We woke up this morning and looked out our window to see a landscape composed entirely of sand dunes. We are anchored offshore in this port so we had to take a tender to reach the pier. The water in this area is much less blue, darker, with shades of grey, and much less clear. There must be abundant food in the water because there are countless birds stalking the fish and then swooping down and plucking them out with their beaks and carrying them away. We left the ship at about 11:00 a.m. and the sun was already hot, with no clouds in sight. There is very little breeze so it doesn't take long to get sunburned. Usually, the tenders are provided by our ship. Today, however, we used local tenders, which were open speedboats and REALLY fun. It was like going on an E-ticket ride at Disneyland (I realize I'm aging myself)!. The ride was about 15 minutes of skimming and skipping along the top of the water, bumping and swerving, with water splashing in our faces and hair. It was GREAT!!!
Once we reached the pier we walked along the sidewalk and shopped at the numerous small kiosks where countless souvenirs were being sold. It appears that wool sweaters and handbags, as well as t-shirts, are popular items. There were also ceramic figurines and plates, but we weren't convinced they were made here so we resisted buying them. In an attempt to buy something we knew was made in this area we walked to a nearby resort, thinking they might have higher quality wares. Unfortunately, we found only clothing, hats, and jewelry. We did find our refrigerator magnet, though, so we were happy.
We did have an unfortunate event on the ship last night. When we returned to our suite after a very long day of sightseeing we noticed that someone had stolen two of our magnets, which we display on the outside of our suite door. They are fun for us and other passengers, and staff comment frequently that they wait every day to see what magnet we will add to the collection. Bob made a sign and posted it on our door which said "Dear Thief, Please return our magnets. It is not nice to steal. Thank you." So far, no response. We believe it may have been one of the contractors who have been working on remodeling the onboard boutique (and causing all the noise in our suite). They leave the ship soon since their work is nearly complete and we suspect that our magnets will exit the ship with them.
Other than the colorful stalls packed with wares next to the pier there was really nothing to see in this small village. We decided not to go on an excursion in the desert or to cruise to a nearby desert island to see sea lions, seals and birds, so we returned to the ship via our exciting boat ride and spent the remainder of the day relaxing and enjoying the peace and quiet. As our tender reached the ship we noticed a huge sea lion sound asleep on top of the rock to which our ship was anchored. Interesting sight.
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