I heard the mission bell -- Todos Santos, Mexico

Back in 2004, we travelled to Baja California Sur for a conference.  We spent two nights at the boutique hotel, Casa Natalia, in San Jose del Cabo before heading to the conference all-inclusive.  We fell in love with the area.  A tour we could have taken was to see the Hotel California but we opted to go snorkelling instead.  We always knew we'd eventually visit the hotel and this was our year to do so.

The harbour at Cabo San Lucas can't accommodate large cruise ships so we anchored off the coast and took tenders into the town.  We motored past the famous Arch cut in the rocks of the tip of Baja California, a peninsula of Mexico along its west coast.  At the terminal we boarded a bus to take us to Todos Santos.  Glen had brought his cane as his knees often 'give-out' on him.  When our guide saw him, she insisted he sit in the VIP seats at the front of the bus.  We had a great view of the countryside as we drove up the coast to the town made famous by the Eagles song "Hotel California".

The hotel was first opened in 1950 and was built by a Chinese immigrant, Mr. Wong.  He changed his name to Don Antonio Tabasco but that didn't fool anyone.  He was the first person to bring ice from the Sierra de la Laguna (lagoon mountains) to the town so folk could enjoy cold beer.  As the hotel aged, it became neglected until 2001 when a Canadian couple, John and Debbie Stewart, bought it and did a complete renovation.  It is now the centre of a thriving artist colony and displays wonderful works of art.  The hotel denies the Eagle's song was inspired by it but every tour guide will assure you they know the truth.

Todos Santos began as a Roman Catholic mission in 1724 and was called Santa Rosa de Todos Santos.  The town prospered during the sugar cane boom with 8 mills in operation,  However by the 1950s, many of the colonial-style buildings became neglected.  Droughts and low sugar prices forced people to leave.  Eventually the farms were re-worked to grow avocados, chilis, and fruit.  Then in the 1980s, tourists arrived. and with them came artisans and artists.

As we disembarked the bus beside the Hotel California, we heard the mission bell and thought of the song.  We did a quick walk around the hotel and its environs before settling down to a wonderful Mexican lunch with lemonade.  We had met a couple from Vancouver so had ate with them.  They were horrified we drank the lemonade.  I guess we just assumed Princess would not let us eat/drink in a place that was unsafe.  The irony was two fold.  One, Glen had always said the best way to get samples from Mexico for his science was to go there and come back sick.  We never did, of course.  The second fact was that this couple planned taking the Grand Princess to Hawaii after our cruise ended.  They never reached Hawaii as COVID-19 hit the ship and it had to return to the mainland.  San Francisco wouldn't  let them dock for several weeks so we wondered whether or not our new friends got sick or got home before the border closed.

After lunch, we went to the cultural centre to learn about the region.  The inside was covered with murals depicting the history of Todos Santos and at the rear, they had built a replica of a typical house of the mountain people.  We then walked to the main street of artisans.  Our tour guide, Liddy, pointed to the end of the street where the white mission church stood saying she'd meet us there after we had explored the galleries and shops.

The galleries overflowed with amazing local art but having just downsized, we decided we wouldn't splurge on any new pieces.  Our guest room is full of artwork that still needs hanging so we were motivated not to bring anything home.  It was tempting, though.

The mission was a lovely church, very simple and very white.  The only colour was a single stain-glass window over the altar.  It was also cool so refreshing after the heat of the desert-like town.  We met up with Liddy and she led us back to our bus.  Along the way she showed us a globe-like statute indicating where the Tropic of Cancer passed through the town.

We headed back to Cabo and boarded a tender for our ship.  Both of us looking forward to the next five days at sea where we could relax.  Tours are exhausting!

To see my photos of Todos Santos, click here.

Follow the Blue Line -- Mazatlan, Mexico

The Princess tours offered for Mazatlan didn't inspire us (perhaps we'd had enough touring) so we decided to spend the day on our own doing a walkabout the town.  I suggested we might visit the Pacifico Brewery (founded in 1900 by three Germans) but they had strict rules for tourists, and as it turned out, we could see the brewery from the Grand Princess as she docked.  It didn't look any different from other breweries we've seen.

Mazatlan was founded by Nuño de Guzman in 1531 but it took German immigrants arriving around 1820 to create the thriving seaport of today.  Its name means 'place of the deer' and although it began by importing mining equipment, the port now exports over 40 million pounds of shrimp a year.

The Grand Princess docked at one of these working piers so we couldn't wander off the ship on our own.  Trolley cars ferried us to the terminal building, snaking through hundreds of boxcar containers.  Mazatlan taxis are unique and we were swarmed by pulmonia drivers as we left the terminal.  Pulmonia are soup-up golf carts and for $25, the driver promises to take you anywhere in Mazatlan, stopping to take photos whenever you wished.  But, what we wanted was a walk so we shook our heads and headed to the main road.  That's where we discovered the Blue Line -- literally a blue line painted on the road.  At a nearby corner stood an older gentleman who introduced us to the Blue Line features.  Every time a cruise ship docks, a group of English-speaking volunteers (mostly Canadian expats or snowbirds) scatter along the blue line route to direct tourists into the old city.  It was so nice knowing we wouldn't get lost and find ourselves in a scary place.

The first historic site we passed was the Angela Peralta Theater.  Originally built in 1874, it underwent several renovations before closing in 1964.  It was flooded by a hurricane in 1975 and set to be demolished in 1985.  Angela was a Mexican opera star who died of yellow fever in Mazaltlan in 1883 never having the chance to perform there.  In 1987, work began on restoring the theatre and in 1990, it was declared a National Heritage Building.

The next stop on the Blue Line was Machado Square where we received instructions from volunteers where to go next.  Carnival was to begin that week so many colourful statues decorating the square.  According to the volunteers, Mazatlan's Carnival is the third largest after Rio de Janeiro and New Orleans.  The square was built in the early 1800s and is a traditional Mexican plaza with a central gazebo and surrounding gardens.

A few blocks away, was the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.  Built in 1856, it's the only Roman Catholic church to feature the Star of David in its stain-glass windows.  I also discovered its outside lighting featured dragons!  Across the street is the Plaza Revolucion where the people of Mazatlan enjoy the shade of palm trees.

We retraced our steps to Machado Square then headed about three blocks to Olas Altas (meaning high waves) beach not too far from where the High Divers plunge from rocks into the sea.  The beach is famous for its shifting sands so depending on when you visit you may see the beach in a different place.

By this time, we were hot and tired so headed back to the port, thanking the Blue Line volunteers along the way.  What a great way to assure tourists of the safety of the city.  After lunch and a Margarita, we sat on our balcony and watched the workings of the port.  I had never seen cars being unloaded from a boxcar before.  It was a ballet!

See my photos of our Blue Line walk here.

A Grain of Salt -- Manzanilla, Mexico

Usually we do tours involving local food and drink.  In Manzanilla, we chose one with a promised snack but more importantly it involved salt, an essential ingredient in cooking.  Little did we know, Mexico has a salt-making industry that's been in business for 600 years.  We rose early to reach the salt ponds before the salinerios quit for the afternoon--they'd been up since 4:00 a.m. so no one could complain about waking up at 6:00!

The bus took us through the countryside which seemed to be never ending palm, mango, and pineapple plantations.  Our first stop was a gas station for a break.  As I stood at the end of a long line of woman, gales of laughter erupted from the bathroom.  I wondered if it there was no toilet paper (often a problem in Mexico) but no, it turned out one of the stalls had the smallest toilet ever!  Obviously designed for little girls, the women on our bus laughed as they used it.  There were no toilet seats so the squat method of peeing meant these ladies had further to squat.  It seemed the tallest of our group landed in that cubicle.

Originally, the salt of the Cuyutian Salt Flats was not used for food but for silver.  Mexico is one of the largest producers of silver in the world and the Spanish used salt to process it.  Today, the flats are a co-operative so the salinerios own the salt produced using the sun to evaporate the sea water.  The flats are in a lagoon with a naturally high level of salinity.  The salinerios pump this water into ponds lined with plastic.  When the salt forms, they rake it into piles to dry.  Most of the salt precipitates and falls to the bottom of the pond but some floats.  This is skimmed off and sold as Fleur de Sel which supposedly is the best salt for those with high blood pressure.  Most of the salt we saw piled beside the ponds was not fit to eat but was used to tan leather.  Of course, Glen tasted it!

Our next stop was a fruit plantation.  It was Sunday so the family were at church but allowed us to roam one of their service roads.  Our guide, Hector, showed us the different fruits they grew --jackfruit, mangoes (flowering), and zapote.  The zapote were not ready to harvest but the plantation owner allowed a few of us learn how to pick them using a knife and basket attached to a long pole.  Glen had fun harvesting.  Hector let us sample a ripe one and my piece was delicious.  However, Glen received a slice that was not so ripe.  He said it felt like all the water was sucked from his mouth.  Definitely not tasty.

Another use Mexicans make of their hot sun, is drying bricks.  They are made by hand which is back-breaking work.  Once the bricks dry, they are baked in an oven created by piling bricks around a fire and sealing all the holes with wet clay.  We saw they removing the outer clay to let the 'oven' cool before removing the finished bricks.

Paradise Beach is a black sand beach and people were gathering for an 'after church' meal and swim.  We enjoyed a 'snack' which was really a hearty lunch.  Tortillas spread with guacamole and deep-fried tortilla cylinders filled with mashed potato served with lots of hot sauce.  They even had our favourite beer, Victoria Lager.  Afterwards we had time to wonder the town until we got too hot and returned to the air conditioned bus.  While walking past the breakwater, a taxi pulled up with three 'amigos' crammed inside.  They cradled a stand-up bass across their laps with the scroll sticking out the window.  We started laughing as they scrambled out and they joined us.  No need to speak Spanish!

See my photos here.

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

We left San Francisco at midnight on February 11th so I missed seeing us sail under the Golden Gate Bridge.  There will be another time .

As you know if you've read my previous cruising blogs, we enjoy cruises with many days at sea.  This one was no different.  It took us 5 days to creep along the US and Mexican coasts to Puerto Vallarta.  We enjoyed our usual on-board activities of walking the promenade, reading, knitting and napping.  We also listened to the bands/performers who entertained in various venues scattered about the ship.  This time there were few educational presentations although we did attend a lecture given by the ship's navigator who gave us a virtual tour of the bridge.  On Valentine's Day we booked a meal at Sabatini's to celebrate.

On February 15th, we arrived in Puerto Vallarta.  The place was discovered by the Spanish in 1525 and by Hollywood, in the 1960s ("The Night of the Iguana" was filmed there).  In between, it was a sleepy fishing village.  We had signed up for a tour that would take us into the Sierra Madre (Mother Mountains) to a 17th century mining town called San Sebastian del Oeste originally settled by those in search of gold, silver, and lead.

The tour began with a long bus ride through the city and surrounding countryside.  Our fist stop was a small bakery/café (Panaderia) huddled next to the El Progresso Bridge which spans a wide ravine.  We then crossed the bridge and arrived at the Hacienda San Sebastian, a family-owned tequila distillery.   We sampled some of their unique tequilas (made from the blue agave plant) flavoured with coffee, chocolate, vanilla, and almonds.   I had fun taking photos of their chickens, too.  Maybe I drank too much tequila?

A San Sebastian coffee plantation called La Quinta Mari was our next stop.  The high altitude coffee is grown under orange and lemon trees.  Our guide, Juan Carlos, when he discovered I loved lemons, picked one for me to eat.  We also had a tiny cup (size of a shot glass) of organic coffee.  Afterwards we sat down to an authentic Mexican lunch of tortillas, beef, chicken and pork fajitas and lots of different salsas.  We washed it down with local beer (or lemonade).  Juan Carlos assured us all the food and drink was made with purified water.

The town of San Sebastian is quaint with its white-washed haciendas and town square but our first stop was the church.  What an amazing building!  Originally built in 1608 in what is called the Spanish Baroque style, it was rebuilt in 1868 after an earthquake destroyed it.  Its vaulted ceiling was painted in pastel blue and rose so different from other churches we've seen.  We next visited the local museum, Casa Museo Doña Conchita Encarnacion.  Here one of the descendants of the original seven families who owned plantations around the town explained her rather complicated lineage.  Due to Spanish laws regarding land ownership, men often married their cousins or aunts.

We had time to relax in the village square where I photographed flowers while Glen made friends with a local dog.  The bus ride back was uneventful except we did pass a bullring, Lienzo Charro "Miguel Prieto Ibarria", an aspect of Mexican culture rarely explored on guided tours.

I returned to our cabin with bug bites.  I believe the dogs at the coffee plantation had fleas (I did not pat them) but if there is a biting bug around, it will find me.  So if you plan a tour into the interior of Mexico bring plenty of sunscreen and insect repellent.

See my Grand Princess photos here and my Puerto Vallarta pics here.

San Francisco -- Before and After our Cruise

It seems like forever ago that we visited San Francisco.  Between the time we were there and now, COVID-19 has laid waste to our normal lives creating a whole new version.  Non-essential travel is forbidden as is restaurant dining.  So I'm remembering our winter holiday and wondering when we can again enjoy the sights and food of a different place.

We left Victoria on February 10th planning to spend the night in San Francisco.  All went well until we woke the next day to learn our cruise ship was delayed and we wouldn't board until 4:00.  So what to do?  When in doubt do a walkabout, I always say.

So we headed toward the Grace Cathedral.  This imposing building resembles the stone gothic churches of Europe but is made of ferroconcrete.  Work began in 1928 and ended in 1964.  Inside are wonderful murals depicting scenes from the city's past.  We have been to the Cathedral before (see "A Rare and Blistering Sun...") and I always walk the labyrinth.  It is a time to reflect on my life and I thought of my family and my Mom who died a few years ago.

The last time we were in SF, I had lunch with friends, Tim and Ed, at the Cheesecake Factory in Macy's ("I'm Sitting on the Dock of the Bay...") so I suggested to Glen we walk down to Union Square and lunch there.  We wanted to sit on the outdoor balcony overlooking Union Square so had to wait for a table.  We began with two mugs of Anchor Steam Draft and shared a plate of pot stickers.  I had a delicious Margherita flatbread while Glen had 'Skinny' chicken pasta.  The size of the bowl had me wondering what 'normal' chicken pasta was.  We were stuffed so waddled back to our hotel, Hilton Union Square.  We had checked out before our walkabout so retrieved our luggage and sat in the lobby to while away the afternoon.  Once connected to the hotel wi-fi, we discovered our cruise ship would now board at 7:00!  Apparently, after departing Hilo, Hawaii, there was a medical emergency and the ship returned to the Big Island.  Rough weather meant the crossing to California took longer than expected.

We decided to head to the cruise terminal around 6:00.  We arrived just as the Grand Princess Hawaiian passengers disembarked.  We hadn't received the email telling us boarding had been delayed yet again.  We left our luggage with the porter and stood in the winding line to board.  We met an interesting couple from Utah so shared a few stories of our travels (see Road Trip, Part Three) through their state.

Our cabin wasn't ready so we headed to our favourite place, the WheelHouse Bar to wait (none of the restaurants were open).  That's where we met our server, Muhadir, who looked after us for the rest of the trip.  We got to our cabin around 9 but one of our bags was missing.  We figured it would show up the next day and it did.

On February 21st, we arrived back in San Fransisco after 10 days cruising to Mexico (blogs to follow).  We were at the hotel early so checked our bags then walked to Chinatown.  I wanted dim sum for lunch.  We found a restaurant just past the Dragon Gate (built in 1969) called the Far East Café.  The first Chinese came to SF in 1850 and by 1870 were settled in an area around Sacramento  and Dupont Streets.  After the earthquake of 1906, the town moved to its present location centred around Grant Ave and Stockton Street.  It's considered the oldest Chinatown in North America (Victoria's Chinatown is second oldest) and the largest Chinese enclave outside Asia.  The Far East Café is 100 years old and the decor is amazing.  The dim sum was different from what we have sampled elsewhere but still delicious.

We had planned staying an extra day in SF after our cruise to enjoy the sights and so we didn't have to worry about catching a flight right after disembarking.  Glen wanted to ride the cable cars as we hadn't the last time we were in SF (he had a conference and I walked where I wanted to go).  So we stood in a long line Saturday morning to head down to Fisherman's Wharf.  We lucked out and got seats.  The cars don't hold that many passengers and some love clinging to the sides as they are hauled uphill by the cables.  Going down you hope the brakes don't fail!  The system is the last of its kind in the world.  Of the 23 lines built between 1873 and 1890, only three are left.  Even these lines were not safe from being cast aside in favour of buses.  In 1952, the system was bought by the city but in 1979,  deemed unsafe.  In 1982, it was closed for a complete refit and didn't open again until 1984.  The cost to ride one way is $8.00 but what a ride!

Once at Fisherman's Wharf (Pier 39), we decided to scout out a possible lunch spot.  Glen got into a long chat about American politics with The Fisherman's Grotto Restaurant's frontman before I hauled him away to see the harbour.  The World War II vintage ships, USS Pampanito (a submarine) and SS Jeremiah O'Brien (a Liberty or transport ship) are docked at Pier 45.  We decided not to do a tour but enjoyed reading the plaques (Glen) and taking pictures (me).  We decided to return to the Grotto for lunch as we had dined at Alioto's (next door) the last time we were in SF (see I'm Sitting on the Dock of the Bay...).  It had been a fun time with friends but Neil passed away a few years ago so we didn't really want to eat there again.

The frontman was thrilled we returned and gave us the best table in the house--literally.  It was a corner window table so we could see the waterfront and the Golden Gate bridge.  Built in 1935, the Grotto, as it's now called, is famous for its crabs.  On one wall of the lobby, the restaurant's founder is holding up the crab he's selling.  It is huge!  Upstairs, we enjoyed more Anchor Steam beer and shared a dish of crab cakes then indulged in the most delicious crab melt sandwich ever!

Afterwards, we walked to Ghiradelli Square to buy chocolates then hopped a cable car back to the hotel.  The staff there kept telling us about the Cityscape Lounge on the 46th floor of one of their towers so we decided to check it out.  The view was amazing!  We planned to have a beer then scout out a local restaurant but ended up eating from the cocktail menu -- prawns, charcuterie board and olives.  A wonderful way to end our time in San Francisco!

See my photos here.