SUNDAY! FUN DAY1

Another wish has been to see El Arco, the iconic rock arch of Cabo San Lucas. I had never given much thought to San Lucas, other than the rock. After our fabulous day on this shore excursion we all plan to give more thought to beautiful Cabo San Lucas. Our ship was anchored outside the harbor alongside a much large Disney cruise ship. All passengers were tendered ashore.

The first stop was right at the busy marina where we boarded a typical Mexican party boat. There was lots of room on both the lower and upper decks with great music managed by a DJ. A bar was ready and waiting along with a tired but enthusiastic crew. The crew had done a wedding party the night or should I say morning before, which did not end until 4am. We boarded at 10am and the crew took it all in stride.

No better way to start a Sunday Funday than with chilled cerveza

We were surprised that El Arco was so close the harbour. I had always assumed it was a long boat ride away. The scenery is spectacular!

EL ARCO!

Our travel time pals

Vista from the Sea of Cortez

Where the Sea of Cortez melds with the Pacific Ocean

The other travel time pals

Before we went ashore we saw seals and sea turtles. Many pelicans perched on rocks or floated in the waves on our approach to the Marina. We were too early in the season for whales; in another week the Humpbacks will begin to arrive for breeding/birthing season. Sharks also abound in these waters.

Senor will return to find his boat a little messy from such unwelcome passengers

Pelican, Pelican - your beak can hold more than your belly can.

Our ship Regatta moored in the Sea of Cortez

The peninsula upon which Cabo San Lucas is located was very isolated. It served as a frontier trading port and a pirate haven for many years. The transformation from tiny port to bustling tourist destination in less than half a century is quite remarkable. Tourism is the main industry followed by construction to support the vibrant tourist trade. This area is also known for manufacturing and oil production. Recent statistics suggest there are 21,000 hotel rooms and short term rental accommodations with countless more under construction. The villas, hotels, condos and all inclusive resorts sprawl north and south from the main town.



Exclusive resort on the Pacific Ocean side

Our knowledgeable guide, Memo, rhymes with Nemo, warned that the ocean in this area is dangerous with strong currents and a healthy shark population. Although the sandy beaches are beautiful, swimming is risky. All the resorts have swimming pools.

The Sunday Fun Day jaunt on the ocean was over much to soon. After the boat trip we meandered through the pier area full of shops, restaurants and pharmacias. This sign appeared in several places.

Only in Mexico

We boarded a brand new, air conditioned Volvo bus for a land tour which took us to neighbouring San Jose del Cabo twenty miles away. At one time San Jose was a separate community but the urban growth has melded San Jose and San Lucas. Between the two towns we noticed two Walmart stores, a Costco and a Home Depot, both with ocean views. The traditional Mexican character has disappeared but the area is a popular destination.There was not a lot of time to explore the Old Town of San Jose del Cabo but we were able to enjoy a quick lunch at Molly's. Some in our group were thrilled that the Sea Hawk/Houston game was playing on the wide screen TVs.

Molly's of San Jose del Cabo

Lunch at Molly's

Lunch Mexican style

A concerted effort is being put into restoring the Old Town of San Jose. Much is under construction. Memo told us is was to be finished September 16 but the government forgot to tell them which year. We were impressed with the clean streets in spite of construction, the friendly shopkeepers, the lack of annoying vendors and the overall pride the residents had for the community. It certainly merits a return visit. We had a feeling of safety as well. RP tried to barter for a gorgeous silver/opal necklace probably worth several hundred dollars. He offered $50. The shop keeper politely said, "Senor, you should go back to your bus." Shut down with the first offer. I guess the bartering skills are a little rusty. Our guide thought the entire exchange was hilarious, as did we. 

Flag of Mexico

Street repair and improvement outside Molly's

San Jose del Cabos - quiet, quaint and quirky; we will return

After Old Town we were taken to a hill top restaurant, treated to a cold beverage and given the opportunity to view Cabo from the roof top patio. The bay is huge, the vista exquisite.

View of Cabo with cruise ships anchored in the bay; Regatta is the small one; the Disney ship was about 4 times larger

From the restaurant rooftop

Cheers on a hot Sunday Fun Day

Of course, there was the traditional 'stop to shop'. Forced shopping has been an annoying part of most of the shore excursions. This time it was a demonstration of glass blowing and the opportunity to buy glassware. Transporting glassware home was not an option. We all wished we had been given more free time to explore the bustling pier area. PURA VIDA! we can and will return to CABO!

A hand crafted glass mural at the glass factory

All aboard was 4:30 and time to catch the tender back to the ship. While waiting I noticed a crab battle in action at the pier.

Cranky Crabs

The cruise is soon coming to an end. There is one more day at sea on my birthday; we dock in San Diego on Halloween and disembark the morning of November 1, a day celebrated in Mexico to honour ancestors, those who have passed.



Clay Pot in honour of The Day of the Dead

The blog is not yet finished. I hope to post about the glorious life aboard the Regatta and about our three days post cruise in San Diego. Stay tuned. It will likely be done when I get home because Google and the iPad are not in snyc with the Blogger app.  First WIFI and now sync issues. Oh well, it is a vacation and I don't plan to stress. PURA VIDA! In the meantime, so many thanks to our travel time pals for inviting us to join them on this adventure and for contributing photos to share.

"FELIZ NOCHE" MEXICO

CLIFF DIVERS of ACAPULCO

Acapulco was another check off my bucket list. My father during his Royal Canadian Naval Reserve training visited Mexico in the 1950s serving aboard the HMCS Ontario. He was thrilled to see the famed cliff divers soar from high atop the rock cliffs into the crashing waves of the ocean. When I was a little girl I recall being entertained at Little Qualicum Falls by my Daring Dad pretending to be a cliff diver.

Acapulco was originally a small colonial port, sometimes a haven for pirates and privateers. After the colonial settlement the town became a quiet, quaint fishing village. It was gained notoriety  in the 1950s when few wealthy Hollywood stars such as Johnny Weismiller and John Wayne bought property for vacation purposes. The Cliff Divers of Acapulco was, of course, our selected shore excursion. The trip became not only our expected entertainment but also an unexpected adventure into Mexican travel woes.

Hotel Mirador has celebrated the Cliff Divers for decades; it was from here we watched the diving and dance performance

Look carefully for tree trunks growing through a balcony;
La Perla Restaurant hosted our tour with complimentary cerveza, margueritas, pina coladas or sodas

Acapulco Cliff Divers begin training about age 7 or 8; often the skill passes from father to son. Divers turn professional around 17 years of age and can continue diving until in their 50s.

The divers walk down the steps to access the rock cliffs shown in the lower right of the photo

Divers then plunge from the rocks (gray)  on the left into the ocean,
swim to the rock face on the right (yellow) and scale by foot to the top

Divers perform daily from 1:00 until 10:30 in the evening. All divers scale to the top and say a prayer at the holy cairn dedicated to Guadalupe. Most dives take place part way down the rock face but once each performance one diver plunges from the highest point. The impact is so great a diver will only perform the top level dive once a day. At night the area is lit so the divers can perform. The final dive of the day is done in darkness with only the diver being torch lit.

The rocks on the left are accessed from the hotel staircase; the only access to the yellow stone wall is from the ocean between the rock faces; divers then scale the rock face barefooted to reach the alter of Guadalupe at the highest point

There were single, double and triple dives

WOW! the experience is beyond words

The following photos feature the prime diver in our private show. He prayed to Guadalupe and then patiently waited for the wave action to bring in enough water to ensure a safe plunge.

Last diver of our private performance

Part way down

Safe entry

After the thrilling diving performance we were treated to an entertaining display of traditional Mexican dancers.

Feathered fire dancer

Hunter / Prey Dancers

Folk dancers

Our travel time pals, after the show, preparing for the 70 step climb up through the Mirador to reach the tour bus

Definite proof that I can check of another item on the bucket list with thanks to some friendly Texans from our cruise who took our photo.

 Acapulco Cliff Divers were amazing.

Should you ever visit Acapulco we would advise not playing the "Punch Buggy" game. VW Bugs are everywhere from very decrepit to brand new. Many taxis are of the VW brand, some questionable as to road worthiness. We weren't quite sure of the reasons for all the stickers plastered on the one in the lower left, although it was parked in a no-parking zone.

Interesting signs were seen everywhere we looked in this bustling city.

Si Senor was an eye catching sign on the bay overlook; OXO is similar to our 7 Eleven;
Banos - Restrooms; Tecate - only one of many varieties of cerveza

Fresh produce was marketed on many street corners and adjacent to the beaches

Fresh catch of the day sold on the beach close to the cruise ship terminal;
fresh chicken for sale or, as our humourous guide suggested, Kentucky Fly Chicken

Acapulco is situated on a huge half moon bay. The sleepy fishy village of yore is now a huge metropolis with three major areas - old town, the new business district and an exclusive area for wealthy residents and tourists.

Acapulco Vista

There is a second smaller bay and an expansive, beautiful beach beyond the city limits

One of many golf courses

Up scale soccer academy; our grandsons would love to attend

Early in the excursion our guide, Caesar, realized the air conditioning was not working on our bus. We were conveniently deposited at a silver manufacturing/jewelry store, given complimentary beverages and encouraged to shop while we waited for a replacement bus to arrive. The new bus arrived after a 35 minute shopping deadline and a 45 minute wait outdoors in 92 degree, 86% humidity weather. Oh well, it was an opportunity to meet interesting people from our cruise ship.

RP chatting with another passenger: DS patiently waiting for the replacement bus

The guide assured us we would see the rest of the promised sights and that our driver, although not the best driver in Mexico, was the luckiest. I began to wonder when his luck would run out; frequently the bus was extremely close to vehicles in the adjacent lanes. I ominously commented to RP, "We may hit another vehicle." Sure enough a collision occurred moments later, not with the fruit truck shown in the photo below but with a bright pink, delapidated city bus. At least we had air conditioning and no one was injured. There we were on a busy street in Acapulco stuck with another one hour delay just a mere five minute drive from our cruise ship. We had to wait for the Policia, the insurance agent and representatives from both bus companies and the tour guide company. There were moments when we wondered if the Regatta would leave us stranded in Acapulco. People watching from the comfort of our bus was entertainment in itself. Scattered among the interesting views was the occasional passing military jeep equipped with camouflaged, AK-47 armed soldiers. Hmmm, I had been told by a crew member that Acapulco is one of the most dangerous cities in Mexico. I don't think this bus accident fit into that statistic. Armed military was convincing factor.

Image of a fruit transport vehicle mere inches from my bus window;
we experienced something similar in India but never this close.



We didn't hit the pink bus but it hit us

Waiting for accident resolution in Mexico

Every excursion has been an adventure. Acapulco did not disappoint. Many parts of the city are gorgeous; others are run down. The contrasts are many. It certainly is no longer a sleepy, quaint fishing village. The people we met were welcoming and friendly; the presence of armed authorities was intimidating. If one does visit be sure see the Cliff Divers and don't take a ride on a city bus or in one of the decrepit VW taxis.

A small hacienda overlooking the sprawling city