It must be the Viking in me because in all our travels, whether land based or cruises, wherever I go I must explore. Got to go do things, see things, always on the go.

For the most part this trip is a little different. Alreadly having been to most of the ports multiple times there has not been a need to explore. Once you eliminate the kind of activities that I don’t participate in, like zip lining, horseback riding, snorkling or scuba diving, hiking, and lots of others, and already having done the general sight seeing and shopping, this trip has been extremely relaxing.

I did have plans to do a few things on our own in both Puerto Vallarta and Mazitlan but those plans were quickly changed to do nothing but sit by and in the pool to enjoy the amenities of the ship while it is less crowded. Reading, listening to our iPods, playing games, a cocktail or two at some point triumphed going to explore the ports. Been there, done that.

Yesterday we were in La Paz, a port not often visited by cruise ships. The Carnival Spirit is the only large cruise ship visiting this port and that was only twice in February. Every Friday a small luxury ship, Cruise West’s Spirit of Endevour, makes a regular call and that is it. I had never been here so I had to explore. We booked a ship’s excursion, the La Paz Historical Tour. This is the obligatory general tour, four hours on a bus, on and off every hour at various stops.

As I discovered, La Paz is not very big. Our first stop was downtown at an arts and crafts mercantile right on the beach waterfront. The waterfront beach area was beautiful with a very long curving white sand beach, many sculptures, and really reminded me of Cannes, France which I visited on a cruise in October of 2009. Next stop was at the city’s biggest church. Tours always stop at churches. I can’t tell you how many churches I have been to in the last two years.

A stop at the regional Historical and Archealogical Museum was the next stop. The museum contained displays and artifacts related to the history of the Baja peninsula. Again, on the bus and out to a beautiful beach facing the Sea of Cortez. A quick Corona and back to the ship for lunch.

Today we are in Cabo San Lucas. As I write this we are anchored right off Los Arcos, just like our last cruise here in October 2008. The plan is to have no plan, just kicking back and relax on the ship other than a quick tender ride to shore to barter with the vendors at the mercantile at the pier. Been there, done that.

A couple of days from today, I will be in Ensenada. Although I was there last April, we did not do what we had planned for the visit because I had a cold and just did not feel like doing anything. This time we will be taking a tour of two wineries outside of town. Mexico has a growing wine industry and this should be a very interesting excursion.

Until tomorrow,
Bon Voyage.