Sea Days and Cabo San Lucas

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After we left the shores of Guatemala, we voyaged for 3 days before docking again. Life on board during days at sea is relaxing and unhurried, with our focus more on ourselves rather than where we are. Each day at 12 noon we attended the daily trivia quiz in the Explorers’ Lounge on Deck 7. These have proved to be challenging and we have hooked up with a lovely couple from the UK, Helena and Mark Smith, who live in Surrey. We have got very close to winning, tying at least twice and losing on the tiebreaker question, as well as always being either third or second, The questions have been varied and challenging. Helena and Mark are lovely and we have new people to visit in the UK.

Each day Fletcher and I have gone up to the Sports Deck where we have had our personal Shuffleboard competitions. These have been competitive and we play the best of three games. I have, at least, held my own with many of the tournaments being won by Fletcher 2-1. However, I have only had one outright win!! Anyway, it gives us some exercise and is entertaining.

The weather has been great, warm and sunny and the seas smooth for the majority of the time. We have seen some flying fish and many cargo ships in the distance. It certainly reinforces that the world is a large place when all you can see is sea!! We eat in the World Café for breakfast and lunch where they have a variety of choices. The best so far has been the fritto misto and the fish and chips and the icecream is a favourite! Each night we dined in one of the restaurants. We had a great meal in the Chef’s Table, a repeat of what we had on the first night aboard. This was an Asian menu with lobster/shrimp dumplings and Peking Duck. The main restaurant has been a bit more hit and miss but there have been some lovely choices there and they are willing to accept criticism and replace if what we get proves to be inadequate or not what we expected.

We still enjoy the Living Room bar where Eddie, Destra, Aris and Nancy keep us well supplied with G&Ts and our favourite wines. We are entertained there by Anastasia on piano, Andre on guitar and Pascal and Isabella playing classics on their violin and cello. We meet up with some of the couples we have befriended, like Charlie and Barbara from Colorado and Frances and Jim from Athens, Georgia.

On Sunday we arrived in the Mexican port of Cabo San Lucas on the tip of the Baja Peninsula. This is a playground of the rich and famous and we arrived when I had just seen that Karl Stefanovic was being married here on this day! Our invites must have got lost in the mail!!. We were booked on a tour at 11am so took our time in the morning. I appreciated this as I was not feeling the best that morning. However, I had perked up when we went to the tender at 11am to be ferried into the port.

We boarded the bus about 11-30 and with our guide, Oscar, drove along the coast heading north. He pointed out to us the many new resorts and golf courses along the white sandy beaches. He told us that the number of hotels and facilities had more than doubled in the last five year. We drove to the town of San Jose. This was a more traditional Mexican town, centred around a mission that had been established by a Jesuit priest in 1730. We walked from the bus to the central square and then were given an hour of free time to explore on our own, The church of San Jose was the main building in the square. As it was Sunday, Mass was being celebrated so we walked around the church and explored some of the shops in the adjoining streets. The place was very clean and well maintained and we bought some souvenirs. The buildings were interesting and the main square was decorated for Christmas. When Mass was finished we went inside the church which was simple but tastefully decorated.

After a beer in Molly’s café on the corner of the square, we walked back to the buses and then the 30-minute drive back to San Lucas. It was after 2pm when we returned and we found a small restaurant overlooking the marina called La Taverna Gastro Bar. We hoped that meant good food, not gastro bugs!! We ordered quesadillas, a cajun chicken and a shrimp and cheese and these came quickly. Both were delicious, but there were three large triangles on each plate!! Plenty of food for only $US10 each. We asked for a wine and we were told they had a chardonnay, but when the waiter emerged he had an Argentinian Pinot Gris with him. We said we would have a bottle of it and he was amazed we wanted the whole bottle!

It was very pleasant, sitting overlooking the marina on a cloudless, sunny day with the temperature being a pleasant 27 degrees. There was a massive yacht in the marina which had its own small helicopter aboard. The waiter told us it belonged to Denzel Washington. Evidently, many of Hollywood’s celebrities moor their boats here. We spent a pleasant hour or so there, people watching and enjoying the ambiance.

We then walked around the marina and explored the other side of the harbour where there were many bars, restaurants, shops etc. Heaps of American holiday makers here. By the time we returned it was time to take the tender back to the ship and prepare for sail away. It had been a lovely day and I can see why this area is so popular with tourists. Back on board, we recovered before venturing to the bar for pre dinner drinks and the dinner in the restaurant where we both enjoyed the lobster thermidor. A very pleasant end to a great day. Only four days left of the cruise!

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