Cabo San Lucas Panama Canal 11

Wednesday Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

7 am, Safely Anchored in San Lucas Bay.

12 noon E Light breeze, clear skies, very smooth seas

(it didn’t feel like "smooth seas"
when we were trying to step from the ship to the tender),

79 degrees F. 

Up on Deck 6 since 6,

ostensibly to walk, 

                                                    but mainly took pictures of the sunrise

and fishing boats swarming around like flies.

Jerry said they waited for the boom and flare

then took off like Olympic racers.

There is evidently a fishing curfew.

By sheer coincidence,

we got on the same tender as Jerry and Lana Gale.

DeRay commented to the people he was sitting by,

“There are over 1800 people on this ship;

14 tenders holding 140 people each

and my wife, without any planning,

is sitting 6 feet from her brother.”

We didn’t see them again until lunch back on the ship.

We bought vanilla, a scarf

(I went in with a total stranger

because they were 2 for $12 or $7 each.

“Just think, we each saved a whole dollar!”),

little Mexican hats for our Christmas garland

and a little flute like thing for no good reason.

Catch the gold man (Captain Hook) in the background.  A real person--who wanted a tip!

The ship was anchored way out,

necessitating a very long tender ride in.

Tenders are really lifeboats

but they call them tenders so people don’t panic.

When we got back to ship,

DeRay and Ed watched them load the tenders.

Raising the lifeboat.

I watched the last one, being official photographer and all.

Leaving Cabo at 3:30.

Goodbye forever.

(This is the 4^th time this year we’ve been to Cabo.

When we came in January or was it February by now,

we had two days planned in Cabo,

going out to sea during the night

so they could open their casino and shops;

then we had to return after our last day

to drop off someone for a medical emergency;

and this time makes 4!)

I observed the beach with fondness Brent and I walked on.

He made everything more fun.

Daredevil.

San Diego here we come!

Ed’s starting to talk about how good it will feel to get home.

3:24 pm Departing San Lucas Bay bound for San Diego

Puerta Vallarta Panama Canal Cruise 10

 7 am Local Pilot Onboard;

7:50 am Arrival Puerto Vallarta, Mexico;

12 noon SW gentle breeze, clear skies, harbor conditions 79 degrees F;

At Puerta Vallarta,

I watch people get off the cruise ship

and climb directly on a little sight-seeing boat,

a catamaran or some other type of floating apparatus.

They wave to us.

Why would you want to sail when you’ve been sailing for two weeks?

They pay $169 each for that?

Doesn’t look fun to me.

Getting off the ship,

we walk through the flea market to the beach.

DeRay and Ed didn’t want to go down the stairs

so I walk the beach alone—

the one Brent showed me when we were here in January.

He walked four miles along it all the way from town.

Lovely.

No one there to take my picture so I take my own.  Does this prove I went back to the beach Brent found?

A family beach activity.

Don't worry, son, the life-guard in the forefront to the rescue!

Reminds me of my granddaughters' hair--am I getting homesick?

Jerry, Lana, DeRay and Ed are still at the flea market when I return.

I want to buy a brightly colored metallic sun or toad

for our St. George house but DeRay's not interested.

He bought himself 3 more T-shirts at $5 each.

He’s got 30 T-shirts at home that

Brent and Jan have given him from their bicycle business.

I think I need a decoration more than he needs T-shirts.

He also bought some vanilla.

It’s like 94 degrees  90% humidity

so we were glad to get back on board.

The main tourist attraction although Madi says "prices no better". Walmart also.

Lunch in Lido,

then we watched the launch,

our last one, as Ed points out.

Local pilot going back to shore.

  Our trip is winding down.

1:52 pm Vessel undocked, departing Puerto Vallarta.

Huatulco, Mexico Panama Canal Cruise Part 9

9:50 Local Pilot Onboard.

10:40 am Arrival Huatulco, Mexico.

12 noon light air, clear skies, harbor conditions 94 degrees F.

We didn’t see much of Jerry and Lana Gale.  Maybe Lana thought we were too slow and too fat for such a young, dapper couple.

 I didn’t want the two weeks to pass without spending some time with Jerry.  Wallis had told us about a walk on a trail up over a little hill to the town from the harbor so I proposed it.  Lana immediately rejected it but Jerry accepted.  Lana, Gary, and Joyce hired a taxi to take them to the points of interest she wanted to see.

Silly me, I spent a restless night worrying about our hike into town.  Any little thing just throws me for a loop.  The ship arrived early – around 10:30 instead of noon so Jerry and I decided to go earlier.  We had planned to go around 1 after the early pushers and shovers were off the boat.  It is supposed to be 97 degrees with 90% humidity. We left around 11.  Wallis was standing by the gangplank so we had her point us in the right direction. 

I asked him if he were going to hold still so I could take his picture.

"It's Mahi Mahi" he said.  "I'm a fisherman."

Still rock hunting.  Does this surprise anyone?

We couldn't figure out what the hoses were for.

Or the terraces.

Looking back.

Looking towards the town.

My fetish.  Clothes on a line.

Children's toys - same as ours.

Jerry noted that it looks like someone sleeps on the roof.

Lunch in the park.

Looking towards the Church.

    We walked to the church; ate the hamburgers we brought from the ship at a cool clean park.  Apple and banana also.  Unlike Brent and a lot of other people, including Wallis, we don’t trust the local food venders.  Lana, Gary and Joyce came to the church while we were enjoying our lunch.  Jerry called to them.  It doesn’t seem like Sunday but we did go in the church with the beautiful ceiling.

The ceiling.

Coconuts

Walking back up.

Where we were.

Where we're going

Uncle Ed's hobby

  We didn’t think it was 1½ miles like she said.  It was just up a little hill and down again.  

 The water was so warm in the ocean, it surprised me.  We’ve never been to Mexico in October.  Beautiful sandy beach.  Beautiful alcove.

Thanks for the walk.

 It was fun to go with Jerry.

DeRay and Ed hadn’t left the ship so I walked back in with them to buy DeRay a Coke.  Baby.  We met Jerry coming back from buying seven Cokes to last him the rest of the cruise. 

  DeRay and Ed watched cast off from Deck 6.  I went topside when we got back to get water and a snack, witnessing our departure from my Tai Chi class.

 

4:35 pm Vessel undocked, departing Huatulco