Day 7 – Monday – Oct 1 – Cabo San Lucas

---

This morning we arrived in Mexico, at Cabo San Lucas and anchored in the Sea of Cortez. About 1000 years ago Cabo San Lucas was part of the Mexican mainland. Then a massive rupture of the San Andreas Fault sent the waters of the Pacific crashing into the newly formed depression, creating the Sea of Cortez and the Baja Peninsula. Lying at the very tip of Baja, where the Pacific meets the Sea of Cortez, Cabo San Lucas - or "Cabo" - is a premier resort.



We had set the alarm for 5:30 because we needed to be in the Princess Theater for our tour at 7:15. It turns out that we allowed quite a bit too much time, but that’s better than the alternative. We went up tot the Horizon Court for breakfast and met a couple who live in Tennessee, have a farm in Arkansas, and the nearest big town (with a SuperWalmart) is in Missouri. They have driven their motor cycle in 49 different states, and were going on a ATV excursion today. Suddenly our plan didn’t sound quite as exuberant as when we planned it.



When they called out tour group, we boarded a tender for a short ride to shore. After a short walk from the pier, we boarded a large catamaran. It was surprising that they loaded 2 wheelchairs and 3 walkers on the tender (I was starting to feel even less adventurous). We set out on an excursion to El Arco, the majestic rock formation delineating where the waters of the Sea of Cortez meet the Pacific at Land's End.



Thundering waves and strong ocean currents created The Arch, which is a magnificent natural landmark and iconic symbol of the area. Years ago, it was used by pirates as a hiding place where they could lie in wait to ambush the merchant ships heading for the west coast. Today we just saw para-sails and paddle-boards, but no pirates. They played a taped narration by Jean-Michel Cousteau with commentary on the area's ecology and points of interest..



After the boat ride, we boarded a bus for a short drive through town to a local restaurant which is famous for its panoramic views of the Bay of Cabo San Lucas. They provided us with a “free drink” Janet had 7-up and David had a Corona. From their patio, we had a view of the Island Princess and the dramatic Arch in the background.



Another short drive got us back into town where we had some time to explore some of the souvenir shops. Then we got back on the tender and returned to the ship. While we had been on shore, the Star Princess also arrived in Cabo..



Back at the ship, we went back to the cabin and Janet had a short nap and David was able to transmit yesterday’s blog (it had some satellite problems last night). At 1:00 they were serving a Fish BBQ on the pool deck. We had smoked fish, blackened tuna, breaded shrimp, salmon in bar-b-que sauce, and various side dishes. We had ice cream by the pool afterwards.



At 2:30 there was a demonstration of ice carving on the deck, so David stayed and watched, while Janet went back to the cabin. The carver took a large block of ice and whittled it down to a fish statue in about 10 minutes. As warm as it was today, the fish probably didn’t last too much longer out in the sun, but that didn’t diminish the very interesting show of carving the ice.



David had planned to attend a presentation about our next port in Costa Rica. However that did not start until 3:30, so he had some time to kill and attended a complimentary “Rum Tasting”. Everyone was given 3 thimble-sized samples of different rums, and they told some history about how each was developed. Then they made one drink from each type of rum and drew names out of a hat (each person had filled out a small slip with their name and cabin number). David did not win any of the three drinks, but he did win the grand prize (a 40 oz bottle of Bacardi Superior Rum). Except it will not be delivered to our cabin until the last evening before we disembark – so we have to try to figure some way to get it back home through the airport security.



At 3:30 David did attend the presentation on Puntarenas (Costa Rica). The lecturer tells about the port, the country, the people, the wildlife, the plants and flowers, and many other things. We’ll blame it on the rum, or maybe on the very early start today, but for parts of the session David was nodding off and probably did not absorb all that was said in the session. However, he was not the only person nodding their head periodically, so maybe there were more rum-samplers in the audience too.



Janet stayed in cabin to rest and do some work on her needle Project. She watched an old movie on the cabin TV and generally had a restful afternoon.



Dinner for us is at 5:30 each evening. Tonight Janet had the melon ball appetizer, the strawberry smoothie chilled soup, and the sea scallop dinner. David had the crab cake appetizer, the shrimp bisque, and the “cowboy steak”. This turned out to be a John Wayne sized strip steak and was delicious. For dessert Janet had chocolate brownie ice cream. David could not decide between the pecan butterscotch tart or the hot fudge brownie with vanilla ice cream, so the waiter brought him both – that was definitely the right choice. J



Tonight’s show in the Princess Theater was an instrumentalist who played both the Altob and Soprano Saxophones, played the piano, and even sang a little. He also did some jokes, which made it a fun hour’s entertainment.



We are sorry to hear that the Brinks have been sick. We remember clearly that Valerie instructed each of her kids not to get sick while Grandma was away. That’s too bad – hope everyone gets well soon.



Today is David’s sister Stacy’s birthday. So HAPPY BIRTHDAY Stacy, and goodnight from somewhere off the west coast of Mexico.



Having trouble sending photos - will try again another time

---

Photos

Janet & David
with Cabo Bay in background