark night of motoring with just the stars. There are no other boats out here, no moon and, alas, no wind. We decided to pass on Acapulco and continue on to Puerto Angel thinking “we are young, we are fresh, why not?” when a quick check of our fuel tanks showed that without better wind we would either run out of gas or it would take us several days to sail the entire distance. Great decision. We loved the Acapulco stop as you will see.

We managed to get a mooring at the famous Acapulco Yacht Club and after a swim in the club pool, pina coladas at the club bar, and showers at the club spa (our first hot showers in over 3 weeks) we felt human again, This is a first class yacht club and they took good care of some second class boaters. Then it was off to walk the malecon and find the cliff divers. Acapulco is a huge city and it shows in the streets, the traffic, the air pollution, and the crowds so the long walk in the city heat was not a highlight. But we did find the cliff divers and for $3 each we got a place on the observation deck some 70 feet above the water and some 60 feet below the divers. The jagged cliffs are separated form the observation deck by a 20 foot wide arm of the ocean that surges with each incoming wave. The divers, 5 of them, entered the water on our side of the cove swam across to the cliffs, and then started climbing the rocks straight up. Just the climbing of the rocks was breathtaking. Barefooted, wet, wearing only bathing suits these guys climbed straight up the 140 foot cliffs Just watching them climb, knowing that the only fall would be onto the rocks, not into the water was scary. As cliff climbers they would have been worth the price of admission, no diving necessary.

But dive they did. Huge arcing swan dives out over the rocks and into the narrow slot of water at the bottom. They timed the dives from the top so that they hit the water when the waves surged into the cove. This seemed to require that they make their leap at exactly the wrong time, when the wave had surged out of the cove leaving little water behind. Fantastic. I don’t think I can adequately describe how high above the water the cliff divers were. We were on an observation platform halfway down the cliffs and I could feel the vertigo there. The divers perched on narrow rocks, wind blowing, looking at the ocean surge, and then leaping out and down were twice as high as we were. Muy loco Mexicans is the only way to describe these daredevils. Muy loco.

The Acapulco bus ride: We have traveled by bus frequently in Mexico . We take the buses everywhere and have seen La Paz ,, Mazatlan , La Cruz, Puerto Vallarta , Manzanillo, and many other smaller towns via bus. We have had varying experiences. Some towns have small, crowded buses, some have modern air conditioned buses, most have buses with badly worn seats and shock absorbers, and the buses in Manzanillo were somehow built without any shock absorbers. We even had the memorable “suicide bus” in Manzanillo where we got a crazy guy at the wheel who apparently got to go home as soon as he could finish his route (he was fast, cut people off, drove up the sidewalks, and grazed at least one road divider). But Acapulco has our best bus memory.

We were walking back to the Club de Yates and looking for a bus for the two mile trip. We found a bus pulled up outside a small liquor store and asked the guy sitting in the driver’s seat in fractured Spanish if the Yacht Club was on his route. No luck. “Club de Yah-tays” apparently needs to be pronounced “Cloob de Yah-tays” for anyone to understand. Go figure. But from behind us a voice said “Si, this bus is for the Yah-tes”. So we get on . No one else is on the bus except the guy who couldn’t understand my question. We pay him our $.70 and sit down. A few minutes later the fellow who told us the bus went to the Yacht Club climbs on board with two quarts of beer in his hand. He proceeds to sit in the first passenger seat, gives the other guy a large cup of beer, and starts drinking. He is the driver. His friend he makes the designated driver and indicates he can take the bus. The regular driver is in the passenger seat, drinking from the bottle, the new driver having trouble shifting the bus is drinking beer from his own cup, and both of them offer us some of their beer. We are the only passengers. And awa-y-y-y we go. Apparently this is a non-stop. We pick up no one else. We wander down the road towards home. We wonder. Where are we going. The guy driving the bus does not know where the Yacht Club is, but his passenger directs him. At the Yacht Club the bus drops us off at its only stop, says goodnight, makes a u-turn, and heads back the way we came (maybe back to the liquor store). Whether we stole the bus or just had a private ride we don’t know. We do know that we were in stitches the whole way.

Finally the last Acapulco thought: This is a city and not the prettiest sight during the day, but back at the Club we could see all of Acapulco across the bay. The town sparkled. To say it was diamonds in the night is not enough. You couldn’t have decorated someplace as beautifully as this. Several hills had lights sparkling throughout. No clusters of lights like we have at home from the auto dealers were apparent. Everything looked like you’d want your Christmas tree to look. Incredibly beautiful and incredibly romantic, we sat on the boat for hours looking at the lights before bed. We had a great visit to Acapulco and now we are ready for the long sail to Puerto Angel.

Acapulco is back. In the 1980s and ’90s, many travelers had written off the “Pearl of the Pacific” as a tacky vestige of Love Boat-era excess and Spring Break hedonism. But after a billion-dollar makeover and an influx of investors, Acapulco is enjoying a second life as an upscale retreat for savvy Mexican and international tourists.

Now visitors can skip the cheap souvenir shops and Hooters mentality of the old tourist strip and head south to the classy high-rise condos and secluded resorts of Diamond Point. Trendy hotels and inspiring new restaurants have cropped up to replace the run-down resorts that had long outlived their heyday in the 1950s and ’60s. At a handful of exclusive nightclubs, you’re more likely to run into Bono than Captain Stubing.

What hasn’t changed is Acapulco’s stunning natural beauty. Its sparkling, crescent bay rising sharply to palm-covered mountains is still one of the best places in Mexico to watch a sunset and enjoy the perfect beach weather.

The iconic image of Acapulco is of a lone cliff diver leaping off a rocky precipice into a perfectly timed wave. The famous cliff-divers of La Quebrada still do their thing every day starting at 12:30 p.m., diving a magnificent 130 feet into the shallow pool below. They return at night, this time carrying flaming torches.

The dives are the biggest attraction in town, so get there early, or grab a seat at the El Mirador hotel, from where you will have spectacular unobstructed views to get great pictures. The divers free-climb the rocks before they jump into the water below. Seeing these athletes effortlessly move up the face of the cliff is a show in itself. Before the jumps, which ocurr from several different heights, with two divers jumping from the very top, these daredevils pray at a small altar at the top of the cliff. Admission to the viewing area is only a few dollars, and for an additional fee, you can sit at El Mirador and enjoy two drinks. After the diving performance, which lasts around 30 minutes, you will be able to meet the divers at the El Mirador entrance. Be sure to tip these fearless -- and very young -- divers.

The Acapulco Bay region has many different beaches to choose from. The most popular swimming beaches for locals are Caleta and Caletilla beaches at the entrance to the bay. Another swimmer’s favorite is the Puerto Marqués beach in the Puerto Marqués Bay, where clean, calm waters are perfect for snorkeling, jet skiing and other water sports.

Snorkeling gear can be rented almost everywhere, and Divers de México and the Acapulco Scuba Center both provide scuba equipment and guided trips. There’s waterskiing at Caletilla beach and Puerto Marqués. Parasailing and jet skiing are offered everywhere, and now there’s even beginner’s skydiving through a company called Skydive Acapulco.

Another popular family activity is swimming with the dolphins. The CiCi Waterpark is a huge water amusement park with a wave pool, tons of water slides and a well-known “swim with the dolphins” program. The Parque Papagayo is a fun family activity center adjoining the Hornos and Hornitos beaches. You can rent boats and roller-skate during the day, and at night there are inexpensive carnival rides for the kids.

One of the most popular Acapulco pastimes is deep-sea fishing, for which the waters around the bay are legendary. If you’re lucky, you can come back with black or blue marlin, sailfish, mahi-mahi, yellow fin tuna, and even several species of shark. Trips run between $200 and $300 for six hours, and you’ll need all six since a good-sized marlin can fight for five hours or more.

Avid golfers can enjoy scenic fairways at several professional-quality local golf courses. The Acapulco Princess and Fairmont Pierre Marqués hotels each have their own courses, plus the Mayan Palace Golf Club and the less expensive Club de Golf Acapulco. For a more exclusive experience, try to negotiate a tee time at the ocean-hugging Tres Vidas Golf Club, only open to members and their guests.

Legend has it that the first disco was born in Acapulco. Whether or not that’s true, Acapulco’s always been a party town, ever since the first Hollywood stars washed ashore in the 1940s. You don’t have to look hard to find enough music, drinking and dancing to last all night and well into the morning.

If you like a little culture with your cocktails, check out the Gran Noche Mexicana, a big party thrown three times a week outside of the Convention Center. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday you pay a flat cover charge to eat dinner, patronize the open bar and enjoy a lively ballet folklórico performance.

Three of the hottest nightclubs right now are Classico del Mar Deck & Disco Boutique, the huge techno club Palladium, and Baby’O, an Acapulco institution (30 years and counting) and still one of the hardest doors to get into, unless you’re Madonna.

For a more laid-back party vibe, go to just about any of the major hotels and check out their beachside bars. Most of them go all night and include DJs and even live bands on the weekends.

capulco isn’t really known for shopping, unless you’re an avid collector of sexually suggestive T-shirts and/or shot glasses. There are some nice silver shops and a handful of art galleries in Acapulco, but people generally don’t come here for Mexican handicrafts, which are in abundance and of a higher quality elsewhere in the country. However, you can head to the Mercado de Artesanías near the zócalo to find a selection of local crafts.

aying Acapulco has perfect weather is almost an understatement. Year-round, this legendary coastal city in the state of Guerrero is blessed with beach-friendly tropical temperatures. The rainy season with brief, tropical rains is May through September, and the winters are dry and sunny. Excellent climate awaits you every month of the year.

Best time to go: October and November (high 90°, low 73°)

Average annual temperature: 80 degrees

Hottest months: June, July, August

Coolest months: January, February, March

I believe this is gay owned:

http://www.casadelsol-acapulco.com/index.php