Sea Day #7

Monday, April 30

All during the night I heard some sort of banging noise. The seas were a bit rougher so I thought perhaps it might be the bathroom door, but I closed it tight and the noise continued every time the ship rolled with a wave. Then I thought maybe it was the safe door, but I checked and it was locked. I finally got wide enough awake to realize that the noise was coming from the ceiling on the other side of the room. I could anticipate the “bang” and knew every time the ship rose and fell that it was going to happen.

I peaked out of the curtains at 6 am and the sun was a big orange ball coming up over the horizon. I grabbed my cell phone, but all I got was a photo of the water drops on the window. Each night the crew sprays off the promenade deck and washes down our window which makes one think there has been a heavy rain.

It was easy to tell the weather had changed without even going outside. The sea was rolling with white caps and the people doing their morning walk were wearing jackets…some with hoods cinched tightly about their heads. Bob and I both decided to play it safe and took a meclizine tablet hoping to avoid any motion sickness.

We met Dan and Stan at the buffet when we went to breakfast. It was nice to not be worried about rushing off the ship and we took our time finishing. Both Dan and Stan had signed up to do the “Walk for a Cure” but before they started, we went to their cabin on a fact-finding mission. Since our January cabin will be similar to the one they are in, Bob wanted to find out which walls were magnetic. He wants to rig up some sort of clothesline system! I also took some photos of their bathroom to share with our friends who are joining us on the Antarctica cruise.

This contraption is the hair dryer! We were lucky to have a newly remodeled bathroom on this cruise, but this is what we will have on our next Zaandam cruise in a few months. Fortunately a "normal" hairdryer is provided as well.

The old-style bathroom. I much preferred our new glass walk-in shower over the tiny bathtub.

After that, Bob and I parted ways. He went to check to see if his tape lines were still on the pickle ball court and I went to the Crow’s Nest for the coffee chat with the culinary staff. The location of the Crow’s Nest…high and all the way forward…just magnified the movement of the ship and made me glad I had taken the meclizine. After two weeks of sun and blue skies, the weather all day was gray, cloudy, windy and cool. Bob even broke out his down vest at one point.

I took some notes during the coffee chat...here are just a few things I jotted down:

• The menus are determined by the corporate office
• Amounts are based on computer programs and the nationality of guests.
• Recently Holland America has switched to recipes that use more traditional grains instead of so much refined flour
• Europeans eat more fish, South Americans don't show up to eat before 9:00, and North Americans eat a lot more beef
• Lots of dishes contain quinoa since it is popular now
• Parisian potatoes are cut in a ball shape...they have nothing to do with French fries
• As a rule, the moment passengers see food, it is a waste product and can't be used again even if it hasn't been touched. If the food has not left the galley then it can be used. Waste is dehydrated and disposed of in port.
• The coffee bar used to have healthier food options such as muesli and berries. This was changed to items such as cookies and biscotti that aren't so much of a food hazard.

 I remained in the Crow’s Nest following the coffee chat and worked at updating my blog posts until folks started showing up for the Mexican craft activity scheduled to start at 10:30. The project, Papel Picado, was the Mexican equivalent of a tissue paper snowflake and are used to decorate for parties by stringing them together to make a banner.

My final project resembled a kindergarten project, but I’ll blame it on the large scissors. The craft really should have been done with small pointed scissors.

You can see the Papel Picado that I made at the craft session lying on the desk. 

I returned to the cabin and got there just minutes before Bob. The pickleball game hadn’t happened because of the wind so he had been walking outdoors and then spent some time in the gym.

Bob was really drowsy (a side effect of the meclizine) so he took a quick nap while I backed up a couple of day’s worth of photos from my iPhone.

At lunch the 3 guys went to the Asian station (as usual!) and I had a delicious salad with Asian sesame dressing and a cup of soup. (Danny had discovered the Asian dressing in the main dining room and we all thought it was so good!) I also grabbed a slice of pizza (which isn’t the greatest). No dessert however because we were planning to go to afternoon tea.

The Lido buffet was not at all crowded for a sea day (which was nice) since the second Mariners lunch was being held in the dining room. But…this worked against us when it came time for trivia at 1 pm. Our Aussie friends were at the lunch so Bob, Danny and I were a team of three. We did a little better than I anticipated, but still not great. Taylor the cruise director, must have been cleaning out the prize closet because he gave out prizes to everyone and continued to hand out the rest of the box of goodies as people showed up for the second craft session.

The Crow’s Nest had been freezing cold (even for me!) when I had been there in the morning, but the heat had been turned on and it was comfortable in the afternoon. We have both noticed how much the temperatures vary on this ship…cool in some places and overly warm in others. I am more than thankful that our cabin has been cool…especially at night. From what I heard, not everyone was as fortunate.

Bob stayed with me to make the afternoon project which was a fringed cloth to use in a tortilla basket. The Mexican ambassador, Susan, provided precut pieces of fabric and all we had to do was pull threads to fringe the edges. The colorful threads that we pulled could then be used to make tassels for the 4 corners.

By that point in the day, I could barely keep my eyes open, but we had promised Danny that we would meet him for tea in the dining room…which we did. This was our first time to attend the tea on this cruise and it was pretty sparsely attended…possibly because many had just gone to the Mariners lunch. Regardless, it was a pleasant time and we enjoyed visiting with the others who were seated at our table.

After the tea, there was no way I could make it any longer without a nap. Bob was going to be out of the room to attend a lecture on submarines and I crawled into bed and was out in no time.

I had to force myself to get up in time to shower and dress for dinner. Bob and I ordered exactly the same dishes…corn soup, salad (with Asian dressing substituted for the regular dressing), haddock, and the no sugar added almond cake. We discovered on our last cruise that the no sugar added desserts were always excellent and that was confirmed again on this cruise.

The evening entertainment in the theater was a “rerun” of two performers we had already enjoyed…the very funny comedian Chris Pendleton and Kuba Kawnik, a musician who plays may unique and unusual instruments.

Besides the vibraphone, Kuba also played a very unique instrument called a "theremin."

For many, this was the final night of their cruise and they would be getting off in the morning when we docked at San Diego. Luggage was starting to show up in the hallway when we returned to our cabin and it was nice to know that we still had another week left.

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

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Sunday, April 29

It was still dark out, but I was awake before the alarm went off. As quietly as I could, I got dressed and put on a little makeup. There is a curtain separating the closet area from the beds so I could keep the bathroom light from waking Bob. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the wake-up call cancelled in time and that for sure did wake him.

Breakfast was two poached eggs on English muffins, some fruit and one of the small shot-sized glasses of yogurt and muesli. Back in the cabin, I was double checking to make sure I had everything ready for the day and I missed seeing the arch in the rock formations as we sailed in. I did go out and take photos once the ship had anchored and the early morning light on the rocks was so beautiful. Anchored next to the Zaandam was the Nieuw Amsterdam, the ship we had been on last fall.

Bob had booked a 2-tank scuba diving trip so I decided to join Danny and Stan for the Coastal Highlights tour they had booked through the ship. All of us were to meet in the theater at 8:15 where we would wait until we were called for our tender. Bob’s tour left first, but then there was a delay because the seas were getting rough and it was complicating the tendering process. When we did get called, getting into the tender had to be timed just right as the boat rose and fell with the swells.

Tours waiting to be called for a tender. 

Lowering the tender boats.

The walk from the tender dock took us past a marina full of nice boats and a mega yacht or two. 

As seems to be our fate on this cruise, we ended up in the back of the bus for our tour. Our guide, Rudy, pointed out resort after resort after resort as we drove to a restaurant with a panoramic view of the ships in the bay. We had a chance to take photos and our choice of a free drink…beer, pop, or in my case…a bottle of water.

Our first stop...drinks and a view.

The drive from there to San Jose del Cabo, a short distance away, took us past even more huge, high end resorts and some fancy golf courses…all designed by big name golfers. Our guide, Rudy, explained that Cabo had been hit by a hurricane last fall which had done a tremendous amount of damage. Average rainfall for the region is 11”, but the hurricane had brought 42”!

Most of the town square (Plaza Mijares) had been rebuilt since the storm…a government building and the Mission San Jose del Cabo church were the only buildings dating back to the earlier colonial times. Mass was just getting over as we arrived and we were able to step into the back of the church and observe for a minute or two. Outside the church were ice cream vendors and a man selling balloons.

Being Sunday, many of the shops were closed and those that were open were pretty much all selling the same stuff…table cloths, blankets, t-shirts, etc. The hour we were given to shop was too long for most of the group and left everyone searching out shady areas to wait.

Not many shops were open on a Sunday morning.

Our last stop was at a glass blowing factory. We were given a demonstration which was interesting but I didn’t feel compelled to purchase anything from the store. No space in my luggage and I don’t need any more chotchkie to dust. (The Urban Dictionary defines “chotchkie” as:  A small piece of worthless crap, a decorative knick knack with little or no purpose.)

Making a Mexican glass turtle...wearing a sombrero!

Some views of the glass-blowing factory building.

The tour wasn't one of my favorites and not one I would recommend. It was basically a bus ride past the back side of many resorts with stops to shop interspersed throughout the day. If we ever return to Cabo, I will be searching out some other type of activity.

The tenders were getting backed up when we returned so the boat we were on had to circle the ship twice before it was our turn to unload. It was 2 pm by the time we stepped foot on the ship and we went straight to the buffet. Bob met us there shortly after we sat down.

Bob rated his scuba dive as “just OK”. The visibility had not been great but even worse was the water temperature. Being skinny, Bob gets cold easily. They had provided him with a full 5 mm wet suit, but with water temps of 60º he still froze. He had seen some new species of fish (for him) including  guitar shark but decided diving in the Caribbean is more to his liking.

Bob rushed off to get to the 3:00 scheduled pickleball game. Since the court is marked for tennis, Bob has been marking new lines using black duct tape that he got from guest services.

I intended to go to trivia at 4:00 but decided I would rather watch sail away and get some photos of the rock arch as the Zaandam sailed by. The Nieuw Amsterdam had left earlier while we were eating lunch.

Once the ship started to leave the port, the arch came into view.

As soon as the ship sailed past the rock formations and left the protected waters of the Sea of Cortez, the winds and waves picked up and it became quite chilly…enough that I decided it was time to get inside! And even though lunch had been very late, it was time to get dressed for dinner…a formal night.

The arch from the "other" side. The winds and waves picked up immediately after we rounded the end of the rock formation.

Buildings perched on the edge of the hill.

Bob and I both had the tomato soup and filet mignon and he had a couple of extra appetizers…the portobello mushroom and the salad with dates and goat cheese. For dessert I chose the lime and coconut souffle and Bob had the berry tart.

To get a decent seat for the 8 pm show we arrived at the theater around 7:30. To fill the time we had gotten into the habit of looking back over the day’s photos that I had taken on my iPhone. Of course Bob never takes any photos of his dives (although I wish I could convince him to start) but I showed him all of my pictures so he could see what we had done on my tour.

Bob enjoying his mocktail pina colada.

The Zaandam singers and dancers performed a production show called “Dance.” It amazed me to see the extent of the choreography that went into the show. The crew was all new for this cruise so each of the shows we saw were being performed for the first time. If there were any glitches, we didn’t notice. (Except we did find out that one of the male dancers had to leave due to medical problems so there were only 2 guys with 3 girl dancers.)

Even though the “chocolate surprise” had been listed in yesterday’s schedule by mistake, it took place this evening. (I guess that really makes it a surprise!) Bob and I went back to the cabin for awhile and then returned to Deck 5 a little after 9:30 pm Waiters were walking around carrying trays with all sorts of small chocolate treats. There was no problem getting any…they were begging us to take more and more. I suppose they had to empty their trays before they could quit serving! I was quite surprised to see how busy the piano bar was. We had been returning to our cabin right after the evening show and didn’t realize all of the fun we had been missing!

Our waiter, Lala, serving chocolate goodies.

A letter was waiting in our cabin that night explaining the process we would have to follow as “in-transit” passengers once we reached San Diego in a couple of days. Although we booked this cruise as a single itinerary, it was also offered as two separate legs so many people would be disembarking in San Diego.

For the 2^nd night in a row, we turned our clocks back…yippee! I could get used to 25-hour days.

Puerto Vallarta

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Saturday, April 28

My day began in panic mode. I turned on my phone and immediately the time switched to an hour earlier. I was sure that the ship time and local time were different and this was going to be a big problem. Our scheduled (and prepaid) tour was to begin at 10 am LOCAL time but if that was actually 11 am “ship time” then it was going to be cutting it too close to get back on board the ship by our designated time of 3 pm.

We stopped by guest services on the way to breakfast and they said ship time and local time were the same. Still not convinced, I texted my kids at home and asked them to please check online and tell me what the current time was in Puerto Vallarta. My daughter-in-law texted back right away confirming what I had just been told. This should have been good enough, but I went one step further and called the tour company just to make SURE. With their reassurance, I finally relaxed and quit worrying.

The welcoming committee.

Months earlier, I had booked (and paid for) the Original Downtown Tour with Vallarta Food Tours.  The tour began in the old town of Puerto Vallarta, about a 15-minute drive from the ship and our plan was to use Uber. I was concerned they couldn’t get into the secure port area to pick us up so we started walking. The Walmart across the street seemed like a good place to request a pick up. 

A trip to Walmart was the excursion plan for many passengers!

On our way, numerous taxi drivers offered us rides, but none spoke English well and their prices seemed high so we pushed on. We saw the public buses lined up in front of Walmart. I knew they would be cheaper than Uber and that it was possible to catch one to downtown. We started walking back and forth trying to figure out which one might be headed in the direction we wanted. I’m sure we looked like clueless tourists because another taxi driver walked up and offered us a ride downtown for $10. He spoke fluent English and I knew the Uber rate would be close to that so we gave up on the bus and went by cab. (Turns out that was a good move since we found out the bus we wanted was going in the opposite direction of those we were contemplating.)

The driver was familiar with where we wanted to go (the gazebo in Cardenas Park) and even gave us a little commentary on what we were seeing on the drive. It was 9 am when we arrived, an hour before the scheduled time for the tour. A farmer’s market was just getting set up and we walked around looking at some of the booths. Vendors were selling food and crafts and I think I could have been content just browsing there and sampling the local foods.

To kill some time, we walked down to the beach and sat watching two groups of young people playing some type of game where they had their ankles tied together and were trying to walk as a group. (A team-building experience perhaps?) The weather was absolutely beautiful…bright blue skies and not too hot or humid.

As the time for the tour got closer, we walked back towards the gazebo. I was getting desperate to find a bathroom but the only thing we had noticed was a sign next to some steps leading down below street level…”Baños 7 Pesos.” The stairs led down to a dark, underground parking garage and on the far side I could see a baños sign. We walked across the whole garage and found a lady behind a table. Using hand signals and a couple of Spanish words, I explained that we wanted to use the restroom but only had US dollars. Seven pesos was equivalent to a little over 30 cents so I pulled out a dollar bill and she shook her head yes. I then motioned that the dollar was for BOTH of us to use the facilities. She hesitated for a second, but then agreed and handed me two wads of toilet paper. The restroom wasn’t great by US standards, but much better than some that we had seen over the last few days!

Feeling quite relieved, we returned to the gazebo and sat down to wait for our tour. At precisely 10 am, a gal named Amanda walked up and asked if we were there for the food tour. This surprised me because the park was filled with people shopping at the farmers market but yet she was able to pick us out! Amanda also found the other 2 people who had booked the tour and off we went…walking at a brisk pace through the streets of the city.  

Our first stop was a food stand on a street where construction work was being done. At each stop, Amanda explained what we were going to be tasting and gave a little history behind the food. Using the map they provided AND the Vallarta Food Tour website, here is a description of where we ended up.

Stop #1 - Robles Birria Tacos – Originating in the state of Jalisco, this slow-cooked meat stew is marinated in aromatic red chiles and served up in delectable tacos.

The little food stand was very busy and had a long line of customers waiting to be served (a sign of a good food!) but Amanda was able to bypass the line and put in our orders. (A second stand just feet away served the same type food, had lower prices but yet almost no customers.) 

While the food was being prepared, Amanda returned with small cups of broth from the meat that had been cooked overnight. Amanda said that often she drinks the broth for breakfast! It wasn’t necessarily something I would want first thing in the morning, but it was very tasty. The tacos made from the stewed meat were also very good…probably my favorite of all we tasted during the tour.

Stop #2 - Mariscos Cisneros. Known for their stuffed pepper tacos.

While we were at this food stand, there was a very, VERY loud “boom”. Being in a large city, my first reaction was “was that a bomb?” Before I had a chance to run for cover, Amanda explained that it was from a celebration at the Catholic church across the street.

As we were walking...

What a mess! We have seen some sketchy wiring in our travels and
Puerto Vallarta ranks right up there with the messiest!

If you have been reading my other posts, you know we always have to get a photo of my paramedic husband in front of any ambulance we see!

Stop #3…Roadside Flavored Water. Although we were walking on the sidewalk, most of the business seemed to come from drivers who would pull up and order from their car.

Orange containers:  Lime with chia and peppermint, plum, passionfruit, pineapple and basil.  

The very large silver container had the speciality drink:  horchata. A drink made from barley, cinnamon, vanilla and sugar. This was Bob's favorite!

On our way to the next stop...

Stop #4…Tacos El Cuñado. Carne asado tacos. This place has been in business for over 45 years. The stand did have a few outdoor tables which gave us a chance to sit down. The first two places we just ate standing (or sitting on the curb.)

Stop #5…Vallarta Factory. After crossing over a small stream on a very wobbly suspension bridge, our next stop was at a chocolate shop where we got to choose a sample. 

Getting across this bridge was hard. Amanda told us to walk straight down the middle, but with the bridge swinging, I was back and forth and must have looked as if I was drunk!

Connected to the store was a coffeeshop where you could also buy hand rolled cigars!

The man in the background is hand rolling cigars.

Bob is not a coffee drinker but did like our sample...cinnamon & chocolate were added to the coffee.

Stop #6…Mariscos El Guero. A seafood restaurant where we sampled different kinds of ceviche and hot sauces. This was a sit-down restaurant...much appreciated after all of the walking we had done.

Amanda led us towards the Malecon (the Spanish name for an "esplanade along a waterfront") for our next stop.

Stop #7...Tuba by Concepcion – This was a sample of a refreshing drink made out of coconut cream and topped with a mix of apples, walnuts and a “secret” ingredient that no other Vallarta tuba vendor has.

Stop #8…Church of Our Lady of Guadelupe, one of the landmarks of Puerto Vallarta. This was close by and is one of the iconic landmarks in Puerto Vallarta.

Stop #9…Gaby’s Restaurant – Our seating was upstairs and we were served two different kinds of moles. We had a trio of drinks that Amanda instructed us to drink in a certain order...lime juice, then tequila, and finally a chaser of sangrita.

After several attempts, I've decided I'm not a fan of mole.

The colors of the Mexican flag!

Stop #10…La Azteca candy store. Amanda gave us samples of several kinds of candies and the we each got a wrapped piece of coconut candy to take with us.

It was around 2 pm when we finished and Amanda took care of requesting an Uber for us using the app on my phone. She walked us out to the street and talked to the driver when he arrived, making sure he knew where we were going. This was a big help since the driver spoke no English. When we got within site of the ship, the driver turned…but not at the correct place. Bob was trying to do hand signals to indicate that we wanted to go to the “boat”, but the driver wasn’t understanding. I quick pulled up Google translate app on my phone and it told me that cruise ship in Spanish was “crucero”. It must have been correct, because he did a U-turn and took us right to the entrance of the port.

By the time we walked onto the ship, I was tired and very hot. I checked the app on my phone and discovered that we had walked well over 12,000 steps during the tour…far more than my recent foot surgery was up for! Bob, on the other hand, headed outside to start walking laps around the ship to get MORE exercise!

With the earlier departure, we were able to make it to the Crow’s Nest for the 4 pm team trivia. No win for us, but a fun time. I returned to the cabin to shower and get dressed for dinner. And what did Bob do? He went to the gym!

Dinner (for me) was mushroom soup, seafood pot pie, and a “no sugar added” chocolate dessert that was extremely rich. Not sure how that works, but I enjoyed it.

Getting to the theater 30 minutes before show time meant we got some of the last seats in the balcony. The show was a performance by Chris Pendleton…billed as a comedian and violinist. Sort of a strange combination of talents, but what was even more surprising was that Christ was a female! She had the whole theater in stitches with her humor and then switched gears and amazed everyone with her violin and vocal talents. One of the best shows of the cruise!

The clocks got turned back an hour before bed. I’m not sure I could ever do a Panama Canal cruise in the opposite direction and LOSE time instead of gaining it! Tomorrow the Zaandam will be in Cabo San Lucas…the last of the Mexican ports and one that requires a tender.