Mexico 5: Acapulco

From Taxco, it takes around 3 hours to arrive to famous port city of Acapulco. Crossing the mountain ranges which is covered with a range of vegetation. From forest, to grasslands, to semi-arid areas, the landscapes kept changing. However, the busy route linking Mexico City to Acapulco used to be filled with bandits, where buses or cars were being stopped and passengers were often robbed or instructed to surrender their cash. The government had to clean up the area by enforcing stricter laws and employ more police to ensure the security of this important route.

Along the roads, rubbish could be seen almost everywhere. Even in the uninhabited areas, rubbish probably thrown by car passengers, was in great amounts.

The toll charges for vehicles traveling into the Acapulco area are fairly high.

This is the city of Acapulco, where the locals live. The famous beach is behind the hills where there a tunnel connecting the two parts of this city. This port city was founded by the Spanish who were trying to seek a possible route to link with China and Japan. However, the Spanish were distracted by the discovery of silver, natural resources and other great discoveries of the land. When they finally found the Pacific route to China and Japan, Acapulco being to prosper. Fees for transportation across the Pacific Ocean made the port rich. But the golden age of Acapulco ended when Mexico gain its independence. The locals destroyed most of Spanish constructions, including Acapulco, which later degraded to become a deserted village. It gained its famous again when Hollywood chose Acapulco to film their movie 'Rambo'. From then, Acapulco attracted many holidaymakers including Americans seeking for a beach getaway.

The beautiful beach of Acapulco.

Like tourist spots, the Acapulco Bay is filled with numerous apartments and hotels.

Apparently, Acapulco has many rich and famous people living here. This include famous tenor Pavorotti and other well-known Mexicans.

The hotels lying along the Acapulco Bay are expensive.

But the view from the hotel is great. Plus, the beach is only exclusive for the hotel guests only.

Although this might seem a getaway for relaxing, or for some shopping, its beach is not the ideal one which is covered with fine white sands.

The view is great, but not exactly a paradise beach. Instead it is more of an over-commercialized beach resort made famous because of Hollywood. In other words, overrated.