As the Tehantepec wind blew itself out by 11 pm last night, I could get a good night’s sleep before facing the next challenge of getting into Puerto Chiapas or not. All depending on the swell that might run, or not run, into the harbor entrance. The swell in this area is hard to predict due to the proximity of the tehantepec and it’s out flowing wind, which can really disturb the regular wave patterns. It did so this morning as well but for all the good reasons. The long pacific ocean swell was nowhere to be seen and we only saw the occasional breaker thrashing against the piers sticking into the sea but nothing on the inside of the fairway and thus we had nothing to worry about. Our pilot had made it in time to the pilot station, coming all the way from his mango farm in the interior and hopped on board all excited about the weather. He was also happy that next year there would be 33 cruise ship calls instead of the 19 of this year. More money in the pocket and less having to rely on a good mango crop.
The Statendam is reducing its number of calls, as we are doing two one month cruises to the South Pacific. This means that for this year our final call will be on December 27, and for next year we will not return until March. First there is dry- dock in Jan 2013 followed by the 2nd one month cruise. Then by the end of 2013 we are scheduled for up/down the South America coast for one cruise and that will mean one call less as well. But other cruise ships will be calling and hence the increase in total calls.
A nice and quiet day in Puerto Chiapas. Just a little swell is running against the inner breakwater. We had even less. (Stock photo from internet)
So we sailed without much issue into the port and swung around for docking portside at the cruise terminal. We were greeted with a blast of Mexican disco music and with the pilot announcing that the restaurant/bar under the bridge wing had been taken over by a National chain and now things would be a lot better. I certainly doubted that, as the loud music and the selection of the music, ensured that none of our guests would venture near to it. That proved right during the day and the pool area was only frequented by the ship’s crew, and some of the restaurant tables by a lot of young local girls. I told the pilot that playing the “Tennessee waltz” upon arrival or maybe Elvis Presley would have more of an impact on Statendam guests and he promised to pass it on.
Just before departure I saw him coming out of the restaurant but the music had not been changed, but upgraded to what I describe as “Barbed Wire Music”. Even the crew had disappeared only the young girls where still there. Whether they were making a positive impact on the balance sheet remains doubtful.
On the other side of the bay, where the local fisherman village is located, construction was in progress as well. A pier was being built out from the beach to the edge of the deep water basin. The plan is to construct some sort of Marina there for visiting yachts. It will create work and revenue for the local village and should put an end to the wild parking of yachts all over the port. I have not seen many problems with yachts here in the past but according to the pilot it is an issue during the summer season. The contractor has promised to stay outside the line of buoys marking the edge of the turning basin and they better do so, as the basin is just large enough to fit ships of our Vista Class or the Norwegian Jewel. For the Statendam it is less of an issue as we are a lot shorter than those guys.
We had a very warm and nearly windless day in the port which meant that it must have been a challenge for those on tour, to cope with the heat. I stayed happily inside, working my way through a pile of paperwork and emails, as it is the end of the month again. Some stuff to go to the office, some stuff to be saved for future reference and a lot of stuff in the electronic pedal bin, called the delete button.
We sailed at 17.00 out of the port, and then set sail for Puerto Quetzal, just over the border. I will be at the pilot station at 04.00 with a 05.00 docking. We are at the cruise terminal and I have been ordered to dock starboard side alongside. The lifeboat committee wants to test the portside davits and boats and thus I had better comply. The weather should be the same as today, with maybe a little chance of a shower in the late afternoon.
Yesterday night we had Halloween on board. Attached some photos from the proceedings. Some of the crew dressed up, maybe not scary, but certainly original.
Entrance to the diningroom.
The Halloween ball in the Showroom at Sea.
Scary Bar Steward.
Some of the crew made a real effort in dressing up, although not necessarily in scary way. A couple as Ketchup & Mustard; and Hugh Hefner & a Bunny.
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