Wayfaring Day 131 Ensenada

November 8, 2025 Saturday

We were up early and off the ship by 8:15. We found where our excursion meets and actually checked in early. At 8:45 they had us all in line and by 9:00 we were boarding the bus. The bus was a charter type bus (56 Passenger with toilet). We had a bout a 45 minute ride to the La Bufadora. The ride was made much more enjoyable due to our excellent tour guide Leslie. We enjoyed listening to Leslie while taking in the experience of the city of Ensenada, the farming areas and the coastal mountain drive.

Leslie had prepared us for the walk down to the blow hole by explaining how we would walk together and make some stops together along the way down. She also prepared us for the being constantly being addressed by vendors who have shops, want you to try free samples and make their case for why you should eat at their eatery. The walk to La Bufadora is lined with shops and eateries that must number at least 200. Most people waited until the return trip to make their purchases but some people couldn’t resist buying ponchos, churros and other things on the way.

The vendors were always respectful though determined in their efforts to gain your attention. There are some people who would find this behavior intrusive but we were not so bothered by the constant attention.

At La Bufadora we were able to get some great pics and videos of the blow hole doing its thing. The tide was a bit low so we did not get wet on the visit but La Bufadora lived up to its claim as the largest blow hole in North America.

On the walk back through the shops we made our purchases which were all food purchases. We had tacos and the clam dish at the Flamingo while we sat outside with nice views of the shoreline and mountains. From there we found a place to buy coated peanuts, almonds and pecans. Our final purchase was a bag of churros which were warm and very tasty. Everyone made it back to the bus and we headed back down to Ensenada for our second stop of this tour.

The second stop was the Museo de Historio which is actually the famous Riviera Casino or El Hotel-Casino Playa Ensenada. We really enjoyed the tour of the old casino with its interesting history, architecture and artistry. Built during prohibition by mostly wealthy Californias for the purpose of partaking of alcohol and gambling, its use waned after the US lifted prohibition and eventually closed prior to World War 2. The experience sheds a different sort of light on people like Lucille Ball.

After the free Margaritas and cane sugar cokes (The Margarita was invented here) we loaded the bus for the short drive back to the cruise ship pier. Our plan for this evening for the final night of our cruise was to have dinner and see the Love and Marriage show. Before those things we wanted to spend some time on the Lido deck making some phone calls and doing some website updating and viewing before the ship left port. The ship pulled out around 4:30. It was almost dark which made the city quite glittery against the backdrop of the mountains. The cell signal was gone so we made our way down to our room to change clothes for the evening.

We had our final dinner and then lounged around listening to music in the atrium. Once the doors were opened we meandered in the Teatre Rosso for one of the most popular shows Carnival presents: Love and Marriage. It was crazy, hilarious and beyond tmi. After that craziness we went back to our room to finish packing. We had to have our checked bags in the hall by 11:00. We always check our bags because we seldom need to hurry away from the cruise terminal for any reason. This time we chose the latest debarkation possible allowing those who have flights or long drives to leave the ship sooner. We will carry our backpack and soft bag with us. By 11:30 we were in bed for the night.