World Cruise day 15/152 - We're in Cabo and it's a Miracle we had a whale of a good time!

Cruise day: 15/152
Ports days: 5
Sea days: 10
Countries: 4
Continents: 1
Ports: 5

The last time we were in Cabo, it was on a Mexican Riviera cruise on the Carnival Miracle.  Today, as we pulled into Cabo - it's a Miracle - a Carnival Miracle.  We get to share the port with the same ship we were on last time we were here.  Funny how things work sometimes.

We were off the ship at noon so we did not hear the Captain's noon briefing today.  We did, however, hear from passengers that will be joining in LA that they received notice from Viking of a webinar this Sunday at 10am PST explaining changes in our itinerary and port policies.  We heard nothing.  When we got back on the ship, there was a letter at our door explaining the same thing.  So, we have to wait until Sunday to see what this cruise will be like.  We remain guardedly hopeful.

Our tour didn't leave until late morning, so we hung out on the balcony and watched the action.  Parasailing is a big activity in Cabo.

We watched as the Star dropped her lifeboats to function as tender vessels.  Since Cabo has no cruise ship dock, all visiting cruise ships anchor and then use tenders to transport guests to and from the port.

One of the tenders released a ton of orange smoke.  We heard that an emergency smoke flare had gotten activated. We don't know if it was a test or an accident.  Either way, it was interesting to see.

Today, we opted for the Land's End and whale watching excursion. We boarded the twin-hull Caborey with a little over 100 Viking guests.

 

While we waited to depart, we took in the sights.  There were some mighty nice-looking ships in port.

We saw a hungry sea lion hitching a ride on a boat, looking for a handout.

We also saw a lazy pelican land on the motor of a passing boat and take a tour of the harbor.

Cabo San Lucas or Cabo for short is located at the tip of the 775-mile Baja Peninsula, where the Pacific Ocean on the west meets the Sea of Cortez on the east. We sailed off past Land's End, a large rock that is the most southern point on the peninsula.  We passed by Lover's Beach that overlooks the Sea of Cortez.  On the opposite side through the opening in the rock, the water you see is the Pacific Ocean and that beach is known as Divorce Beach.  So, if you're on Lover's Beach and have a bad day, you can take a short walk and take care of business.

One of Cabo's most famous features is the Arch of Cabo San Lucas.  It is a natural stone arch reaching out into the ocean.

A small rock near the arch held a loud barking family of sea lions.

We sailed past Land's End and headed out looking for humpback whales.

As we headed out, an ultralight aircraft from Cabo Sky Tours kept flying over - for the more adventurous traveler.

Looking for whales didn't take long as multiple humpbacks were swimming just out of port. They seemed curious about some of the smaller boats out watching as they surfaced right next to several of them.

Back in port, we walked into town.  The walk is somewhat boring with little to see.  Arlona wanted to go to Diamonds International (DI) to get her free charm to round out her DI charm bracelet.  then took a bicycle taxi back to the port.

Along the tender dock area, we saw some interesting sea life hanging out in the shallow water.

On the way back, we caught a couple of nice views of our home for the next nearly five months, the Viking Star.

As we waited to sail out of the harbor, they finally loaded up the last of the tender ships, a.k.a. lifeboats, and we started making our way to LA.

The sun gave us a spectacular show and farewell to Cabo.  

Next up, two sea days and then a couple of days in Los Angeles.