Welcome to Ensenada!! We got off the ship as early as possible, and took the shuttle "into town". The previous night, the couple from Hawaii had said their friend did the cruise, recently, and went horseback riding, in Ensenada, for $35! They were going to try and find the spot their friends found, and try it out. Jesse and I didn't have any set plans, so we synchronously decided we wanted to do that too. After taking the shuttle into town, we noticed our dining table friends were on the same shuttle! Fancy that! We hopped off on the same stop and spoke with the bus driver who, in turn, lead us in the right direction. We then hopped on a horse and carriage (!!!) to head toward our horseback riding adventure on the beach, or so we thought. About 15, or so, (extremely bumpy) minutes later, we arrived at the "horse ranch".. So, after looking oddly at each other, we got over it and each hopped on a horse. The original price that was actually told to us, by the carriage driver, was $35. However, once we each jumped on a horse, the price jumped to $45. We were all livid, to say the least, but we all submitted and didn't fight it. The horse ride was not quite a beach ride, nor was it very pleasant. The ride lasted an hour and didn't exactly fit our fancy, if you will. Nonetheless, we enjoyed it as much as we could. After that fiasco, a cab came and took the four of us to the other side of the island to La Bufadora. 21 miles south of the city is Punta Banda. In this peninsula lies La Bufadora; the largest marine geyser in the world. It is caused by the breaking of waves against a cave that is at the bottom of the cliff, reaching up to 65 feet, at times, in height. Every year, hundreds of grey whales migrate from the cold waters, in the north, to the warmer waters, in the south. Legends tell that many, many years ago, during a migration, a baby whale became separated from the group, while checking out the coastline. While wandering, it got stuck in the rocks. When searching for help, it decided to spurt water up larger and larger. Over time, the whale turned into stone, until it merged with the rocks at this location. Whether the story is right or wrong, the truth is that this site can be pretty incredible. Nature is so amazing, isn't it? So, we walked passed a fruit stand and not only did the fruit look delicious, but the pina coladas were to die for!!! Jesse bought a big pina colada, in a pineapple, for only $8. The best part was that it was only $2 to refill. This includes alcohol!! We always appreciate a good bargain. We enjoyed looking through and seeing what each vendor had to offer. The bus driver had told us that there are 500 shops at La Bufadora! We love window shopping and just appreciating our time together. Products ranged from knick-knacks, to alligator cowboy boots, to high end jewelry, to bottles of liquor. We stopped in a jewelry shop and Jesse got a beautiful sterling silver and titanium Michael Kors' watch. We made sure it was scratch resistant, and the man was extremely nice and generous. While debating whether Jes wanted to buy it, or not, the jeweler began filling up Jesse's (now empty) pineapple, with rare Cuban rum. He proceeded to tell us that not only can we not get it anywhere in the US, but it's actually illegal to bring anything from Cuba back into America. Jesse really liked the rum, and the nice man ended up giving him around 4 shots of it; complimentary. The vendors there are so nice, respectful, and willing to bargain with you. At La Bufadora, you can find real leather, silver and any other valuable you are looking to get a good deal on; whereas, in Ensenada, the silver is mostly fake and products are low in quality. Sadly, we went in the middle of the afternoon, so the geyser was basically just spitting. I would recommend going in the morning, because it will definitely be big. I feel that in the late afternoon is another good time to go, as well. Please excuse my hair. It was extremely windy. We decided to try some clam. It was only $4, and we shared one. It was really quite good!! It was fully cooked, topped with a dash of seasoning, cheese, and pico de gallo. We left La Bufadora, and headed back into town, in Ensenada. We walked around the shops a bit. Jesse had told me he wanted to get me a ring or necklace, so we started searching. After looking through a few stores, we finally found a ring we both love! We went into a store called The Silver Mine, and the man was so nice! We searched for a while and he explained where each stone was from. He worked with our price range, and informed us that all his jewelry is sterling silver. The ring I ended up with is a Mexican opal! It's extremely beautiful in the sun with violet, pink, and gold colors. I'm in love with my ring, and so grateful to Jes. Next stop was to get authentic Mexican food. Drawn in by carne asada kebobs, and fresh rotisserie chicken, on the grill; we stoped by El Charro. The host explained that it is a family owned business, and they are popular for their huge fresh rotisserie chicken, carne asada kebobs, chips and salsa, and homemade tortillas. We were sold. We ordered all of the above, plus, the most amazing cheese quesadilla of my life! The entire time we were there, these men were playing awesome Mexican music! Once the food came, I completely forgot to take pictures of it's beauty, because we were starving. Sorry, I guess you'll just have to go there yourself. Their carne asada was amazingly delicious!!! After our food coma began, we headed back to the ship to rest a bit before dinner. We were barely even hungry at dinner! We still wanted to try new foods and ordered meals anyway. The next day was a day at sea, before returning back to Long Beach to depart. We started a collection of our towel animals. Our last night on the ship, we dressed up and headed to dinner. We were sad it was the last day, since this vacation was so short. Going back to reality after a cruise is so rough. It was probably the hardest for Jesse, knowing he had to go back to 14 day work weeks, 10 hour days. My hard working man. We had an amazing time and are so grateful we got the opportunity and time we spent together!! Picture of the day is from after dinner. Jes and I are huge goofballs and he was joking around. Creepy Mexican chest hair nation. Thanks for reading!! Until next time. Ciao
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AuthorA passionate lover of food, adventure, traveling, and enjoying life! Archives
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