Tag Archives: Golden Princess

Chile-to-L.A. — Cabo San Lucas, last port before home


La Ultima Piedra de la Peninsula Baja (Last Stone of the Baja Peninsula)

Ultima piedra Peninsula Baja (“Last Stone of the Baja Peninsula)

The Golden Princess made one more port before our long journey from Chile to Los Angeles would come to an end.  That would be one of my favorite ports, Cabo San Lucas, at the very tip of the Baja Peninsula.  We arrived on March 25, 2015, four days after our departure from Nicaragua.  Cabo doesn’t have a harbor and dock suitable for a cruise ship, so once again we found ourselves anchored offshore and tendering into town after some spectacular views of Land’s End, Lovers Beach, and La Ultima Piedra de la Baja Peninsula, which translates to “The Last Stone of the Baja Peninsula”.  Land’s End is the beach and large rock on the right side of the picture below, and the last rock is on the far left.

Land's End

Land’s End

I’ve blogged on Cabo San Lucas several times in the past, so we’re not going to spend too much time on this again today.  If you’d like more information I’ve posted links to my previous blog posts at the end of today’s article.  In those articles you find information on El Arco (The Arch); seals and pelicans; a sea tour out to Land’s End, the charming town of Cabo San Lucas, and a spectacular native demonstration of “Pole Flying (Danza de los Voladores — Dance of the Flyers).

Yachting Around

Yachting Around

One catching sight out here at Land’s End is Lovers Beach on the harbor side of the peninsula.  Perhaps intuitively, Lovers Beach butts up against Divorce Beach, which is on the Pacific side of the peninsula.  If the waves are just right you’ll catch some spectacular geysers of water shooting into the air from the Divorce Beach side, as shown here:

Lovers Beach (Divorce Beach behind, where the waves are crashing)

Lovers Beach (Divorce Beach behind, where the waves are crashing)

Don’t forget to have Scoody-Doo pose for you while you’re out here.  But he is shy, so he’ll be facing away from you.

Scooby-Doo

Scooby-Doo

For the uninitiated, “tendering” is when your cruise ship has to anchor offshore and passengers are ferried into port using either the ship’s tenders or locally hired water craft.  Today we used the tenders from the Golden Princess:

Tendering out of Cabo

Tendering out of Cabo

Here is a shot of one Golden Princess tender safely docked in the Cabo San Lucas Marina:

Cabo San Lucas Marina

Cabo San Lucas Marina

So, why am I spending so little time today blogging on Cabo San Lucas?  Because we had another destination on mind this trip.  On Wednesday we’ll be heading 47 miles/76 kilometers to the north, to a charming little town on the Pacific Coast side of the peninsula — Todos Santos.  Until then, enjoy some more photos of Cabo San Lucas and links below to previous articles:

Cabo San Lucas

Cabo San Lucas

Scooby and Friends

Scooby and Friends

Cabo San Lucas

Cabo San Lucas

Ultima piedra Peninsula Baja

Waves crashing into Ultima piedra Peninsula Baja later that afternoon

Cabo San Lucas

Cabo San Lucas

Previous blog posts on Cabo San Lucas:

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Fun Photo Friday — Favorites of Granada and a Hint of Lake Nicaragua


Lamp and Wood

Lamp and Wood

Today’s Fun Photo Friday I present some of my favorite shots of Granada, Nicaragua, followed by a couple of sneak preview shots our boat tour of Lake Nicaragua.

Century Cross

Century Cross

Guadalupe Church

Guadalupe Church

Granada Cathedral

Granada Cathedral

Lake Nicaragua Preview

Lake Nicaragua Preview

Lake Nicaragua Preview

Lake Nicaragua Preview

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Walking the Streets and Cathedral of Granada, Nicaragua


Granada

Calle la Calzada, Granada

Our tour’s first stop in Granada, Nicaragua, was for a stroll along the beautiful Calle la Calzada.  This pedestrian street is lined with colorful buildings, statuesque street lamps, and tree-shaded benches.  We started this stroll near the Guadalupe Church pictured below.  This church dates back to the 17th Century, and it was once used as a fortress in 1856 by the infamous American military filibuster William Wallace.  If a U.S. citizen wants to truly understand why to this day the United States is so distrusted south of our border with Mexico and throughout Central and much of South America, one only needs to read up on this mercenary adventurer and his attempts to conquer Mexico, Nicaragua (where he actually ruled as “president” from July 1856 to May 1857), and Honduras.

Guadalupe Church of Granada

Guadalupe Church of Granada

In the photos presented today the Calle la Calzada may appear nearly deserted, but it was actually busier than hinted at here.  While not exactly bustling, it was sparsely enough populated that I was able to wait out any “crowds”, as I had allowed our tour group to get well ahead of me.  Even so, most of my photography that day had at least some people in them.

Calle la Calzada, Granada

Calle la Calzada, Granada

As I’m sure you noticed so far, one of the most striking features here are the brightly colored buildings.  They were truly a delight to capture.

Calle la Calzada, Granada

Calle la Calzada, Granada

At the western edge of Calle la Calzada are the Cathedral Plaza (Plaza de la Catedral), Central Park (Parque Central), and of course the Cathedral of Granada (Catedral de Granada — Our Lady of Assumption Cathedral).  Also here is an interesting statue titled “A la Madre Toda Abnegacion y Amor“, which translates to “A Mother is All Selflessness and Love”.

"A Mother is All Selflessness and Love"

“A Mother is All Selflessness and Love”

Also here at Plaza de la Catedral is the Century Cross, which stands beside the cathedral.

Century Cross in the Plaza de la Independencia

Century Cross in the Plaza de la Independencia

And rounding the corner you get your first glimpse of the Granada Cathedral with its bright mustard exterior with stark white trim and dark red domes.

Granada Cathedral and Plaza de la Catedral

Granada Cathedral and Plaza de la Catedral

Let’s take a tour of the inside:

Granada Cathedral

Granada Cathedral

Granada Cathedral

Granada Cathedral

Granada Cathedral

Granada Cathedral

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Filed under Photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, vacation