Destination Manzanillo



Manzanillo Plaza

Boys will be Boys - Manzanillo Plaza

Busy Streets of Manzanillo

Side Streets of Manzanillo

Leonard at the Mercado

Manzanillo Mercado

After traveling 3,400 nautical miles or 3,912.6 statute miles aboard Got D’ Fever, we reached our southern most destination of Manzanillo and celebrated over dinner at a dock-side cafe at the marina.  We rode the bus into town the following day to see the vibrant city of Manzanillo.  Our adventure began with a bus ride from the marina to the town of Las Hadas – the bus bumped along the narrow stone streets, winding along the cliffs above the marina before reaching town.  The road was so crooked and narrow, that the bus had to stop several times to let traffic from the opposite direction squeeze by; we have yet to see any guardrails in Mexico!  From Las Hadas we took another bus into Manzanillo which passed by the city’s busy commercial port – one of the largest ports for container and cargo ships in Mexico.  It was here that Spain established a trade route in 1527 with China and India via the international port city of Manila in the Philippines.  Spanish ships running the Manila trade route were prime targets for pirates looking to prey on the treasure-filled galleons.  Today, the waterfront includes the commercial port and the town plaza filled with park benches, fountains, and a huge sculptured sailfish monument, the plaza’s center attraction.  From the plaza we explored the inner streets of town, stopping at the Mercado, a two-story structure filled with meats, cheeses, seafood, and colorful fresh produce, similar to the market in Mazatlan.  Several cafes located around the perimeter of the second floor overlook the market stalls below.  For lunch, we stopped at the historic Colonial Hotel, built in the 1940’s by a prominent businessman of the day, Don Pancho Moreno.  Moreno owned two sawmills, founded the Yarn Factory El Tigre, and exported bananas, coconuts, fruit, and corn.  In 1935 he built the first brick and concrete buildings at the port for a total expenditure of 50,000 dollars.  In 1940 he envisioned building a quality tourist hotel and requested a bank loan in the huge sum of 750,000 pesos.  Gates, furniture, doors, and beams were carved from cedar and mahogany by skilled cabinetmakers; Talavera hand-painted tiles came from Puebla; and baked brick came from Guadalajara by train.  On May 4, 1942, the hotel opened with a lavish party including music from the Aguila Sisters of Guadalajara, known as “the best duet in America.”  Don Moreno died on December 30, 1957 and is remembered as a visionary and recorded as an “Old Person of Manzanillo.”



The Colonial Hotel

Beautiful Woodwork - Colonial Hotel

A Great Lunch Venue - Colonial Hotel