Our cruise – the Mexican ports of call

The remainder of our ports were all in Mexico: Cabo San Lucas, La Paz, Loreto, and Puerto Vallarta. The two ports in the Sea of Cortez, La Paz and Loreto, were the only places we hadn't visited before.

I loved this early-morning sky in the Sea of Cortez

For two of the ports we had to be tendered in (ship anchored outside the port and passengers transferred by smaller boats), and at Loreto it became windy later in the day which made the tender back a rolling ride for some. Thankfully our ride, although choppy, was not scary.

The port of La Paz, a 30-minute bus ride from the city of La Paz

Apparently La Paz and Loreto are not common stops on cruise ship routes, and were recently introduced to these longer cruises. I was impressed by the warm welcome we received from these communities, with live music, market places, and lots of smiles. I certainly felt like they appreciated our business.

It's my understanding that other ports were recently reintroduced to the route, as they had been discontinued “for various reasons” (the politically-neutral statement from the cruise staff). We were told that we would probably receive a warm welcome as many Mexicans had lost their jobs when cruises stopped visiting their ports.

In Puerto Vallarta, the entertainers in the photo below were actually playing musical instruments as they swirled around, upside down.

 Greg and I had our first vacation together, in Puerto Vallarta, almost 11 years ago. The malecon (seafront walking path) looked different to what I remembered, so I asked a vendor. He explained that originally the seafront ended where a road ran in front of the white building on the right of the photo below.

Puerto Vallarta's extended malecón

However, once Puerto Vallarta was chosen to be part of the 2011 Pan American games, that road was closed to traffic and the malecon was extended and widened to what you see in that photo. It made for a lovely area to walk, especially with the weather in the low 80s.

So, we enjoyed our cruise, for a variety of reasons. We didn't have any responsibilities: we were fed well, we didn't have to drive, and we had as much entertainment (or quiet time) as we wanted. Hey, and a chocolate on my pillow each night, which kept me happy!

Our ship, with part of one of the many Loreto statues in the foreground 

We were pretty low-key most of the time, which is no surprise for those who know us well. In each port we enjoyed walking along the malecon and going into the areas where the locals live and practising our Spanish a little.

One of the many statues on the La Paz malécon

We did take Diego with us into port, but somehow he managed to return to Los Angeles with us. I’m not doing a good shepherdess job this trip!

Diego, wearing a lei after a party onboard

Today, Tuesday, we’re heading back to Arizona to be ready for our Tucson housesit on the 22^nd. The adventure continues!