Ensenada, Mexico   (Gettin' Sick)
Our Second Destination... I Can't Think Of A Song Title Either

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Comments from Ken Smith:

No one actually got sick here on this trip, as far as I know. There was a lot of talk about it though, with the on-going fear of "Swine Flu" in Mexico and the U.S. There were the free-standing waterless-hand cleaning stations at the entry of most of the dining and theater areas on board. Although neither Rosalee nor I went ashore at this port, we did manage to come up with a "tickle" in the back of the throat a day or two later. Hers did not develop into much, but I had to battle it for two weeks. It was not considered to be the "piggy" variety, but a very deep congestion that did a number on me.

I acquired a similar malady on board the ship we took from Florida to Seattle, via the Panama Canal. That was seventeen days of on-board living that was wonderful, but like it does on an airplane, that air does re-circulate quit a bit. On the Paradise we were able to completely close off the air coming in through the ceiling. At least that allowed the cabin to warm up a little. We were amazed that we had no thermostat for controlling cabin temperature. With a port hole that was non-opening we could not bring in fresh air from outside. It was never a discomfort, other than cold when we retired. Maybe that can be blamed on age? Nah!

Our cruise line of choice is Princess, and our usual faire is an outside cabin with a balcony, and that allows the opening of the sliding door to completely refresh the air inside. Their ships (the ones that we have been on anyway) have what appears to be a thermostat but it seems very unresponsive. You cannot turn off the air, and you cannot close the vent as we could on the Paradise.

Friends that are frequent cruisers recommend the use of "Air-Borne"- that medication "invented by a teacher" that is supposed to keep you from picking up infections that are... um... well... air-borne . Maybe I'll grab some the next trip. We are scheduled for a land - sea - air cruise to Alaska in 2010 to celebrate our 50th anniversary.

You may be picking up a negative feeling about Ensenada from me. Our first cruise was in the '90's and we took this same itinerary from the RCCL's (Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines') Viking Serenade. Although she was a small ship (only 55,000 tonnes... the Paradise is 77,000 tonnes), it was a way for us to "check out cruising". It could not have been too bad, I guess, as this one with the Class of '59 was our ninth cruise.

That first trip had one more port of call than this last one had - we awakened to fire boats shooting water jets over us, welcoming us to San Diego. It was quite impressive. The following day when we woke, we were standing in still water, next to a rock water-break, strewn with bales of hay, old discarded rubber tires, and at least two 30+ foot long boats half submerged and rusting. We were indeed in Ensenada. We were pleased to see the port looking very nice and a lot cleaner this time.

Rosalee has an affinity for "Blow Holes" found in Hawai'i and along other shorelines. Our only excursion off the Viking Serenade was through RCCL's booking service to a Blow Hole  located at the south end of the bay. It did give us a chance to ride through Ensenada and out into the country to see more than just what is located around the port.

The buses all park in a lot and you walk down the slope to the Blow Hole, but you have to walk "the Gauntlet" between dozens of tents and booths selling everything from soup to serape's to sombreros. Tiny children were constantly at our heels offering "Chiclets" chewing gum a dollar. After visiting the main point of interest, we walked back up to the bus early. An older couple, also from California, boarded right after us, with a young girl that was likely their grand-daughter, and not older than ten years old. She was very vocal about the children peddling their gum. "I cannot believe it!" she said. "That is terrible! How can they do that? How can people make those kids sell stuff like that? Haven't they heard of CHILD LABOR LAWS?" We could not refrain from chuckling over that comment. Where did a ten-year old hear about Child Labor Laws? She was standing next to us as she spoke, and I said to her "Welcome to Mexico!"

On this trip, Rosalee and I stayed on board during the day and enjoyed the luxury of the ship. It is even nicer when most of the passengers go ashore. There is beauty in every part of our world, even if we have to look under the dirt and behind the drug battles. Twice we have taken a 7-hour bus ride into the Sierra Madre Mountains out of Puerto Vallarta to small villages that were probably the cleanest we have seen anywhere. And the people... they were so gracious and friendly. Sure, they are vying for the tourist's dollar, but we often see that without the receivers being friendly or even showing a smile.

We could also see a very nice small-craft harbor off to our starboard (right side, guys) . With the beautifully warm weather, no winds, relaxing with full tummies, a tall cool one in our hand (Pepsi of course...) it is very easy to think of "comin' on down" to enjoy this "vacation land" like so many of our friends and neighbors have done. Then looking over at those gorgeous, ritzy boats, the juices start flowing and your thoughts turn to cruising the waters off Baja, hooking those big Marlin or whatever plies the waters in this area, and you would be very open to someone mentioning something like: "Hey, you wanna buy a boat?"

Well, if a debonair gentleman mentioned that an acquaintance had a lovely boat for sale, you would certainly listen... right? and if he said "She sails under the name "Colusa"... well... that almost seems like you were destined to plant your feet on her deck. "She's a full 60 feet with a beam of 16 feet..." Makes you want to check 'er out, right? Well, your momma always told you... Look Before You Leap! You can see a picture of your beloved "Colusa" at the bottom of this note. Bon Voyage!

From one of the many decks on Paradise I took a picture of the town of Ensenada with what had to be the World's Largest Flag Pole. I don't know that for a fact, of course, but take a look at that thing! Of course, that is not the full impact. You have to look closer at the base:

Notice the little people walking around? That blue thing at the top center of the image is the base of that flagpole. Tha's one honkin' pole.

One thing that we noticed when we went ashore at Ensenada years ago was that many of the homes and businesses seemed to be under construction. The work was obviously amateurish, and after going through California's Building Permit procedures and working with building inspectors, it makes one wonder how so many addresses can be sitting in what seems to be a state of suspension... often times just hours or days short of completion. Bricks sitting at the ready... up on the roof. We sure ain't in Kaliforney.

I asked someone that worked as a building inspector in our city about it and he told me that down there, as long as the building is not "finished", the taxable value is not changed, allowing them to remain at their lower tax rates for longer periods of time. I do not know if that is the Gospel Truth, but that was his word. We added onto our home and the 'project' stretched into years because we did all of our own work. They taxed half of our home under the Pre-Prop-13 rules and taxed our newer half at a percentage of the full value under Post-Prop-13 rules. It became complex. They would even send a contractor by to estimate the percentage of completion of the project. Once the tax collector asked me and I said "66% complete". They did not "trust" me I guess because you and I paid taxes to hire a contractor that declared the project to be... "...2/3 complete." I asked if that was close to 66%. LOL Many of those homes we saw in Ensenada were sitting at 99%. No wonder the cities down there are broke.

OK... I hope that those of you that went ashore at Ensenada will send in some photos, and write something to describe what you found during your day's travels.

Oh, yes... here's your new boat: "Permission To Come Aboard The Colusa"