National Parks Passport Part - 7 : Crater Lake National Park

Crater Lake Visit was supposed to be a family visit scheduled back in 2020 Memorial Day Weekend. But the whole world faced unprecedented times and got stranded in the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic we ever thought of that squeezed the whole world gradually in it's arms. We had to cancel our scheduled visit and the booking with AirB&B. It took us exactly a year to reschedule the same visit with a little hesitation and fear at the back of our minds to step out of our home. As the restrictions were loosened and the doors opened for the fully vaccinated people, we dared to take a step forward and drove down to Mount Shasta as our base location to cover Crater Lake National Park, Lassen Volcanic National Park and the tourist spots around Mt. Shasta. 

We booked a Air B & B at McCloud (City of 1000 just 9 miles away for Mt. Shashta). Unfortunately the weather was not supportive because of a severe heat wave in North-West and just few minutes back when we arrived at Mt. Shashta the wild fires begun. We could see the fire blow from Lake Siskiyou beach area. The fire was named as Lava Fire as the smoke patten coming out resembled to the smoke when Lava Erupts. The wild fires were because of excessive heat. 

Lava Fire

Lake Siskiyou is a scenic lake and has various vista points, including the one known as "Mirror Lake" where one can see Mount Shashta image in the lake. There is a designated campsite with the electric hookups, cabins around the waterfront, boating activities. There is an entrance fee to enter Lake Siskiyou beach area and same entrance serves as an entrance to the campsite. 

https://lakesiskiyouresort.com/

Mt. Shashta from Lake Siskiyou 

There few more to dos around Mt. Shasta area:

Upper Falls and Lower Falls which are around Mc Cloud area. Mc Cloud is located at a convenient location with the local grocery shops and restaurants just at the Shashta foothills. So great gateway to the ski park. We could locate Mt. Shasta easily even when we stepped out of our Air B & B. 

Mt. Shashta

Burney Falls:

McArthur Burney Falls State Park is another must visit within a half an hours drive enroute Lassen National Forest. The state park has $10 entrance fee. This is another cascade that soothens the rocketing temperatures as you reach closer and closer. There is a sudden drop in the temperature once we reach down the actual falls. The cascade water is deep green, crystal clear. It's a great relief and relaxing feel to have cascade water sprinkles on you. 

McArthur Burney Falls

Crater Lake:

https://www.nps.gov/crla/planyourvisit/directions.htm

Here is a short background behind Crater Lake formation:

Half a million years ago, a volcano began to grow here and each eruption created new layer of lava and ash to the surface ending up into an outcome of "Mount Mazama". Around 7700 years ago Mt. Mazama had the biggest eruption ever which led to a big hole beneath the volcano where all the lava was. The top of the Mt. Mazama fell right down into the hole and the mountain disappeared! Rain and snow began to fill up the empty crater and the depth pf the water reached 2000 ft! Exactly same time small eruption formed Wizard Island. 

Crater Lake in Oregon State is located at around a 3 hrs drive from Mc cloud This National Park is a one day visit unless one needs to do more hiking trails and explore the park at own pace. There is a $30 entrance fee during summer for the private vehicles which can be booked online. If you are national park passholder then the pass covers the park fees. 

https://www.recreation.gov/sitepass/2647

The park is open year round but during winter the rim roads (East Rim and West Rim) are closed due to the snow. The Rim Village Visitor Center is right across the lake view and few more scenic view points. The east and west rims are generally opened by the end of June subject to the snow conditions and the snow on the trails. The Watchman Post Lookout Point is the best watch point to have an overall lake view in one go. It's a one stop shop. The trail is little steep (1.6miles round trip) and it's suggested to carry water as there is no water fountain enroute. 

Watchman Post Lookout on the top of the mountain

Wizard Island from Watchman Post Lookout Point

Cleetwood Clove is the only legal access to the lake shore. It's a steep and strenuous hike of 1.1miles with a drop of 700ft. in elevation. The boating and fairy activities are halted due to COVID-19 Pandemic and also with the biological scientist experiments going around in the lake. The boat tours are available during July-October. 

There are two more scenic lookouts right across the Rim Village Visitors Center. The Sinnott memorial Overlook is one of them. 

View from Sinnott Memorial Overlook

For the Junior Rangers there is a special program designed by the National Park rangers. It's designed for the ages 6-12. Kids can participate in the program and complete atleast 8 pages in the activity book to get the Crater Lake Junior Rangers Badge. It's a great way to introduce our kids to the National Parks and get mingled. That way they can get closer to the nature and also understand the urge behind conservation of ecosystem and our national parks. After completing the activity book, kids need to submit it with the park ranger at teh visitors center office (At present at the entrance to Sinnott Lookout Point) and answer the questions asked by the park ranger. The badge is awarded after the oath ceremony. 

Crater Lake is a real deep blue and the purest, untouched, preserved form of water. The beauty differs by the season. Oregon is really blessed with a Sapphire bounty in it's heart! 

National Parks Passport - Part 6 : Lassen Volcanic National Park (CA)

We were on a National Park Expedition in 2018 and planned/unplanned trips covered most of the national parks in California. Lassen was another suddenly planned group trip over a weekend with neighboring friends. We booked a huge 5 bedroom individual house inside woods. The journey started on Friday noon finding our way through I-5N. We escaped the bay area traffic and hit the I-5N by 4pm. The route was very clear and was a pleasant smooth drive during fall.

Located in the Cascade range of Northern California Lassen Volcanic National Park is a home for numerous volcanos, Hydrothermal areas like Bumpass Hell and sulphur works. The remarkable feature at Lassen includes roaring fumaroles - thumping mudpots, boiling pools and steaming ground. This is the only National Park in United States with. Volcano that erupted in 20th century. 

Bumpass Hell is the largest hydrothermal area in the park with plopping mudpots, sulphur fumes and it's like a big boiler. The reconstruction project was going on since 2018 but the area was opened for visitors back in 2019 and we finally a grabbed a chance to visit this place in 2021 during Pandemic when the restrictions were loosened a bit and we were fully vaccinated. It's a mini Yellowstone. The hike is 3 miles round trip and suggested to carry water as there are no water fountains on the trail. Hats and sunscreen are must haves. 

The boiling pools and sulphur pods are clearly visible on the sidewalks enroute the Kohm Yah-mah-nee visitor center. But the sulphur fumes can hardly make you stand around the area. It's interesting though to see variety of natural resources under one roof. Being far in the northern California, one can site the snow caped mountains even till fall! On the other hand besides the boiling mudpots, there is a crystal clear Emerald Lake and many more scenic spots. 

Sulphur boiling mudponds

Emerald Lake 

Apart from the snow caped peaks, scenic sites, thermal geysers, serene and tranquil lakes animals like Black Bear, Mountain Lion, Pika and red fox can be sighted at higher altitudes. 

Manzanita Lake

Mt. Lassen from Manzanita Lake

Mt. Lassen

It's a comparatively small national park as against Yosemite or Kings Canyon and Sequoia. But two days visit is a good plan to cover this national park. 

There are various lodging, AitBnB options and campsites available in Lassen Volcanic National Park. The park website os accessible under the link: https://www.nps.gov/lavo/index.htm. Kohm Yah-mah-nee visitor center offers a 30 min informative documentary about the park and the history behind the park formation and the natural wonders. Informative exhibits are also available inside the visitor center. 

The park also offers a Junior Ranger badge program. 

National Parks Passport - Part 5 : Yosemite National Park (CA)

Located in the east central region of California across Sierra Nevada Mountains, Yosemite is emblematic amongst all the other National Parks in the US. Masterpeice of mountains and valleys attracts visitors allover the world. "The radiance in some places is so great as to be fairly dazzling.... Every crystal, every flower, a window opening into heaven, a mirror reflecting the creator" - That's how John Muir the whole and soul behind Yosemite describes it!!

Spread across 750K Acres, Yosemite attracts around 4Million visitors annually.  This is a masterpiece by Nature, famous for granites uplift creating a 400 miles range of mountains what we know today as “The Sierra Nevada” and it’s still growing. Cut canyons due to the water force as deep as 3000Ft. Million years of carving by ice and glaciers turned out to be a beautiful gift by the nature to the world - “Yosemite National Park”. 

Tunnel View at Yosemite National Park with a Bridal Veil Falls

2018 happened to be a year of National Parks for us!! With planned and unplanned trips we covered major national parks in the state of California. Visit to Yosemite has to be well planned and rather a year in advance task from accommodations point of view.  One needs to be proactive atleast a year advance to get a booking in Yosemite Valley!! Or atleast 6 to 8 months in advance to spot the best locations. Despite of 9 months advance booking we could just get an AirB&B inside the park in Wawona area, very close to the Glacier Point but not in the valley!! This is the popularity of Yosemite and an evidence of it's craze amongst visitors! 

Yosemite can be reached by road via CA120E the closest route or CA152E or CA140E. 

Closest domestic airport is located at: 

• Mammoth Yosemite Airport (MMH) 42 miles
• Merced Airport (MCE) 71.4 miles. 

International airports are located at:

• Fresno-Yosemite International (FAT) 64.8 miles.
• Oakland International (OAK) 150.3 miles.
• San Francisco International (SFO) 169.2 miles.
• San José International (SJC) 187.5 miles.

Accommodations, Park/weather alerts, Park information, Ranger Programs, Tour bookings, all and everything about Yosemite can be found at:

https://www.nps.gov/yose/index.htm 

Snow chains are required during Winter season. Some of the lookout points may not be available due to the adverse weather conditions. Tioga Road/ Tioga Pass is closed during winter from October end and generally opens up for the visitors during early summer. This pass connects Mammoth Lakes to Yosemite Valley. Which more of an eastern entrance to the Park. West Entrance is pretty popular amongst visitors as they can enjoy the splendid view of Yosemite valley after coming out from the famous " Wawona Tunnel" also known as "Tunnel View". This is must stop Vista Point for everyone. It's a breath taking view of El Capitan, Bridal Veil Falls and Half Dome. This Vista changes every season to show something new but the best season to see Tunnel View is early Spring when Bridal Veil is at it's peak flow and during winter when the granite domes are caped with mist and snow. 

There are ranger led hikes, programs for the families and kids which also form part of a Junior Ranger Badge. I was happy that my elder daughter along with her elder cousin successfully completed Junior Ranger Badge for Yosemite. It's a very promotional program to create an awareness, sense of responsibility and sow the seeds of future preservation amongst the youth.  

The park also provides free eco friendly shuttle bus service across Yosemite Valley. Shuttle map is available at the below link:

http://npmaps.com/wp-content/uploads/yosemite-valley-shuttle-bus-map.pdf

The green route which operates within Valley is a year round route whereas the brown and orange operate only during summer. Different attractions are covered by different routes. Below is the information regarding various vista / lookout points as well as major attractions of Yosemite: 

El Capitan

El Capitan – This is a 3000 ft largest granite structure in the world. One of the steepest and vertical  climb in Yosemite. Challenge for the mountain climbers

Half Dome 

Epic Half Dome - Half dome is an iconic structure of Yosemite. One requires permit to hike here when the cables are up. Permits are generally available in March based on lottery with a very limited number. 

Cathedral Rocks, A fantasy family of 3 brothers are other few points to name. Yosemite is not only about the granite structure but also the natural beauty. The scenic icons are: 

Yosemite falls the highest falls in North America. 

Yosemite Falls

Vernal falls and Nevada falls 

Nevada Falls and Vernal falls below from Glacier Point

Nevada Falls and Vernal Falls is a Strenuous hike to sight those roaring cascades closely. 

Ahona in tribal language – Puffing wind cascade which is a Bridal Veil fall today, the very first fall sighted from Tunnel view. 

The list of lookout points and diversity of nature's creation goes on and on and not only limited to Mirror lake, Tenaya Lake, Cathedral Lake, Tuolumne meadows. Those points form part of east entrance of Yosemite near Tioga Pass. Once can experience Yosemite wilderness at Maripossa Grove where thousand years old more than 300 ft high Sequoias are still in existence and growing. 

Just to brief about origin or Yosemite and history: 

The valley was predominantly populated by Miwok Tribe. For them the valley was Ahwanee – the great keeping mountain, Sacred mountain. They started calling themselves as "Ahwahneechee". Followed by the gold rush at the foothills of Sierra Nevada, thousands rushed and intruded the valley with the picks and pans in search of Gold.  Ahwahneechee had to fight back for their survival. 

In search of Gold, soldiers battalion from Mariposa entered Yosemite. They were stunned by scenic wonder of nature and splendid view of Sacred valley of Ahwahnechee and the name "Yosemite" took a birth.  

1864 Abraham Lincoln passed a resolution for Yosemite scenic reserve and preservation. But it was not a National Park till 1890. Untill then it was held as a preserved area of public trust by the state of  CA. John Muir who explored Yosemite on foot and fell in love with it. He made Yosemite as his home for the rest of his life. He raised a voice to protect this precious creation and in 1890 Yosemite became America’s 3^rd National Park. Mariposa groove became part of National Park later under the leadership of Theodore Roosevelt and consistent efforts from John Muir to protect the thousand year old trees from the loggers lobby! Unfortunately wild fires in 2018 hit Mariposa Grove badly and there was a major loss to Yosemite age old Sequoias. It burnt 1000s of acres. But still the park rangers strived their best to save the area and control the wildfires which was a selfless, remarkable effort.....

And today inspired by Yosemite, the bay area bluechip Apple Inc pays a tribute by naming their leading OSs (Operating Systems) as "Mac Sierra", "Mac Hi Sierra" and El Capitan, Half Dome as their official inbuilt screensavers in Mac book Pro reaching out across globe! 

"In God's Wilderness lies the hope of the world, the great, fresh, unblighted, unredeemed wilderness!!!" - Quote by John Muir 

That's Yosemite, the beating heart of California!!!!

National Parks Passport - Part 2 : Grand Canyon National Park (AZ)

The famous Quote “The Grand Canyon is carven deep by the master hand; it is the gulf of silence, widened in the desert; it is all time inscribing the naked rock; it is the book of earth.” – By Donald C. Peattie. And the journey began right time in fall 2017 on the eve of Labor Day Weekend!! Our first ever National Park journey with family all the way to Grand Canyon, Arizona. 

https://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm 

It was rather not scheduled but fitted and worked out as an unforgettable voyage and deep dive into the canyons!! The canyons that were carved by Colorado with billion years of efforts! The power of water over the period of time one can just dream off!!

As a kid I used to always wonder what’s so special about Grand Canyon?? Why folks visit and what’s there to see – just some rocks, some carved mountains and people would take few clicks and send it across! Given the option I would be least interested in visiting. But this very morale cluttered into pieces like when a vase falls down from a table!! I was ashamed that how incorrect I was and to reveal the reason behind that unknown “Why” when I visited this nature’s bounty and a real geographical wonder. I was blessed because this unplanned venture turned out to be a perfect hit in the bull’s eye at a very first attempt!! What a coincidence!! We visited South rim which was a perfect location to understand the billion years of history and the real canyon formation lookout point where we could site the mighty Colorado still making her own way through the carved mountains!!! Wow what an amazing journey!!

We started our way from Flagstaff – the Tahoe of Arizona.  1 ½ hrs drive to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park via I-40 W and AZ-64 N. It was early fall and the sun was still shining at 90s!! The roads are barren for miles together, sometimes surrounded by the unique desert formations, not always consistent though. When we passed Sedona region the honeymooners place I felt for a while I went back to the Mackena’s Gold Era in 60s’. Well Monument Valley is the real place – on the border of Utah and Arizona where this movie was shot. The good, The Bad and The Ugly or For Few Dollars More music background would have been a perfect blend while driving - I must say. 

With bit of a sweat and anxiousness to visit Grand Canyon we reached the National Park Visitor's Center at South Rim. First thing is to get the map of National Park - study about the directions, various entrances and on the top of it Park Rangers are there to help you. We had many options to choose different routes but the best one and scenic, suggested by the Park Ranger was Hermitz Rest Route with Red Line. Route that covers the most geographical formations with the canyon view and that too during the available time slot!! Another 100% assured dart hit!!

The route is covered by the free ecofriendly shuttle service provided by the Grand Canyon National Park. The route begins from Bright Angel Point and goes till the end to Hermitz Rest. At the very starting point - Bright Angel we witnessed the magnificence of Grand Canyon and I got my answer of "The Why" and I smiled at myself!!

There are moderate to strenuous hikes starting from Bright Angel Point. One of them could be sighted here in the above click. I really admired inspired folks who were taking the 5 miles trail in such a hot shot weather. Be mindful of water as there are no water stops here on the trail and at the very entrance the board speaks a loud about this notice!!! Another interesting catch was each milestone at south rim stamps the historical age as if there’s a hidden time capsule beneath.

To name couple of lookout points on Hermitz Rest route and must watch are "Pima Point", "Mohave Point" and "The Abyss". The real grandness of Grand Canyon can be seen from Mohave Point  which has a fine view of the near vertical, 3,000 foot high cliffs that encircle The Abyss and continue towards Pima Point, two miles west. Then we caught the breath taking view of mighty Colorado making her way through the canyons for years together from Pima Point. 

Leave it as it is. The ages have been at work on it and man can only mar it - how truely said by Theodore Roosevelt!! One gets stunned to see nature's granduer and the splendid creation. The carving of Canyon is still going on and one can see the magnificent outcome. Just feel like storing everything in your eyesight forever.... and with that we came at the extreme end of the national park "Hermitz Rest". At the very end point of the rim there is a small shop situated on the cliff where once can sit back, enjoy the view of grand valley and also shop for souvenirs. 

Here are some facts about Grand Canyon (Source National park booklet and Wickipedia)

The Grand Canyon is a mile-deep gorge in northern Arizona. Scientists estimate the canyon may have formed 5 to 6 million years ago when the Colorado River began to cut a channel through layers of rock. ... The first Europeans to reach the Grand Canyon were Spanish explorers in the 1540s.

The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon National Park, the Kaibab National Forest, Grand Canyon–Parashant National Monument, the Hualapai Indian Reservation, the Havasupai Indian Reservation and the Navajo Nation. President Theodore Roosevelt was a major proponent of preservation of the Grand Canyon area, and visited it on numerous occasions to hunt and enjoy the scenery. For thousands of years, the area has been continuously inhabited by Native Americans, who built settlements within the canyon and its many caves. The Pueblo people considered the Grand Canyon a holy site, and made pilgrimages to it. 

Still today Novajo Tribals ideally rule part of Grand Canyon which is not under National Park. The west rim with Glass Sky walk falls under this Novajo region. Much accessible and close from Las Vegas. 

The park has east, south, west and north entrances. Each entrance has it's own beauty just like the park has different beauty in each season!!

For kiddos to make this journey more interesting there are junior ranger badges. One can obtain those right at the beginning of park journey at Visitors center from Park Ranger. To know your park closely, study it and get your badge from the visitor's center once you submit the required covered paper based checkpoints/booklet based tasks. There are Park ranger led programs, tours and trails. If you want to really enjoy the park stay you can book your accommodation right in advance within the park itself. 

https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/lodging.htm

Or there are other private options like AirBnB or motels and hotels nearby. The convenient shopping is also available within the park area. The ecofriendly free shuttle service on various routes make life much easier for those who want to sit back and relax and enjoy the natures bounty. 

With heart filled wish to return at another entrance one day we returned to Flagstaff. 

Cruising with Carnival (Mexico)

Hola!!! Hola como estas!!! 

This time a greeting in Spanish as the blog is based on our first ever cruising experience and that too cross border... Ensenada, B.C, Mexico. 

This was a first ever venture with kids from the US to another country being close by..... Though the sailing was just for 4 days the experience was unique. Bookings were done almost 6 months in advance to get a better deal. We booked a stateroom cabin for 4. 

24th Dec - 28th Dec was the sailing duration. We arrived a day advance on 23rd at LA - Los Angeles. Well before the departure, check in with all the required information was completed online with Carnival Cruise. The complete documentation set was readily available for printing online including the checked in baggage tags. We opted for earliest available slot 2:00pm-2:30pm for completing the check in formalities. Priority check in was available for the elite members cum frequent sailers by 12.00pm just like the frequent flyers with airlines.

  

The cruise name was "Carnival Imagination".  At the port, checked in baggage was handed over to the porters and we rushed through the security check where the passports with valid visa were checked. Since 2016, new travel rule came into existence for the tourists visiting Mexico to promote the tourism. Any person despite of his/her nationality with valid stamped US visa (any type of US Visa) and a valid passport can visit Mexico without Mexican Visa. Refer the following link for the valid and uptodate/current information on the visa rules and requirements related to the respective countries

https://consulmex.sre.gob.mx/sanjose/index.php/documentacion1/visas 

After completing the security checking formalities each traveller was given a sailing and sign on card as an identity including the kids. To verify the sailing and sign on card identity, individual was photographed before entering the cruise so that whenever the card was tagged the complete information with picture ID would appear on the verification tab. 

The Cruise departed from Long Beach on 24th evening. Entering the cruise reminded me "Titanic"!!! For me each and everything resembled to the "Titanic" movie right from the entrance to the first main inner dome of the cruise till the gateway to the staterooms!!! All the attendants with pleasant smiles were welcoming on board for the beginning of unforgettable memories  and cherish forever!!!! For each stateroom there was an assigned "Steward" to take care of everything right from cleaning to resolving the queries.....

We were asked to confirm convenient time slot for daily clean up so that the steward would take care of the stateroom cleaning accordingly. As the buffet lunch is served everyday till 4:30pm on cruise so we could enjoy the same when we entered the cruise. 

Everyday by 5am; daily schedule and programs sheet was circulated by the Steward to plan the day in advance. The information included breakfast, lunch, dinner (buffet and sitting dining) locations and timings, 24 hrs food outlets, various shows, programs and their respective timings and locations on the cruise, kids special camps, destination guides and much more. The guest information desk used to be open round the clock to guide the travelers on the cruise. The destination tours desk was active to provide guidance for the booked tours and last minutes tours booking for those who did not or could not book the destination tours online. Being the first time sailor, I learnt that the tours can be booked even at the destination at cheaper price and with various valid time options!! So this is one of the key take aways that when you get out of the ship at the respective traveling destination, better to book the tours at the destination than booking online for better deals....

Catalina Island (Day-1)

On 25th Dec the cruise arrived at Catalina Island. It's a part of US territory. It was like a love at first sight with this small island. Situated cozily between mountains and scenic panoramic picture perfect location on seafront is a short description for Catalina Island. Serene, Tranquil seawater front, untouched natural beauty and clean air encourages to settle down here post retirement!!! When I woke up and stepped on the athlete track in Sports City on the 14th floor deck of the cruise; fresh cool breeze with an unforgettable natural view just refreshed me so much that the dizziness of prolonged workload just wiped off in few seconds. I concluded this was much awaited and needed break!! Nothing could buy this moment, just me and unforgettable panoramic view soothing my eyes with a fresh air ever....

The cruise was docked in the middle of the sea and ferries were transporting the tourists to and fro to the Catalina Island. We booked a Glass Botton Boat tour to encroach a bit to the underseaworld! The experience was worth with kids. The Glass Botton boat took us to the preserved sealife location where we sighted the species like Garibaldi, Calico Bass, Halfmoon. 

With the limited time, one can just roam around the tiny streets of Catalina or enjoy parasailing, surfing, snorkeling, also visit to the home made ice cream treats in the shop "Scoop" is must... yummy seafood is also available to fulfill craving taste buds along seaside restaurants. 

Ensenada, Mexico (Day-2)

On 26th Dec, the cruise docked at Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico (Pronounced phonetically as "Baha California"). We had a booking for 4 hrs city exploration tour with a visit to natural wonder "La Bufadora".

Unlike Catalina Island, Ensenada is a busy port and transportation hub in nexus to San Diego, US. So the cruise was docked right at the port and the tourist buses were available to pick up the tourists booked on the respective tours. Surprisingly, there was no validation of passports and visa when we exited Cruise and landed on Mexican Land. Just outside the Cruise we happened to have a small conversation with the security officer. He used to travel everyday to and fro from San Diego to Ensenada, B.C as it was a driving distance....

One can make out a remarkable difference in standard of living, overall city ambiance when compared to the scenario just a border across!!! The overall outskirts of Ensenada were similar to the Indian villages, farms accompanying the roadsides. 

Our first stop was at traditional Riviera Civic and Cultural Center established in 1930. (Riviera Centro Social, Civico Y Cultural). Gordon Mayer and James Miller are the main foundational pillars in erecting this construction. The historical building used to be one of the largest and wide area constructions in Ensenada, B.C but due to the major fire outbreak almost 70% portion was burnt out and what remains now is the balance preserved monument. This used to be also a famous Casino destination in the past. Now it's used for wedding, birthday party or social gathering ceremonies with a nominal cost to be paid to the local municipal authorities. The structure has beautiful gothic style paintings by famous artist Alfredo Martinez. The center also had a ball room and the stories related to the match making told by the tour guide Michelle were really funny. The center was famous for it's beautiful architecture. There were exhibits by the local artisans inside the cultural center. 

The next destination was the most awaited natural wonder at Punta Bana Peninsula 

"La Bufadora". It's a second largest marine geyser in the world. Due to the strategic geographic location and erosion of mountain portion due to the sea waves, a cave was formed. Sea water during high tides rushes through the narrow channel between the mountains covering the naturally created cave and throws off a sound like "Buff". Tide water blows off upto 150ft high and hence the name "La Bufadora". It was a nice place to witness this natural wonder.... with a nice background Mexican string music on guitar. 

Just like any other tourist destinations, this tourist spot was surrounded by lot many shops by the local artisans taking right from the handmade items, handicrafts, silver, leather and souvenirs. The artisans were well trained to attract Indian tourists in Hindi Language that revealed the frequency and the number of Indian tourists visiting Mexico...The should not miss food was Fish Tacos freshly made and the unique seafood dishes. 

The cruise departed Ensenada port by 6pm. but the unlighted port view was simply unique and having it's glimpse from the cruise deck was amazing moment. 

After saying ciao to Ensenada, B.C, Mexico we left for return journey and the day 3 was sea sailing....

It was a fun day aboard with lot many activities for kids and families, food and relaxation. 

Variety of cuisines, unique different pastries for each and every meal were an awesome treat for sweet taste buds.  

Feeling bored, just go to the deck on 14th floor and enjoy the sports city with athlete track and a mini golf club or the water slides on the other side of the deck. For relaxation spa packages are available. If you are an engrossed reader, grab a book from library and sit in the corridor and enjoy your reading. Still not satisfied sit back and lay down calmly watching the sea sail on the lay back chairs and get ample of Vitamin 'D'. 

Kids have a separate Ocean Camp and on site day care center. Forgot stroller? No worries, affordable stroller rental is available onsite with the Cruise.. 

What about laundry? Every damn facility including Medical emergencies are available onsite on the Cruise. For constant telephonic connectivity and to update your current status on FB, internet plans are available with the best possible satellite connectivity on cruise. Want to watch a movie? Option is available either to watch inside theater or on your room TV. Entertainment is unlimited with rock on shows, to attract folks there would be Raffles everyday atlast 5 times. So there is no chance for anyone to say "Feeling/getting bored!!"

To enjoy vacation at leisure and to witness another mode of transportation with travel destinations yes cruising is yet another option at affordable price!!!