Our port of call for today was Pichilingue for the town of La Paz. The ship arrived before 8am and we were docked starboard to the pier. That gave us the better view for the day. There really is not much at this terminal except a building and tables of tented souvenirs.
There were four excursions from here starting with a salsa dip and salsa dance tour for 3 hours and $90. A pub crawl may have been a better option for 4 hours and $100. A wild animal re-hab center for 3 ½ hours for $10 and a 3 ½ hour beach stop at Balandra Bay by catamaran for $200 were the last two. The other option was a shuttle ride, a round trip 10-mile journey to La Paz and back for $15 per person. Cash or credit cards were accepted except for American Express. We asked why no Am Ex, and we told they do not pay their bills, whatever that means. The buses operated every 45 minutes with the last one coming back at 3:45pm.
We opted against taking the bus today for several reasons. The only card we rely on while traveling is Am Ex. And we were unsure if cash meant Mexican pesos. The only time we visited La Paz was several years ago. At that time, we paid for the ride with our shipboard account, using some of the non-refundable credit. Easy. Not happening anymore. Now here comes the clincher. Waiting for the shuttle to take us back to the pier from town was slow and slower. There was one bus on the way for 60 or more impatient people waiting in town. So what should have taken maybe ½ hour, took three times as long if you did not get the first bus. If we had waited until later, we would have been late.
The town itself is more traditional with a few churches and a museum. The Malecon had several restaurants with mostly fish served. The stretch of sandy beach runs the length of the town and is full of sculptures and statues. Good place for families. The usual boutiques and cafes lined the Malecon as well. Once you have seen it, you have seen it. So with that we stayed at the terminal and browsed the souvenirs. It seemed to us that everything was more expensive here. One vendor was pushing the sale of a bracelet he claimed was opals and silver. We were not born yesterday. The "opals" were resin and the silver was alpaca or Mexican silver. As always.....buyer beware. Once again, there was nothing we needed and were back onboard within a half hour. A record time onshore, we were glad to get out of the heat which was 88 degrees. The humidity was 62 % with a 10.3 mph wind. Very hot indeed.
We enjoyed a light lunch from room service and worked online the rest of the afternoon. And we did have the pelicans and boobies diving outside our veranda as well as the ferries coming and going. At one point, Bill spotted a different bird scooping up a fish with its talons. It was an osprey and he hopes he got a picture of it.
Captain Thomas came on with his talk at 4:30pm and said we were preparing to start our 3 days at sea on the way back to San Diego. We have 995 nautical miles to reach San Diego on schedule. The speed will be 12 knots with some rocking and rolling. He added that the hurricane was behind us and we could expect smooth sailing. He left the port around 6pm with a nice sunset to watch.
Here's a funny story to share. Each of us received a voucher for $60 to use in the Spa. BilL decided to use it for a haircut, but was told it was too much money, and would not work with the $45 men's haircut. Bill suggested to the young barber to apply the $45 and keep the extra for a tip. Laughing he said he could not do that. OK, so now what? Using the coupon a different way, he still ended up paying $43 with a good tip in there. Creative math somehow worked its magic in there. Or not??? His haircut was a nice one.
The Orange Party was this evening, so the dinner menu was mostly Dutch. Bill ordered his favorite bay shrimp cocktail and a bowl of super-thick pea soup. I had the soup as well, only thinning it out with a couple of tablespoons of water when our waiter wasn't looking. Better.
Mains were one tenderloin dinner and one pork cordon bleu. Dessert was a shared slice of apple pie with a little ice cream. The Orange Party continued in the Crow's Nest, but we did not attend. Rock Brittania was the show in the World Stage with the singers and dancers. Hits from across the Pond were from the 60's to the 80's.
Tomorrow will remain a day at sea and no Mazatlan. Conditions were not looking good there, so the ship will head to San Diego........slowly.
Bill & Mary Ann
