Cabo San Lucas

Hello from Cabo San Lucas! It is another beautiful day.

Most of the time when I come to Cabo, I go snorkeling. While the snorkel by zodiac raft is the best of all the snorkel excursions (believe me, I’ve done them all several times over), for the first time ever here I decided to go with a non-snorkel tour.

I cleared it with hubby last night. He felt comfortable enough on the ship with me going off and doing my own thing. So I did.

Whale watching it was. I’ve enjoyed whale watching in Alaska year after year and in Hawaii as well. But I do have to say, today beat them all. When you are partaking in a rum punch before 9:30 am as you pass by El Arco the day can only get better.

And by choosing to sit downstairs by the large open windows, you can avoid the 100+ other people piled on top of each other upstairs and not have to fight for a spot to see all the creatures.

Plenty of open windows and clear views.

Just hitching a ride.

Wait, me too!

The dolphins were nearby, too.

I could describe everything I saw in terms of whales, but I’ll just leave you with the pictures. You can add your own words. But boy, they sure make a big splash and a loud noise when breaching.

If this was the last port of our cruising year it would be a great way to go out. But we have one more of these cruises. Two more sea days to get us to San Francisco and then we’ll be starting this same itinerary all over again.

Life is flippin’ awesome.

Mazatlan, Mexico

Hello from beautiful Mazatlan, Mexico.

We’ve been here several times and sometimes I call it beautiful, sometimes I call it exhausting, and sometimes I call it just too stinkin’ hot. But today it is definitely beautiful.

Take a look forward.

And aft.

Off the starboard side of the ship. (Although in our case today, the starboard side is where the port is located.)

Out the port side of the ship. (Which is water, not port today.)

The port in Mazatlan is a working port. You cannot just head off the gangway and walk your way anywhere. You must take a shuttle (I call it a trolley) to get from the pier to the area away from the pier.

How close do you get to the containers? Like, really close.

There is shopping, a restaurant and bar, massages, and taxis and tours. You can even walk to town from that area using the blue line. The blue line is actually painted on the road to guide you to the safer touristy areas. If you want to venture farther for some sun and sand, head to the beach. Just a heads up – people can be aggressive in hawking their wares. You may need to tell them, many of them, no more than once.

But there is no better place to relax.

 Just be sure to watch the water conditions. Go in during a red flag day and you might get beat up by the surf. I learned my lesson years ago on that one.

What about a visit to the cliff divers? I could tell you some stories on how that works, but you’ll need to see it for yourself. It’s all about the money and not nearly as awesome as it sounds when you are being hassled for tips. I’ll just leave you with a picture instead of a run down our past negative experiences.

But today was about the crew. Some crew head off to the place that will provide them the kitchen (for a price, of course) and allow them to spice up their fish just like at home. Another spot is where you might find crew who are short on time. That’s where you would have found us today, with our "son" and his friend.

After getting off the trolley shuttle, take just a few short steps through the hallway and you’ll see this place.

The Green Bar is close enough for crew to stop in, grab some food and drink and sit for a visit, and then head back for duty. The drinks are strong and cheap. Food isn't bad either.

We ate, drank, and chatted the afternoon away. It was a good day. Off to Cabo tomorrow!