Live and Life from Koningsdam on her Mexican New Year's voyage

[Copper10-8]

3 hours ago, leerathje said:

You are heading to Mazatlan?  Things are not good there.  Apparently El Chapo's son was arrested in Culiacán, and violence has broken out all over Sinaloa. (Culiacán, Mazatlan, Los Mochis and Guasave)  The Mazatlan airport is shut down.  The Canadian govenment is reccomending Canadians not travel there. 

 

Take care!

 

https://globalnews.ca/news/9390464/mexico-drug-cartel-arrest-canadians-violence/

 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ovidio-guzman-arrest-violence-1.6704936

 

L.

 

 

Thanks a bunch! We were in Mazatlan on Tue (today heading back to SD on first of two sea days) and business there was as usual with lots of folks - locals and tourists - out and about having a good time! No signs of extra police and/or Mex military presence out and about. We wound up having lunch at a restaurant on the beach in the Zona Dorado/Golden Zone there! Our Pulmonia cabbie did mention El Chapo and his son but did not seem worried about it. Appreciate you thinking about our safety! Take care! 

[POA1]

Copper -

 

You know how the instructor tells you to "hold your questions until the end?"

 

In this case, it's wholly unintentional. I'm embarrassed to say that I just now saw your live-from. I guess I have my weekend reading cut out for me.

[Copper10-8]

2 hours ago, POA1 said:

Copper -

 

You know how the instructor tells you to "hold your questions until the end?"

 

In this case, it's wholly unintentional. I'm embarrassed to say that I just now saw your live-from. I guess I have my weekend reading cut out for me.

 

You make me laugh Brian! Happy New Year to you and the Mrs.!

[Copper10-8]

TUE 03 JAN 23 – Day Six – Mazatlán, Sinaloa

 

Woke up to blue skies around 7:15 AM as Koningsdam was still enroute in the Pacific. Around 10:00 AM or so, one of Mexico’s Armada de Marina Defender-class bote de busqueta y rescate / rescue boats with hull number BR-14 came out to meet us and took up a position on our starboard side. sailed slowly by Mazatlán’s El Faro (the lighthouse), perched on its 515-foot hill at the approach to the big harbor. We then entered the Canal de Navegacion on our way to the Cruise Ship Dock. There was a bit off a wait alongside Bird Island and then, apparently a change of plans because instead of making the usual 180 and going starboard side alongside, Capt. Robert Jan parked K-dam port side alongside bow-to-bow with big Carnival Panorama. Behind Panorama was Discovery Princess which had our friends from San Pedro, CA onboard.

 

No matter how many times you’ve been here, Mazatlán’s harbor is by no means pretty and/or picturesque since it is principally a fishing, shrimping and commercial port, as a matter of fact, it is Mexico’s primary port for those activities on its Pacific coast. So, once docked, all you see is large warehouses, a whole bunch of shipping containers and a whole lot of concrete.

 

The name “Mazatlán” comes from the Nahuati word meaning “place or home of deer” and refers to large herds of deer that at one time migrated along the coast. Once the home of the ancient Totorame civilization, Mazatlán was later frequented by pirates who, according to legend, buried their treasures in the caves and coves near the city. Spanish settlers established Mazatlán in 1531 to export gold and silver from the Sierra Madre mines. The port did not really grow until the 18th century when a fishing industry was established. The city is divided into three distinct sections: Vieja Mazatlán (Old Mazatlán) which centers on a small square, Plaza Revolution and its really nice Basilica, an eclectic district of old Spanish-style buildings and colorful new condos. The second is the center of the Malecon (boardwalk) which curves along Bahia del Puerto Viejo and is a lazy stretch of city beach and Pacific recreation area. The third is the northern Zona Dorada (Golden Zone) where Mazatlán’s elegant hotels and condos are found. Dorado is also the tourist neighborhood.

 

We didn’t have any shorex’ planned here so it was nice to be able to once again have a leisurely breakfast around 9:00 AM while most of K-dam’s passengers were happily ashore already. What we had planned today was to meet one of my San Pedro YMCA gym workout partners who, with her husband, was sailing on Discover Princess. The game plan was to meet them at 12:15 PM at the tram drop-off at the Mazatlán cruise terminal.

 

So, we picked up the complimentary shuttle (two open air carts with benches on top, pulled by a little airport-like bag tug) that takes pax from the cruise ship(s) to the terminal building where a bunch of shops are set up both in and outside. We had a successful meetup with Anita and Dave and entered the terminal Once off the shuttle, it’s kinda like walking a gauntlet with vendors trying to get you to come inside. Today, with three ships in port, incl. two big boys from Carnaval and Princess, it was pretty much a zoo and that included the taxi pickup inside the gates with a long line. So, we chose to walk outside those same gates and hailed down a pulmonia with a driver there. He charged $40 U.S. for the four of us to the Golden Zone with a bit of a tour along the way.

 

‘Pulmonia’, loosely translates to English as “Pneumonia”. You see, Mazatlán has a whole lot of these open windowed, open-air taxi’s, basically glorified golf carts, painted white with Volkswagen engines in the back. There are now updated versions. Usually, the cab comes complete with a local driver who has made “blowing his horn” a self-proclaimed work of art. The horns produce all kinds of sounds including one very familiar and, once heard, would lead me to immediately pull over to the right side of the curb and produce my driver’s license. Other tunes that can be lovingly produced sound like loud whistles, Ludwig von Beethoven fifth symphony (but uncompleted), Quasimodo ringing ‘the bells’, and the Entrance of the Gladiators minus the lions. Overall, an experience not to miss! Anyway, we soon headed north-east with a nice breeze in our hair, down Avenida del Puerto, through Viejo Mazatlán and down Avenida Las Gaviotas to la Zona Dorada.

 

Our driver, Eduardo, recommended Restaurante “Pancho’s” right smack on the beach as a good place for lunch so we got out there. Low and behold, Pancho’s was right across the street from “Seashell City”, a place we’ve been visiting for years. You see, Sea Shell City is exactly what the name implies, more shell-covered decorative items than you ever dreamed could exist, from the tacky to the sublime. It's located between Las Garzas and Avenida del Mar on Avenida Rodolfo T. Loaiza and is also a shell museum. Why have we visited Seashell City for so many years? Well, Maria gets her ceramic moons there that then find a home on the interior wall of our backyard at home. Unfortunately for her, Seashell City has done away with their moons for the last couple of years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Copper10-8]

TUE 03 JAN 23 – Day Six – Mazatlán, Sinaloa (Con't)

 

 

Up the walk way for Pancho’s we sauntered towards the beach, We had about a 25-minute wait for a table but were then escorted upstairs for a table there. Outside on the beach was the unmistakable sound of a Mariachi band that kept playing during our entire visit, Ay, yai, yai! 

 

We ordered one Strawberry and one regular Margarita each, which came with a bowl of chips and Salsa, and had a nice conversation over lunch with Dave and Anita, including their impressions of Princess Cruises, After spending close to an hour at Pancho’s and an almost obligatory visit to Seashell City, we flagged down another Pulmonia cabbie as soon as we set one foot on the pavement outside and off we went again, great fun! This was an original one and you could hear that Volkswagen engine humming. The friendly cabbie gave us a little bit of a complimentary tour driving by the fisherman’s monument, as well as the cliff diver’s platform, before making a stop, per Anita’s request, at the cathedral. Unfortunately, we discovered it was closed. Never found out why, so we reboarded the pulmonia and he soon thereafter deposited the four of us back inside the walls of the cruise port. We said our goodbyes to Dave and Anita and took a tram back to K-dam.

 

Both Carnival Panorama (first) and Discover Princess (second) departed Mazatlán before us and both gave us a bunch of toots as they passed us, Discovery Princess of course, of the Love Boat theme. For Koningsdam, all aboard had been at 7:00 PM however, she incurred about an hour delay due to a medical disembark of one of her passengers. K-dam thus shoved off her berth a little after 8:00 PM and passed part of the Mazatlán fishing fleet on her port side, and the lighthouse atop the hill on starboard, as she headed back out to sea. Our new destination was Puerto Vallarta, our last port already on this 10-dayer. In order to get there, we have to basically follow the coast of the Mexican mainland in a southerly direction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Copper10-8]

TUE 03 JAN 23 – Day Six – Mazatlán, Sinaloa (Con't) 

 

Dinner for us was at Club Orange, or so we thought, because at 8:20 PM, Maria got a notification reminder that we had an 8:30 PM reservation for dinner at the Pinnacle. We had just finished our appetizer and Nugi had just placed our entrees on the table in front of us. We apologized for our error and made our way next door to the Pinnacle where our server was Henky from Indonesia. It was pretty packed inside however, the service by Constantin and his staff remained good and professional. We had the filet mignon and the chicken which were excellent.

 

The main entertainment tonight was the comedy of Brandon Vestal in the Main Stage, and there was also the Orange Party inside the BB King’s Blues Club. I was wearing my orange Dutch National (ice) Hockey team sweater for that occasion but, due to our scheduling error, had to miss both except for the presentation of ‘Best dressed’ at the Orange Party, followed by line dancing where we finished up our night. Tomorrow (Wednesday) is Puerto Vallarta, our last port of call.

 

See ya then!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Copper10-8]

22 hours ago, leerathje said:

You are heading to Mazatlan?  Things are not good there.  Apparently El Chapo's son was arrested in Culiacán, and violence has broken out all over Sinaloa. (Culiacán, Mazatlan, Los Mochis and Guasave)  The Mazatlan airport is shut down.  The Canadian govenment is reccomending Canadians not travel there. 

 

Take care!

 

https://globalnews.ca/news/9390464/mexico-drug-cartel-arrest-canadians-violence/

 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ovidio-guzman-arrest-violence-1.6704936

 

L.

 

 

 

Did some checking on this and learned that Ovidio Guzmán, son of notorious drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán was arrested by Mexican authorities yesterday, Thursday, in northern Sinaloa.

 

Koningsdam, on her current voyage, was in Mazatlán on Tuesday, 03 Jan 23, so two days before the arrest. I'm sure HAL corporate security, the situation room in Seattle (manned 24/7 by the duty officer), and HAL Deployment and Itinerary Planning is looking seriously at the current situation in Mazatlán, and if they deem the circumstances there too dangerous, K-dam will be directed to skip her call next week.

 

Thanks again for thinking about our safety!

[leerathje]

42 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

 

Did some checking on this and learned that Ovidio Guzmán, son of notorious drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán was arrested by Mexican authorities yesterday, Thursday, in northern Sinaloa.

 

Koningsdam, on her current voyage, was in Mazatlán on Tuesday, 03 Jan 23, so two days before the arrest. I'm sure HAL corporate security, the situation room in Seattle (manned 24/7 by the duty officer), and HAL Deployment and Itinerary Planning is looking seriously at the current situation in Mazatlán, and if they deem the circumstances there too dangerous, K-dam will be directed to skip her call next week.

 

Thanks again for thinking about our safety!

 

Looking back now, I was looking at WHERE you were, not WHEN you were there!  I'm so happy you had a safe trip to Mazatlan, it really is a lovely city. (And yes, not so much the port!)

 

PV next!  Enjoy it, we weew supposed to spend Christmas there, but unfortunately, many Canadian airlines had a meltdown as well, and so we never flew out.   😔

 

L.

 

Edited January 7, 2023 by leerathje

[Copper10-8]

WED 04 JAN 23 – Day Seven – Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco

 

Koningsdam pulled into the Terminal Maritima at approximately 6:05 AM. Once inside the basin, Captain Robert Jan, using his fwd. thrusters and Azi-pods, turned his ship 90 degrees using available space until her bow was facing northbound alongside Muelle No. 2, the one opposite the PV Sam’s Club on the other side of the Carretera Al Aeropuerto, always a crew favorite. Having arrived in PV one hour before us, Carnival Panorama was berthed at Muelle No. 3, while the prime spot, Berth No. 1 for unknown reasons would remain empty today. The area leading to Dock #1 recently received a new terminal building full of modern airport-like duty free shops. We had moved the clocks forward by another hour last night so we are now two hours ahead of Pacific Standard Time.

 

Puerto Vallarta is a city of approx. 250,000 inhabitants located at the center of the 25-mile-wide Banderas Bay (Bay of Flags) and alongside the Sierra Madre mountain range (Think Night of the Iguana: “Baaadges?? I don’t got to tchow you no stinkin’ baaadges”). The name honors former governor Ignacio Luis Vallarta. The city proper comprises four main areas: the hotel zone along the shore to the north, Olas Altos - Col Zapata to the south of the Calle river (recently named Zona Romantics in some tourist brochures), the Centro along the shore between these two areas, and several residential areas to the east of the hotel zone. The oldest section of the town is the area of Col. Centro near the church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, especially Hidalgo Street. The climate here is tropical (and can be humid) with sunny days most of the year. The rainy season takes place from July to September. The economy is based mainly on tourism and construction with a small percentage derived from agriculture and tropical fruits. To the north it borders the southwest part of the state of Nayarit. To the east it borders the municipality of Mascot a as well as very picturesque San Sebastian del Oeste, and to the south it borders the municipalities of Tampa de Allende and Cabo Corrientes. Puerto Vallarta is frequently shortened to "Vallarta", while English speakers call the city P.V. for short.

 

Once again had our breakfast in the Club Orange around 8:15 AM, early for us, why? We had an excursion to the town of San Sebastián del Oeste today with an 8:15 AM meet on the pier outside. Once there, it was a bit of a sea of humanity off K-dam’s gangway with several tours departing within minutes of each other. There was a “seeing off committee” at the foot of said gangway consisting of K-dam’s asst. hotel general manger, Glenn, her cruise & travel director, Nick, and her security officer Simon. Met our friendly tour guide, Juan Carlos, who soon took our happy group of 37 to the open lot north of Mule No. 2 where our bus and driver Fernando was waiting for us. Boarded the nice-looking charabanc and we were soon off and running for the approx. two hour / 40 mile drive up the mountains.

Nestled high up in the Sierra Madre Occidental / Western mother mountain range in the western part of Jalisco State at 4,900 feet, San Sebastián del Oeste is a small former silver mining town which dates back to the Spanish colonial time of 1605, when it was a gold and silver mining center, once housing over 4,000 people. Today, San Sebastian has become a tourist destination, as well as still being home to about 600 inhabitants.

 

We actually visited San Sebastián del Oeste once before some thirteen years ago, back on January 4, 2004, however, at that time the road up the mountain had not yet been paved and, instead was a rutted dirt road. As a result, that particular shorex involved an approx. 20-minute flight from Aeropuerto Licenciado Gustavo Díaz Ordaz Internacional in Puerto Vallarta to a tiny dirt airstrip adjacent San Sebastián del Oeste in a Cessna 208B Caravan, a strutted high wing, 9-seat single engine turboprop with a fixed tricycle landing gear. A really cool experience at that time!

 

For our second visit, our first stop by coach would be at the Hacienda Don Lalin Raicilla Distillery, where they distill tequila. It is located right smack on the other side of the spectacular Puente Progresso / El Progresso Bridge which spans the San Sebastián River Gorge.

 

We were led to an elevated open patio where our host, owner and distiller, Lalo, proceeded to let us taste five of his tequila creations; Mescal (yowzah!), Mandarin Orange, Chocolate, Almond (Lalo called that one ‘breakfast’) and pure tequila (yowzah again!). We walked away from the hacienda and back on the coach having purchased one bottle each of the mandarin orange and almond.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Copper10-8]

WED 04 JAN 23 – Day Seven – Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco (Con't)

 

30 more minutes up the road, and we arrived in San Sebastián del Oeste with a first stop at Cafe de Altura La Quinta Mary, besides a coffee shop, also a coffee plantation. It was established in the 1930’s by the Sanchez family and they are still at it. Guide Juan Carlos explained the process of growing. Picking and processing coffee to us. After this roughly 30 min. visit, our group was split up into two Mercedes-Benz Sprinters which drove us on the ever present cobblestones (all the roads of the town are uneven cobblestones, no exceptions) to our lunch location, Restaurante-Bistro Los Arrayanes. We were served a nice local lunch including handmade tortillas with queso and spicy salsa, fajitas, rice and beans plus cheesecake for desert and a cold cervesa to wash it all down.

 

After lunch, Juan Carlos who, btw can only be described as very passionate about his job, funny, entertaining, and very caring in a genuine way, gave us about 45 minutes to walk the town, visit the church and small local museum, the police station, the stores, learn about the town’s history, and meet him at the town plaza with the really nice gazebo.

 

From there, the MB Sprinters took us back to our bus for the two hour trip down the mountain back to the terminal and K-dam. Unfortunately, the drop off point was not where we had boarded the bus at Muelle No. 2, but at Muelle No. 1 and the new shopping terminal. Coincidence? I think not! But back to the tour, we really enjoyed going back to San Sebastián del Oeste! It’s an interesting little place!

 

So, that new terminal shopping area at PV Muelle No. 1 from which you will eventually reach your gate that leads to your ship’s gangway can best be described as one of those cruise line / Carnival-financed shopping area similar to Grand Turk. Whether you want to or not, you are forced to transit different stores which sell everything from alcohol to cartons of cigarettes, to boxes of rum cakes. Quite ingenious but also very commercialized! The authentic PV flea market is still there outside T1, as are the noisemaking parrots.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Copper10-8]

WED 04 JAN 23 – Day Seven – Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco (Con't)

 

All Aboard in PV was scheduled for 6;30 PM. However, due to two unfortunate medical disembarks of one pax (unfortunately poster Kazu) and one crew member, K-dam did not depart Puerto Vallarta until about 7:40 PM en-route back to San Diego. Capt. Robert Jan slowly moved his ship sideways swinging towards port and, once clear of the dock, moved towards the harbor entrance and open sea. Puerto Vallarta’s pilot, the same one for many years, was disembarked at about 8.00 PM and once aboard his pilot boat, dipped his BB hat, took a bow and waived several times to K-dam’s captain with his boat’s whistle blowing also. Nice gesture!

 

Dinner for the two of us was back inside Club Orange with service from Andy this time. The entertainment tonite was the 3rd show on this particular cruise by the Step One Dance Company in “In Tandem,” without a doubt our most favorite show of theirs because it involves all fast-paced Latin/Brazilian/Italian songs accompanied by high tempo dancing. Loved that one! This show also included the male vocalist of the BB King's All-Star band.

 

We finished up the night with the Rolling Hills Rock Room and at Billboard Onboard. Tomorrow (Thursday) will be day one of two sea days heading back to our port of origin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[oakridger]

@Copper10-8I always watch for the pilot leaving Puerto Vallarta!  Love his wave. He seems like a happy guy!

 

~Nancy

[Colorado Klutch]

On 1/10/2023 at 1:03 AM, Copper10-8 said:

WED 04 JAN 23 – Day Seven – Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco

 

(Think Night of the Iguana: “Baaadges?? I don’t got to tchow you no stinkin’ baaadges”).

 

 

Just a fun fact, but I think you're referring to the quote, "Badges? We don't need no stinking badges!" which is from "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" with Humphrey bogart. (Great movie!)

Thanks for posting your progress. 

[Copper10-8]

1 hour ago, Colorado Klutch said:

 

Just a fun fact, but I think you're referring to the quote, "Badges? We don't need no stinking badges!" which is from "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" with Humphrey bogart. (Great movie!)

Thanks for posting your progress. 

 

Right you are! Bottom-dwelling me even got the right movie poster and still got the wrong movie title! 😴 Not the sharpest pencil in the box! Thanks for the correction!

 

 

[nutensteve]

Thank you John for a very good review of your cruise. We were on the same cruise and you brought back some good memories. I was hoping to meet you and although I carried around your profile pic (j/k) I never did see you. Maybe next time ....

[Sir PMP]

17 minutes ago, nutensteve said:

Thank you John for a very good review of your cruise. We were on the same cruise and you brought back some good memories. I was hoping to meet you and although I carried around your profile pic (j/k) I never did see you. Maybe next time ....

He spent a lot of time in the brig.

[Copper10-8]

16 minutes ago, nutensteve said:

Thank you John for a very good review of your cruise. We were on the same cruise and you brought back some good memories. I was hoping to meet you and although I carried around your profile pic (j/k) I never did see you. Maybe next time ....

 

Thanks Steve, and that would be nice! I was under (the) cover(s) most of the time although some CC posters did reveal me a la the old "Are you Mister Koningsdam" icebreaker 😉 

[Copper10-8]

1 minute ago, Sir PMP said:

He spent a lot of time in the brig.

 

Bingo! And you used the correct terminology this time, Meneer uit Den Haag! 😜

[SusieKIslandGirl]

Thanks so much for your entertaining reports. Was the PV tour a ship's tour or private?  Sounds like a great expedition when DD and DGD are there with me. 

[Copper10-8]

10 minutes ago, SusieKIslandGirl said:

Thanks so much for your entertaining reports. Was the PV tour a ship's tour or private?  Sounds like a great expedition when DD and DGD are there with me. 

 

Thanks Susie; It was a ship's tour, as was our first time flying there in the Cesnna fourteen-seater, but the tour outfit will be more than happy to take you there (and back) as part of a private tour also

[SusieKIslandGirl]

Thank you-appreciate the quick response!

[57redbird]

1 hour ago, SusieKIslandGirl said:

Thanks so much for your entertaining reports. Was the PV tour a ship's tour or private?  Sounds like a great expedition when DD and DGD are there with me. 

Check out Tours with Roberto in PV..... well priced, fun guy!  Used him for Sayulita, up the mountain, Punta Mita.....

 

BTW - how's your hip?

[SusieKIslandGirl]

@57redbirdThanks for another tour option.

And the hip is doing well!! 16,000 steps while we were in Florence and Rome in November. Still can't believe how easy it all was-and thankful for that. (Of course, now a knee is giving me problems☹️)

[57redbird]

55 minutes ago, SusieKIslandGirl said:

@57redbirdThanks for another tour option.

And the hip is doing well!! 16,000 steps while we were in Florence and Rome in November. Still can't believe how easy it all was-and thankful for that. (Of course, now a knee is giving me problems☹️)

Good & boo!

 

[OlsSalt]

CopperJohn, your lovely "child bride" was the giveaway to your secret identity,  across the crowd at the Mariner's reception - since you added her lovely photo from that great trip to San Javier out of Loreto - the highlight of the entire B2B cruise for us.. 

 

Yes, you did a great job telling us so much about the very same cruise that we were on too. Though I shall add I absolutely hated the new PV "Maul" one is forced to march through to get outside and on the the public busses to Centro-Malecon ($1.00 got us both on once, and $1.00 each on another trip.)

 

Plot a path carefully through this extensive new PV Shopping  maze - much like a walk through a labyrinth, just when you think you can see the goal (i.e: getting the heck out of there) you get sent down another phalanx of more shops.

 

We learned on the way back - keep looking up high, and one does sees directional signs for the "Return to Ship" exit.