Our morning departure from the ship brings us into the relatively new resort town of Huatulco. Located where the foothills of the Sierra Madre del Sur mountains meet the Pacific Ocean, Huatulco had been established in 1969 soon after the International highway was built in the region. Currently, about 80% of all tourists are domestic due to limited access by air. We don't have to worry about that as we tumble off the ship and straight into the waiting buses.
As we depart the port, I notice that there are a number of multi-storey buildings, hotels or apartments, which are half-built and abandoned and I wonder whether the lack of international tourism is responsible for these unfinished resorts. 
Despite what the itinerary says, our first stop is in the neat town of La Crucecita, one of the two towns that comprise the Huatulco area. We visit the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe located in front of the main square. As we enter, the first thing that I notice is the huge, ceiling-length painting of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Her form is surrounded by a twilight-blue painted sky on which stars are featured. Together with the Christmas decorations still adorning the interior of the church, I am uplifted by the local artwork and dedication to the Virgin of Guadalupe. 
From this point of beauty we walk through the square to a local handcraft factory where members of one family are processing local wool. There are a variety of items for sale but I am more interested in the people spinning and weaving. 
We all know that cochineal is the red colour that is used to dye various fabrics and even icing for cakes. I must admit that, up until today, I have never considered the origin of cochineal. A large cactus leaf hanging from a string is paraded around for all of us to see. Little white bits of algae or scale make a dotted pattern on the fleshy green pad. Picking a couple of the white specks off the leaf our host pokes his fingernail into the centre of the speck and drags his finger through it, squishing and dragging it across the palm of his hand. The red streak left behind looks like blood, but it is, in fact, the pulverised body of an insect and the source of the common red dye. I suddenly have the feeling that the product we call cochineal may be an imitation food colouring because I would imagine that a lot of insects would be required to provide the tiniest drop of dye. 
Given some time to wander around the almost empty streets of La Crececita, we talk to a linen seller who is wandering the streets, a variety of linen placemats, crocheted items and handmade toys are arranged on her arms and fingers. Without a word of English and with a Spanish phrasebook at hand, we not only manage to buy some placemats, but also get permission to take some photos of this delightful lady. Instead of purchasing goods from contrived and controlled premises, the interaction with the local sellers not only helps them supplement their meagre income, but provides meaningful interaction with the locals on a one-to-one basis. Certainly each time providing real value to our travels. A magnet can be bought on any street corner without much thought or interaction, but a genuine handcrafted item provides a different level of mutual understanding. It does for me.
Our next stop after leaving the beautiful town of La Crucecita is a headland. The viewing area is adorned with huge letters making the word Huatulco. I cannot quite squeeze the entire word in the frame of my photo without stepping on the road, but perhaps I should be more focused on the magnificent view of the coastline. From this vantage point, although there are some buildings poking through the trees, we have a magnificent panorama of native bush that reaches the white sandy shores. I think that the wild beauty of this place should be preserved. But for how long can this hidden gem remain hidden from the masses?

The Bocano Copalita Eco-Archaeological Park is approximately ten kilometres from Huatulco. Discovered in 1996 beneath the dense forest vegetation, the site was probably settled around 500 BCE by groups from the Mexican Gulf. It is believed that several indigenous groups lived in the settlement over time until it was abandoned in the 1520s around the time of the Spanish Conquest. This thirty-hectare town sustained a population of approximately 2,000 people and possessed a writing system, a calendar and the ability to track astronomical activity, and complex political, socioeconomic, and religious organisations.
This forms part of the larger eighty-hectare low deciduous jungle that includes approximately 700 species of plants, 300 bird and 80 mammal species, and 75 species of reptile. Eduardo is quite knowledgeable about the local flora and points out a number of plants with healing and poisonous properties, specifically those that were probably used for more than 2,000 years by the local people. 
Serpents were revered creatures by the Mixtec people and the serpent is depicted on the temple we visit. According to Eduardo, only a small part of the town has been excavated and scientists believe that many more temples and dwellings are yet to be uncovered. Like most ancient Mexican towns, a ball court is included in the ruins. Eduardo is quick to advise that unlike the life-and-death games played in other parts of Mexico, the ball game played here was one of skill only. I'm not sure how they know this. Perhaps there is evidence in the cemeteries. It's easy to see that there is much left to excavate here and I'm happy that there are no visible reconstructions as we've seen in other ruins during a previous visit to Mexico.
A small museum houses many stone carvings found on the site. These are especially interesting as they have been found virtually beneath our feet and they are in wonderful condition; a result of being covered for so many centuries.
The ruins and the history of the Mexican people is fascinating to me and if this is a relatively new discovery, I do wonder how many more of these ruins are lying beneath the surface or hidden in dense jungle. I am amazed today, as I had been in 2006 during a previous visit to Mexico, is that despite the size of the country and the number of Mayan/Aztec/Mixtec/Zapotec ruins found to date, the architecture is fundamentally the same. Does this mean that these people had town-planning standards, which had to be applied across the country? Just pondering!

We have time, after we return to Huatulco, to explore the resort town a little. The pungent aroma of freshly-ground coffee attracts us to a cafe located in the centre of the park. Here in a covered gazebo we watch a blackbird hopping between the branches of a fig tree; its aerial roots anchored into the ground below. As we approach the ship, we are attracted to a beachside bar, where we sit and watch those partaking in water sports, such as paddle-boarding and scuba-diving in the water. This is truly a beautiful and relatively untouched part of Mexico and I appreciate the low-key atmosphere of this place. A walk along the beach reveals many new and a few abandoned resorts. It's relatively undeveloped, but I'm sure this will not last. 
As the afternoon turns to evening, we pull up anchor and, escorted by naval patrol boats, make our way out of the heads and toward deeper water as we continue our way in a southerly direction.