My wife, Royce, and I like to take at least one cruise per year. We recently returned from a week long cruise on the Mexican Riviera and visited Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas aboard the Carnival Miracle. Our personal vacation planner, Judy Best, always takes good care of us when helping us plan our vacations, and we had a great balcony views which offered us outstanding sights during our week.
Both ports offer a variety of excursions, from relaxing on a beach to gliding through the air on a zipline. This year, I chose to go scuba diving in Puerto Vallarta, while Royce spent some time at a Day Spa. In Cabo San Lucas, we chose to go on a whale watching cruise. I wanted to take lots of pictures, so we chose the whale watching cruise instead of a zodiac boat. The larger boat would offer more flexibility for picture taking.
After a short tender ride from the ship to the pier in Cabo, we boarded the whale watching boat and set out for the Sea of Cortez to look for whales. The crew of our boat was fantastic, and the adult beverages and soft drinks began to flow as soon as we left port. As we cruised out of marina, we were treated to a close up view of “Los Arcos”, the distinctive rock formations that represent the southernmost point of the Baja Peninsula.
Once we entered the Sea of Cortez, the search was on. For the first 45 minutes, we began to wonder if we would see any whales. Then the fun started. For the next hour, we were treated to a number of whale sightings, and I got lots of great photos.
The seas had a bit of a swell on this day, and it was somewhat of a challenge to move from one side of the boat to the other to catch a shot, but it was well worth it. One of the most amazing encounters was when a mother whale and her baby put on a good show for us. The mom stayed close, as the baby began to breach over and over again. Every once in awhile mom would raise her tail out of the water and whip it sideways letting all around know it wouldn’t be wise to move any closer to her calf. It was definitely a humbling sight.
Once all the whale sightings settled down, we headed back to port. I would recommend this excursion to anyone. The best time to view the whales in this Pacific area are January and February. The trip back to Alaska begins in March, and they are mostly gone by the end of April.
– David Patch and I met on a cruise of the Caribbean Princess, and we’ve been friends ever since. David and his lovely wife, Royce, live in California, so they are especiall knowledgeable about the cruises that leave
ort office is reminding us that they issued lots of passports in 2006, because that was the year the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative went into affect. That means a large number of US citizens will need to renew their passports in 2016. If that’s you, you can expect delays in your renewal. I highly recommend starting your renewal early in the year, allowing plenty of time to get it back before your next trip.