Approx. 17 pesos/ US dollar
Feb. 6-11, 2024
I found a wall on the 12th floor displaying plaques from each new port the Serenade visits.
Feb. 6th was an enjoyable day at sea as we celebrated Liam’s Birthday at the Chef’s Table – the “ultimate” of the specialty restaurants on board, where each of six courses was paired with wine, and the chef discussed each part of the meal prior to consumption.
We half-waddled and half-staggered away at the end of the evening after close to four hours.
Cabo San Lucas, on the southern tip of the Baja peninsula, was our first port of call in Mexico since Cozumel. Most importantly – the tendering jinx lifted! Our goal for town was simple – a massage, a walk around, Walmart and a beer.
We accomplished all four – John and I had 90-minute massages for $40 each (though my masseuse would not back off when massaging my arms and I walked away with bruises on both forearms). My Google Maps found the Super Walmart three miles away so we called an uber – only to be dropped off at the regular Walmart 4 blocks away. We found several things we needed, but discovered that Mexico does not use laundry pods – just liquid and powders, the remainder of the list took a little wandering, as their stores are laid out differently than the ones in the US. We walked back to port where we met with Liam and Alan at the worst Senor Frog’s ever. Terrible service, got orders wrong, over charged from the menu, and just generally horrible. After one beer and some nachos we found another bar by the harbor that was much nicer and chilled for a bit before returning to the ship. I will say – if you want to do a whale watching tour – Cabo would be the place, you can get a 90-minute tours for $30pp at the pier.
A sea day then on to Ensenada.
We walked past the regular tourist area and explored some of the bustling back streets, grabbing shrimp tacos at a busy stand (if we were locals – they would have been 25 pesos each, but since we only had dollars, it was $5 for the pair). Then we returned to the tourist region – on the border we found a $5 T-shirt shop, limited colors and sizes, but picked up 4 for $20. A funny dive bar provided a good spot to people watch and grab a beer.
I also found a free museum about the region converted from an old jail.
On the way back to the ship, I bought John a zip-up hoodie for his Birthday on the 12th to replace a light to medium-weight jacket that fell apart in the wash.
An evening at sea then woke up stateside in Los Angeles.
We got the express-route through customs (unfortunately, due a visa mix-up from his dual citizenship – Liam had a hard time – but hopefully, things will be straightened out before we have another US immigration stop). Our LA day was a fun brunch with friends at the Seaside Bistro in San Pedro (Laura, whom John has known since the early 1980’s, and Anthony who we’ve known since an Egypt trip in 2014). We mailed off some important documents (The Galveston Voter Registrar and Property Tax departments thought we’d moved – we use a mail collection service). Then back on board, heading to Hawaii!.
History lesson:
A question that came up with friends included how did the US end up with so much of the Southwest. My short-version response was “we were being bullies”. President Polk felt strongly that the US should extend “sea to shining sea”. Skirmishes were common along the Rio Grande River bordering the new state of Texas (added in 1845; it had been independent from 1836-45) and the Mexican Territories. When an offer to purchase disputed lands was rejected, and after winning some smaller battles, the US inflated the conflict and invaded the bordering lands for the next two years. The US troops were better equipped and trained, and the Mexican population was sparse providing little resistance. The February 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo granted the US what is now New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and California (and to the US’s great benefit-not just in land – gold was discovered in northern California’s Sutter’s Mill on January 24, 1848).