In today's video...
We're in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico on a Carnival cruise...
And we go on an amazing excursion in a small yacht...
Touring some of the sights like the arch at the southern tip of Baja California.
But without a doubt, the highlight of this VIP private yacht excursion...
Was doing some whale watching...
That culminated in one of the greatest things I've ever seen on any of my vacations!
My wife and I have been on a lot of cruises.
This 7-day cruise on Carnival Panorama put us at over 200 days spent onboard Carnival cruise ships.
And this was our 55th cruise overall, on all cruise lines.
After that many cruises, it takes a lot to impress us...
But this Carnival shore excursion we took on a private yacht was one of the greatest excursions we've ever been on.
Basically, you're renting the yacht for four hours.
It comes with a Captain, a chef, and a photographer...
And you can bring a few friends along with you.
Our friends, Jamie and Brenda, on the left...
Were the ones that rented the yacht on this particular day...
And they invited my wife and I to come along with them.
From the cruise ship, we took a tender to the Marina in Cabo.
On the pier, we met the captain of the yacht at this sign...
And he walked us over to the very next pier, where the yacht was waiting for us.
Before I hopped on, I shot this little clip to show you the boat close up.
Once we got underway, the fun began with a little tour of some of Cabo's scenic spots...
Like this secluded little beach near Land’s End, known as Lover's Beach.
And this little rock formation, just in front of Lover's beach...
That some people think looks a bit like a rabbit with his ears sticking up.
But the big tourist draw that most Cabo tourists like to see on a boat tour...
Is the rock formation at the very tip of Baja California, known as Land's End.
And that's where you'll find this natural arch...
One of Cabo's most iconic sights.
For anyone that might be geographically challenged...
Here's our big blue marble as seen from space.
There's the USA...
There's Mexico...
And now let's zoom in on Baja California...
Which is that long peninsula just below California.
At the very bottom of that peninsula is Cabo San Lucas...
And Land's End is where that peninsula runs out.
To the west is the Pacific Ocean, and to the east is the Gulf Of California.
Where whales go each winter to give birth...
And that's why Cabo San Lucas is so great for whale watching.
So, once our Captain got us all the way around the tip of Land's End...
He took us out in to open water, in search of whales.
And how does a captain know which way to point his boat to find whales?
He just looks for a whole bunch of other boats all bunched up together...
They already found the whales, so we just have to go where they are!
So now I'm just going to show you some of the video clips I shot of the whales.
These first few are the least interesting ones...
The shots where you could just barely see the top of a whale sticking up out of the water...
Or where you see one spout a little bit...
Blowing air and a little sea spray up out of the water.
But don't worry, as we go, the clips are going to get better and better!
And by the time we're all done...
You'll see some really spectacular whale footage, so stick with me here.
And just so you know, I'm playing all these clips at 50% of normal speed...
To give you a little longer view of the whales.
We were there on just the right day, at just the right time...
To see the holy grail of whale watching...
A mother and her newborn baby together.
And we've worked our way up now, to the best video clips I shot.
Hold on to your hats.
These are spectacular!
This is a special sight!
After the mother whale breaches, you'll get to see her baby learning to breach, too.
In addition to all the video that I shot...
The photographer that comes along with the yacht shot still photos.
Here are a few of the shots she got.
This wasn't just a whale watching excursion.
Remember that I told you that the yacht comes with an onboard chef.
He made a very nice lunch for us.
Drinks were also included.
We also got to do some snorkeling...
The onboard photographer got this shot of me as I jumped in the water.
But really, the part I will always remember most fondly was the whale watching...
And also the fun of sharing it all with our friends, Jamie and Brenda.
I have several more videos from our Mexican cruise vacation...
That I'll be sharing with you here on my YouTube channel in the coming weeks.
I liked the private yacht excursion with the whale watching so much...
That I figured I start off with that.
But in the coming weeks, there are several more videos still to come...
About all the fun we had onboard Carnival Panorama...
Including things we did both on the ship, and ashore in the ports of call.
I'll also give you a tour of our cabin...
And explain why you shouldn't just book a standard balcony cabin if you book a cruise on Carnival Panorama.
Subscribe to my channel (it's free) So that you don't miss those upcoming videos.
In fact, the smart thing to do is to click on the little thing next to the subscribe button...
To turn notifications on...
So that YouTube will let you know the minute I upload each of those upcoming videos.
I'm Jim Zim. Thanks for watching!