We headed out of Oaxaca back for Huatulco at 9am this morning. It was a much better drive than on the way here - we took the southern route on HWY 190 through Salina Cruz. This is the ONLY way to do this drive in a car. Don't do HWY 131 or HWY 175 - both are horrible roads. But HWY 190 - while still curvy is in much better shape and not nearly as long. The trip to Oaxaca took us 8 hours, and the return was only 6 and a half - and way less stressful.
Along the way we decided to stop for lunch at one of the small towns. We found a place that had menu signs out front and hopped out of the car. We sat down at the one table and the gal came out to wipe it down and was looking at us like we were obviously crazy. They took our drink order, brought water and pop, but we also ordered two beers that never showed up. And then.... nothing. We could hear them moving around in the kitchen, but they never came back to take our order. Locals were driving by, slowing down on the highway to stare at us. Ok, this is a tad uncomfortable. So finally Dave gets up, walks into the kitchen, and asks for the check (in Spanish of course). $38 pesos ($3 US dollars) for two waters and a pop. Not sure what we did wrong exactly. But the message was clear - you don't belong here. Ok, back in the car we go.
Onto Salina Cruz on the coast. Salina Cruz is a commercial port - not many tourists here either. But at least big enough that we could get served without causing a town stir. We stopped at a local joint and had sandwiches, tacos, and beer. Yum.
And a few hours later... we were back at the marina. Whew! Long trip!
When we returned there was an email from the manager at Paradise Village. You may recall the incident where the harbormaster hollered at Melissa. So two months later we finally get a response from the manager. We had blogged, filled out a customer satisfaction survey, emailed the manager, and completed a Trip Advisor review. You would think that might get a response sooner than 60 days later. The response appears to be a form letter. It says, "Please accept our sincere apologies for the inconveniences you may have experienced during your stay with us, I have reviewed your comments and observations with the Managers involved, to provide and improve customer satisfaction in all that we offer to our valued guests like you." Melissa emailed him back and said that she found is shocking that a marina like Paradise Village would tolerate Dick as this was clearly not a one time incident - this was consistent with his reputation. And that she found it less than satisfactory that Dick the harbormaster didn't send an apology himself.