Saturday April 11, 2015 Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico

Saturday April 11, 2015 Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico

The Golden Princess

We were anchored in the bay off Loreto at about 7..  We slept in and didn’t rush because our scheduled activity didn’t meet on the pier until 12:20.  We order our coffee and a breakfast of egg, cheese and bacon muffins in our room.  We met Bill and Elaine at the Bernini dining room .  We have to tender into the city and there was a short wait before we boarded.

We met our tour coordinator on the dock, we were early.  It was a short ride to the Hotel Oasis which was hosting the clambake and Mexican Fiesta.  There was a lot of confusion with the taxis, Bill walked and the rest of us rode in what appeared to be the tour coordinator’s Suburban.  We were seated with another couple who were from the St. George area.  There are several people from the same community who were brought by bus to San Pedro as an organized activity from that community.

Lining up the clams in the hole

The clam bake started with the clams being buried in gravel, covered with a certain brush and lighted.  They cooked for 40 minutes.  The clams were very large 3-4 inches across and were called chocolate clams because of the color of the shell. The method of cooking was a regional tradition.  

All lined up to cook

We're cooking now

While the clams were cooking we were entertained by a dance group from the local high school.  Along with the clams there was a full buffet style Mexican meal.  The clams themselves were served at the tables with tortillas and a mustard sauce.  The meat was large and most of them were tender, all were very tasty.  We had all we wanted to eat.  The meal was served outside but there was a pleasant breeze off the ocean. 

We got a taxi back to the pier.  Again there was confusion with the taxi.  The trip to and from the clam bake was supposed to be part of the package.  Apparently we choose the wrong company for the return trip and ended up paying $5.  The tender ride back to the ship was the most comfortable we have experienced. They didn’t make us wait until the boat was full and the breeze held the temperature down.

Back aboard the Golden Princess we sat in the Wheelhouse and visited with two other couples, one from Vancouver and the other from Victoria.  After that Gerri and I returned to our state room and cleaned up and read.  Since we had eaten so much in the afternoon we decided not to go to dinner.  We did venture out at 7:15 to the Princess Theater for a comedy magician show at 7:45show. The performer, Jean Boucher, had appeared before but we didn’t see the show.  We were nearly half an hour early and the theater was nearly full.  We took that as a good sign.  Usually second appearances aren’t as well attended.  After the show we knew why so many people had come back.  The show  was very entertaining.

After the show we went to the Promenade Lounge and watched a performance by a Mariachi trio, Oro Blanco.  Of course they sang in Spanish.  It was easy listening and were probably mostly love songs.  That act was followed by Jere Ring at the piano.  His following is increasing and seating was at a premium.

We got back to our stateroom at about 10:30 and read until 11:30 before retiring.

Tomorrow is a day at sea.  Today was a very pleasant day in an attractive small city.  Loreto was the first capitol of California,  The site of the first mission in California and the site of the first paved road in California.  That include our present state of California.  We spent a night here going in both directions when we drove to Cabo San Lucas in 2004.  During those visits we didn’t venture far from our hotel.  This would be a nice place for a week or so to visit.