R. Doug Wicker — Author

It’s Mexican Riviera Week here at RDougWicker.com.  Monday we visited Acapulco.  Wednesday we strolled the fish markets of Ixtapa and stood in awe of the majestic Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Puerto Vallarta’s old town section.

Today we visit Cabo San Lucas.  Cabo is Ursula’s and my favorite Mexican destination.  This incredible, enchanting place is located at the southernmost end of the Baja California Peninsula.  It’s a bit more modern than the old section of Puerto Vallarta, and light-years beyond the traditional fishing village of Ixtapa, but it has a charm that transcends the ubiquitous mega-resorts populating the Mexican coasts.  Shopping is fun without the super high-pressure sales tactics of other resort areas (it’s just high-pressure here; not super high).  Dining is exquisite, with countless venues from which to choose.  By the way, that 90-foot lighthouse “landmark” you see tourists fawning over and framing in their viewfinders?  It’s a fake.  Inside is the No Worry’s (sic) Beach Club (a bar and grill), and at the very top is a solitary table for VIPs and the well-heeled.  Even so, go ahead and snap away.  Everyone else does.

And then there’s the breathtaking beauty of the Land’s End coastline and the Arch of Cabo San Lucas.  Take a water taxi or sightseeing boat out to the very tip of Baja and snap away at the sheer cliffs and the seals resting upon the rocks.  If you’re a bit more adventurous, rent a kayak and muscle your way out there through the surf.

Enjoy the views, then book a trip:

On Monday we visited pre-drug war Acapulco aboard the Norwegian Star back in December of 2006.  Today we move on to Ixtapa and Puerto Vallarta.  These areas are much safer than our last destination, and I still feel perfectly safe strolling around even at night.

Zihuatanejo is a quaint little village situated right next door to the Ixtapa.  Together they are often referred to as Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, but I prefer to separate the two as they represent entirely different cultures—the sleepy little fishing village versus the more recent mega-resort.  As you can see from the pictures below, I trend toward the traditional over the contemporary when it comes to Mexico.

The same applies for Puerto Vallarta.  A mega-resort area has sprung up (or sprawled out, depending on your point of view) to the north of the old city center.  Skip that area and head on into town.  Enjoy the statuary.  Chow down on fresh seafood from a second-floor restaurant overlooking the streets below.  Sip a cold one at one of the many colorful bars vying for your business.

Whatever you choose to do, don’t miss the Parish Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  It’s a photographic gem.  Indeed, this is a great subject upon which to try your hand at black and white photography.  But take your pictures in color and post-process for filtered black and white.  You’ll get much better results that way.

Remember back when travel in Mexico was both fun and safe?  Yeah . . . neither do I.  Thanks a lot, War On Drugs.  Didn’t we try this “Prohibition” thing back in the 1920s?

On my January 25, 2012, blog I showed you what a cruise ship looks like without a 230-foot (70-meter) gash down the side with a big boulder protruding from it.  That blog was about NCL’s Norwegian Star, a really great ship.  The photographs in that blog were taken on a cruise Ursula and I took to the Mexican Riviera back in December of 2006.

All this week I’ll be showing photos taken during that excursion.  Today’s shots are of Acapulco.  Acapulco was the place to go for the Hollywood elite back in the 1950s and ’60s.  Elvis Presley even filmed a movie there back in 1963—Fun in Acapulco.  And, of course, that film had our hero joining the famous La Quebrada Cliff Divers.

Today, Acapulco is a bit more famous for gunfights, kidnappings, and headless bodies being dumped near shopping centers.

Gee, what a difference a little over five years make: