Day 15: Ensenada, Mexico

Well, today was the big day. Our Ukelele recital. Dona and I had our customary continental breakfast in our stateroom, ran through a few chord transition drills with our ukeleles, and declared ourselves as ready as we'll ever be.

We went for our 12:00 noon dress rehearsal in the Princess Theatre. It was a great accomplishment for our instructors Kimo and Lokelina that they were able to get everyone organized. We walked through getting on and off the stage, and sorting out who was going to stand where behind the music stands. We ran through the finale, then waited for the audience to come it. The house was nearly packed:

As planned, our recital was combined with that of the hula dancing class. 60 hula dancers, followed by 60 Ukelele players - the largest class they ever had since they began teaching these classes on a cruise ship.

The hula dancers performed their first three numbers; they did well.

Then we came on stage to do our three, starting with Pearly Shells. Halfway through Tiny Bubbles the backing soundtrack went silent. We figured someone kicked a wire loose, so we kept playing. We actually did quite well. As it turned out, it was the captain announcing we would arrive in Ensenada 45 minutes earlier than scheduled.

For the finale, the hula dancers joined us and we played Aloha Oe. It's the most complicated song in our set because it has seven chords and a few funky chord transitions. But we did it. The audience loved it, and we had a great time.

We arrived in Ensenada 90 minutes before sunset, and only had four hours to spend there.

Temperature today was +13C, with 16 knot winds. Chillier than we've experienced over the last two weeks.

We wandered though the city park, the market, and downtown Ensenada. Bought a few trinkets, and tried to absorb the culture with what little time we had.

We returned to the Grand Princess at sunset, and made our way to the Piazza on Deck 5 for a bevvie. This picture is what we see when we're sitting here in the piazza, absorbing the atmosphere and ambiance, trying to store as much of it up as we can.

We can hear Funch playing jazz piano upstairs at Crooners. Dozens of conversations going on around us, it really feels like an Italian piazza. 

We went to the Wheelhouse bar on Deck 7 to hear Kimo and Lokelina entertain the audience with some classic pop music. We ran into Frederica, one of the new friends we made back on Kauai. The three of us went to the Princess Theatre to catch the crew talent show at 8:15. The place was packed whe we got there - standing room only:

When we watched some of the really talented crew performers, we realized just why so many people attended. Everyone had a great time.

Tomorrow is a day at sea. It's the last day of our cruise as we arrive in San Francisco early Tuesday morning. 

Good night all.