Until Next Time, Cabo

For our last cruise port of Cabo San Lucas I was so very tired I did hardly anything but sleep. Could be my new medications, a stamina issue (vacationing is hard work!), or inconsistent caffeine intake. Or it could be because my days start early on the ship. 

As usual, I was up before sunrise…

and watched as the sun just made its way over the horizon.

Headed to breakfast in Sabatini's for their 7 am opening. (They open at 7:30 on sea days.) Had a bit of food and came right back to the cabin and fell asleep. Woke up at lunch, dealt with a little bit of work stuff, and fell back asleep. And awoke in the afternoon to this view out the door. 

I did force myself to stay awake as we left port before sunset…

and for the whale watching as we made our way out of the area. See you next winter, Cabo!

Searching for Joy in Mazatlan, Mexico

Hello from Mazatlan!

It was almost exactly three years ago on February 18, 2020, when I was last in Mazatlan. We had a day full of conversation and laughter and food and drink. And Jell-O shots and balloon hats. And joy. Pure joy. Life was carefree and fun, and I have a picture to prove it.

A face full of happiness in 2020

Then then the joy was no more. Mazatlan wound up being the last cruise port we visited before Covid shut the industry down. And sent us into our homes. Unfortunately, hubby and I never came back out and have been locked away from the world ever since. Shopping at the mall or grocery store? Amazon and Walmart grocery delivery takes care of that for us. Haircuts? Nope. I use the hair clippers to cut us both short. Going to the movies? Thanks to Netflix we’re just fine in front of our tv. Eating out in restaurants? Not until this week. Which makes this cruise our comeback tour and today's visit to Mazatlan our search-for-joy (and normalcy) day.

In the pre-pandemic years we did a lot of different things in Mazatlan. You can find that blog post here. But today we went to the place that kept us going through Covid, The Green Bar. It was the place we had held in our minds as the best last day we ever had. So today we ate, drank, had some Jell-O shots, and even got balloon hats.

  

While I think hubby found his joy, I struggled to find mine. Even though I left my assistant in charge of the business, a customer issue came up that needed my attention. (Can't have too much fun - or drink - when you’re trying to remain clear headed and professional!) Even after the issue was resolved I realized my mind - and old lady body - is just in a different place than it was back then. Hopefully the carefree joy will return someday. 

Guess today just wasn’t the day.

Still searching for joy in 2023

Royal Princess in Manzanillo, Mexico

Hello from Manzanillo, Mexico! 

Hubby stayed onboard (he wasn't about to tackle the very long and hot pier) and I headed out and rolled around the waterfront area on my scooter. This is definitely a port that would have been inaccessible to me without one. Those poor folks with walkers and canes sure were struggling. I stayed within view of the ship because once you get very far away you encounter broken up sidewalks and those are definitely not fun on a scooter. In the waterfront area the cobblestones weren't fun either, and the wheelchair curb cutouts were so steep I had to get off the scooter several times to pull it up and down the ramps. But I still had a good time and was able to see some colorful additions to the area.

New sculptures line the waterfront
(Hubby tells me these were here before?)

Just one of the sculptures depicting the horoscope signs

Otherwise it doesn't seem like all that much has changed since the last couple times we were here.

Royal Princess today

The Grand Princess in 2018

Sailfish statue today.
The people walking by give you a sense of the size of this thing.

Sailfish statue in 2018
Did you know Manzanillo is the sailfish capital of the world?

Police presence today

Police presence in 2019

Did you know Manzanillo is the busiest cargo port in Mexico? Yep, the port handled roughly 2.68 million metric tons of cargo just in 2022. That's a lot of goods!

Cargo ship watching in 2019.

Cargo ship watching today 

Today's ship traveled the Hong Kong-Taiwan-China-Korea-Mexico route.

Being today is Sunday lots of locals were out and about, with many taking pictures in front of the ship.

How lucky am I that this is my home for the week?

See you tomorrow from Mazatlan!

Royal Princess in Puerto Vallarta

Hello from a hazy Puerto Vallarta, Mexico! 

I remember several years ago when our luggage was lost for the first time. We were headed home from LAX and instead of the luggage heading to Boise it headed to Puerto Vallarta. As we waited for its return (it took a few days), we kept joking about how our luggage got to go to Puerto Vallarta and we didn’t. At that point we didn’t even know where Puerto Vallarta was. We sure do now!

We've been here many times since. Puerto Vallarta is where I learned to zipline in the jungle, rode a mule, and swam with sea lions. We've been to the beach, hubby has been to the casino, and we had a friend from Mexico City meet up with us for lunch and drinks while she vacationing here. Puerto Vallarta is where I used to get my prescription medications - without a prescription. We've made trips to Walmart to stock up on candy for the crew, and let's not forget how we followed the locals and learned the art of jaywalking.

So much traffic.

Now that we both have lost some of our mobility, we decided to stick close to the ship today. Puerto Vallarta has a new cruise terminal that we hadn't checked out before so we just wandered in it and looked around. Hubby did wind up buying a small pack of cigars he can chew on. (Yuck. But guess it's better than smoking them.)

Once we got back onboard, hubby got a lunch he's been craving since San Francisco. There we'd pass by food carts cooking up hot dogs, peppers, and onions. The smell was amazing. So he got a hot dog from the Trident Grill and grilled peppers and onions from Horizon Court buffet. Throw in some fries and the boy munched away as I sat on the Horizon Terrace watching the cars and people and birds go by.

Up tomorrow, Manzanillo!

No FOMO on the Royal Princess

It would be easy to have FOMO (fear of missing out) on a cruise ship. Each and every day there are so many activities to choose from there is no way to get them all in. Just check out today's listing all of the activities around the ship:

You’ll find trivia, games, and sports. Movies, dance classes, and arts and crafts. Seminars and lectures. Comedians, bands, and productions shows. Throw in meals and swimming and visiting with family and friends and you’ve got yourself a busy day. You won't be able to fit it all in, so just mark the activities you’d like to attend then play it by ear. Balance your activities so you don’t go home needing a vacation from the vacation. And don't worry about FOMO! 

As for us, I don't think we did anything on the list. Somehow we finished breakfast early and wound up with some time to kill before a meetup with a crew member. Hubby went his own way (probably to go BS with someone else) and I headed to a place I used to enjoy years ago - the casino. Not so much now, but it was a good place to play for a little bit. Then a few hours later we met back up and he again went his way (probably more BSing somewhere) and I headed to the balcony for some sun...

Straight on to Mexico, please!

and got more than I bargained for. I've been in Alaska enough to know that sound. And what produces the sound. Again and again (and again) I saw bursts in the water.

Moments after the bursts I'd see these fine ladies and gentlemen:

I spent a good chunk of the day just watching and listening. Dozens and dozens of whales appeared over the next few hours. What a way to spend a day. Hubby joined me at some point, but I was too busy just being I have no idea what time it was when he came back to the cabin.

Today was also the day we planned on afternoon tea in our cabin. We took advantage of the warm weather on the balcony to stuff our faces with scones, sandwiches, and sweet treats. Along with tea, of course. (Someone may or may not have eaten one or more items before I got the pictures taken.)

We're stuffed, we're tired, and our skin is a little bit tanner than when we started the morning. While we didn't attend even one activity listed on today's event list, we had a great day at sea. With no FOMO.

Up tomorrow - Puerto Vallarta!