We have a few stops in Mexico. We haven’t done any homework so we will be surprised at every stop along the way. Some we’ve heard the names of before and some we’ve never heard of.

One thing for sure is we’ve gone from brown landscapes and dreary grey skies to green landscapes and deep blue ocean under blue skies.

The first stop will be Cabo San Lucas. It is a very recognizable place and has been famous in the USA for being a getaway hot spot for California celebrities.

I’ve been here before. I even took two scuba dives near the Sea Lion colony that live here, right in front of these hills, on the left side. One dive in front of the hills here was to the sand falls discovered by Jacque Cousteau. Cabo is a very famous place for many reasons. 

There was an opportunity to Scuba dive here but I never got off the ship. I’m looking for something new and am already looking ahead to the famous places I’ve heard of like Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco. They sound exotic and amazing. The diving must be great.

“You are just assuming it will be there. You didn’t do any homework.”

The ship has to anchor offshore so if you want to go onshore to do some activity you have to ride the small shuttle boats. These boats are provided by Cabo San Lucas. When I was here before I stayed at one of the big hotels on the beach. I remember looking at cruise ships coming in for a day. They were always rushed to do anything on shore. Cruise ships didn’t seem like a great way to really enjoy a place like Cabo San Lucas. That yacht in the background was there the last time I was here. Coincidence? Or maybe this is home.

I only see sunsets like this when I visit Hawaii and I haven’t been there lately so I stop everyday to see them. That’s a Hawaii tradition – stop whatever you are doing and appreciate the start and end of another day. Every day is precious. That’s the message.

The blackness of night is eerie against the last light. It only looks this way sometimes. Each sunset on the ocean can be different.

Back on the ship, there is a lot of art on display. For sale I’m sure. This one says art auction tomorrow. Is that a thing? This looks like someone I know. That’s the reason I stopped and took a picture of it. She couldn’t be the model for this painting, could she?

“Why not? She’s from Mexico. This painting was done in Mexico. We are in Mexico right now? Is it so hard to believe?”

This is Peurta Vallarta. This is the good side. The other side has a Wal-Mart. Convenient stop but I was hoping for something more ‘touristy’. The scuba shore excursions I signed up for wasn’t. It was an old shore excursion description that didn’t run anymore. The guest services woman hadn’t mentioned that to me when she signed me up for a different excursion ‘The Sea Lion Encounter’. Those smell bad, I’ve seen them already, and I want to go scuba diving. I was able to get a cancellation and not be charged for that, but this port day had nothing for me. The first two port days I will spend on the ship. It’s a nice ship, but…

“Dissapointment? So soon?”

I’m pretty upset because I passed on Cabo San Lucas. There aren’t any more scuba dives on the list of shore excursions.

“It’s your fault. Get used to it.”

This place is a lot prettier than this picture. Maybe because the clouds are low this morning. Some buildings are colored in pastel paint. There is lots of green. There are restaurants nearby and shopping. We are able to walk down the gangway ramp from the ship to the shore so it is easy to get on and off the ship. We don’t use the ‘tender’ boats that are required when anchored.

We don’t have a local sim card so we screenshot a map and take off looking for these dive shops. Maybe we can get on a boat right now, we’ve got all day. Until 5:00 PM anyway and that should be plenty.

“Ok start walking!”

I never find the dive shops. The map isn’t as helpful as I thought it would be. I did find a photo op. That and some blisters from walking several miles or more. I went through the frontroads and the backroads. I saw parts of the city I’m sure aren’t ‘tourist’ rated.

I end up so far away I have to take a taxi back to the port area. He doesn’t quite understand that’s all I want. He must get some sort of incentive if he takes me to a dance club. That’s as close as I can translate what he’s saying. I keep pointing to my cruise ship towel and he seems to understand the few words I know. I recognize the path we take back to the cruise ship port. We are going in the right direction but he will drop me off just short of the port. Close enough.

“Oh, that. It wasn’t quite what I thought it would be. I thought it was a disco dance club.”

What’s wrong with these girls? They are so obvious.

“Then why were you surprised when they asked for money?”

I thought they were interested. They made eye contact and smiled at me.

“That’s not interest? They are bar girls, that’s what they do. You aren’t making any sense.”

It’s confusing.

“You just said they were obvious. Why do you care anyway? You just wanted to dance.”

They are taking themselves off the market.

“That’s the opposite of what you just said. Anyway you aren’t in the market.”

Why don’t they get a job?

“Still not making any sense.”

Well, I don’t like it.

“You were liking it until they asked for money.”

Well, I don’t get it.

“Because you don’t pay!”