We enjoyed a Mexican Riviera cruise on Norwegian Cruise Line.
Boyd and I were so excited to leave the February blahs behind and enjoy a little sun and warmth.
We flew into Los Angeles last Saturday and this is the first glimpse of our ship: the Norwegian Star.
Everyone had a balcony room.
You can slide the door open and step outside and watch the ocean for hours on end.
We left our door open at night so we could hear the waves.
Between listening to the water and feeling the gentle rocking of the ship, Boyd and I slept like someone killed us.
I think we were sleep deprived.
Boyd stood on the balcony as we were leaving the port.
I stood outside for a few minutes, too.
It was really rather chilly outside.
We ate dinner in the Versailles dining room. It was quite lovely inside.
Our first port was Cabo San Lucas.
We were fortunate to have a beautiful day.
This is a view of our ship from our "glass-bottom boat".
We hired someone to take us around the rock formations from the Sea of Cortez to the Pacific Ocean.
The famous arch from the Sea of Cortez side:
Around the corner and seeing the arch from the Pacific Ocean:
We went with some friends on the boat ride. We had a such a fun time.
This could truly become a blackmail picture but I couldn't resist.
We had our guide drop us off on Pelican Beach.
Pelican Beach has good snorkeling and interesting rock formations to explore.
No. I didn't snorkel. The water was MUCH too rough.
Boyd did some snorkeling around the rocks.
There were some beautiful fish down under.
Interestingly enough, there were also jelly fish floating around close to the beach. We got as close as we dared to them to see them close up.
They look pretty much like we have seen them in the movies.
After our visit to the beach, we did a little shopping at an outdoor market.
All too soon the money was gone, and as Boyd says, "no mon, no fun". So we walked back to the tender which took us to our ship.
The next day we stopped in Mazatlan.
We were a little nervous to be there because of the negative media they have received.
Boyd and I had a relaxing morning and then in the early afternoon we ventured off the ship.
We hired a taxi to take us to downtown Mazatlan.
The driver dropped us off right in front of an authentic Mexican market. We were pretty much the only gringos in the entire place.
It was so fascinating to be there and walk through the market. There was stall after stall of vegetables, fruits, clothing, butcher shops and trinkets.
We saw a very large pig head, pig's feet, chicken feet, cow tongue and heart, cow stomach and liver. The meat pretty much was just sitting out waiting for someone to come and buy it.
I wanted to buy a postcard and write on it and mail it to Court up in Washington. We bought a postcard and wrote on it.
Our next job was to find a post office.
Boyd asked around and was given directions to a post office. We walked about a block or so and found the post office.
Thank goodness Boyd speaks a little Spanish because the postal clerks did NOT speak English.
We were able to get that postcard mailed off and I am so excited to see if Court gets it.
We also walked around a beautiful cathedral right next to the town square. It was very ornate with religious symbols everywhere.
There were people who were there visiting the cathedral and praying. It was an eye-opening experience to see the depth of love that these people had for their religion.
As we were leaving Mazatlan, I saw this field of palm trees. I don't know if it was a coconut farm or what but it was amazing to see.
The last port we visited was Puerto Vallarta.
One of the companies that Boyd works with bought a shore excursion for everyone who wanted to to go zip lining.
I was very interested in trying it.
First of all though, we had to get to the part of the mountain where the zip lines were in this bus.
Back in high school, the cool people sat in the back of the bus. Remembering this stupid idea, I marched right back to the last seat.
Can I tell you that I feel fortunate that my teeth are all still intact in my head? This was the most bone-rattling, bumpy and frightening bus ride of my life.
We went on a narrow switch-back road that had sheer drop-offs on the edge.
AND there were NO guard rails.
By the time we got to the top, I felt like I didn't need the excitement of zip-lining anymore because I had had such a hair-raising ride on the bus!
This is how zip lines work:
First they gave us a bandana which they wrapped around our hair...so glad I spent so much time on it that morning.
Then they popped a helmet on top of the bandana.
Next came the harness.
You stepped into it. There were a strap that went around each leg and the rest of the harness fastened around your waist. Each harness had a main line and a safety line.
Then each person was given a pulley. It was a small metal contraption with two handles that fit onto a cable that was about 3/4" in diameter.
That was all that was between you and the bottom of the canyon some 200-400 feet below us.
It seemed all fine and good until I was standing on the platform waiting to get strapped in.
Then the nerves started.
Here is a picture of someone setting out on the first zip line. It was called "The Baby" to sort of get us warmed up.
Each line got progressively longer and faster and a little scarier.
Basically, you grabbed your pulley and held on for dear life and prayed until you zipped across the canyon to the safety of the platform.
Here are a couple of pictures of Boyd as he is flying up to the platforms:
After the 13th zip line we still weren't done.
We had the privilege of riding mules back to the top.
If you look closely at my mule you can see that the hair is turning white.
Yep. My mule was OLD. And extremely POLITE.
He was so polite that he would walk to the side of the trail and let other riders go past. He was also extremely slow. I could have gotten off and walked faster than my mule.
I was the second to the last person to arrive, even though I started off somewhere in the middle.
Boyd thought his mule was quite homely.
It was.
It had naturally curly hair and was a bit odd-looking.
But, his mule had some serious get up and go. He just zipped his way right up the mountain and Boyd felt that riding the mule was his favorite part of the tour.
Our mules took us to the beginning of the tour where a fajita lunch was waiting for us with fresh salsa and chips.
Yum!!
I am glad that I tried something new and a little bit out of my comfort zone.
We spent the next two days at sea coming back to Los Angeles.
It was in my plans to lay out on the deck and listen to music.
However, it was so bone-chillingly cold outside that I huddled in the cabin and read a book while Boyd was in a work meeting.
Even though it wasn't extremely warm, it was extremely fun and relaxing.
What a great way to spend the end of February.
