Hello, Loreto! Saturday, 3/19/16

Generally speaking, you know that if you go to bed early, you wake up early, so I was treated to one more spiffy sunrise!  The Sea of Cortez is still choppy, but less so.  I watched as Loreto came into view ... a green panorama caught between a turquoise sea and yonder brown hills.

Time to get up!

While standing on our balcony, even before Ruby dropped her anchor at 7am, Jimmy and I kept hearing what sounded like popcorn kernels exploding, not all at one time as it does in our air popper, but now here -- pop -- now over there -- pop.  Jimmy discovered what it was.  Manta Rays leaping clear out of the water and falling back in -- splat! -- sort of a belly flop pop!  All day, repeatedly, both sides of the ship.  No one seemed to know WHY they leaped as they did, but the suggestion I favored was that they were leaping for joy.  Whales were spotted aft off the port side, too.

I mentioned in yesterday's post that we had no excursion planned for today; we're taking a rest from snorkeling in cold waters two days in a row.  Ruby is anchored in the clear blue bay; those orange and white tenders (above) will take us across the glassy Sea of Cortez into Loreto, about ten minutes from the ship.  Warm and sunny feels good!

Loreto invested in a good, clean harbor for fishing boats and tenders.

Don't try to fire up that outboard!

Artwork, too!

Loreto is a tourist resort, catering mainly to sport fishermen and cruise ships.  It's a small city, about 14,000+ people.  The Malecón (boardwalk) that hugs the waterfront is manicured with palms and drought-tolerant vegetation and invited a pleasant stroll.  The main draw is the charming, pedestrian-only leafy ficus arcade that welcomes tourists to the commercial district.  Shops offer handmade crafts and clothing.  Restaurants feature lots of margaritas and al fresco dining.  We fail as buying tourists ... we came away empty-handed (who needs more stuff?), but we had fun looking.  We enjoyed our time in Loreto, quietly walking The Malecón and the quaint "downtown."  We could easily return.

Love all the bright colors!

When we went ashore, dancers in bright costumes were in full swing in the plaza.

Red must be the "in" color!

Jesuit priests built the Misión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto (Our Lady of Loreto) in 1697 ... the first mission to be built in the Californias.  It's well-preserved, and still stands as an active parish.  The bell tower rises high above the center of town and has been lovingly restored.  We stepped inside the narrow church, with its cool, dark interior, and sat for a few minutes.  Below is a pic of the original sculpture of Our Lady of Loreto.

Honestly, who would've guessed?  We didn't follow the arrow to see how the RV Park looked, but if a person felt safe driving down here, wouldn't it be fun to spend a month or so in picturesque Loreto? Answer:  Yes!

Fishing must have been good in the harbor.  Pelicans were relentless in their power dives to scoop up a snack, as you see above!  The last tender left town at 5:15 and Ruby set sail shortly thereafter, setting course out into the Gulf of California.  Again, we were early to bed.  Guess I'll see another sunrise tomorrow!

Next stop?  Puerto Vallarta on mainland Mexico!

Gaviota Island and Balandra Bay -- Friday, 3/18/16

After sailing the night, Ruby approached La Paz. Again, my eyes popped open as the Eastern sky lightened, and I was able to watch Ruby slide into port from the buoyed channel. So amazing to watch this leviathan of a ship execute a 180° maneuver so as to bring the ship alongside (starboard side) the quay. We are docked at a commercial pier, roughly a half hour out of La Paz proper. The Gulf of California is packed with whales -- Gray and Blue, even a few Orca, and we see them every day. Cool beans!

Jimmy and I booked a half-day snorkeling excursion before leaving home.  Gathering on the dock at 7:20 am, it's quite the change from yesterday's late start.  The wind is still blowing from the north (like a Santa Ana wind) which adds a "wind chill" factor to the partly-cloudy morning.  The sea is still choppy, but we boarded a real boat with a good crew, and -- hi-ho, hi-ho -- it's off to snorkel we go!

We traveled maybe 30 minutes across the turquoise water to Gaviota Island.  The captain said, "look carefully, you'll see the island is white."  One of the crew called it "guano island."  A younger girl asked what that was.  His reply:  "Birdshit."  It's a massive volcanic rock island, which makes it a natural refuge for hundreds and hundreds of seabirds:  Brown Boobies, Blue-footed Boobies, Brown Pelicans, Cormorants.  On the other side are Yellow-footed gulls and nesting Herons.

The birds are neatly camouflaged on guano island.

Dots of blue are the Blue-footed Boobies.

Fairly dripping guano!

Before this trip we'd never seen pelicans with bright red gular pouches (red necks!), but here off Baja, the breeding males are sporting these spicy-red enticements! 

Reddish Egrets and Great Blue Herons nest amid the Cholla cactus.  Baja is considered part of the Sonoran Desert and instead of swaying palm trees, the dry land is covered with spiny cactus.  Saguaros dot the hillsides, just like in Arizona.

The original plan was to snorkel first off Gaviota Island and then spend time swimming or relaxing on one of the soft sandy beaches of Balandra Bay.  Our crew switched it up, thinking later in the morning would be better for snorkeling (as in, warmer).  So, the boat continued on to this absolutely beautiful cove.

Jimmy and I climbed up to the top of the ridge, sinking in white sand, soft like talc, much like the Destin area of the Florida panhandle.  The difference is this sand is surrounded by sharp volcanic rock.  We walked around as much as we wanted and then "parked it."

Simply gorgeous.

Das boot.

The crew was handing out full-length wetsuits, which meant the water temp for snorkeling wasn't much higher than in Cabo, so we will definitely appreciate wearing a wetsuit.

Heading toward our snorkeling destination off Gaviota Island.  But first!  The rocky outcrop dead ahead is home to sea lions (one excursion features snorkeling with them), so we'll circle around for a close-up.

King of the Heap!

Yes, the water was chilly, but we snorkeled off the boat to a coral reef, alive with colorful fish.  I wish I could identify them, but (alas) I can't ... so many pretty fish.  Plus sea urchins, sea stars, anemones, even a sea cucumber or two, along with mounds of coral, kept our interest in tooling around the reef long after we chilled.  Our adventure was supposed to be 50 minutes, but I doubt any of us lasted that long.  We sure enjoyed it, tho.  Jimmy shot lots of underwater GoPro video, but we haven't processed it yet.

Back by Noonish, we grabbed lunch and then passed out on the bed for an hour or so -- tired -- trying to get and stay warm is exhausting!  We got up to play a few rounds of Yahtzee and then it was dinnertime (so delicious).

Goodness gracious - would you look at this?  I'll tell you what it is:  White chocolate cheesecake with vanilla mousseline and strawberry preserves.  "The chef added silky smooth white chocolate ganache to the delicious cheesecake mixture.  He then created a white chocolate shell that holds a delicious mousseline and fresh strawberry preserves."  Do I know what that means?  Nope.  The thin red disk is chocolate, along with the curl.  All I know is that this exquisite concoction was one of the richest desserts I've ever had, and also one of the best.

Ruby departed La Paz at 4:30pm.  Once out of the Bahia de la Paz, she set a northerly course up the Gulf of California, aiming for Loreto.  Both La Paz and Loreto are new territory for us, which is kinda neat.  No snorkeling tomorrow ... it's a walkabout day.  So, after a turn on the Promenade Deck, we retired really early and slept well.

Cabo San Lucas -- Thursday, 3/17/16

Leaving San Diego on late Tuesday afternoon, Ruby Princess sailed southeasterly all day Wednesday and called up Cabo San Lucas very early Thursday morning ... over 750 nautical miles.  Jimmy and I spent a relaxing day at sea, walking the Promenade Deck (#7), and we even brought out the Yahtzee game.  Funny thing, we only play Yahtzee aboard a ship (occasionally in Tergel), but never at home ... I guess we enjoy throwing dice on a moving target!

Can't beat it.

Naturally I was awake before dawn.  The good news is I got to watch the sun rise over yonder Baja peninsula.  Pacific white-sided dolphins cavorted by the bow, and a Mama Gray Whale with her baby showed themselves.  Cool early morning greeting to Ruby!

Looks like we're late to the party.  A Carnival Cruise ship and the Crown Princess are here before us.  Think the Cabo streets and shops might be a little crowded?  Answer:  Yes.  Our anchorage is the furthest away from town and we'll be tendered ashore -- roughly a mile and a half.  The wind is up, too, which may make for slow and/or rough going. 

"GoinDeep" must be throwing gradeaux,

attracting a crowd of Brown Pelicans and Frigatebirds.

And then there's this:  That is NOT an engine off the back of this boat.  It's a sea lion!  The huge creature has learned that there's a reward for following and even crawling aboard a boat!  Obviously people have fed it and now it begs shamelessly.  Give me a heart attack to see something this big sneaking on board my boat!

Saucer-sized Red Rock Crab (Grapsus grapsus), common to the west coast.

Thumbs up for iconic "El Arco" (the arch).

Lover's beach.  We didn't go ashore.

On the other side (the Pacific side) is Divorce beach (heh heh heh).

We could smell sea lions before we spied them.

Our snorkeling adventure didn't begin till 10:45 and by then (in crowded Cabo) all the "good" boats were taken.  We'd signed up for a "sail and snorkel" at Santa Maria Cove in the Gulf of California.  It was a coolish-type of day, with big winds, and the trimaran we were on wasn't designed for windy conditions.  We smacked amid spray at each wave (almost like I-10 in Louisiana, with water, that is!).  This is the only time we've been on a Princess excursion that was disappointing.  Their ad says:  "After a brief safety orientation, board your deluxe motorized catamaran and sail [my italics] from the pier ..."  We received no safety instruction, very little guiding, and certainly no sailing!  We can't fault them for not having "crystal-clear waters" and "offering perfect conditions for avid snorkelers," because probably the winds churned the waters.  Nor can we fault them for water that bordered on cold.  Jimmy ordered us wetsuit shirts prior to this trip and that saved us, but even so, we didn't last too long in the 70 +/- water.  A great part of the charm of this excursion would have been sailing aboard a catamaran to the snorkeling site.  I would not recommend this excursion.  In fact, I filed a complaint.

These young party-goers aboard a cool sailing vessel hailed us as they sailed past.

Back in Cabo, we joined a very long line that snaked it's way toward the tenders.  This Pelican had a prize in its beak -- what was left of a fileted fish!  And it was not willing to share!  Notice the Pelican's red (breeding) neck. The last tender left Cabo at 4:15 and shortly thereafter the Ruby Princess picked up her anchor and set northeasterly courses for inside the coast of Baja California towards La Paz.  There we'll have our next snorkeling excursion. (fingers crossed!)

Cabo San Lucas, Baja CA, and at sea Dec 4-9

Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro CA.

Wednesday 12/4 -- Our Golden Princess ship was two hours late leaving Los Angeles CA, which meant we didn’t get to see the departure… it was full dark at 6 pm, and we were below eating dinner.  I am not going to detail every dinner; suffice to say, everything was superb!

 

Thursday 12/5 ^-- At Sea.  A  P/C windy day – Force 8 (gale) wind, with moderate seas (4-7½ ft waves) – lots of white caps with spray blowing like thistledown – fun to watch.  Cool, jacket weather for our morning Promenade Deck walk.  Two-and-a-half times around = a mile, and we hoofed it around several times in the wind, a pattern we’ll continue almost daily.  I counted 103 stairs from our deck (14) down to the Promenade Deck (7).  103 down/103 up...  I’m an inveterate stair-step counter!  Floor-by-floor, up and down all day long.  Guess we should be in good shape by trip’s end!  If we get sick of climbing stairs, there are plenty of elevators.  Our ship plowed thru the Pacific at 21+ knots, making time to reach Cabo San Lucas at Noon tomorrow.  Jimmy and I opted for traditional dining, meaning we sit at the same dinner table each nite.  We’re very fortunate to share our table with a delightful couple, Sue and Adel from Ventura, CA.  After dinner, we four walked around the deck in the wind, whooeee!  We spied two small birds sheltering on deck from the wind.  Our first time change was 2 AM Saturday, moving one hour forward – an hour lost already.

Storm Petrel sheltering from the storm (one of two we found on deck).

Table mates:  Jimmy, me, Sue and Adel.

Friday 12/6 -- A different story.  Day dawned clear and much warmer.  We watched Princess close in on the town of Cabo San Lucas at the tip of Baja Peninsula, its waters filled with tiny fishing boats and sailboats, a pretty sight.  We anchored offshore at Noon, and were tendered ashore for the afternoon.  There we boarded a zodiac with 8-10 others for a “thrilling scenic ride to Land’s End for photo ops,” and our snorkeling adventure in the Sea of Cortez.  That’s when we realized we’d left the new GoPro camera aboard ship in our haste to make the excursion AND didn’t bring our other camera.  So don’t ask me about the pictures that we DID NOT get of those Land’s End sea stacks, massive humpbacked whales breaching, colorful fishies in the clear water of Santa Maria Cove, and the town itself.  Phooey.  Other than that, we had a grand time!  Our snorkeling guide dove down to the coral and brought up a spiny sea urchin and a brown sea star with pink spots to hold, as well as a cute li’l puffer fish all blowed up.  I enjoyed petting the puffer.  The water was warm enough that we didn’t need wet suits, tho we got chilled on the ride back in wet bathing suits with the zodiac zipping 90-to-nothing toward town.  A dip in the hot tub when we boarded our ship fixed that.  We set sail again for points south at 7 PM, while enjoying dinner ... we were hungry!  Two tired people hit the hay early!  We sleep with the balcony door open – listening to waves is like a lullaby.

Arch rock at Cabo.

What a sunset!

Saturday 12/7 -- We have three sailing days before our next stop in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua.  Today the wind was calm, and at times it appeared the ship was barely moving in calm seas.  Our cabin is on the starboard side of Lido Deck (14 – upper passenger cabin deck).  Continental breakfast on our balcony is luxurious, almost decadent!  Looking down from our balcony, we watched large sea turtles float by and dolphins frolic in the bow wave, flying fish skittering away from the ship.  The ocean color appears as either deep cobalt blue or a dreamy aqua, its waters 84+ degrees, the air more liquid now with 100% humidity.  Yes, it’s warm and humid, but not uncomfortable, yet.  There’s always a breeze.  (We still sleep with the balcony door cracked.)  Inside is air-conditioned, of course.  This afternoon I swam in one of the four pools, after which we played Yahtzee with Sue and Adel.  The men skunked the women (boo).  A nice nap was in order post-game.  After dinner, we walked the Promenade Deck again and then took in one of the entertainment shows.

Yours truly in the aft pool.

Sunday 12/8 -- Dawned warm and muggy.  For some reason I seem to naturally awake long before sunrise (sigh!), so I got up to watch the sky change as the sun rose.  No walking this morning. Princess hosts a naturalist’s hour-long (very interesting) talk each day about our destinations, and I’m in for the duration! Jimmy likes to read while I attend these.  We changed things up a bit today and went to the Terrace Pool aft to swim, and then we buried our noses in our books till it was time to shower and get ready for dinner. The water temp is now 87.8°, like bathwater! Saw a giant transparent jellyfish, lots o’ sea turtles, dolphins and Magnificent Frigate birds circling the ship.  Sea state is “slight,” very quiet.  Air temp hovers around 82°. Afternoon turned cloudy, which made for a gorgeous sunset. At dinnertime, our ship made a brief detour to the coast of south Mexico for a medical emergency, anchoring just long enough to tender a seriously ill person onshore to a waiting jet for transport back to the states, and then we were underway again. A brisk wind picked up and we rocked along till after bedtime, still aiming for Nicaragua on Tues morning. Once more, we set our clocks forward an hour… losing time every other day!

Calm Seas!

Monday 12/9 -- When all the glass outside is dripping sweat, we’re talking humid.  Last nite we had to close our balcony door.  The seas were gently rolling in the AM, the water mirror-like.  Today we see no hazy mountains on the horizon, only ocean.  Oftentimes we faintly made out land far, far away; not today.  We walked the Sun Deck (top deck), at sun-up, taking advantage of any breeze and before the day heated up, but we still managed to work up a sweat.  Tropical-looking clouds dot the sky each day now, like the US Gulf Coast.  I think we’re as far south as Guatemala, tho it’s not in sight.  Internet access aboard ship is spotty and slow (satellite), and also expensive, so we’ll wait.  No cell service, either, hallelujah – no noisy rings and overheard loud conversations.  Sue and Adel joined us for another round of Yahtzee, and this time the girls beat the boys – hooray!  Next up?  San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua tomorrow.  Dry land after three days at sea!

From an Internet café in Lima Peru in Espanol - pardon any mess!