Christmas Cruise Part 3: Ensenada, Mexico

This was my first ever trip to Mexico! I have to admit I thought it would be nicer. I guess I'm more ignorant than I realised. I won't go into detail because it will only make me look bad...
But we still had a blast here and I have a million pictures I want to share, so bear with me.

This is how Mexico does Christmas, I guess. I think I prefer the mashed-potato Santa. (See recent post).
I have to remind myself people down south have to makeshift their own evergreen trees.
My adorable hubby showing off our cruise ship.
We rented a four-wheeler!! Believe it or not, these are legal to drive on the streets in Mexico! The salesman wanted $70 to rent the vehicle all day, but we said no way. We walked away and they chased us down the road to offer us a better deal! Turns out, I'm a pretty ruthless negotiator! We agreed on $50 for the whole day. Pretty good considering they were charging other people $25/hour.
We drove the four-wheeler all the way to La Bufadora, or "The Blowhole", about 45 min away from Ensenada. I'll explain what that is in a minute. It got pretty windy and cold along the way. Tom was going pretty fast the whole time. We don't know how fast, because the vehicle didn't have a speedometer! How these things are street legal is beyond me!
They gave me a pink helmet! How did they know!!! :-D
There's a parking lot at the blowhole, but then you have to walk through a super-long flea market to get there. There are people yelling at you and trying to sell you stuff everywhere you look...
...including prescription drugs like Viagra! Tell me this isn't the most hilarious thing you've ever seen! It's Viagra Man! I tried to stand as far away from his "package" as I could. (If his hands are any indication...) So creepy!
Here is La Bufadora, or "The Blowhole". It's a cove along the coast of Mexico that gets really narrow as the water rushes in.
And then gets even more narrow...
And then...
The water gets drawn into an underwater cave and then it explodes! Creating a geyser every minute or so. It also makes the coolest noise. Like thunder rolling across the sky and then a huge crack of lightening. This is the second-largest blowhole in the WHOLE WORLD!

The explosions vary in size and when they get really big, they splash everyone watching! These pictures made me laugh.


This was definitely one of the highlights of our cruise. I'm glad we made the long trek there and back on our sketchy four-wheeler.

When we got back into town, I wanted to see what a Mexican Wal-Mart looks like... It wasn't hard to find.
Still cool though! "Precios Bajos" means "low prices".
Sunset on the beach with our four-wheeler!
Saying goodbye to Mexico. I don't think I'll be back anytime soon, but I definitely have fond memories of our visit.


Back on the ship I got to show off a new purchase! I bought this necklace on the streets of Mexico. The salesman wanted $18 for it. I got him down to $6! Totally worth it! It's so pretty! It's one of my favorite souvenirs of the whole cruise!

This picture was taken a day later, but I'm wearing my new hat also bought in Mexico. The lady wanted $10, I paid $5. :-D I love bargaining!
(Ignore the fact I'm stuffing my face with breakfast food in this picture. The plates were for both me and Tom.)

If you got all the way through this post and you STILL want more, you're in luck. There will be one more post of our last day at sea and the day we spend in Long Beach before our flight home. Until then, Adios!