Week 4 Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta and Sea Days

 It is hard to believe that we have been away four weeks. It is a very wonderful voyage so far. Even though we have had to revisit 3 ports we were able to book different tours. Tomorrow we are revisiting Costa Rica and are doing a Jungle Boat and Crocodile tour. It is to be 91 degrees and sunny so sunscreen, insect repellent and shade hats on the list. 

This past week has been mostly at sea. We started the week in Cabo San Lucas, a port we had previously visited. This time we took the whale watching tour. WOW they were sure putting on a show. There were approximately 10 whales and we saw every form of surfacing they take. It is mating season so the guys were showing off. Also caught sight of sea lions on the pier as well as a Señor Frog bar that is hard to miss. No we did NOT go in!

We then visited Puerto Vallarta where we had not stopped previously. We selected the Sierra Madre Hike and bus tour. We had a 50+ minute hike into the mountains where we learned about the flora of the area. Other than butterflies and soaring birds we did not see any real wildlife. Our guide was really knowledgeable and he told us to call him by his wife's name for him: "sexy legs". We were met by the open air bus at the top and then travelled to the hot springs, river, and a rancho. There we had margaritas, a tequila tasting and an excellent BBQ lunch. The return trip took us through some very poor areas of Costa Rica. We did have a limited excursion to Walmart to pick up items we needed due to change in itinerary. Not very successful for that as you don't find warm hats and gloves in the tropics.

                                                                Our open air bus

                                            

                                                                    Hiking group

Sierra Madre Mountains

Sierra Madre Mountains

Donkey

                                                                                Horse

Most of the week at sea we are busy with onboard activities. Every sea day there is an unstructured event called Crafters Time. We interpret this as sewing/knitting time. There are knitters, cross stitchers, needlepoints, crocheters, and other forms of hand stitching. We meet for about 2 hours. During the day there are also 3-4 lectures on various topics: wildlife, history, military history, fabric as art forms (excellent), cooking demos, mahjong, bridge, acrylic painting, collage painting, etc. Or you can visit the fitness center (we go most every morning) or you can just sit on various decks for sun, reading, walking, or meeting friends. Inside there is an atrium where often times live music is playing, puzzle making, a bar, shops, and places to book your next tour. We are now booked for the Elbe River in Sept. 2023.

Meals are always too good. We exercise so we don't gain weight (me not Jeff he eats like a horse and doesn't gain weight).