My sister and I just returned from a 7 night cruise aboard the Majestic Princess to celebrate her 40th birthday! We visited 3 cities along the Mexican Riviera which included Cabo; Mazatlán; and Puerto Vallarta.

We had a fun day out in the Cabo Sun.    Had a short boat ride to El Arco just outside of the harbor on a catamaran.   Highlight of this short ride out was seeing a humpback whale breach.  It was so cool to see and witness.  Even though it was in the distance, it was still a cool site.   We went chasing them to see if we could get closer and saw two of them come up with their back fins coming out and back into the water.  

In Mazatlán we were lucky to walk into the ‘Blue Line’ route that the local tourism authority put together.  This ‘Blue Line’ was a dedicated walking path thru the best parts of the city and took us thru some cool side streets, plazas, schools, churches, restaurants, shops, etc.   We also found a shortcut to the beach area and walked on the boardwalk and hung out at the beach for some time.   It was fun in the sun as well as good eats, fun shops, and good little local gems we found and bought to bring back home.    

Our last port, Puerto Vallarta!   The day was spent with my Tia Carmen, my dad’s sister, my cousins, niece, and nephews.  It was fun day catching up with everyone and spending some time breaking bread and just enjoying each other’s company.   Thalia, my cousin, invited us to her house for a late afternoon dinner.   We smiled, laughed, and just had a good time with everyone.  Good energies all around!

This trip was during Thanksgiving week, so I was able to UnPlug for a good portion of the time out at sea where I enjoyed morning scripture study and pondering of how grateful I am for everything in my life from the temporal blessings; familial blessings; to most importantly spiritual blessings.   I read a good Liahona article, Addressing Mental Health, that reminded me of how much our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ gave us all so we can conquer physical, mental, and spiritual death.   He loves us just as our Heavenly Father loves us.   As I went about the ship on Thanksgiving morning, I took pictures of everything from ornate rooms that were created for our enjoyment to the deep ocean blue and setting sun, and was reminded of how we are put on this earth to fully have joy.   His blessings are abundant, all we must do is open our eyes and see, open our ears and hear, and use our other senses to smell, touch and feel the greatness that He has provided us.