Sunday, October 22, 2023

Mexico Cruising - Cabo San Lucas

(Thursday, August 10th, 2023)

Our last port was Cabo San Lucas. Oddly, there was a really short allotment of time on shore. We had to be back to the ship by 1:30. So we only had half a day. We woke up anchored off the coast and you could see the famous rocks in the distance. 


Cabo does not have a deep enough port, so we took the water shuttles to and from the ship. Look how pretty our boat looks back there. It is the Carnival Panorama and it really is a lovely ship.




Somehow, we got separated from Pearl and Dad. So they took a different shuttle over. We waited for them on the dock and watched the sea life in the ocean. It's so funny when everyone leans over the rail. I promise they aren't all being sick at once.



For our excursion, we had a meeting place, but we were early so we checked out some of the local shops. June was great at translating, but not so good at haggling. I don't fault her for that. She's just too nice.





Finally, our ride arrived. It was a small van, but it had AC, so no one was complaining. It wasn't an excursion through the ship, it was directly with Wild Canyon. Wild Canyon is one of those places that seem to have everything. They have animals, ziplines, dune buggies, water adventures, camel riding, a water park and dining. (Probably more stuff I can't think of.) We opted to do the animal adventure, which was pricey enough per person.


When we arrived, it was really hard to check in. It seems like it should have been an easy process, but it took almost 40 minutes, which is a lot when the clock is already ticking. Then when we finally had our wrist bands, no one told us what to do. We just wandered into the park, which honestly looked like a sad zoo. There were lizards running around and animals in cages, but it all seemed pretty lame.




However, all we needed was a guide. (I think this could be a metaphor for life.) As we wandered toward the center of the area, there was a hub with people there to explain how everything works. We got Luis who was our animal adventure guide. Now the 'zoo' was a lot cooler, because we got to go INTO every pen and hold animals or learn more about them. It was actually a really cool experience. With a guide, the entire experience changed.

First up was the tortoises. We learned that you can tell the gender by tail size. Long tail is male, short tail is female. They are super chill. We passed them all around. I love the different colors on them. Many were hanging out in the water with just their noses above the surface. We had a brief visit from a bird who wanted to hang out on Beau's head. He flew in from nowhere. There was also a feisty duck called Donald. Don't go too close, he nips.










The next area was the birds and the bunnies. Luis gave us cilantro type plants to feed the bunnies. They really liked those, but oddly enough, I think they liked the birds' grain more. When we dropped it on the ground, there was a bunny swarm. At any given moment, you had to watch your step, since there were bunnies under foot the whole time. The birds were super cute. They were content to sit and munch from your cupped hand. I had two that stayed with me almost the whole time while I filmed everyone else. Ivory was the unlucky one. A bird settled on her head and left her a little present that almost dripped in her eye. Yuck. And then a tangy bird named Lemon bit her on the finger. Ouch. Other than that, they were the cutest. These types of birds are monogamous and mate with one bird for life. 












Next the Guinea Pig enclosure. Guinea pigs don't seem like a zoo type animal to me, but they are friendly and fun to hold. 



It was just our family for a while, but as we transitioned to the next area, we added on a few more people. This was the bigger bird area. These are the birds that learn to talk or do tricks. The Spanish word for 'wings' is 'alas.' Luis would say this word and point and the birds would spread their wings out on display. I actually wondered for a while why ALL the birds were named 'Alice?' The birds also gave kisses. You could hold a seed in your mouth and they would get it. So clever. The two we held were actually named Rainbow and Picasso. Ivory was our bird whisperer. She was the only one to get both birds to put out their wings.











There was also a really large lizard in the bird area. We got to hold him too. He had huge claws, but he was pretty docile. He was so cool. Closest thing to a dinosaur, unless you count the birds.






That was all for that area. Sadly, they didn't let us hold the crocodile. :( But we still had the camels to see. The camels were in a different area. You had to take a shuttle out to their habitat area. You could also pay more to ride them, but we decided against that. But it was still awesome to learn about camels and get some kisses. You could get kisses from the side, or hold a carrot in your mouth after saying, "Bésame mucho Serita" Camels are actually fascinating animals. I love that they have their own built in hot pads so they can lie down on the hot sand. Serita even took a bow on her way out. Lovely lady.










Amazingly, after all that stuff, we still had about an hour before we needed to leave to get back on time. So we played in the small water park they have. It was actually really fun. We played the Princess game and then played the rhyme game and whoever got it, had to go stand in the bucket dump. June was frustrated that it was never me, so she finally said, "My word rhymes with Bomb" (Do you know there aren't that many words that rhyme with mom.) So I got a good soaking just like everyone else. Except Tyler who stayed on shore and slept.




Our driver came right on time, so we were confident about making it back. The ride was about half an hour and some people fell asleep on the ride. I don't blame them. It had already been a full day.





Pearl had not gotten sand from this location yet and Tyler thought there was still just enough time. It was going to be close, but they were going to try. They found a rickshaw guy and he gave them a ride to the beach, where sure enough, Pearl was able to get her sand.




Meanwhile, I got all the girls back on the ship. We took our shuttle over and discussed what would happen to Dad and Pea if they didn't make it in time. And let me tell you, Carnival left on time. They said to be back by 1:30 and at 1:40, the ship was moving. I was actually a little worried, but Tyler and Pearl made it back on the last shuttle. Phew.




It was beautiful scenery on the way out. There are those classic rocks that Cabo is famous for. 


Dinner was another fancy night. We didn't get any group photos, but you can guess that we all looked fabulous! It was Prime Rib night which is always a win. Ivory choked down some fried oysters. She did not like them. Muscles...yes. Oysters...no. But don't feel sorry for her, because she also ordered a Daiquiri, since she'd never had one and it came highly recommended. It even had an edible straw. Yum. And of course, you can always finish the meal with Carnival Melting Cake. It never gets old.








We watched the last show of the cruise. It was the white performance. Can you see the muscles on the one guy? He literally looked like a body builder.




Wow, what a day guys! I'm exhausted just writing about it. Let's leave you with two little towel friends. Frog and Bat. Not as popular as Frog and Toad, but just as cute.




Good job for making it through. We can all relax with a day at sea tomorrow...

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