Cuise to Mexico

Hello Joan!  Yes, I took the cruise with my two children (without Carolyn, who had to work that week) to Puerto Vallerta and Cabo San Lucas.  I had never been to Mexico and fell in love with it.  The warmth and genuineness that one feels with Latinos here in the US is palpable in Mexico, quite overwhelming.  Puerto Vallerta is an old town with a beautiful center and an old cathedral -- just lovely.  A marvelous beach fronts the old town, full of cafes, umbrellas, and vendors trolling the tourists.  My children were dying to "jetski," a kind of motorcycle on the water, and a very nice vendor let them although the legal age was 15.  Rules don't seem to matter much in Mexico, especially traffic ones!  The cruise was wonderful, although culturally a little foreign to me.  There were no string quartets like the last cruise, or even classical music on the sound system, so I suffered a little.  The closest was Italian popular sounds, which are delightful.  On the other hand, the food was exceptional.  The buffet had several different lines, the French, Italian, burrito, Chinese, Indian, burger, pizza, etc.  Or there was the choice of the sitdown meal with full service.  I loved the frogs' legs -- the first time I had a chance to really feast on them (the kids didn't want theirs, so I ate their portions too).  There were many comedy acts on the ship, which the children particularly liked.  The best time on a cruise is when one returns tired out from exploring a challenging environment like Mexico and sits down to a luxurious dinner with waiters who know you (you have the same every dinner).  One doesn't choose an appetizer, a main course, and a dessert, but rather orders all the appetizers, main courses, and desserts that strike one's fancy.  I normally eat a very little limited range of healthy food (oatmeal, salad, frozen yogurt, fruit), so my eyes were popping out with the abundance and deliciousness.  I love desserts with lots of cream, like Tiramisu, and there were always several different kinds of them available.  Surprisingly, I didn't gain any weight on the cruise, probably due to the effort of watching the children and keeping up with them.