MEXICO TO GUATEMALA

  Left Acapulco, went to dinner.  Had two Spanish wines.  Here is the red Rioja.

Endive and arugula salad, followed by Caesar Salad and another New York Strip Steak.

Noticed in the background someone who looked like Irene Zane from 15 Craigside.

Went to see the Adda Band.  

Then to the theater for the Beatles.  They were great, and sort of looked like the originals.

Went back to watch the Adda Band.

Only walked 2936 steps today.

We're at sea, heading for Guatemala.  Lunch today of suckling pig, noodles and salad.

As you can see by the waves, rough day today.  Our first.

Mexico is officially the United Mexican States.

• Having 761,610 square miles, it is the world's 13th largest country.  The USA has 3.8 million square miles and is #5.
• With 130 million people, it is the 10th most populous and has more Spanish speakers than Spain.  
• Population was 13 million in 1900.
• 25.5 million Mexicans live outside the country, mostly (16 million) in the U.S.
• 37.2 million U.S. residents are identified as being of full or partial Mexican ancestry.
• 
  Human presence dates back to 8000 BC, evolving through 6 cradles of civilization:  Olmec Maya, Zapotec, Teotihuacan and Purepacha.  The Aztec Empire ruled from  1300 to 1521, when the Spanish came to conquer,
• Independence was attained in 1821,

• 
  But the USA gobbled up huge territories at the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848.
• The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ceded 55% of Mexico to the U.S.
• Included was California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Texas, most of Arizona and Colorado and parts of Oklahoma, Kansas and Wyoming.The Rio Grande was recognized as the southern boundary with the U.S.
• This was the USA in 1850.

• 
  That was not it, for there were domestic conflicts and French intervention.
• Finally the rise of Porfirio Diaz's dictatorship sparked the Mexican Revolution in 1910, but he was displaced by Francisco Madero in 1910, leading to the the 1917 Constitution.
  
• Has the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Americas.

• 
  The cuisine was established during Spanish colonial era.
• Is the 6th most-visited country with 42 million tourists.
• Is a founding member of the United Nations.
• 78% Roman Catholics.
• In 1968 chose to use nuclear technology only for peaceful purposes.  Has one nuclear powerplant.

• 
  Political conflicts/corruption and drug trafficking have stymied development, as just in the latter there have been 120,000 deaths, with another 37,000 missing.  More than 100 journalists and media workers have been killed since 2000, with few arrests.
• About sports.
• Hosted the XIX Summer Olympic Games in 1968.
• Hosted the 1970 and 1986 FIFA World Cup.  The 2026 Cup will be co-hosted by 16 cities in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.

• 
  While animal rights activists continue to fight, bullfighting remained popular, and almost all large cities have bullrings, with the 45,000 seat Plaza de toros Mexico in Mexico City the largest.

• 
  Energy production is managed by state-owned companies.
• 60 hydroelectric powerplants generate 12% of the country's electricity.
• Has the world's third-largest solar power production production.

• 
  The first female to lead the country is Claudia Sheinbaum, who attained the presidency this year in a landslide.  She is Jewish, and only 0.05% of the country is of that religion,

11 Fun Facts about Mexico.

• 
  Home to the second-largest coral reef in the world.
• There are 68 recognized languages.
• Mexico City has the second most number of museums in the world.
• Country has 35 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

• 
  The Universidad Nacioinal Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) is the largest university in Latin America:  360,000 students in 32 states, with a presence in 9 countries with 34 research institutes, 26 museums and 18 historic sites.
• #2 rank among Latin American universities in the QS World University Ranking.
• 12,532 full-time academic faculty.
• Brought chocolate to Europe.
• The Great Pyramid of Chokula is the largest pyramid by volume in the world.

• The Mexican flag symbolizes the legend of the eagle and cactus of the empire, where fable relates an eagle (reincarnation of god Huitlopochtli) devouring a snake perched on a cactus

• Three more.

Tomorrow, Quetzal, Guatemala.  Now you know how to correctly spell the country.

Super Hurricane Kristy is to our west, but heading away towards Hawaii.  While now at 155 MPH, Kristy will eventually weaken and dissipate.  If she turned east, our cruise ship would become a direct hit.  Whew!!!  No wonder the waves were high today.

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