An Ensenada Stroll

 It had been quite a few years since we'd been to Ensenada and it's changed quite a lot.  The port area has definitely been upgraded and is nice to walk along, which is mostly what we did today.

We slipped into the dock around 10:30 and I happened to be doing a little walking on Deck 12 as we approached.  I got a picture of the city but neglected to get a photo of the sea lions making noise and swimming near the pier as we came in.  They were having a grand time!

Another view of Ensenada from the top of the ship, and a bit of the marina.

The only "flower" picture that I took today was this odd succulent called a Tree Aeonium.  Apparently in some parts of the world they are considered a weed.

Since I didn't get a photo of Karl while in port in Cabo I made sure I got one in Ensenada, even though he didn't really want to take one here.

Karl had looked up a lobster place to try to find tacos, and even better it wasn't far from the ship.  On the way there we bought our seven quarts of vanilla, multiple orders, not just all for Lisa, and stored five bottles in my backpack and put that last two in my Harry Potter reusable shopping bag.  Oh yes, I'm working on not using plastic bags and going green.  Vanilla purchased, we only had a couple of blocks to go to see if we could find our lunch.

As you can see, we didn't exactly find tacos, but Karl did get the deep-fried lobster he's been craving.  And he got part of my lobster because I decided to have a lobster burrito.  Usually the chef/cook will make three burritos from one lobster but no way was I going to be able to eat three burritos so we just asked them to give Karl the rest of my crustacean.

As you can see, this dude is one happy camper with a plate full of lobster to devour!

After lunch we just wandered along the malecon, or seaside walkway, looking at the shops and their colorful goods, people watching, just enjoying the sights and sounds.  Note here that Karl is sporting a new hat as well.  He never has liked the boonie hat I got him for this trip!

I just thought this picture on the porta-potty on the local pirate ship was pretty funny.  Really, a mermaid and a peg-leg pirate?

We decided we could use a little dessert so see my nutella churro....

See my big smile eating my nutella churro....

See Karl taking a picture of me taking a picture of him with his strawberry churro.  That was probably the best churro I've ever had, hot, crispy, gooey, covered in cinnamon and sugar, yum!

They were having a cultural event there on the pier.  Not sure if it's something they do every Saturday or not but this guy had a marvelous tenor voice and we listened to him sing several songs, even though the only word I understood was corazón, or heart.

We were just going to do a picture of me at this Ensenada sign but a kind young woman offered to take one of both of us so here we are.

The seagulls were having a grand time in this birdbath, at least it was a bird bath on this occasion.

Last picture was of Serenade with this old anchor from a French ship that sank somewhere in the Sea of Cortez, at least we think that's what the sign said with our limited Spanish skills.  It's there in the marina to commemorate something or other!

This finishes off our last port for Segment 1 of the Ultimate World Cruise.  It's been an amazing journey so far through the Caribbean and Latin America, plus Antarctica.  We're looking forward to more adventures with new cultures as we head out into the Pacific and on to Asia!