Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I departed the city to Long Beach to travel the beautiful open seas of the Pacific Ocean to Mexico on a seven day cruise. It was my first time cruisin' and was even more enjoyable than I expected! After setting into our small cabin, we quickly explored the ship and found the 'Serenity Lounge' which consisted of lounge chairs, hammocks, pods, jacuzzi and a pool made of filtered sea water...how cool is that? The best part about Serenity Lounge was the mere fact that it was ages 21 and older only. This gave us peace and serenity all while having a relaxing but fun time without the families and kids that were also on the cruise. The first two days were the ''fun days at sea'', which meant poolside by day and comedy shows, dinner and drinks by night. It was such a fun time on the ship, but of course we were eager to arrive at our first destination, Cabo San Lucas to see the rock structure at the tip of the Baja peninsula, indulge in authentic food and see a beautiful sunset along the sandy shores and warm ocean water.
In the morning of the third day at sea, we began to see the mountains and coastline of Baja and by noon we had arrived at the stunning and famous "El Arco," Cabo's Golden Arch. Although this was my third trip to Cabo San Lucas, the Arch and surrounding rocks were as beautiful as ever towering out of the sapphire water. As we tendered off the ship, we arrived at the port and quickly found the nearest market for a few cervezas and a light snack to get in the spirit of Mexico! We wanted to hop on a glass bottom boat as soon as possible to take a tour of the Arch and surrounding beaches, which is exactly what we did. After being approached numerous times, we hopped on the water taxi and got a tour of the Arch and surrounding beaches. The sun was beginning to come closer to the earth and the waves gently swayed around the rocks. The lighting was stunning and the water had countless shades of blue and green throughout as the Sea of Cortez and Pacific Ocean meet. The Arch certainly appeared golden as sea lions bathed in the sunlight.
After our boat ride, we took to the town and leisurely roamed around downtown stopping in small shops and eventually wound up in a waterfront restaurant where we sipped on quite the margarita (let's just say, they really love their tequila down there), enjoyed warm chips and authentic salsa and even had the pleasure of a table side mariachi band provide some entertainment!
Although we did not have a full day in Cabo because of the time it took to get everyone off the cruise ship, it was still a fulfilled day! If we had more time, we would have loved to spend the day at Playa de Amour (Lover's Beach) and jet ski around The Arch (that was the plan, but as you probably know when traveling, things can change quickly!) It was interesting to see Cabo after Hurricane Odile hit the area this past September, but they were quick to rebuild and I saw very little damage in the area.
After our afternoon turned evening in Cabo, we headed back to the port to board the ship and set sail to Mazatlan. Stay tuned for part two and part three of my Mexico Cruise as I cover a day in Mazatlan and where we found paradise in Puerto Vallarta!
Have you ever traveled to Mexico? What are you favorite places and activities to do there? Are you heading to any new places for the holidays? I'd love to hear what your plans are for the winter season! Share your thoughts below in the comment section, chat with me on Twitter and follow me on Instagram for daily inspiration!