Manzanillo, Mexico.

Yet another beautiful day in Mexico. Woke up late today, so managed to stay out of the midday sun. Had trouble choosing a blip, so may change but so far I'm happy with this one. Came back to the ship for a shower and a little rest, now heading out for dinner and drinks with some friends. Hope to find a nice restaurant but as ever in Mexico its gonna be pot luck. Fingers crossed. Got the night off tonight so may be quite a few drinks.

Manzanillo is the largest deep-water port on the western coast of Mexico, and one of major cultural and economic influences. It was first settled by the Spanish in 1522, and was used as a departure point for Spanish expeditions to Baja and northern Mexico. Due to the abundance of hard woods, Cortes established the first Latin American shipyard in 1531. In 1564, Miguel Lopez Legaspi set off on an expedition that eventually led to Spanish rule in the Philippines. Another expedition led to the discovery of ?Alta,? now known as California. As an important seaport, Manzanillo opened the first telegraph office on the Pacific Coast in 1869. By 1890, the train service made coast-to-coast travel possible, boosting the commercial significance of the port. Manzanillo grew as a tourist location in the early 1970s with the construction of Las Hadas on the Santiago Peninsula. The resort became famous when Dudley Moore and Bo Derek filmed the movie 10 on location. Manzanillo has now grown into one of Mexico?s largest Pacific coastal resorts. It is often regarded as the ?Sailfish Capital of the World,? and hosts major fishing tournaments in November and February, with prizes reaching thousands of dollars. Today Manzanillo handles around 500 vessels a year with major cruise ships mixing with cargo vessels of all kinds.