Day 15 - Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Today's wake-up call came at 4:45 a.m. Holy crap. Out on deck, it's so dark and void of activity.

Even while in the buffet, where we're getting an early breakfast, we were suddenly the only living things under the age of 70, walking around this 90,000 ton empire.

As we eat our breakfast, we're actually still en route to Cabo San Lucas -- where we'll be for around 6 hours or so.

Similar to Fuerte Amador, Cabo is a tender port -- meaning we take a small boat from our anchored ship to the port -- about a 20-minute ride each way. Little did we know this ride would be among the highlights of the day.

We were asked to meet with our tour group in one of the lounges downstairs at 6:30 a.m. -- which was a bit odd considering we wouldn't really be anchoring until 7:00 a.m.

Shortly after arriving in the lounge, we stepped out onto the floating dock where we were board the tender. And the view was simply amazing. The ocean below us was a bit chopping, but the sunrise in front of us was gorgeous. On the horizon, visible rays were shooting out from behind the sun. The photos below aren't retouched -- I didn't change any colors or balances.

Twenty-minutes later we stepped from our tender, took a few steps on the Cabo pier, and then stepped aboard a yacht for a ride around El Arco de Cabo (Los Arcos) -- a distinctive rock formation at the southern tip of Baja California. You recognize it in photographs, but it's exponentially more impressive in person.

So tall, such texture in the towering formations, the smooth beaches, the pelican and sea lion colonies.... and of course, the way the ocean reacts when the Sea of Cortez meets the Pacific Ocean. In a word: angry.

Once our yacht turned around the tip of Baja California and into the Pacific Ocean, large swells rocked our 30-foot yacht pretty royally. And for 5-minutes (that felt like hours), I felt terribly sick and Emma felt terribly anxious. I was going to throw up, and Em was going to march up to the captain and tell him to "go faster." And suddenly, he turned around and all was well. And we felt stupid... kind of like the guys in the plane scene in "Almost Famous."

Once we returned to the harbor, we took some taxis to Baja Cantina -- a private beach overlooking the harbor and Los Arcos in the distance. Our package included lunch and beach-side relaxing.

There was literally a roped fence around the resort area -- which designated where vendors were allowed to be. So when we arrived, vendors blocked our oceanview with trunks full of sunglasses, bracelets, and wood carvings.

After a few morning hours in the sun, we ventured into the Sea of Cortez for a swim. And were immediately shocked by how cold the water was -- definitely a good 10-15 degrees colder than the water in Huatulco.

After dragging Em into the water -- under her shoulders -- it wasn't so cold anymore; instead, it was quite refreshing. But even if the water wasn't nice, we would've forced ourselves into the water -- after all, after swimming in the Caribbean, the Gulf of Alaska, and the South Pacific, we had to go for a dip in the Sea of Cortez.

Today's excursion also included a beach-side lunch -- so we ordered a few steak tacos and a plate of chicken nachos. It was so fresh with so much color. And free to boot! ...and that makes everything taste better.

Our solitude was interrupted a bit by our fellow passengers -- who were all Canadian, and all wanted (for some odd reason) wanted to buy anything from any passing vendor. So, in front of us for most of the day, stood a sea of white-collared vendors. Oh!...And Los Arcos too...

Today's vendors had a few new catchphrases -- of course, the standard "Lady!" and "Special deal for the honeymooners!" were present. But new in Cabo were "Buy now, pay later" -- just to let you know they take credit cards -- and the new one, "Almost free!" But when I asked how free was "almost free" (is a penny free??) the vendors got upset and kept walking. Oh well..

As we stood in line waiting to catch a tender back to the ship, we were both surprised by the size of the Federale's guns. Seriously. They looked like toys.

A little after 3:00 p.m., we pulled anchor from Cabo and began our trip North toward Los Angeles. And immediately as we made the turn across the tip of Baja, we were met with gale-force winds again. White caps across the ocean and nautical flags which are so wind blown it looks as if they have too much starch in them means it'll be a rocky night. Which is unfortunate especially since tonight is our last formal night.

Like we said before, tonight was the itinerary's last formal night. But since we had breakfast at 5:00 a.m., lunch at 10:00 a.m., and second lunch at 2:00 p.m., our dinner may have been a bit spoiled.

Emma

Appetizer: Caesar salad

Main Course: Lobster tail with shrimp prawn

Dessert: Carrot cake

Ryan

Appetizer: Peach mango cold soup

Main Course: Beef wellington tenderloin

Dessert: Chocolate pudding pie

As we walked out of the dining room, we hung out in the Atrium for a bit for the Captain's Farewell message -- which was all of "Thanks for joining us on an epic journey from East to West Coast" in a broken Italian accent.

Here, we also learned that the ship's miles per gallon were an industry-leading 35 feet per gallon. But then again, we also weighed more than the average SUV...and carried around 3,000 more people than the everyday vehicle. Across the cruise, we collectively consumed over 10,000 bottles of beer, 4,000 wine bottles and 6,500 pounds of self-serve ice cream.

After dinner, we saw a comedian who evidently has a pilot airing on Fox in 3 months. But if his 45-minute show is indicative of his upcoming sitcom, his Jersey-boy comedy will quickly fall short.

Following his act, we walked down midship to watch 3 couples participate in the Not-So-Newlywed Game. One couple, who were married over 20 years, knew nearly nothing about one another. Very sad.

But we left encouraged by the coupled married 40 years who knew each other without flaw. Oh, they also compared their love life to the energy of Superman.

Nineteen hours after waking up, we decided we'd had enough activity and went to bed.

Photos from the Day

Video from the Day

Tomorrow: At Sea