The Old Town
We walked back to the promenade and continued walking towards the Old Town. We had been promised at the friendly restaurant that over the bridge and in the Old Town that prices would be 30/40% cheaper than along the Malacon. The next couple of blocks were apartments and upscale hotels. The gardens at the front of these places had walls and fences right down onto the promenade. Then came the Old Town proper with souvenir shops, bars, restaurants and stalls. We chatted to some fellow passengers and decided that we really didn’t need to bother with any of the shops.
To our right down the side streets we could see the beach and the sea. The streets had high rise apartments on both sides.
After walking along the side of the beach we returned to the promenade and started our walk back towards the bridge and the Malecon.
At the bridge I watched a fisherman below us on the beach collect his catch before moving on.
There must be fish around as there were pelicans flying around and diving into the sea.
Back on the Malecon
After the bridge the next bars were all offering beer at $1 a bottle.
A good offer not to be missed. We sat outside in the sun and rested our feet.
We were approached for the opportunity to buy a time-share as we left the bar. But just as everywhere else this all done with good nature with jokes and lots of laughter after our polite refusal.
Walking along the Malecon we had some great views and past more sculptures.
I turned and looked up the one-way street and there was a convoy of Ford F100 pickup trucks coming towards us. The guys in the trucks all were wearing balaclava headgear and sun glasses that completely masked their faces. They were all carrying automatic weapons and were scanning the crowds as they passed. The lead pickup had a large calibre machine gun mounted on top of the cab and the soldier wagged his finger at me as I lifted my camera up to take more pictures. I decided that another image wasn’t worth it.
Lunch on the Malecon
By the time we had walked back down the Malacon and reached the friendly bar it was time for lunch. Two beers and large plate of nachos with extra beef was the order of the day. The bar was now humming with customers as the barkers had clearly done their job and filled the tables.
As we ate a cheer went up as a lady passed wearing an interesting T-shirt. It had a clear message for Trump supporters.
Our friendly barker suggested that we all should be giving her $5 each for allowing us to take her picture. Where we sat we had a great view of the statue of the Mexican mother and her children.
After lunch we walked slowly back to Diamonds International.
Once at Diamonds International we negotiated the fare for a cab to take us back to the ship. The taxi left the Malecon and went away from the beach to join a one-way street going away from the Old Town. Traffic was very heavy on the street. As the driver swapped lanes and had to keep stopping I noticed some great looking street art on the buildings as we passed.
Then I remembered the very firm advice from our Californian friends to stay in the tourist areas only so I didn’t ask the driver to stop. The one-way street eventually merged back into the divided highway and we were soon back passing hotels and bars in the tourist areas again.