The Zuiderdam arrived to the port of Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico around 7am…..in the dark again. The ship was cleared shortly after 8am, but there was a problem with the keycard check at the gangway. It wasn't working, so everyone debarking had to give their room number which was written down. The tours that were offered today all went off at 8am, so there must have been a long line for folks to get off. All those who were not on the HAL excursions were asked to wait a while for the guests to get off to their buses.
Today the ship was docked in a different spot than we used to be. Portside, or our side, was facing Walmart and Sam's Club. There would eventually be another ship here, the Carnival Panorama, but she was docked sort of behind us. Much bigger than us, she has 133,500 gross tons and holds up to 3954 guests and 1450 crew. They are just beginning their 7 day Mexico runs. The slip across from the new terminal shopping mall remained empty, except for the pirate boat and some catamarans. Leaving the ship, we were channeled between two rows of souvenir tents, then through a very small building with armed guards and xray to be used on our way back. The crew were most happy since we were close to Walmart where every one of them was planning on snack-shopping.
There were several tours today, but here are a few of the most popular. A boat ride to see whales and dolphins at Marietas Islands with a lunch was $90 for 6 hours. Another speedboat took folks to a beach for horseback riding. It included a lunch and was $145 for 7 hours. Rare spirits of Puerto Vallarta with lunch was $65 for 5 ½ hours.
We left the ship before 10am, and headed towards the Malecon, which was a walk of 3.4 miles. Lucky for us, the weather was mild, with temperatures in the mid-70's, and a little humidity. We have been here so many times in May when the sun is blazing and the highs are in the 90's. With a nice breeze, it did help make our walk a little more pleasant. The seaside walkway that lines the Pacific Ocean is one of the most celebrated spots in the city. It was full of people shopping, drinking, getting seats in the dozens of restaurants along the street, and watching the pole-climbers that put on a free show for the tourists. The sand artists were there as well as some young local fellows dressed in traditional feather headgear and costumes. Not sure what they did, other than pose for photos with people.
Towards the center of the Malecon was the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The church looms over the city and has become an iconic symbol of the town. This was at the 4-mile mark for us….from the pier to the church. Continuing on, we walked through old downtown and across the Rio Cuale, where one of our favorite restaurants is located. It was exactly noon when we arrived, and they were opened for lunch. Cannot tell you how good it was to sit down and relax with ice cold Pacifico beers. Seated at a table with the view of the river, we ordered their Mexican combination of cheese nachos and quesadillas. Complimentary tortilla chips and salsa started our meal. Then we added one order of chicken fajitas with corn and flour tortillas. They were delicious with guacamole and a bean dip. Our kind waiter turned on some fans and added the misters which cooled off the balcony nicely. Back round music was added by a harpist, and later a troubadour came through the restaurant playing his guitar. These days, that is something you might see in a movie. This is authentic Mexico at its best. We did take note that this café attracts more locals than tourists.
We had to watch our time, since it was a long hike back, and all aboard was at 4:30pm. On the way out of the restaurant, we saw friends who were there with their friends who happen to live in this city. They all agreed this restaurant was the best in town. We chatted for a bit, then continued on our way passing by numerous riverside souvenir tents. Making our way back up a flight of stairs to the oceanside, we ran into Heo and Greg as well as Ginni and Rich. The guys were so excited to be the first to tell us that our itinerary for the world cruise had been announced and very much changed due to the evolving situation in the Red Sea and Suez Canal. As we expected, both were cancelled along with India, The Emirates, Oman, and Jordan. The Mediterranean was totally out of the question now.
So after we stop at Sri Lanka, the ship will head to the Maldives, Seychelles, and Tanzania….all two day stays. Then we will hit Mozambique, Durban, and a 3 day stay in Cape Town. There will be two stops in Namibia, Ghana, The Gambia, and Cape Verde. Then it will be Transatlantic to Puerto Rico and finally back to Ft. Lauderdale on May 11th. A future cruise credit of 15% of the base price of this cruise will be applied to a new booking to be sailed by the end of 2025. In addition, each of us will receive $500 shipboard credit to be used to offset the new visas we will need. The ship will be able to obtain these visas onboard, and we will not have to apply on our own. People will get credit for tours that they booked, and we are certain excursions will be added in the new ports. So, the "mystery" cruise is no longer a mystery! Not everyone is thrilled with all of the changes, but better safe than sorry we say.
We highly recommended the restaurant to our buddies to get the best lunch, so we hope they took us up on the tip. But we think the walk there may have been too much for the group. Taking our time, we walked back to the ship with many short stops along the way. We had intended to make a visit to Fiestamerica , but when we passed by the driveway guard, he asked to see our bracelets. What bracelets? Apparently you need to be a member of their hotel complex in order to use their facilities. That included getting sodas at their outdoor pool bar. Oh well, at this point we were close to the pier, and continued along our way.
That's when we spotted the Carnival ship's famous whale tail stacks. And that had to be the groups of folks that were headed past us and into downtown. They were staying later than us, and still had time to make it to the Old Town. We got back by 4pm, and really relaxed with cold sodas for the rest of the afternoon. We were surprised to see how many passengers arrived with one minute to spare before the all aboard time. One man was using that time to negotiate a jewelry purchase at one of the tents, and we hoped it worked as he had to run to get back to the gangway. When you see some of the officers gathering at the gangway, you had better hustle and forget the shopping.
Leaving the harbor, a very nice pilot boat followed along. When the pilot was dropped off, Captain Frank tooted his horn several times, as did the pilot captain in response. We will not see another pilot boat until we reach Kona Hawaii several days from now. On the way out of the gigantic bay, Captain Frank had mentioned to keep a watch for whales. Then shortly after 5pm, he came on the speakers and said they spotted some on the port side. Lucky for those of us on the port side, we did see some whales blowing and skimming the water. We are not certain the type of whales we saw, but they did not behave the same way humpbacks do. Once again they may have been fin whales.
Around 7pm, we were waiting for the sun to go down, but did not expect to see the display that developed suddenly. Beginning with a sliver of orange light on the horizon, eventually lit up every whipped-cream like cloud that had scattered through the sky. Very similar to the Hawaiian sunsets we have been lucky to see. If the ship maintains the mostly west/southwest direction, we should be able to see both sunrise and sunset for the following week.
We could have easily skipped dinner, but there were a few items on the menu that were good. One such item was a tomato soup, different salads, and flat iron steak. We would call the steak London broil, sliced thinly and served with crispy fingerling potatoes. A small slice of carrot cake and much-needed sliced bananas were our desserts. And good news….the clocks went back one hour this evening. We sure need the extra time after such a vigorous day in Puerto Vallarta.
Bill & Mary Ann
