Back to Reality – Returning Home After Travelling

Back to Reality Returning Home After Travelling - Lucy Williams Global

I have returned home after three months of travelling around Alaska, the Californian Coast, Mexico, Hawaii and French Polynesia and reality has hit me!

Real life after travelling is nice but overwhelming!

If you have been following my travels you will know I travel with my husband that works onboard a cruise ship. Hence my blog tagline ‘The Travelling Wife Cruising Around the World’.

Alaska

This has been another long trip, but it was lovely to see Alaska properly. I have worked many Alaska seasons when I was still working onboard, but I never really saw much.

This time I made the most of my 4 weeks there and visited glaciers up close from a small boat to landing on top of one in a helicopter. I saw wildlife up close and totem poles.

Glacier Bay | Juneau | Ketchikan | Skagway

Californian Coast

After sailing around Alaska, we sailed south to the California coast and on the way we stopped in Astoria, Oregon. This was a new port for me and I enjoyed a lovely tour of the Oregon coast.

We then sailed to San Francisco, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. The weather was great whilst in these port so I saw the Golden Gate Bridge in its full glory.

Santa Barbara was a food and drink day on an amazing food tour and LA was spent in Long Beach catching up with friends.

Oregon Coast | San Francisco | Santa Barbara

Hawaii & French French Polynesia

I went back to Hawaii and French Polynesia. It was fantastic to go back to Hawaii and French Polynesia as they are my favourites! Especially Bora Bora in French Polynesia, pure paradise.

It took a long time to get down there, only 8 days at sea! But it is worth it in the end when you get there. I got to see another new port; Pago Pago in American Samoa on the way down to French Polynesia. It is a beautiful little lush tropical island.

Hawaii | Oahu | Kauai | Maui | French Polynesia

Mexico

We spent a lot of time in Mexico on seven cruises to Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas. They were nice for the margaritas!

Also, short mini cruises of 4/5 days either just to Cabo San Lucas or to Ensenada and Catalina Island, California. Catalina Island was another new port for me and it was a nice new place to go, a really pretty island across the water from Los Angeles.

Mexico | Catalina Island

Back Home

Since I have been back home my feet have not touched the ground. After a 14 hour flight, I have been suffering from jet lag. I wish my body would just understand and sleep at night-time!

Within two days of being at home, we have been to Lake Como, lovely but I would have preferred a week at home to recover!

Now, it is time to get ready for Christmas, our tree is up, the turkey is ordered and the Christmas shopping is done. If you need a helping hand with your Christmas shopping check out my gift guides for travellers and cruisers.

Traveller Gift Guide | Cruiser Gift Guide | Travel Beauty Gift Guide | Christmas Decorations

It’s Not the End!

I love to travel so, even though I am home there will be lots of travel blog posts from around Italy and the UK and you will be reading them very soon!

Happy Holidays

Love Lucy x

Back to Reality Returning Home After Travelling - Lucy Williams Global

 

Where to Find the Best Margaritas in Mexico!

Where to Find the Best Margaritas in Mexico! Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, Cabo - Lucy Williams Global - UK

The first thing that comes to mind when in Mexico is where to get the best margaritas! So, what do I like to do in Mexico? You guessed it! Drink margaritas!

We were cruising along the west coast of Mexico and stopped in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas.

These cruises were a seven-day cruise with two days at sea with three ports and a return to Los Angeles. This is a good starter cruise as you get a feel for the ship and have enough port days.

Puerto Vallarta

The first port was Puerto Vallarta and this a lovely port. The cruise terminal has a market with souvenirs, bars and pharmacy stalls.

Across the street from the cruise terminal, is a mall and grocery stores if you need something.

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Puerto Vallarta has lovely restaurants and my favourite is Pipis ‘The Original’. It is near the seafront in the old town.

When you sit at your table they made fresh guacamole in front of you and it is delicious!

It has a great menu with all the Mexican classic dishes and a lot of seafood. I love the grilled lobster and a coconut margarita.

The margaritas are huge like little goldfish bowls! They come in mango, strawberry, original, coconut, etc.

I love what is painted on the wall of the restaurant – “Don’t drink the water, drink the margaritas. ”

The atmosphere is great there with good music and the prices are very good here too.

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Mazatlan

The second port was Mazatlan. While we were there we went to the Royal Villas Hotel Resort.  It was a great place to relax and the hotel was on the beach.

We had margaritas while lying on our sun loungers and enjoyed the sea view. We had lunch there and they served traditional Mexican dishes or American style dishes. I had the quesadillas and they were yummy!

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The hotel was in the Golden Zone, where all the nice beaches are. The hotel is walking distance to other restaurants, bars and the shops.

Cabo San Lucas

The third port was Cabo San Lucas. This is a nice port and you can walk around the marina. Cabo is getting bigger every year and is now is an American style Mexico!

It is lovely to visit the famous El Arco rocks, the natural landmark of Cabo San Lucas, by a small boat and go to Lovers Beach.

You can see the rock formation from the ship though! In this port, you can go on many tours, like swimming with dolphins and booze cruises around the El Arco rocks.

Essential Info

  • Weather: 22*C -27*C
  • Language: Spanish and some English
  • Currency: Mexican Pesos and US Dollars are accepted
  • Recommendations: Wear sunscreen, insect repellent, sunglasses, UV protection hat, lightweight clothing and swimwear for the beach. Below are some great examples available from Amazon.

                                           

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I hope you have enjoyed reading about cruising around Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas. Please share on Facebook and Pinterest so your friends and family can read too. Sharing is caring!

Have you been to these Mexican ports? What would you recommend doing?

Happy Travels

Love Lucy x

Cruising the Western Mexican Coast - Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, Cabo - Lucy Williams Global -UK

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Rocks & Glass in Cabo San Lucas

Rocks & Glass in Cabo San Lucas

The day I went to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico the current of the sea was to strong, so my day did not go to plan! I still had a good time but due the rough sea we could not go on our boat tour of the famous El Arco the natural landmark of Cabo San Lucas.

I was going on a tour to El Arco, the majestic rock formation where the waters of the Sea of Cortez meet the Pacific at Land’s End. The waves and strong ocean currents created the arch. Now it is natural landmark and iconic symbol of the area of Cabo San Lucas.

Years ago, it was used by pirates as a hiding place where they could lie in wait to ambush the merchant ships heading for the west coast.

As we could not go on the boat trip we went to hotel, famous for its panoramic views of the Bay of Cabo San Lucas. We could see the rock formation, but the view was better onboard the ship!

After the viewpoint, we went to a glass factory where they recycle glass mainly bottles to make glass wear, glass animals, Christmas decorations, vases, ashtrays, etc.

We watched as they demonstrated how they made an elephant, very similar to the way, they make Murano glass in Murano near Venice in Italy.

In the showroom, there was a glass room that I thought was the best part as it was so bright with colourful stain glass windows, bottles as windows and it had a glass mosaic floor of cactuses and the sun.

The marina of Cabo San Lucas is nice to walk around and there are many bars, restaurants and shops to stop by at.

Essential Info:

  • Weather: 20*C – 37*C
  • Language: Spanish
  • Currency: Mexican Peso (US Dollars are excepted)
  • Clothing: Wear layers, as it can get windy
  • Use sunscreen and insect repellent


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Happy Travels

Love Lucy

Rocks & Glass in Cabo San Lucas (1)

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Calm in Costa Rica

Calm in Costa Rica (1)

I felt so calm and relaxed at the rainforest in Costa Rica. All you could hear was running water from the streams and waterfalls and the sound of crickets and birds. It was so, peaceful and calm like a meditation session!

We were at the Pacific Park Jaco which is around an hour away from the port of Puntarenas. Costa has the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean on either side of the country. Puntarenas is on Pacific Ocean side and we went on a tour of the tropical rainforest by aerial tram and then went on a guided nature walk.

Aerial Tram

The aerial tram takes you very slowly through part of the rainforest, we glided through giant trees, hanging gardens, waterfalls and lush green landscapes and we ended up right on the tree tops.

We saw so many different types of trees and plants. It was very green! The view was fantastic when we got to the top as we could see the mountains and look down on the rainforest.

Six people plus a guide fit in each gondola and we were allocated the front seats so we had the best view!

 

Nature walk

After the aerial tram ride we went for an easy nature walk. We saw tropical flowers and a medicinal plant garden. The garden had cinnamon trees for diabetics, cocoa trees, plants for toothache, etc.

Then we walked through the snake’s section, I couldn’t look! They are not my favourite animal! On the path, we saw ants crossing  and each ant was carrying a leaf for their nest, fascinating!

We saw frogs, caiman (small alligators) and turtles. The best part was walking into the butterfly sanctuary where they were fluttering around and snacking on bananas!  I saw blue, orange and yellow and brown butterflies, so pretty.

While we were there we had a traditional Costa Rican buffet lunch of pasta salad, rice, beans, steamed vegetables, grilled chicken and sweet plantains in the park’s restaurant. It was very tasty with lots of different flavours.

The tour was very relaxing and interesting, but if you fancy something more active at the park you can go zip lining and hiking. I went zip lining a few years ago, there and it was really fun.

 

Essential Info:

 

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Happy Travels

Love Lucy x

Calm in Costa Rica

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The Mayan Ruins of El Salvador

The Mayan Ruins of El Salvador - Lucy Williams Global

This was my first time to El Salvador and I went back in time to visit the Mayan ruins. I visited two pre-Hispanic archaeological sites. The Mayan Ruins of San Andrés and the UNESCO World Heritage Site Joya de Ceren.

We docked in Acajutla, El Salvador and drove to the archaeologically ruins of San Andrés, deep in the valley of Zapotitan. It took around one and half hours to reach the site from the port.

Mayan Ruins of San Andrés

San Andrés dates back, to 900 BC and it was an important political, cultural and religious centre. In 420 AD, it was covered in ash by the Ilopango volcano. Then between 500 – 600 AD San Andrés was recolonized.

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By the years 850 – 900 AD, it is believed the Mayans abandoned the area because of the eruption of the El Boquerón volcano that covered the area with ash.

Between 600 and 900 AD, the town was an important regional Mayan capital. Many of the ruins reveal the political and ceremonial workings of this town.

In 1100 AD, the valley was reoccupied by migrant groups from Mexico known as Pipiles until the Spanish conquest in 1524.

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The site was buried under the ash of the Playón Volcano in 1658 AD until excavation work began in the 1940s.

When we arrived, we walked through the museum and saw artefacts and how the site would have looked before it was covered with ash from a volcanic eruption.

Only a few ceremonial areas have been excavated to date. Mayan lords ruled the land from the “Acropolis” which are the pyramids.

It was amazing to see the green hills with large stone bricks in the shape of pyramids. In the distance, there were views of volcanoes and on the site, there were cocoa and coffee trees.

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Joya de Ceren

Next, we went to the UNESCO World Heritage Site Joya de Ceren, which was a Mayan farming village. It is known as the ‘Pompeii of the Americas.’

The town is believed to date back to 1200 BC and was devastated by volcanic eruptions twice. The first in 200 AD by the same eruption of the Ilopango volcano that hit San Andrés.

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After it was repopulated, it thrived for a few hundred more years before another volcano, Laguna Caldera, erupted in 600 AD. It buried the village under four to eight meters of ash over a span of a few hours.

The town was perfectly preserved, but no bodies have been found. It is assumed that the villagers were evacuated in time, but they left in a hurry as they left behind half-eaten food!

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These incredible ruins lay undisturbed until they were discovered accidentally in 1976 by a bulldozer driver who was levelling the ground to build grain storage silos. About 70 structures have been uncovered so far, including storehouses, kitchens, and living quarters.

This site was very interesting as it really has been preserved so well. The site is mainly undercover which is good as it gets hot and humid in this part of the world!

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Essential Info

  • Weather: Average temperature all year round 30*C
  • Language: Spanish
  • Currency: US Dollar
  • Wear lightweight clothing and hat
  • Wear sunscreen and insect repellent

I hope you have enjoyed reading about El Salvador, please share on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest so your friends and family can read too. Sharing is caring!

Have you been to El Salvador? What would you recommend doing?

Happy Travels

Love Lucy x

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The Mayan Ruins of El Salvador - Lucy Williams Global

(L. Williams is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk, at no extra cost to you).