Anthropology? From L.A. to Ensenada, Plus Some Other Stuff In Between

In the weeks leading up to our Star Princess cruise to Hawaii from Los Angeles, I had returned to a low-carb diet, shedding some fat, triglycerides and cholesterol from my body by avoiding starches.

It occurred to me that this might finally be the cruise where I took advantage of being able to order meals catered to the Atkins Diet, avoiding those made-from-scratch breads delivered when we sit down for dinner, rich Norman Love Chocolate Journeys dessert, and all the savory pasta, potatoes and rice offered in between those bookends to dinner.

Add workouts in the health club on sea days, and I could theoretically return from this cruise as thin as a movie star.



On that first evening, I did skip the bread course, ate salad followed by a fish entree accompanied by vegetables, leaving the starches untouched, and chose the sugar-free dessert, which was actually quite delicious.

The others at our table seemed to be doing the same.

"I knew you were my kind of people," said the petite woman to my right, although she professed she was starving and ate more than I would think her stomach could hold, carefully avoiding carbs.

Reba Merrill had already been dominating the conversation of what otherwise was a rather diffident first night dinner table, sharing that her husband had not been able to join her on this trip because of a medical condition.  Later, she confessed she was north of 80 years old, but the 90210 beauty regimens that may or may not have included cosmetic surgery had definitely preserved her striking appearance.



She had lived a very interesting life, "Nearly Famous," as she said, from rubbing shoulders with celebrities she interviewed for movie release media kits.  I would guess that her own beauty was a key to her access to the "#MeToo" Hollywood community, and indeed she mentioned that a few movie stars had made passes at her during her interviews, but she undoubtedly had plenty of moxie and skill, too.  Ironically, she was usually cut from the videos, with local talking heads pretending to ask the delving questions she'd formulated that solicited fascinating responses.

Reba's afternoon talks started before my ukulele lessons wound down each day, so I never saw her full presentations, but she would say a few words about what the actor or actress was like before sharing video clips from interviews.

As it turned out, sharing a table with a ship lecturer heralded my interpretation of this cruise as something of a return to college days rather than a health regimen.

Yeah, that vow to stay low carb was gone by the time breakfast the next morning ended with a  bran muffin, which I proceeded to eat every morning after consuming lots of fresh but naturally high fructose fruit along with my eggs, breakfast meats and coffee.

That's the way a cruise --- and life --- often seems to be.  Better laid plans than mine often go astray.

I actually attended many more "classes" I could go on about, including several more about oceanography, history and art, including "Modern Masters" where I learned about Romero Britto, who rose from painting discarded scraps in a Brazilian favela to ride his graphic bottle design submission for Absolut Vodka to international fame in the art world.  You have seen his work in major venues like the Olympics even if you don't know his name.

Even concert violinist David Klinkenberg stepped outside of his comfort zone to speak in a thought-provoking if not quite fully-formed presentation about ancient texts in a seminar nominally about Da Vinci Code secrets but more about the Christlike nature of hunter-gatherers, who he surmised had previously unrecognized inter-connections among continents during primitive times.

I'm still not entirely sure where he is going with this research, but in any case, he's a gifted musician.

I've written often about big production shows on cruises, and once again they were great throughout, including on Valentine's Day when we enjoyed a dazzling "night on the town," as contrasted to the usual night at home making our own dinner followed by washing dishes and watching TV.

Princess also hosted a catered Super Bowl party early in the trip.  I had seen the Philadelphia Eagles win the first game of the season but hadn't watched a game since.  I thought they'd looked like a powerhouse team, and despite having their quarterback from that game knocked out halfway through the season, I wasn't surprised to see them playing for the NFL championship.

I doubt anyone on the planet was more shocked when the Eagles stripped Tom Brady of the ball just as he seemed on the verge of leading another amazing come-from-behind victory for the Patriots than Brady himself.

The only downside was that Super Bowl commercials, which for some people are the highlights of this annual spectacle, were blacked out on board.

We found outselves entertained from the moment we boarded the ship until we returned home.

We had a final stop in Ensenada, an essential port for many cruises that begin in L.A. in order to comply with the Jones Act, which requires cruises visit in a foreign port.

We were tempted to taxi to Estero Beach, a resort we've never visited, but decided to just enjoy the ship for most of our last full day.

We nonetheless made a short stroll to the Malecón, where a fishing boat took a dozen of us on a 45 minute ride around the harbor for a closer look at seals for $2.50 per perspon.

Naturalist Mark Harris, who had mentioned both this inexpensive boat trip and Estero Beach as alternatives to the usual wineries and La Bufadora excursions, happened to be with us when we saw one of these boats being filled near a sign for Juanito's.

Without a narration of any kind, this would not be confused with the Jungle Boat Ride at Disneyland, but it is a pleasant enough diversion to justify the walk.

Mark had previously surprised us by saying Ensenada was one of his favorite ports because of the abundant sea life and the sidewalk cafes serving freshly caught fish.

He may have been exaggerating a bit to get people excited about our final port, but it is true that much of what we get from a port depends on our perspective.  The first photo in this article, for example, was not taken at a Los Angeles area marina but instead is of Ensenada.

"Better service leads to better trips!"