Dandan on the other whales, mexico etc...

Another email from Dandan...
Do you think this guy ever gets homesick? Also, I am wondering how the diet is going. Oh well, another brilliant email, thnx Dandan!!!

"Los Angeles to the Caribbean

12 am, Friday 27th January, 31 degrees C, Wind force five, ship averaging 20 knots, directly into the breeze, So once again a very strong, wind across the deck, but at least its a warm one, effectively disguising just how hot that sun is. There will be some sore bodies tonight, among the passengers who embarked at LA, for the three week run home. Their whiteness contrasting starkly, as they fill the sun beds, with the seasoned campaigners who have grabbed every opportunity to worship the rays over the past three months. Making up for lost time, could be a painful experience, there is not a cloud in the sky, Lets hope it holds for the thousand mile run to Panama..

Los Angeles was its normal dreary self, not a town I like, have been here before, so went shopping, still no lens ( the good news is it has gone down £150. back home in the UK. Loll) Had a Korean lunch in the food hall, orange chicken with noodles, new to us and very tasty. Returned to the ship early, allowing Anne to join the ray seekers on the deck

We are moored in yet another container port; there have been so many of these around the world, not great for photography. Two American Cruise Liners were here, there home port and they took precedence as always. One was moored alongside the front part of the pier allocated to us, so our skipper had to back in and park (skipper and park, are words guaranteed to make a British captain very mad, you use them on board at your peril,). This also positioned Artemis neatly across the cut that ran at right angles to us and contained the other American ship.

Now as we were sailing last, this made for some fun later on, Artemis weighs in at some 45,000 tons, whilst the other two are over 100,000 tons each; we are not talking little ships here. The ship in front of us departed first, allowing us to untie and pull forward some 100 metres, just clearing the cut. The other American beast had to then pull out across our stern with a clearance of 3 metres and turn alongside us in the width of the dock, a further constraint being container ships moored on the opposite bank. He did it, no paintwork scratched and off he went with an exchange of blasts on the ships whistles. Give these fellows there due the certainly can drive these things. But what would they do without side thrusters

We sailed out into some more bad weather en-route to Mexico. Next morning though still cool, dawned bright and calm with practically no swell, just the constant wind. The water was like a mill pond, some luck at last, as this stretch of water is the marine equivalent of M4, a sort of motorway for whales, the main drag down to the breeding grounds in the shallow lagoons off Baja California. The captain announced we would divert from our course and enter a couple of these bays looking for the mainly grey whales. Great.

Then of course it happened, one of our four engines developed a fault, our speed dropped and although the diversion was still on, entry and exploration were precluded, by the need to be in Acapulco at the correct time, to meet the pilot and berth (is Jonah on this bloody ship? I know it’s probably me.) Never mind, moving through these mirror like waters at reduced speed, we were privileged to watch, grey whale, killer whale, manta rays and turtles all going in the opposite direction to us, near enough to see there spouts and antics. But not close enough for the camera (that lens is back again) and shoals of porpoises and dolphins speeding towards the ship leaping and diving as they came, only to disappear, whilst still moving at great speed, under and around the ship.

Artemis has a long raked bow. Long enough to enable tugs to disappear under it, when manoeuvring in harbour, it was not therefore possible to see where the hull enters the water, and whether these delightful, intelligent, fun loving creature were riding our bow wave as they love to do,

The grey whale is back, from almost the brink of extinction, and because they travel close to shore and can be observed from coastal cliffs and headlands, they have become very popular with whale watchers, along this coast, some have become friendly whales, approaching boats and allowing themselves to be touched. How sad therefore, that as they are no longer on the endangered list, some people feel the need to take them for scientific purposes.

One last interesting thought, from a scientist and fellow traveller, it is said that if intelligence was judged by the complexity of a species language, then the whale would outscore mankind because they have the most complex of all languages,

After a wonderful day, unique in my experience, we passed Cabo San Lucas, turned left and at a stroke, exchanged the cold for warm weather and headed on into Acapulco.

Acapulco, Good Beaches, a sun worshipper’s paradise, nightlife and markets, great if you like that sort of thing. Personally the personal attention of constant touts, extolling the virtues of this or that shop, I find very wearing and is enough for me to say I wont be returning,

I enjoyed some of the historical sites, though classing John Wayne’s and Johnny Weissmuller’s (Tarzan to you who remember) houses as such, seemed sort of over the top, They also say that Weissmuller an Olympian in his own right was responsible for training the first cliff divers, whether he was or not, I found the divers brave and impressive. Maybe the fact that we didn’t go on an organised tour and went at a quieter time, minus the coaches enabled us to see more in comfort. Unlike many we met.

We were ashore early and enjoyed a very good Mexican breakfast in an up market restaurant, found an English speaking taxi driver and had a reasonable tour.

Hautulco
Next day found us in Hautulco. Lovely, made up of nine bays and 36 picturesque beaches, a recharge your batteries sort of place, British airways are about to start direct flights to here. Now is the time to see it, because the Mexican government plan a resort, based on the success of Acapulco.

Only four bays have been built up, the rest being nature reserves, which they say, will never be touched. It is also the only resort in Mexico that does not dump waste black water (sewage) into the sea, as it has three water treatment plants already working.

The roads the government have constructed thus far, are beautifully landscaped and these along with the picturesque new golf course, which will delight many, are automatically watered by the recycled water. Temperatures were in the nineties and it’s warm all year round.

The Canadians have discovered the area and are loving it, and the fact that one Englishman having a bar there, was reason for comment by the locals, gives some idea, just how unspoilt it is at present. We will be checking out those flights later as Anne vows a return,

We were driven round by a young taxi driver who studied languages and spoke four fluently, he amused me greatly by calling president Bush a crocodile, when I asked why, he said, big mouth, small brain and attacks anyone he fancies without reason. Nice LOl

So we head for Panama, due there Sunday, for another day in my adopted spot at the front of the top deck, as the ship transits the canal. With just three Caribbean islands to visit, then off, Via the Azores to an early morning docking in Southampton on Sunday the twelfth Feb.

More on that and a few thoughts on the whole experience, if you want them, as we cross the Atlantic.

Right! off to a barbecue on deck, any one for soup, steak, chicken, burghers, sausages, fish, chops, cold meat, it goes on, Baked Potato,salad, potato salad’ coleslaw and on gateaux, cheesecake, apple pie, and on Mississippi mud pie, fruit salad, and on jelly, trifle, and on Brie, stilton cheddar, Danish blue, Rolls Biscuits and on and on and on, Lol It makes you sick, Think I will just have a beer , see you all soon

Byeeee Anne and Cliff"