Monday, May 23, 2022

We didn’t book any excursions because I had never been to Ensenada before. So, I decided to take the shuttle bus to town, which is conveniently out front. You hop on, it’s $4 per person. On the way to town, the tour lady is talking about different excursions they could take, which one happens to be one similar to the ship excursion to La Bufadora, only this one is $25 per person. I knew the ships one was more than double that, so we decide to be spontaneous and do it! I'm always thinking "YOLO"! We got off in town, pay the $50 for 2 people and get on another 12-seater van to La Bufadora, which is about 45 minutes to an hour away. She pulls over to the side of the road to take some photos and selfies.
When we arrive we see shopping galore. As we walk through the open market we see a sea of colorful, magical, souvenirs and shopping bonanza, which is supposed to have better prices than town, but I’m not really sure they are. I do know my prices on certain things, and of course you have to bargain. Once you walk through the open air market, and make your way to the very end, you will see the natural wonder geyser named “La Bufadora” . It’s fun to watch and hear all the little kids squeal with delight. I’m glad I got that on video. On the way back we buy some random things, like the tile numbers for our address to put on our house, soup spoon, ceramic souvenirs, baseball cap because it’s sunny and I forgot mine. I didn’t even bargain for that because he said it was $5.00 so I said “sold” haha.
Here is the view from the top at the end of the shopping area by La Bufadora. Going back to town, we decided to stop and eat lunch. Even though we are told to eat from the various street carts because it’s cheaper, we really wanted to sit down and relax. Our shuttle bus was on the same street, so we stopped off at a semi busy one (I don’t want to go to the restaurant with no people). We ordered 2 fish taco plates, (3 large fish tacos on each plate), large side of guacamole, margarita for me and 2 beers for my husband. The whole bill was $30.00! I couldn’t believe it. I was looking at my bill when the waiter said "Is something wrong?" I really wanted to say...."Ummm....I don't think you charged us enough". But I reallly said, "Oh no, all good". I just want to go back to Ensenada so I can eat at “El Patio”! It was a nice warm day so we sat on the sidewalk for outdoor seating and will get various people playing music or selling you things. We have dollar bills for tipping musicians and the little girl selling chiclets because she is sooo dang cute. It’s the experience! I can't remember the name of this margarita, but the bartender recommended it. It has some sort of fruit from Thailand. Even though I don't have the name of it, I can always show a picture of it if I ever go back again.
We jump on the shuttle back to the ship and have another early dinner which is also great. No crowds, good food and great service. We go to the entertainer show at night, which I almost passed up because I was used to the Princess one which is more older style. I’m so glad I went because it was great!! His name is Jimmy Hopper who has a great voice, amusing endearing stories, fun dance moves and overall entertaining. Here is a sample to You Tube which is a little compilation since I couldn't video tape. He looked a little different on the ship. Overall Royal has perfected their entertainment choices. We go back to room because guess what? We have to get off the ship the next day. #RoyalCaribbean #NavigatorofTheSeas #Ensenada #Mexico #Cruise #Cruiselife