09.05.02

Mexican Cruise- Day 5
Mazatlan, Mexico

Once again, we got up really early. We had breakfast in the formal dining room before heading to the gangway to disembark. Out of 9 possible excursions, we chose the Deer Island Kayaking Tour.

Once we were on the dock, we realized that we were supposed to meet with our tour and tour guide onboard at the Mikado Lounge. Crap! =/ We patiently waited until the rest of the tour joined us on the dock, then we took a bus to another dock and got on a ferry for Deer Island. Mazatlan is really beautiful. It reminds me of Cancun...white sand beaches, lots of beach front resorts, tourist-y shops, etc... Once we neared Deer Island, our ferry stopped, and we got on a smaller boat to get to the island. Reason being the beach on Deer Island is very shallow. You can walked twenty feet out into the water, and the water never passes your waist.

We rode boat after boat after boat. As Cin would say, "Good thing I've got sea-legs."...in which I would reply with , "But ya ain't got no legs, Lieutenant Dan!" Nevermind. It's one of many lines I kept irritating her with throughout the cruise. =P hehehe

Our Kayaking tour group was so big that they had to split us into two groups. We were in the second group...so while the first group kayaked, we swam at the beach. The water was really warm...around 80 degrees. I felt like I was taking a bath or something. People in Mazatlan (or in Mexico, for that matter) litters a lot, because as we swam, my hand would catch a plastic bag or part of a potato chip or candy wrapper. It was pretty gross. I think we spent more time swimming and laying out then actually kayaking. Kayaking was pretty fun though. I never done it before and it was nice gliding along the water. We paddled out the next island - Goat Island, and back. Kayaking isn't as easy as it looks either. By the time we got back, my arms were sore and I had blisters on my hands. Of all the days laying out in the sun, I got the most burnt today...especially my feet. I always forget to apply sunscreen to my feet.

The ferry took the first group back and never returned...so we rode a smaller speedier boat back to Mazatlan. I enjoyed that so much more than the ferry. The boat dropped us off right in front of the Villa Plaza Resort. After seeing the water slide at the resort pool, we decided to jump in. *Ahhhh!* It was nice being in regular chlorinated water again. hehehe We swam for a bit, then walked around in search for Mazatlan's Golden Zone (shopping mecca). We got kind of lost and ended up walking aimlessly about town. We stopped off at Dairy Queen for lunch then started to make our way back toward the dock on foot. Mazatlan has these small golf-cart type taxis. They kept phonking and pulling over to see if we wanted a ride. After walking for over an hour in the blazing sun, we decided to take one of those taxis. Problem was...there's five of us, and the cart looks like it would only fit three. The driver agreed to take all five of us. We piled in, and I shamelessly sat in both Bett and Cin's laps. Bad idea! On the way to port, we got pulled over by the police. The taxi driver got out, slipped some money to the police, and then the police sped off. Hmmmm, nice to know that the police there can be paid-off. =T

We did some souvenier shopping at the Mercado just outside of the port. I bought some trinkets and knick knacks. Bett got an intimidating, but COOL, temporary tattoo from the base of her neck to the mid of her back. Afterwards, we got back on the ship. I showered and rested on my bunk watching the last half of "I Am Sam" on TV before dinner.
Dinner was great as usual. The other night, the waiters lined up and sang for us. Tonight they formed a Congo Line and pulled people out of their seat to join in the line. Most of our table got up to join the congo Line as we snaked around the entire dining room. FUN! After dinner we walked around a checked out our pictures at the photo gallery. The ship's photgraphers set up picture booths every night around the Atrium. We pretty much had our pictures taken every night. We headed to the Mikado Lounge to check out Talent Night and the Bedtime Story Skit. The Bedtime Story Skit was hilarious.

We swung by the club to see if it was jumpin'. Nope...same peeps every night...doing the same dry-humping dance. *ugh* But this time we made friends with these guys from Oregon (whom we saw practically every night at the club, but never really talked to). Unlike the Abercrombie-guys, these guys are cool...down-to earth, easy to talk to, and don't get put off by our sarcastic humor. They're a mix of "Blink-182" meets the movie "Orange County"....but I could be wrong. The Oregonians got nicknamed as "The Toe Stompers" due to their...uh, unique style of dancing. They take up a whole lotta room, are ALL over the dance floor, and dance in spastic mosh pit fashion. We danced with...er, I should say, around the Oregonians for a while before retiring to bed.

Pictures from today:

Cin, Ivy, Bett and I waiting for our tour


Cin, Wil, Betty, and Ivy on the ferry to Deer Island

Deer Island

Ivy, Bett, Cin, and Wil on a small boat from the ferry to the Island

ready for kayaking

golf-cart Taxis

all of us squished in one of those taxis
(picture taken by Ivy, who sat up in front)

pre-dinner picture

our waiter, Juan, leading the Congo Line at dinner

all of us and the Oregonians-Garth, Steve, and Matt

Cin, Bett, Ivy, Wil, Garth, Casey, Steve, and Matt

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Ashlyn's pic of the day
(courtesy of Aric)