Aboard the MS Ryndam

Along the west coast of Mexico headed for Cabo San Lucas

Sunday, May 2, 11:15 am Central Time

An absolutely beautiful day--not-a-cloud-in-the-sky, warm sun, a stiff cool breeze, and low humidity. The sea is a little choppy from the wind and we are heading into a steady series of rolling swells, which give the sensation of being at sea! I say that because this ship, with its powerful diesels and stabilizers, often lets you forget you’re on the water.

It’s a Sunday morning with church services, exercise classes, leisurely big breakfasts, the Sunday New York Times crossword, and a lot of power walking around the promenade deck. Grampa just did a vigorous half-mile (twice around) and will do another half-mile after lunch. We guess that about two-thirds of our fellow passengers are a bit older than we are, but most seem to be fairly fit (walkers, not those needing walkers!). We do have one lady who is celebrating her 92nd birthday and a few who look like they belong at the Carnival cruise midnight buffet (HAL doesn’t have a midnight buffet), but then I wax catty. The other third are our age or younger, but there are only a couple of young families and one of those is the family of one of the entertainers. But schools are back in session after spring break and this is a rather long cruise for kids.

Geography lesson ahead: Tomorrow we stop at Cabo San Lucas on the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. Right now (late Sunday morning) we can still faintly see the mountains of the Mexican coast off to starboard. Tonight we cross the opening to the Sea of Cortez and get an extra hour’s sleep as we change our clocks to Mountain Time.