Well we finished our cruise. I’m still recovering and processing things so a more detailed breakdown on animals and ports will come next post. We still need to look at the species lists, especially for Mexico and Guatemala. We had a Panama guide and a Costa Rica guide but not one for Columbia, Guatemala, and Mexico. We need to compare some notes and look at a borrowed field guide to see if we can nail a couple more down.
After Costa Rica we hit Guatemala. Our outing in Guatemala was a walk up to the lava flow of an active volcano. The lava flow was still steaming. Very interesting and quite toasty. You couldn’t push your finger into the ground more than about an inch. After that, it felt like you were going into boiling water. In Hawaii you are not allowed to remove pieces of lava because they’re sacred. When we asked if we could take pieces of lava our guide said, “Why not. The mountain keeps making more of it.” We took small pieces for our dinner companions and a large piece for Fido’s rock pile. That’s about as sacred as we get.
Lava flow. (Lise: The tiny shack is the “Souvenir Shop on the Edge of the Universe”. It was run by two Mayans and had flute music playing and incense burning. They sold spiritual Mayan trinkets. The shack location changes frequently based on lava flow changes. What an enterprise!)
Heading to the flow.
Fido checking out her sacred lava.
There was a big difference between Guatemala and Costa Rica that can be tied directly to political stability. Guatemala is still recovering from a brutal civil war not long ago. Costa Rica has had universal health care and no standing army since about 1948. Go figure.
After two days sailing we hit Puerto Vallarta, an old pirate port, now a lovely Mexican resort town. This is one of those places that tourists fly in to and stay for a week to play. Now the pirates are in shops selling diamonds.
Puerto Vallarta.
We didn’t do any tours, choosing to just walk through the old town. In a town from the 1500s we found a open space by a little river flowing into the ocean. We saw unidentified parrots, some unidentified tropical flycatchers, and two familiar friends, a yellow warbler and a green heron. We may see the exact same birds here in Michigan when they come migrate north this summer.
Pelican in Puerto Vallarta.
Puerto Vallarto also represents my most embarrassing part of the cruise. My workhorse lens broke before Guatemala. Right by where we docked in Puerto Vallarto there was a Mexican Walmart and a Sam’s Club. I was desperate enough that we hit them hoping to find a lens. No luck.
After Puerto Vallarto we hit Cabo San Lucas, another popular Mexican resort town, located at the very end of the Baja California peninsula.
Cabo deep sea fishing boats heading out at dawn.
Lise and I did an outing in the Baja Outback that included a camel ride. I may have liked it better if they let me wear a burnoose instead of a safety helmet. No looking like Omar Sharif for Ed. Geek on a camel.We did get snowy plovers while on the camels down by the beach though.
Omar I ain’t.
The outing included a guided hike where we got a number of new birds. The hike finished with a lunch of very authentic Mexican food that I’ve never seen before and a lesson about tequila. I’ve never been impressed by tequila but this was different. We had a range of tequila from the basic rotgut designed to be mixed in margaritas through something that tasted like a smoky scotch to one that you sipped like a liqueur. The liqueur tequila is a considered an aphrodisiac and comes in a bottle shaped like a pregnant woman.
In Cabo we hit Senior Frog’s, a Mexican tourist party bar chain. Mostly because we knew Molly was going to a Senior Frog’s on her cruise. She was supervised by responsible adults, unlike Lise and I. We sat down and they blew whistles and came over with a jug of wine that they poured in my mouth. Which is why people are known to leave Senior Frogs in a prostrate condition. For the record we left upright and in good order.
Senior Frogs in Cabo. Note the distance to Puerto Vallarta. That’s two days sailing time
The cruise finished at San Diego, docking very close to where I attend the ESRI conference. We were right across the street from where Lise, Molly, and I stayed a couple years ago. The temperature was about 75 degrees at 8:00 AM. It was predicted to get up to about 80 degrees. We flew back to Detroit and landed at 1:30 AM. In a minor blizzard and 24 degrees. Something is wrong with that. We cleared the car of snow and drove for about two hours in the snow. Got to bed about 4:30 and had a work meeting at 10:00. I want to go back on a cruise.
Snow in the yard, 4/15/2014. This sucks.
Ed's and Lise's Biggish Years 