Our trip started in San Diego. There have been a lot of horror stories I've read recently about AirBnBs, but ours was fantastic. Well stocked, right near a cove kind of beach. Just immaculate. It was also nearby the Birch Aquarium, which we visited the following morning. This is a place that is worth the admission, because the fish are amazing. My daughter loved every second of it, as we walked from exhibit to exhibit with her shouting "Fishy! Fishy!" Of particular note was a large sea turtle that continuously made its way near the glass. The food truck that is parked outside didn't offer half bad fries and snacks either.
Some folks might wonder why we didnt end up doing the San Diego Zoo, or any of the other places in Balboa park. Its largely came down to timing and pricing. Our daughter needs a nap still most days, and to pay the $100+ for a zoo trip that might last just an hour or two was just too much. The aquarium and some solid beach time was just what we needed.
The next day we got ready to head to our boat, we first spent some time at the USS Midway. The Midway served for 47 years, accommodating over 200,000 service personnel. Its a sight to behold, to see the number of aircraft aboard. Almost every station has some narration from someone who served, and the stories range from fun, to tense, to heartbreaking. It was also nice that the museum has around people who served to answer questions. Another fantastic stop that was worth the admission price.
After boarding and spending a day at sea, our first port of call was Cabo. It is of course everything you would imagine Cabo to be with a significant spring break presence. The dock was super busy with two other ships sending in tenders and a variety of personal yachts moored. One was a super sleek black and silver affair, that at one point had another smaller boat leave it. With a toddler in tow we opted to do a whale watching excursion. Our large boat was a two decked catamaran that ambled out to the ocean in search of Humpbacks that have come South for mating season. The ships crew was friendly, serving some tasty fresh made salsa with chips and getting drink orders for people.
After about 40 minutes we caught a group of whales. It was an awesome sight to catch these beauties surfacing for just a moment and giving a tail slap. But after a few times this started to get a bit old. The whales we were told do not really do much of the acrobatics they tend to do up north here because they don't eating during mating season, and so they conserve their energy.
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| Not much of a whale tail |
This last for about another half hour before we headed back. On the way into port we did catch a napping sea lion and a seal that hopped right onto the small boat in front of us. For the price, this excursion was ok. It was a nice easy trip, and the whales were there. It did sting a little bit that when we got back to the ship, we saw a whale doing the impressive breach from our dinner spot though.
We sailed on the to Puerto Chiapas, where we visited a small town where they do a traditional chocolate making demonstration. Before the demonstration we visited a small Chapel in the town, where a fresco was made with buttons, and walked through a typical street market with all manner of fruits and meat for sale. It was nice until towards the end, where the fish began to smell like they had been out for too long, and some children started asking for money. Dancers performed before the demonstration of how chocolate had been made in the region for hundreds of years. There was a tasting at each stage of the process; from the roasting of the cocoa bean to the finishing of the chocolate being pounded into a paste. It was mixed with some cinnamon and other spices, for that distinctive Mexican chocolate flavor. As with any cruise excursion, there was then a chance to purchase some chocolate, which had been pressed into hard round bricks. It was a pretty good deal for some tasty chocolate.
Following the chocolate was a tour of a Mayan ruins site. This was a little bit of a let down, because there was not much to the site, and there were no formal guides or real informative plaques. Our guide did her best, but you could tell this was not her specialty. It was interesting to see what we could, but a bit more information would have made this a much better end.
Overall our experiences in Mexico were fun, and it was a good introduction for our daughter to how we would be spending the next several days on ship and in port.
