Valle de Guadeloupe

 Tuesday, December 5, 2023

Valle de Guadeloupe, Mexico

As we were preparing to have breakfast this morning, the captain announced that there were humpbacks breaching off the bow.  We all gathered at the bow and had a half hour of an amazing sighting of humpbacks.  They gathered, spouting, and some breached headfirst with enormous splashes.  There were only a couple of fin sightings as the whales dove, but I didn’t get a photo.

 



We then had breakfast as we completed our sail and docked at Ensenada.  After customs and immigration, we boarded buses and drove about an hour up the Valle de Guadeloupe where there is an extensive collection of wineries and vineyards.  The climate is quite conducive to grapes, being on a latitude equal to the French and Italian grape growing regions, and the valley is cold in the winter, and has wonderful morning fogs, similar to the Napa Valley in California.  There also are extensive olive groves: 


 Ultimately, we came to our destination, Las Nubes Vineyard: 


 We spent the entire afternoon there.  We were entertained by a wonderful mariachi band, and had tours of the cellars and the winemaking operation: 

We had appetizers while we sampled the wines, and then, at 2:00, we sat down to a 2 ½ hour lunch, five courses, each paired with a different wine.  It was delicious and enormous, and the wine was poured freely.  The ambience was more than jolly—it was downright rollicking.  As the mariachi band played “la cucaracha” many of us danced a conga line.  No photos or videos.  We returned to the ship at 6:00.  At 6:30, as usual, was cocktail hour with the daily recap and announcements of plans for tomorrow, and at 7:00 the dining room opened for dinner.  Really.  I went in, but it was almost empty.  I cancelled the dinner I had ordered earlier in the day, and had a small salad.  Overnight we’ll sail to Isla San Martin, a small volcanic island off the coast of Baja California where we’ll have hiking and sea kayaking tomorrow.  More then.

Comments

  1. Ralph P. LockeDecember 6, 2023 at 3:05 AM

    Wow, I guess people can have too much of a good thing--they feasted and drank so copiously that they mostly skipped dinner! Sounds like a heavenly day to me--wish I could have joined you! I wonder if any of the experts will talk about Mexican culture--beyond mariachi bands and "La cucaracha." (I find some astonishing facts, and suppositions, about that song and its various sets of words here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Cucaracha.) I suppose the mariachi bands have a family resemblance to the small brass bands that play in Spanish bullfights?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Rwa442December 6, 2023 at 6:29 AM

    First whales, great start! What a great day whales, vineyards, flowing wine and food! Perfect!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Isla San Martin

Image
  Wednesday, December 6, 2023 Isla San Martin Overnight we sailed almost 100 miles south along the coast of Baja California, arriving early this morning at Isla San Martin, a tiny volcanic island with one sandy beach about 4 miles off the coast.     We were offered a number of activities, and could choose one early and one later.   My group had the hiking first, and there were four options:   one, a climb to the top of the mountain (called rigorous), then a moderate hike, a mild hike, and no hike at all, but a Zodiac ride around the island.   I chose the moderate hike.   After that, for the second activity, I chose sea kayaking.   We were told to prepare for a wet landing, and after breakfast my group took a Zodiac to the shore, alighting in about two feet of water:   We set off on our hike, and after crossing a ridge arrived at a small lagoon at low tide: The lagoon was filled with harbor seals:   Our naturalist described many...
Read more

Los Islotes and Isla Partida

Image
Tuesday, December 12, 2023 Los Islotes and Ensenada Grande (Isla Partida)   Today was truly remarkable.   We began this morning with a Zodiac ride to tiny outcroppings of rock populated heavily by birds and sea lions, as the waters here are very rich in fish.   Called Los Islotes, they are north of the island where we spent the afternoon called Isla Partida, and all are due north of La Paz:   We saw brown boobies and blue-footed boobies, frigate birds, cormorants, pelicans, turkey vultures, and more.   There are many birders on the trip, and they were in heaven!   Here are the islands of Los Islotes: Silhouettes of pelicans:   Some blue-footed boobies:   And a collection of pelicans: There were large numbers of sea lions:   Their noise was incredible:   Towards the end of our visit, a group of five or six adolescent sea lions, known to be curious critters, came to our boat and circled it, dove under it, porpoised alon...
Read more

Bahia Magdalena

Image
 Saturday, December 9, 2023 Bahia Magdalena and Sand Dollar Beach   Yesterday was a day at sea; I have no photos.  In the morning the National Geographic photographer on board held a clinic, and we could bring photos and problems for her opinion.  She’s very good and very helpful.  We had a mandatory snorkeling briefing, and then after lunch had a lecture on plankton, amazing creatures!  Following that we had a lecture on patterns of marine biodiversity which was fascinating.   This morning we are in Bahia Magdalena (or Magdalena Bay), a very large bay with a rather narrow opening to the sea.    Across the barrier island of Isla Magdalena is the ocean, and between them is a series of sand dunes up to 40 feet high.  We were offered four options: walks of three levels of vigor, and a beach bum opportunity to just veg on the bay side beach.  The hike to the ocean would take you to Sand Dollar Beach, and the option with the in...
Read more