Our second port of call was Mazatlan, my favourite. Here again I experienced the genuine Mexico, visiting the Sierra Madre Mountains and the villages of Concordia and Copala (very unique with its cobble stone streets and colonial lamp posts). This tour also gave us the chance to see local artisans working and of course to purchase some of their wonderful offerings.
Puerto Vallarta — our third port, and the most well known to tourists — had a wonderful ‘old town’ area. Here I decided to try my hand at some Mexican cooking on the ‘Taste of Mexico’ tour. Our tour took us firstly on a walk through the town itself and then to a restaurant where we made and then ate our lunch. Very good, I must say!
Onboard ship I could either find a corner all by myself or otherwise occupy my whole day with the many activities on offer. I became a bit of a bingo fanatic (I had not been to a bingo game in about 40 years), urged on by friends who, on one occasion, were actually calling out BINGO for me when all my numbers came up.
Another of the favourite activities was the Trivia sessions. We made up a team, Team Oz, but struggled a bit when it came to things like, “Name the running back who was MVP for the finals in 1983.” Our first question was “What is a running back?" They did, however, in one session, ask questions about cricket and New Zealand, so we scored two points there.
For the more serious gamblers there is a casino. There are also many bars at which to sit and savour the view, have a drink, or listen to a great tune in the piano bar. There is a library and games room, a huge Internet café so you can keep in touch with family and friends, and a gymnasium with an awesome view for the fitness fanatics (I stuck to the walking track on the promenade deck). There are the art auctions and art history talks, tours of the ship’s kitchen and cooking demonstrations – amazing. Also, there are two indulgence areas: the Green House Day Spa (bliss), and the Dam Signature shops (bliss for me, but not for my credit card).
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