Leaving Heathrow on 13 May for Los Angeles in a "pod" on a British Airways 777.Once over the Atlantic, the food starts to arrive.Santa Monica Farmers' Market - a twice-weekly market, one of the biggest in California, specialising in locally-grown produce.Santa Monica Farmers' Market - a twice-weekly market, one of the biggest in California, specialising in locally-grown produce.Santa Monica Farmers' Market - a twice-weekly market, one of the biggest in California, specialising in locally-grown produce.Santa Monica Farmers' Market - a twice-weekly market, one of the biggest in California, specialising in locally-grown produce.The mushrooms are notable for their sizeSanta Monica has a large squirrel population living in burrows in the outcrop above the shorePosing for the camera appears to be routineThe signs say not to feed them, but its obvious that these instructions are widely ignoredJust keeping an eye on the proceedingsSanta Monica pier is the end of the historic Route 66, which starts in Chicago and was established around 100 years ago. Its total length is nearly 2,500 miles.Santa Monica beach and pierThe view from our hotel window, just a few hundred yards from the pier and very handy for public transportSanta Monica's only microbreweryDowntown LA, which will host the Olympics in 2028 following the announcement of its successful bid in 2024The Angels Flight funicular was established in 1901 to climb Bunker Hill. Dismantled in the 1970s and 80s, it reopened in the 1990s and was most recently refurbished in 2017.Grand Central Market has existed in various forms for over 100 years.Grand Central Market is now a bustling selection of food vendors and other stalls, and was an early stop on our Downtown LA food tour, after croissants at the meeting point, Pitchoun Bakery.Our market stop was at Sticky Rice for Thai pork and chicken satay, plus the eponymous riceCandies at Grand Central MarketThe Bradbury building was constructed in the late 19th century and is designated a National Historic Landmark.The Bradbury building is most noted for its atrium with ornate ironwork.The food tour continued to Maccheroni Republic for ravioli with pumpkin and white truffleAcross the courtyard at Maccheroni Republic stands their in-house pasta factoryThe tour continues at Guisados for tacosLast stop on the tour provided dessertJust a part of Donut Friends' selectionAt Donut Friends, the wacky names extend to the ice cream flavoursOur food tour guide, who also works as an actress in Spanish-language TVA busy evening on Santa Monica pierStreet entertainment on Santa Monica pierOnboard the Island Princess and preparing to leave Los AngelesDeparted from our berth at San Pedro cruise portHeading down the channel through the port of Los AngelesPassing the museum battleship USS IowaPrize winner at the "Welcome to Princess" event for those travelling with the line for the first timeIsland Princess was the last cruise ship heading south at the end of the season, so the only other passenger ship we saw was heading back to LAHazy sun rise as we headed into Puerto Vallarta in MexicoArriving in Puerto Vallarta early morningBerthing at Puerto VallartaPlenty of seabirds (frigatebirds) around the ship as we dockedPlenty of seabirds (frigatebirds) around the ship as we dockedIn the town itself pelicans could be seen perched on rooftops or fishing just off the beachOther animals in Puerto Vallarta were claimed to be less friendlyA look-out was also needed on the beachSculptures are a feature along the Malecon (boardwalk) in Puerto VallartaPublic square with extensive mosaic work and commemorative plaquesThe church of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Puerto Vallarta dates from the 1930sA shady spot in Plaza de Armas - the main square in Puerto Vallarta"Boy on the Seahorse", another of the sculptures on the Malecon, together with the almost obligatory "instagrammable" town nameAs an alternative to Sol and Corona lagers, Bohemia Oscura (dark) claims to be a malty beer in the Vienna style. Brewed by the local Heineken subsidiary.The Island Princess in Puerto Vallarta's portPuerto Vallarta port isn't very Mexican: there's a shopping mall, Walmart and Sam's ClubDropping the pilot on leaving Puerto VallartaA Beatles trivia quiz provided easy pickings, although it did come down to a tie-breaker with a German lady, who didn't expect to lose.The berth at Huatulco, Mexico is about as close to the beach as you can get a 92,000 ton shipObligatory town name signGolden Shower trees added colour to a national park near HuatulcoThe Parque Eco-Arqueológico Copalita, near Huatulco is the site of a series of "pyramids" and other remains dating back to 500BCOur guide combined biological sciences and archaeologyThe port at HuatulcoLeaving HuatulcoIf it's Sunday, it must be Costa RicaOn our way to visit the rainforest a stop at the bridge over the Tarcoles River offers the first crocodile sightingThe crocodile seemed to be a permanent fixture here. Cynics might suggest that the locals fed it in order to provide a tourist attraction and provide trade for the adjacent souvenir stalls.Crocodile in motionAn iguana in the trees provided a diversion from the crocodilesA rainforest trail on the estate of a hotel provided a sample of jungle. The minibus took us up to the top of the trail, so the walk was almost wholly downhill.The rainforest is situated above the river estuaryEveryone on the walk was issued with a stick, although the terrain proved to be fairly easy.The main features of the walk were the rope bridges suspended in the forest canopyThe main features of the walk were the rope bridges suspended in the forest canopyThe meeting of forest, river and Pacific oceanThere wasn't a lot of wildlife to see, but butterflies were plentifulThere were two major rope bridges on the routeWildlife was more evident in the courtyard of the hotel at the end of the trailTrails of ants could be seen everywhere. In this case, carrying coloured petals.A further stop at a group of trees known for parrots: Scarlet MacawFrigate birds were frequently seen overhead, although mainly the white-chested females, rather than the more brightly coloured malesOnto a boat on the Tarcoles River for more crocodile and bird spottingGreat EgretSnowy EgretSome of the crocodiles were on the move, not lured to photo opportunitiesyet another egretsame egret, but close upLittle Blue HeronWhite IbisBlack VultureGreat Blue HeronRoseate SpoonbillThis part of the river was busy with craft, all radioing bird and crocodile sightings to each otherIsland Princess alongside at PuntarenasLocal entertainment as we returned to the shipAn early meeting with our tug as we headed into Panama CityAn early meeting with our tug as we headed into Panama CityTug in position for our early morning arrival into the Fuerte Amador cruise port in PanamaLand-based vsit to the Miraflores locksLand-based vsit to the Miraflores locksLand-based vsit to the Miraflores locksThe old city, PanamaHats in Panama. (But not Panama hats, which come from Ecuador.)Our visit coincided with the start of the rainy seasonThe monument in the old city commemorates the (unsuccessful) French effort to build the canal and the 22,000 workers who died.The Biomuseum in Panama, designed by Frank GehryIsland princess at the new Fuerte Amador cruise terminal, which is set at the end of a causeway linking several small islandsThe new Panama City - a major banking and finance centreLaughing Gull (who wasn't at the time)Bunkering tanker at Panama cruise portAfter picking up the pilots at 0515 we made an early start under the Bridge of the Americas at the southern end of the canal.Heading towards Miraflores locks we catch up with a container ship being manoeuvred into a berthPassing the MSC Sofia Paz which is under tug controlAs we head towards the bottom of Miraflores locks on the old line of the canal, it is possible to see One Grus, a 364m length container ship, ascending the new locks at Cocoli on the Panama Canal Expansion.Coming to the bottom of Miraflores locks with the container ship Spirit of Auckland already in the second (upper) chamber of the left-hand (west) set of locks.Coming into the bottom of the right-hand (east) locks. The "mules", electric railway engines, are waiting to pick up the tow on the port sideThe tow is passed to the mules using old technology in the form of two men in a rowing boatWith the tow now secure on the port side, the starboard side mules are readyContinuing into the lower chamber, now controlled by eight mulesThe mules have rack and pinion traction to ascend the "switchback" between lock chambersComing up to the control building in the centre of the two pairs of locksClearances are limited: Island Princess has a beam of 37m over the bridge wings (32m waterline); the lock chambers are 33.5m wide.*Very* tight clearanceLooking back at the centre gates once we have passed into the upper chamberThe mule holding the stern on the port sideA temporary viewing platform allows visitors to watch lock operations whilst the main visitor centre (behind) is undergoing reconstruction.One Grus continues along the new lock line whilst we pass MirafloresIsland Princes sternLeaving the top of Miraflores locksThe parallel locks at Miraflores from the topOne Grus is now at the Gatun lake level on the new channel, whilst we have one further lock to passPedro Miguel locks are a single rise taking the old canal to the Gatun lake level. The left (west) chamber was undergoing maintenance.Once through the Pedro Miguel lock, we pass under the Centennial Bridge, opened in 2004 to relieve traffic on the Bridge of Americas. These two bridges form part of the Pan-American Highway linking North and South AmericaWe were the last ship for the day up the locks at the southern end, but then met traffic heading in the opposite direction, which passes down the locks in the afternoon.Large vessels are escorted by tugs through the canal. The tugs can also pass through the new locks to provide manoeuvring assistance, instead of the mules used on the old locks.Meeting traffic on Gatun LakeHeading into the top of the Gatun locks which descend to the Atlantic in two stepsSpirit of Auckland is now ahead of us in the lower chamber of the right (east) locks whilst another vessel ascend the left-hand locks.The top and bottom gates in the locks are duplicated for safety and maintenance purposesSpirit of Auckland has just left the lower chamber as we arrive in the topMules bring the ascending vessel through the western pair of locksA total of four ships are in the locks at the same time: two passing up, two going downA bulk carrier comes into the bottom chamberOne of the mules goes down the "switchback"We leave the bottom of Gatun locksPassing under the Atlantic Bridge, the third to be built across the canal, completed in 2019Arrived in Oranjestad, Aruba, a Caribbean island part of the NetherlandsThe Aruba cruise port provides a significant part of the island's incomeSome of the tour buses are a little out of the ordinaryA free tram connects the port to the rest of the town, running along the main streetAruba's shopping is mostly geared towards tourists: duty-free jewellery and perfumes seem to be the main businessAruba does have a local brewery, not connected with the multinationals, but producing a fairly generic lagerIsland Princess at the Aruba cruise berthWe discovered that hiding ducks on board cruise ships for other passengers to find is "a thing".Early again, at about sunrise but on a grey morning, heading under the Verrazzano Narrows bridge towards New YorkThe Statue of Liberty looms out of the greynessThe lower Manhattan skyline as we approach Brooklyn Cruise PortNYPD launch passes usThe Staten Island ferry passes in front of the Statue of LibertyAlmost on our berth at Red Hook, Brooklyn, looking across to Governors Island and ManhattanLooking up the east river from the cruise berth, towards the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridgesIt took quite a bit of sideways pushing from a tug to finally get us onto the berthAlmost as soon as we had stopped, the bunkering tanker was coming alongside, ready for the ships departure later in the dayHello Philadelphia ...and nuts to you tooReading Terminal Market, PhiladelphiaReading Terminal Market, PhiladelphiaReading Terminal Market, PhiladelphiaMarket Street, PhiladelphiaSound advice in PhiladelphiaThe Liberty BellIt would have been rude to leave Philadelphia without sampling the local delicacyA Philly cheese steak!Philadelphia's rather grand railway stationBrief diversion into a Brooklyn taproomTasting selection. (A key was written under the glasses.) The selection included the blueberry pancake imperial stout.Iconic view of the Manhattan Bridge in DUMBO, BrooklynDUMBO: Directly Under the Manhattan Bridge OverpassDUMBO: Directly Under the Manhattan Bridge OverpassBrooklyn BridgeBrooklyn BridgeAt DUMBOLawn??Chelsea Market pancakes (small portion)The High Line, near Chelsea MarketDemonstration outside the Tesla showroomThe High LineThe Edge, Hudson YardsArt on the High LineEmpire State Building from the High LineMidtown from the High LineCanal StreetManhattan Bridge portalManhattan Bridge portalBrooklyn BridgeThe East River with Brooklyn and Manhattan bridgesFinancial districtBook and pickle shop, Lower East Side Please Share This Share this content Opens in a new window Opens in a new window Opens in a new window Opens in a new window Opens in a new window Opens in a new window Opens in a new window Opens in a new window Opens in a new window Opens in a new window
