When you define outdoor adventures what do you think of? Hiking out in the wilderness? Camping on top of a mountain? What about getting stuck on a bus in Ensenada, Mexico on your way to your outdoor adventure? Does that count?
Two weeks before spring break, three of my best girlfriends—Ansleigh Mikesell, Gwen Elison and Sarah Jones—and I booked a four-day cruise to Mexico.
Upon entering our sea voyage better known as Carnival Imagination in Long Beach, Calif. on March 15, the true adventure began. The burgers and fries were hot and the soft serve ice cream was available 24/7. Besides the delicious food, there were an endless amount of activities to fill a person’s time.
Some of the activities included playing mini golf on the top deck, sitting in the sauna or playing Friends trivia. But my friends and I had our heart set on one thing, and that was Ensenada, Mexico.
The following day, March 16, we began our adventure in Ensenada.
None of us had really done any research on Ensenada, so we meandered around for a while and then decided to go to La Bufadora, which is a marine geyser or blowhole on the Punta Banda Peninsula—but we weren’t quite sure how to get there.
After a visit to the information office, we were informed we would need to get on a public bus to get to La Bufadora.
This is where the true “outdoor adventure” began.
During our first bus ride, two women got on the bus and started singing to the people on the bus using a ukulele and a tambourine. I had no idea what they were saying, but it was beautiful.
Forty minutes into our bus ride, we were dropped off on a random corner, not really sure what was going on. We then saw a highway sign that said La Bufadora was still 22 miles away.
We had no idea what to do, so Sarah Jones went up to a local and asked her in broken Spanish how to get to La Bufadora, and the local said, “I speak English.”
The local informed us that we needed to get on another bus. So once again we got on another bus for 40 minutes and, at last, we arrived at the infamous La Bufadora. Or so we thought.
Unfortunately, we found out it would take another 20 minutes to get to the geyser, meaning there was no way we would make it to La Bufadora and still get back to the ship on time. To top it all off, we knew we would miss the ship if we rode public transportation, and all the tour buses were leaving to head back to the cruise ship. So we did what any responsible adult would do, and begged people to let us on their tour bus to get us back to the ship on time.
Luckily we found someone who let us onto their bus and we made it back to the ship with just enough time to buy some souvenirs and some chocolate-filled churros.
So maybe it wasn’t exactly an outdoor adventure, but it is an adventure I will never forget.
Story By
Cassidy Harmon
accent@suunews.com
