Unlike prior cruises, we opted out of purchasing any shore excursions offered by Carnival. We wanted a little adventure and decided to shop around in Ensenada for local scenic tours and horseback riding packages. So…..after we debarked in Ensenada, we paid $2 per person and hopped on a shuttle to town.
With the recommendation and $5 discount coupons from our shuttle’s guide, we paid $15($13 for Joshua) for each adult and visited one of the major attractions, La Bufadora Blowhole, in Ensenada. The Blowhole is approx 18 miles away from where our cruise ship docked in harbor. However, it probably took us almost an hour each way, as the cars can only drive on a local service road where some sections are unpaved and others with some stop-and-go traffic. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the charming panoramic view of the Ensenada Bay while the tour guide pointed out historical building, natural scenery, and interesting local facts on our way there to La Bufadora.
The Blowhole (marine geyser) is located on the Punta Banda Peninsula in Baja California, Mexico. It is a natural crevice originating from erosion and connected to an underwater canyon. The spout of marine water is created when ocean waves and air are drawn into an underwater cave located in the cliffside, and the trapped air and water then explode upwards. This interaction not only creates the upward-shooting spout, but a thunderous noise as well. The loud grunt gave the phenomenon its name, “La Bufadora” means “buffalo snort”. La Bufadora Blowhole is the second largest blowhole in the world, after Hawaii, and can shoot upwards as high as 100 feet above sea level. Other “Blowholes” exist in Australia, Tahiti and one in Japan, but Japan’s is artificial. La Bufadora is the most spectacular of all of them, because it’s situated on a rocky inlet near the tip of the ruggedly beautiful peninsula.
On our way back, we passed by the Riviera del Pacifico, a one-time glamour spot converted into the social, civic and cultural Center of Ensenada. It's a vast white complex, straight across the harbor from the dock, a short detour on the walk to town. Built in the 1920s, this was a glamorous casino, hotel, restaurant and bar visited by Hollywood stars and wealthy Americans and Mexicans.
After Blowhole, we asked the tour guide to drop us off for some horseback riding on the beach. We got on a horse drawn carriage, and got off on the roadside of Interstate 1 (I-1) Southbound a mile or so south of the port in a shanty town. For $30 per person, the owner of this unestablished horse rentals paired us up with different size/color tamed horses and we began our very first horseback riding journey on a little stretch of Pacific Ocean coastline of Baja Mexican. Without doubts, I was a ball of nerves and had my share of fears and uneasy feelings. Soon after I got my bearings and got to know better about my horse, I tossed out all the “what if” questions and started to enjoy my ride. At the end, we all made it back safe and sound.
Even though we didn’t expect much from Carnival’s food, we still expected to have a lavish dining experience, therefore we pretty much dined at the main seating dinning rooms (i.e. all the dinners at Destiny restaurant; Sunday lunch and Monday breakfast at Elation) when available. Overall, it ranged from adequate to exceed our expectation. Not a gourmet experience by any means, but reasonably well presented with some creative choices. I found all the fish dishes to be excellent (pan-fried fillet of red snapper, tilapia, cod, salmon, etc.) On the formal night, we all had big lobster tails with fresh, succulent, crunchy, and tasteful tiger shrimps. With an extra order of perfectly rare prime rib and a fresh cod to complete our main course selections, we ate like kings and queens.
Salads (from ordinary Caesar Salad to Mongolian beef salad) were pretty creative and tasty, although a bit skimpy on the portions. Other than the strawberry bisque, chilled asparagus soup and avocado soup, the other soups were pretty boring and forgettable. Desserts (such as chocolate melting cake, ice cream, crème caramel, Alaskan cake, etc.) were OK, again not terribly flavorful, but pretty and not bad. For the Valentine celebration on Saturday night, we all tried the chocolate fudge cake shaped like a stem of rose.
For hours and hours on Sunday at sea, we had a blast twisting and turning waterslide on Carnival Paradise. And we put our waterproof Olympus Stylus 1050 SW to the test.
We watched two musical productions (Here’s Hollywood and Shout) in the main show lounge, Normandie. The shows presented aboard were quite good and I do like the fact that Carnival Paradise has its own dancers, vocalists, and orchestra.
Pictures taken with stand-up comedians Seth Buchwald and Lance Montalto, after the “R” rated adult comedy shows.
We were lucky with the weather and all in all it was surprisingly a short yet memorable trip. By taking this cruise and visiting Ensenada again, it did stir up JJ’s romance (gave our love another booster shot) over the Valentine and President’s Day long weekend. And YES! We look forward to many, many 10-years to come!!
P.S. After we got back from the cruise, I learned that the best beaches are five miles south of Ensenada, in a small town calls Chapultapec. The long strand of sand at the Estero Beach Resort is public. There’re horseback riding, surf fishing and jet skiing available on the beach. According to the local tour guide, Ensenada is just about 3 hours car ride away from San Diego International Airport. May be… for a change, we will consider coming back to Ensenada by car in the near future.
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