Road Trip - Jumping off Cliffs

There are several ways to jump off a cliff. It could mean that you've decided to take a big risk in your life or it could mean that you are literally jumping off a cliff.

The cliff divers of Mazatlan are probably not as well known as those in Acapulco but I can guarantee you that they are no less dramatic or dangerous. Our tour guide told us that the basic difference is that the divers in Mazatlan wear baggy trunks and the divers in Acapulco wear Speedos. Hmmmm, I might just have to check that out to make sure he's telling the truth.

As we prepare to leave the ship I am reminded of the military presence whenever the cruise ship is in town. As I mentioned, this is a working port and the ship docks at a very busy pier. Passengers are not allowed to walk on the pier. There are shuttles that take you to the gates, or tour buses waiting alongside the ship. They have a system that records your passport information on the ship, making it available to local authorities. At no time we were required to carry or show our passport.

Where's Waldo the Mexican soldiers?



The tour bus drives through interesting neighborhoods where the tour guide assures us that ex-pats can find 7 bedroom houses for $80,000 US. Slowly we make our way to the coast road that snakes behind the rock formation and lighthouse that we saw yesterday.



The coastline is very rocky and dramatic. We pull up to an area with a rocky outcrop. There's a platform on the top and a diver stands ready to plunge into the water below. If you look at the bottom right of the platform you'll see some type of small grotto with metal bars and what appears to be flowers behind.



There he is preparing to dive.



Here's what you don't see from the above perspective. They've constructed a beautiful set of steps that lead to the top of the rock formation.



The water under the cliff is only 4 to 5 feet deep, certainly not enough to avoid severe injury. The diver watches the incoming swells and waits until the water fills the bowl into which he'll dive. It reaches a depth of 8 to 10 feet which is still quite shallow. And then he dives!



There he is, safely making his way to shore.



The entire area is very rocky.



This is a feat that will be repeated up to 50 times per day! They pass a container for tips.

To the right of the diving platform is this sculpture.



Mazatlan must be the capital of memorial sculptures because they are everywhere. Here's a close-up of the mermaid.



There's even a copper brewing container from a beer factory that's been installed in a memorial by the sea. They'll honor anything it seems.

I think I promised a tour of the cathedral today but I'm going to save if for tomorrow (Sunday) because it will be photo heavty and what's more appropriate than visiting a cathedral on Sunday?

Thanks for visiting with me today and going along to see the cliff diver.

Road Trip - Mysterious Morning

Falling asleep on cruise ship is no different than a hotel or a new home. The first few nights are spent getting accustomed to the different noises and also the additional feeling of constant gentle motion. We slept with the sliding door open so that we could hear the sound of the water splashing against the side of the ship as we sped through the water. It was such a relaxing background noise. Our minds quickly adjusted.

The trip Cabo to Mazatlan was an overnight voyage and we arrived very early in the morning. I was awoken suddenly by a new sound- quiet. The ship felt as if it had stopped and it was totally silent. I walked out on the balcony to discover we were in fact, creeping along at a snail's pace through a sound deadening early morning fog.

The scene was exotic and magical.



We were lucky enough to be on the side of the ship that faced the lighthouse. It was so peaceful, everything bathed in the pink and blue light of early morning. There was a cave at water level just below the light. Can you see it?



The lighthouse was perched on top of an amazing rock formation, so different that anything in Cabo. When viewed from the side it looked like a sleeping crocodile. The banded rock was painted in shade of tan, gold and salmon pink. If you look closely at the picture above you can barely make out the small fishing boats that were navigating around the rock.



The boats seemed incredibly small against the scale of the cliffs. Behind this large formation were several large rocks that were totally different and almost white in color.



The fog was dissipating ever so slowly as we approached the breakwater.



From a distance there appeared to be hundreds of white crosses. Certainly this couldn't be a cemetery.



As we got closer we could see that the breakwater was made up of large concrete pieces that were shaped like children's jacks.



Still, everything was silent.



There were a few sailboats anchored but no luxury craft as in Cabo.



More fishermen headed out past the breakwater.



Mazatlan is not a major tourist area. It's a working city and a working port.



Large ships bring cars from Japan and Korea. They're stored on the docks and shipped from here to other areas in Mexico.



I spotted this shrine at the end of the pier. Perhaps it's dedicated to the fishermen. If you look closely you'll see a small box on the side with candles burning.



Mazatlan is an old Spanish Colonial city with the Cathedrals rising above the other buildings.



We opted to take a day-long city tour filled with all kinds of experiences. Stay tuned tomorrow for the cliff divers and more. On Saturday I'm going to take you inside that cathedral. It's simply breathtaking.

Road Trip - Thar She Blows!

There were 12 of us traveling together and almost all of us chose to take the whale watching cruise. Some opted for the more strenuous trip on a Zodiac but the Farmer claimed he was too old to be bouncing and slamming around in an inflatable raft. Some of you are old enough to remember Jacques Cousteau and his ship the Calypso. For excursions off the large vessel, he and his crew would ride in inflatable boats called Zodiacs. Sorry, I didn't remember to get a picture of one. They held about a dozen people who were required to wear those big orange life vests throughout the entire trip.

We boarded the boat and got a good look at one of the shopping areas as we pulled out into the bay.



The Farmer claimed he wanted a boat that served drinks and food. Here's the Farmer and I reflected in the window of the boat. Sure enough, the Farmer has a Marguerita in his hand and he's channeling Captain Ahab.



We saw some shrimp boats heading out to sea.



We went quite far from shore. Heidi, I can assure you it was more than 50 feet. We had to go up and down the coast for about 30 minutes before we saw our first whales. You can see how far we were from the coastline.



These are humpback whales and they comes to the waters off the Baja Peninsula to breed and give birth. A second whale helps the mother give birth and they actually have to train the baby to swim, pushing it back up to the surface when it begins to sink. It takes about 30 minutes for the baby to learn to go to the surface to breathe.



It's a beautiful sight to see the tail but that means that the whale is diving and you won't see him again for over 20 minutes. They don't breach (jump out of the water and belly flop) like they do in Alaska. Why? The babies are swimming with them and the breaching might injure them.

Here's another one diving.



It was an interesting afternoon. We we all impressed with the size of these mammals. On our way back in we passed those stunning rock formations again. The amount of water traffic in this area is ridiculous. I wonder if there are alot of boating accident's. It's crazy! Look closely and you'll see some boats in this photo. See how small they are? That will give you an idea of the scale of the place.



And the sea lions. They stink! Literally.



Then it's back on the ship and off to our next adventure.



NEXT: We're headed to Mazatlan, which the Farmer insisted on calling "Mazaltov" all week long. It was pretty funny the first 30 times he said it, but after that it was just annoying.

Road Trip - The Farmer Goes to Cabo

The first stop on our cruise was in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. It lies at the tip of the Baja Peninsula. I should have put two and two together - Baja + desert = a desert-like landscape. Somehow I envisioned it to be a lush tropical environment. It's a prehistoric looking landscape with huge rock formations jutting out of the sea.



The cruise ships anchor in the harbor, which means passengers must be tendered to shore. This can be a tedious process when you have a thousand or more people wanting to go ashore. Here's one of the tenders pulling away from the ship. It was a rocky ride to the pier.



The harbor was filled with beautiful boats.



At least one was in the category of the rich and famous.



Our neighbor who is a boating enthusiast said that this was over 150 feet. It gets 100 yards to the gallon and carries about 15,000 gallons on board. You do the math.

Buildings snake their way along the hillsides.



These buildings were under construction. Another neighbor said that 90% of what we were seeing has been constructed since the last time she was in Cabo, perhaps 10 years ago.



This crazy old building was high on a hill overlooking the harbor and the shopping area. The funniest thing was that there was a huge sign just underneath this house that said, "Not for Sale". We called this the Clint Eastwood house.



This is a bit unnerving the first time you visit Mexico or Central America.



As Americans we are not accustomed to seeing men walking around the streets with assault weapons. There is alot of military presence each time the ship would enter or leave the port.

My friends and I did a little shopping near the pier while we waited for our excursion boat to arrive. This was the first port and already this stuff all looked the same. I didn't buy a thing, much to the consternation of the shop owners.



Here's just a peek of what we'll be doing tomorrow as we head out into the Sea of Cortez to look for whales!



NOTE: Let me know if at any time this begins to feel like watching someone's tedious home movies of their vacation. You know what I'm talking about - Uncle Fred and his 8mm films of the family trip to the Grand Canyon. I'll do my best to spice things up by making up stories about pirates and drunken sailors. (Neither of which we encountered)

Road Trip - Prairie Schooner

The great grasslands of the American midwest were often referred to in nautical terms, the grass extending from horizon to horizon resembling a vast, undulating ocean. The covered wagons themselves were called prairie schooners. For the past several days I've certainly felt like a seasick sailor on dry land. I thank you for all the assurances that in a few days time things will settle down and my world will cease to rock to and fro.

When our children were small money was tight. The Farmer and I both loved to travel but we were limited to spending our vacations visiting family in Tennessee. We saved for quite awhile to afford one trip to Disney World. But when I stood in the international section of Epcot I knew that someday I wanted to experience the real thing and not Disney's version.

The Farmer and I are perfectly suited as traveling companions. We seldom, if ever, have disagreements while traveling. He exhibits lots of nervous energy at the beginning of any day that includes planned activities. If we're doing something onshore during a cruise, he's chomping at the bit to get ashore which sometimes means we've got to fill time before the tour begins. But other than that we agree about what constitutes a successful trip.

What I like about cruises is the fact that in a week you can be exposed to many different locations, sometimes wildly diverse. It also gives you an idea of where you'd like to spend more time. There were several places in the Caribbean that were just not our cup of tea. I'd have been very upset if we'd booked a solid week in a spot that held no interest for us.

This time we cruised with the Norwegians on the Norwegian Star.

As you can see the ships are painted in large graphics. Very effective.



Here's the Farmer literally chomping at the bit to get going for the day.



These ships are floating cities with both permanent and temporary residents. The staff was young and friendly. I loved them. The majority were from the Philippines.



The ship was very clean and well maintained. It's apparent that they take pride in the vessel. When we docked in Mazatlan they lowered this small raft from a high deck near the bow. The maintenance crew proceeded to scrub the hull with a cleaning liquid and this long handled brush. As we watched the faint discolored areas were bright once again.



We'd booked a regular cabin with a porthole but shortly before the cruise date Norwegian contacted us and offered an upgrade for a small fee. We snapped at the chance and the Farmer was so in love with the balcony he's declared we'll never go back to to steerage!

We slept with the sliding door open in order to fall asleep with the sound of waves pushing outward and away from the ship. It was heaven.

Here's our balcony. Let's sit out there for awhile. Tomorrow we'll arrive at an interesting port.



Let's go to Cabo!!

Monday Morning Staff Meeting

Good morning! Yes, I'm back and ready to resume the Monday morning staff meetings.

The first order of business is the condition of this meeting room. It seems that while I was gone someone had a party. Seriously, I thought we were past this type of nonsense. The evidence (a empty Krispy Kreme box) was found stashed behind the overhead projector. I'll have my eye on each and every one of you during this meeting to determine who's on a sugar high.

In the past I have left you with something to read each day while I was gone, even if it was just a link to an archive post. This time I was just plain lazy. I hope you had a chance to poke around the archives on your own. You never know what you might find there.

We had a wonderful trip with some fun adventures. Unfortunately I'm suffering from something I can only describe as "Ship Rocking Syndrome". I'm certainly off the cruise ship but my entire world continues to sway to and fro. It's becoming annoying and I sincerely hope it doesn't last much longer. Has anybody else experienced this?

Tomorrow morning I'll start organizing and processing my photos. Stay tuned.

Here's some teasers:

- For the quilters in the group. I found myself in a very remote Mexican village, accessible only by boat and home to only 1,300 inhabitants and certainly more than 9 miles from anything. Taped to a pole in the tiny village was a flyer advertising some type of quilting event or show. I'm not sure until I attempt to translate the flyer. I can't imagine there was a sewing machine in this village, much less a quilt show.

- I traveled thousands of miles to find a serious contender in the Quest of the Holy Pie Grail. No one was more surprised than I.



More about this later in the week.

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A quick look at my Bloglines feeds tells me that you've been very, very busy while I've been gone. It's going to be a challenge to read all the new posts. Want to do this old lady a favor? Leave me a comment and let me know what you've been up to in my absense. Just do a quick synopsis and I'll feel better about not having missed everything.

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I missed you guys!!!!

Gone Fishing

FIguratively, not literally.

Today the Farmer and I are leaving on a cruise along the Baja peninsula. The ship boasts an internet cafe but I'm not sure if I'll be posting from the Pacific. We'll see.



We flying out a day early to avoid weather complications that have foiled many a traveler. We're determined not to miss the boat. Here's our itinerary so that you can follow along and make up stories about what we're experiencing.

SATUREDAY - Los Angeles, board the ship starting at 1 p.m. Sailing at 4 p.m.

We're first and foremost flatlanders, children of the midwest willing to do battle with tornados. But we are hoping to avoid



The Farmer does like to point out that we live in close proximity to the most dangerous fault in North America - the New Madrid zone.

SUNDAY - at Sea, soaking up rays. The Farmer says he intends to drink and gamble, but I know better. He will sleep in the sun.
MONDAY - Cabo san Lucas - We're going on the whale watching excursion. Read about it and watch the video HERE. I would really love to do the Zodiac version of this tour, but I'm getting a little old for that kind of action. Besides, they serve cocktails on the larger ship.
TUESDAY - Mazatlan. We'll tour Mazatlan, including the cathedral, the crazy cliff divers and those guys who hang from their ankles and spin from a pole. Yep....they do. Read more about it HERE.
WEDNESDAY - Puerto Vallarta where we'll be visiting two places that are only accessible by sea....no roads. This is our type of adventure. Read more about Yelapa & Majahuitas.
THURSDAY - Relaxing at sea.
FRIDAY - More relaxation at sea.
SATURDAY-
Los Angeles and back to Chicago and reality.

We'll be sailing on the Norwegian Star. Follow the link and take a look. If you look on the right hand side you'll see a link to the ship's live web cam. In the bottom left hand corner there appears to be a hot tub. I promise to find this hot tub and wave up at the camera. See if you can catch a glimpse of me in my tropical print bathing suit.

Promise to behave while I'm away. I don't want any reports of malicious behavior. Have fun while I'm away. If you would like you could cruise through my archives and see what I was up to this time last year. I'll miss you all terribly.

UPDATE: The Farmer and I are at Chicago's O-Hare airport waiting for our flight to L.A. Because the Farmer does alot of travel, he belongs to the Admirals Club. Believe me, this is the way to live. No sitting in uncomfortable waiting areas at the gates...... drinks, free snacks and cookies, food available for purchase, internet access, comfy chairs overlooking the runways. I could get used to this.

Well, I'm off. Behave yourselves. As Heidi mentioned, someone needs to take charge of the Monday Morning Staff Meeting. Fight it out among yourselves.

Love, Suzanne