Ensenada

Too bad I don't know how to the Spanish "n" to spell that name correctly.   The final port (#5) was Ensenada - which is just south of San Diego.   The highlight was visiting the "largest blow hole"... where water spits up into the air hundreds of feet.  We saw one (a blow hole) in Hawaii a few years back - evidently this is the largest one.  It was tough to get a photo of it - not a very good photo op being above it.

A father with his sons playing a marimba.  The marimba was beautiful.  It looked homemade when compared to marimbas I had in my classroom, but it was a very beautiful instrument.  I didn't mind making a donation to this trio's "donation" cup.  There were lots of beggers everywhere - but I like to see TALENT and hard work in action!

This proved to be the cheapest port as far as cheap, junkie souvenirs go.  We should have done all our shopping here - oh well.  We didn't bring home much - like I said, it was all the same junk at every port and honestly, we didn't like any of it.   

A view of the shopping street - hundreds of shops all filled with the same stuff.

We got the boys "Nacho Libre" masks.  They LOVE them.  I'm glad we got these!  Cole and Danny's have little attached capes.  I had to convince Hunter to take his mask off when we went to the Dino museum - I thought it was a little creepy to wear in public!  They are also wearing their new shirts - Hunter got a German Soccer Jersey (German while in Mexico? whatever...) and silly shirts for Cole and Danny - the mouths lift up and you can see the animals' teeth.  Danny LOVES his monkey shirt.

Sea Day #3

Well, truth be said, I asked Shayne if there was a formal night.... his response was, "I don't think so.  I never saw anything about it in the information."  As I mentioned before, I didn't worry about anything as far as the trip was concerned - I was more concerned with preparing grandparents and kids for a week together!  So, I took a nice shirt and a pair of nice shoes, in case I needed to dress it up a little.  Well, we had TWO formal nights while on the cruise!  Needless to say, we were under-dressed.  But what-cha-gunna-do?  I put on my "dressier" clothes and Shayne just didn't care!  We survived and I don't remember any scowling looks from others - but I sure admired the pretty dresses and tuxes!

Food and food and MORE food.  Food is ENDLESS on a cruise - fancy dinners, all you can eat buffets any hour of the day and fee-free room service too.  Here are a few highlights of our fine dining:

This is Shayne's FAVORITE dessert - typically he'd order the special dessert for each night ALONG side this favorite: Chocolate Melting Cake.  (Yes, he'd have 2 desserts!)  Essentially it was chocolate Souffle and I could barely look at the stuff... I'm not a chocolate fan.  My favorite was the Creme Broulee which was only served the 1st night.  Bummer.  But I am a huge fan of Sherbet and I indulged EVERY night.

Cabo San Lucas

Port #4: Cabo San Lucas

We decided to leave our nice camera on the boat today - we weren't sure how the "kayaking" excursion would go.  It was a blast!  It was also a longer trip than we expected - just across a bay - but it was very busy and definitely a workout!  We brought our cheapo underwater camera and hoped that it would take pictures above water - luckily it worked.  

We kayaked to "Lovers beach" where the Sea of Cortez meets the Pacific Ocean... so on one side of the beach it's the Cabo San Lucas Bay - and on the other, it's the pacific ocean.  The two sides were only 100 yards apart - (if that) and the waves on the bay side were nill and the pacific side had HUGE crashing waves.  It was a spectacular beach and we thought Cabo was beautiful.  If we go back to Mexico, we'll start here.  

Snorkeling on the bayside...

La Paz

Port #3: La Paz  

We went snorkeling at "Los Isolotes".  It was a 1 1/2 hour boat ride to a little area where hundreds of Sea Lions lived.  We were able to snorkel/swim next to them!  It was definitely a highlight of our trip.  I took a bunch of pics with our cheapo underwater camera - some of them are ok!  A baby sea lion played with Shayne - even kissed him on the nose!  He also played with my flippers - it was like having a little puppy playing with us.

Shayne wasn't timid about touching this little guy - and the sea lion loved him!

He decided to play with me - I didn't dare touch him, but he loved my flippers (yeah, Shayne had flippers on too, but mine must have smelled better)

Mazatlan

Port #2: Mazatlan

We arranged to go on an excursion to "Stone Island" which in the end, is not an island at all.  It was a rather funny experience - they loaded us into a boat and we took a 45 minute boat ride (thinking we're going to a great island in the middle of the ocean) and we turn around and park the boat across the bay from the cruise ship.  Ahhhhhh, sweet memories.  We were guests at a little restaurant (the last picture) and had the option of two activities.  We chose horse riding and a banana boat ride.  The horse ride was more like donkeys, but still nice....  not quite the "black stallion on a beach image" I was daydreaming about! 

The banana boat ride was hilarious...  just see the below image of the "speed boat."  We spent the day on the beach, reading and relaxing.  

Puerta Vallarta

Port #1: Puerta Vallarta 

Excursion: Canopy Zip-Line  (why are all the companies called "canopy"?)  

The views were SPECTACULAR and the mosquito bites are STILL ITCHING (it's been over 9 days since that day... those are some mean mosquitoes).  Puerta Vallarta was very picturesque and beautiful. 

 

Heading off to Mexico

We boarded the Carnival Spirit in San Diego and then we were off for the Mexican Riviera.  We had 2 sea days on our way to the first port in Puerta Vallarta (I probably spelt those wrong).  Shayne won the basketball tourney (speed) and got himself a fancy medal.  We played miniature golf and basically relaxed to our hearts' content.  I read three books during this trip, plus I even learned and beat (it was an easy one) an Ipod game that Shayne wanted me to try.  I definitely had time on my hands and it felt AWESOME.

To go on a cruise...

First, hubby finds the deal of all deals (a Shayne-deal)

Second, make sure you have a support network to take care of those wee-ones while we are gone.

Then it's time to plan and prepare....

Shayne did all the homework on the ports and activities.  He booked several of the excursions prior to the cruise saving us as much as 75% off the cruise ship prices.... yeah, he rocks.  

Me, I made sure I had the grandparents schedules in-sync, got a few neighbors to pitch in too and honestly, I worried about making the schedules, coordinating rides, and having doctor information all ready if there were to be an emergency.  I made a great diagram of my "typical" week to help the grandparents see what they were in for and then I left my kids in their hands.  I knew they were loved, watched over, and they would enjoy the vacation from me as much as we needed one as Mommy/Daddy.  

Our phone service worked while in Mexico, but it would have cost an arm and a leg for 2 minutes of yapping.  So - no calls, just trusting all was fine unless they did call!  I don't remember relaxing this much, EVER.  

Now for the pics and recaps of our adventure...