Friday 30 January 2026
It’s been three days at sea since Queen Mary 2 departed Panama. Our days have been filled with lots of opportunity for enrichment. In addition to the talks on maritime history by various experts, we’re now also following the talks by Dr. Robert Thirsk, engineer, physician, and astronaut, veteran of the Space Shuttle Columbia and the International Space Station. We also checked out the port talk anticipating a future stop in San Francisco. We’re settling into routine and feeling more and more at comfortable aboard, our home for more than three months yet. As we traveled north along the coast from Panama, we made the transition from Central America into North America as we passed the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. That’s where we experienced gale force winds known as the Tehauno that prevented us from even opening the door to our balcony two nights ago. This morning we arrived for Queen Mary 2’s maiden call to Manzanillo in the Mexican state of Colima. Soon we were off ship and on a tour bus to explore the “Salt Flats & Countryside” in the Mexican State of Colima under the expert guidance of Francisco and Victor. As we drove we learned bits about the economy and culture of Colima, a land blessed by rich agricultural soils that produces a vast array of tropical fruits in the low lands as well as apples and peaches at higher altitudes on the side of the volcano. It’s not so well developed for tourism but rather evokes a sense of Old Mexico and it is Mexico’s busiest container port. Our first stop was at the Monarca salt flats near the lagoon where we learned about the process of harvesting sea salt in shallow pools and got to taste the difference between Sea Salt and Sal de Flore. On the way to the next stop we learned about the practice of selling ultra fresh raw goats milk at stands along the roadside. Soon we were at a fruit plantation where we got up close and personal with mango and jack fruit trees and got to taste papaya, pineapple, and miniature bananas. But that’s not all. Our third stop was at a brick yard where we watched the mixing of the mud, the molding of the bricks, and the building of the kiln for the firing of the bricks. Curiously Steve was invited to assist in the unmolding of a set of three bricks. Since ancestors of his were brickmakers in Cincinnati in the 1800s, this was a great hands-on way to learn more about them. Our final stop was at a beach restaurant in El Pariso to sample some of the local foods. Back at port we took a few minutes to wander the park area adjacent to our berth before resuming life aboard our Queen. Thanks for sharing this adventure with us!
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