Cruise to the Sea of Cortez

This was a fun cruise to 2 ports we had never visited, La Paz and Loreto.  The weather was perfect for the whole 10 days.  Mostly in the 70"s.

First stop San Diego.

Ship in port and we departed for a day of sightseeing.

Next port was Cabo San Lucas, again perfect weather .

There were two other cruise ships in port that day, too many people for that small town..  Since we had been there many times before we spent the day on our balcony watching the whales.  One even came right along the ship,

Next port of La Paz we spent the day on a tour.  We had an excellent driver who showed us the highlights of the town.

The first stop was at a weavers shop.  Here there was a very old wooden loom they used to make cloth.

We drove along the beach and stopped at a vendors fair.

The next stop was a short visit to the local cathedral and back to the ship.

There where about 6 of these crystal chandeliers, very pretty and old.

Can you believe the color of the water?  This was the view from our 14th floor balcony.  

And how about cactus on the shore of the ocean.  Not something you see everyday,

Next stop, the town of Loreto.  This was my favorite of the whole trip.  I am trying to convince my husband we should move down here for 6 months of the year.  One third of the population is from the U.S. or Canada.

At Loreto we took a walking tour of the town.  Our guide was great and had so much information about the history of the town and the marine life of the area.

There were crabs all along the shore on the rocks.

This sculpture is of a whale shark.  This is where they spend the Spring months.  I actually saw one swimming by our ship on one of our trips to Hawaii this year.

Don't you love the coconuts in the tree.  They where everywhere.

I thought this was such a pretty window.  Love the old architecture. 

Here the town hall is just a few feet from the beginning of the Camino Real, which runs from Loreto in Baja California all the way up to San Fransisco, CA.  The very first mission on this long road was built here in Loreto.

Beginning spot of Camino Real

Again we visited the local cathedral, at the time of our visit there was a baptism in progress.  We weren't able to go inside.  We did however go into an adjacent room which was the original sanctuary for the mission built in the 1600's and it still is in use today.

Original Sanctuary 

Bell and view of had cut stone walls

From the cathedral we strolled down the main shopping street that was shaded by trees.  Although not that hot, the shade was very welcome.  Loved the trees and the cobblestone road.

Walk along the shore back to the ship.  Good bye Loreto.

And our last stop was Puerto Vallarta.  Almost time to return home.

These life size skeletons where everywhere we went in Mexico. Two more days at see then a 8 hour drive and we will be home again.  This was our 5th cruise in 5 months.  It is going to feel good to stay home for awhile.

Happy Travels!

Arriving in San Fransisco

We set out early for our 2 hour drive to the port of San Fransisco only to be tied up it terrible traffic.  Our 2 hour trip took 4 hours.  We arrived at 3:29 and the gang plank was pulled in at 3:30, right on our heels.  It was bumper to bumper most of the way and just crawling along.  Talk about a nail biter.  

Cool car in front of us as we approach the Bay Bridge.

looking back on San Fransisco

The weather could not have been more perfect as we sailed away. It was in the upper 70"s and clear, amazingly none of the usual fog.

old fort underneath the Golden Gate Bridge.

Funny, we have sailed past here many times and I never noticed the old fort nestled under the bridge.  It looks so tiny under that massive bridge, but I image in it's day it was a very important defensive position for early California.  There is another much larger fort on the opposite side of the mouth of the bay.

Fort on opposite side of bay.

The Grand Princess is a very nice ship and the pools where sparkling blue and very inviting.

We found this sign on our cabin door.  This was our celebration cruise and the crew made us feel right at home.  The seas where calm for the entire week.  Barely new we where at sea.  And our captain was great at docking, never once did we feel the ship arrive at port or leave.  I have to commend him on a great job.  Smooth sailing all the way.

This was the view from our Balcony as we arrived in  Santa Barbara,  Mr. K went into port to do some shopping for things he forgot to pack and I stayed on board the ship and just spent the day relaxing.  We had a room on the top deck making our views spectacular.  You can just see the bridge of the ship peaking out at the top of the picture, same deck we where on.  There was even a small pool at the end of our hallway just outside, that hardly anyone else used.  I think I am spoiled now.  I loved being this high in the ship.  

On our first day out we had a medical emergency on board and had to turn the ship around back towards San Fransisco to meet an evac. helicopter.  The starboard side of our deck had to evacuate their cabins during the airlift for safety concerns, in case  the helicopter had an accident, during the lifting of the passenger.  Everything went smoothly and in a couple of hours we where back on course.  Hope everything turned out alright for the patient.  

Tomorrow we sail for Long Beach Harbor and our shore excursion into Beverly Hills and Hollywood.