We had an early excursion this morning, so we had breakfast at the buffet on the Lido deck. The ship docked in Huatulco while we ate.

We met our guide at 9:15 on the dock. He led us along the small, pretty harbor to the main street where we got onto an old covered flatbed truck with benches. We had a drive of about 45 minutes stopping at a couple viewpoints and passing new resorts. It was hilly along the shore with several inlets and lots of trees.

We reached our destination which was a dirt road turnoff with an outdoor cafe. We were alongside the Copalita river. Our river guides met us there and handed out our life vests and oars. Seven of us plus guide Juan got into one river raft while six others plus Jose got into another one. There were other groups there, too, so the embarcation point was crowded.

The river was shallow and moved slowly except where we met minor rapids where it sped up. The water was very warm. That was important because we had some good-natured splashing between our boat and others. We got hung up on most of the rapids and Juan had to jump out and get us moving again. A lot of the time we were floating backwards or sideways. At the end of the float, we were able to slip out of the boat and float on the river. I was glad that I had on my new spring break bathing suit. Juan's tip was a little wet.

This excursion was my favorite. We got some real exercise and we had tons of fun. As a bonus, we enjoyed the beauty of the natural landscape.

When we got back to town, we made a beeline to the ship where we showered and ate lunch on the Lido deck.

Ann decided to go to an Easter interdenominational service. I decided to walk back into town to take some photos. Because I didn't take any photos of our river float, I felt obligated.

Huatulco used to be a haven for pirates. Today it is strictly a tourist town. It is surrounded by a small harbor and beach on one side and forested hills on the other sides. I walked along the beach and the harbor. There were lots of outdoor restaurants along the beach. Hotels and shops were alongside the harbor. It was hot so there were lots of people on the beach.

Back on the ship, we went to happy hour and then to dinner. Ann had lamb while I had cod. We then walked a mile on the Promenade deck. The nightly entertainment didn't interest us.

This is how we got there: