ARRIVING IN ENSENADA, MEXICO!~~ March 13

Buenos Dias! We are getting real close to Ensenada. At noon, we will take on the local pilot who will help the Captain navigate into our berth. The ships take on these local pilots to help assist the navigation team with his local knowledge of the port conditions until alongside. The pilot will again be onboard for our departure this evening.

Ensenada is the third largest city in the Mexican state of Baja California. (That is the name of the state in Mexico and confused me for a minute.) It is located about 70 miles south of Tijuana. It is one of the five cities into which the state is divided. Ensenada is locally referred to as La Bella Cenicienta del Pacifico which, when translated, means The Cinderella of the Pacific. The city is home to immigrants from other parts of Mexico and from all around the world. Located in the Bahia de Todos Santos~ an inlet of the Pacific Ocean~ Ensenada is an important commercial and fishing port, as well as a popular cruise ship stop.

Captain’s Barometer
Today’s forecast for Ensenada: Scattered showers in the morning and sunny in the afternoon. High: 65. Low: 46. Wind: 15 mph. It sounds like a good thing that we don’t disembark the ship under 1:00. We shall hope and pray that any rain is over with by that tine. Our excursion this afternoon is a bus tour around the area, and we look forward to that. We’ll report later as to how it went.