First Day at Sea and Port of Call

Days 3 & 4 (cruise days 2-3) - Once away from LA it was overnight and full day at sea cruising along the coast of Baja California heading to Cabos San Lucas. The seas were calm and the weather spectacular with incredible blue clear skies. I was up early drinking coffee, clearing off emails, and entering feedback on the first of three submitted manuscripts for journals I regularly do reviews for. The Oceanview Cafe is like the buffet Lido deck on most other ships - a huge cafeteria arrangement that can probably seat 1/3 of the ship's population. But at 4:30 a.m. PST there were only about 5 other passengers and the breakfast prep crew around. And full strength hot coffee to get me started. Being a morning person, I love the quietness before dawn and seeing the sun crest on the horizon.

During the day at sea I took some time to do laps on the deck and to catch some rays. It was also quiet reflection time to think about work things, prepping for the various activities I will do in my visiting scholar capacity, the travel journey I am on, and life stuff. The change of environment is conducive to reflection and I find a certain serenity being on the water. I suppose it is related to a sense of escape when one can gaze upon the sparkling waters and see nothingness to the west and a glimpse to the Baja coast line to the east - there must be a metaphor in there somewhere 🤔 Over the course of this first sea day my goal was to figure out my routine, balancing work with breaks, exercise, and rest...not sure it was a total success given the novelty and distractions. Oh, well - will work at that routine thing over the next few days 😌

First port of call is Cabos San Lucas, a place I last visited in November 2001 after 9-11. At the time San Lucas was known as the party hotspot and was not, in my humble opinion, the most beautiful place. But the city is surrounded by many amazing beaches and is a prime destination for resorts. In 2001 the place was deserted and the economy devastated when air travel was severely interrupted. And since then the area has been decimated a few times by hurricanes. Nonetheless, one of the most famous features at land's end , remains of The Arch, stood in all its splendour with the sparkling Pacific surrounding it. San Lucas has a very small port with wharves that serve small marine craft such as coast guard vessels, some pleasure yachts, and lots of tourist boats. Because there are no large port facilities for cruise ships we were tendered ashore in the lifeboat launches so there is a process of queuing, doing the gang plank, and boarding a bobbing launch.

The malacon surrounding the port is relatively narrow and filled with hawkers, tour operators, and mini-pharmacies. Lots of pharmacies no bigger than a normal bedroom and, interestingly, advertising many drugs potentially treating bedroom-related ailments 🤭 And everyone wants you either buy something (legitimate or otherwise) or take you somewhere. San Lucas had a number of features I remembered from 2001 such as the faux lighthouse, Solomon's bar, and the ballerina statue. But it has grown quite big and not in an attractive way - abandoned building sites and an unkempt look.

As I walked around San Lucas it dawned on me in past travels I was usually with someone and, so, I never thought about personal safety...until now. Not that I would likely be easily abducted off the street but when one is on their own in a far off destination there is a sense of vulnerability. Of course part of the realization for me is that I am not as youthful and physically nimble as I once was, but also there is a lot of crazy stuff going on in the world. The other thing that is different being on my own is not being able to share things with someone else in real time. But at least there is social media 😌