Puerto Vallarta
While the ship was beautiful, we don't have any pictures of the interior or the service people. We were so intent on just enjoying everything that no one wanted to take the responsibility of photos. Instead we only took our cameras out when we went into a port. Therefore, our pictures start when we set out on a day of sailing in Puerto Vallarta.
The Sapphire Princess has many balconies, the better to view the ports.
This gorgeous ship, when looked at from the ocean, is really gianormous.
Our day's excursion started on a 50' sailboat that had only three couples, a ship's videographer, and two crew members. We all got a turn at the helm and enjoyed drinks on the sail home.
After sailing down the coast past Puerto Vallarta, we came to a point we could stop and free dive/snorkel.
The water was clear and if our cameras had been waterproof
we would have gotten many beautiful pictures of the fish.
As we turned to sail away from this spot, we noticed three whales near another sailboat. We decided to chase the whales and headed in the direction we thought they were going. The other boat had apparently seen enough and headed back up the coast toward Puerto Vallarta.
It turned out we had guessed right and the whales surfaces on our port (left) side, running parallel to us. We were really lucky!
Craig got out on the bow, holding onto the bow line, searching for further evidence of the whales.
It was then that one of the whales decided to investigate/play with us. He swam directly across and under the bow of the boat and his tail was about a yard under Craig's feet. Everyone jumped to the starboard (right) side of the boat and grabbed their camera.
The whale circled around, turned sideways, to better view us with his left eye, and came up along side the boat, again crossing under the bow and very close to the surface. The purple photograph was taken almost next to the whale and the other photos were taken as the whale re circled the boat several times.
Finally a dive and the whales were out of sight for several minutes. When they surfaced again they were a ways away from us and heading south. We were busy shouting among ourselves and agreed this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Even the Mexican crew members were excited and shouting. As we turned to head back the crew members signaled it was time for drinks.
We had one final excitement as we were following another sailboat back up the coast. A giant manta ray was spotted off our bow, starboard.
The vertical tips on the wings??? were about 8'-10' apart and it kept circling the boat. Apparently the boat ahead of us had gashed it with their keel and it had a long scar down its back. Our videographer asked us not to take pictures because of the unnatural interest in injured living things on the internet. Therefore the picture here is of a healthy manta ray and not associated with our trip.
On the return trip we saw our ship looming over the rest of the Puerto Vallarta coastline.
The crew let us off at a pier near the Sapphire Princess and we were able to walk back to our cabins.
Cabo San Lucas
Cabo San Lucas is located at the southern tip of Baja California, at the convergence of the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez. The symbol of this location is the rocks jutting out at the most southern tip of the peninsula.
The harbor in Cabo is too shallow for large cruise ships and we had to tender into the port.
We then walked about 1/2 a mile around the docks to where we could catch a taxi.
We went to the Office - a restaurant situated in the sand and famous for the people who stop there and the water almost at your table.
After drinks and hors d'oeuvres we set out for the shops and bars. Cabo Wabo was one destination where we needed another libation and to purchase some presents.
Since the time in Cabo San Lucas was very limited, we soon had to return to the ship.
Passing the harbor we noted the ever present seagulls and pelicans.
While waiting for the tender returning us to the ship, Lisa commented
on a very young drummer playing with a band on the pier.
Patty and Craig just relaxed.
We said goodbye to Cabo San Lucas as we sailed around the point and prepared for the stretch run home.
