Panama Canal Day 17

We checked out early, even before the hotel front desk was open, and headed south. My plan was to drive along the ocean and pull over to take photos when possible. I hadn’t really seen the beach area in the daylight and wanted to check it out. We did see a tiny bit of Santa Monica Beach but access is restricted and parking isn't free.

We did make our way to the Venice Beach area and put some money in a meter. After grabbing a bite of breakfast at Subway, we walked towards the beach area.

I soon understood why so many people had recommended that we come here in the daytime, not at night.

There weren’t a lot of folks out and about at 9 AM, and the people we did see had had a lot of challenges in life. The area was obviously for tourists but it was definitely unique and very photogenic.

It would be a real interesting place later on in the day for sure. We spent a bit of time capturing what we could with our cameras.

As it was so close to the busy Christmas travel season, we wanted to get to LAX in good time. The car rental return went smoothly, the WestJet check-in was a breeze, we got the super-fast-no-need-to-take-your-shoes-off line, and the plane arrived home 15 minutes early!!! Another GREAT trip!

Panama Canal Day 16

It was a short night with the bow thrusters waking us up early again with our arrival in Los Angeles. Actually it was the Port of San Pedro. Much to our surprise, we were cleared to disembark earlier than they had estimated. That went smoothly and US Customs was a breeze. The line-up for the taxis however, was about 45 minutes. That was followed by a rental car line-up almost as long.

Finally we were on our way. The GPS sent us on the 405, a 6-lanes-each-way piece of asphalt. I was elected to drive as Dawn didn’t feel comfortable behind the wheel on the freeways. With the GPS and her navigation, we easily made it to the Getty Center. It is an extensive museum showcasing mostly art, photographs and the grounds are interesting too. We toured the photography exhibits and really enjoyed them.

Next was the La Brea Tar Pits, an area in the middle of LA where hundreds of animal skeletons have been extracted from the asphalt. Especially numerous were the dire wolves, sabre tooth cats and many bird skeletons. It was a cool and very interesting place to visit.

 

We were fairly close to the Grove Farmer’s Market and we had already paid for parking so we decided to walk. It was a smart decision as the traffic near there was heavy and moving very slow. The market sells food of all kinds, fresh like fruit, veggies, meats and cheeses, as well as all kinds of restaurants and food stands. I had a falafel pita which was so, so good.

Then we crossed the street and visited a Trader Joe’s store. We had heard so much about them and knew they are quite popular here in the states. It was interesting but we really couldn’t figure out was all the buzz was about.

It was dark by the time we got back to the car. We decided to check into our hotel in Santa Monica. After doing so and depositing our luggage, we set off again to the nearby Santa Monica Pier.

It is over 100 years old and consists of food vendors, rides, carnival games, together with a few souvenir shops. The evening got quite a bit colder, in the 50’s.

We photographed the lights of the rides and then I ordered a funnel cake because I was curious about what it was.

A funnel cake is clumps and lumps of fried dough sprinkled with icing sugar and chocolate syrup for a topping. I couldn’t finish it all as it was a huge serving. I can’t imagine all the calories and fat!

Our hotel was near and we headed there. I can hardly stay awake.

Panama Canal Day 15

I had a great sleep-in this morning. We are definitely headed north as it is getting colder out. I went to the comedian, David Naster again at 11:30 and enjoyed his talk on laughter.

 I spent much of the afternoon in the room writing reviews of the shore excursions I took, reading and packing. At 5 I went to Darlene’s room to deliver the photos I got for her and to have a glass of wine before dinner. Our last day together! We had a nice supper in the Aqua dining room together, then went to the grand finale show in the Stardust theatre. It was called Elements and was an amazing show with dancers, acrobats and magic.

The Second City did another improv show at 10:45 PM. They were great as usual however this made for a very late bedtime.

Panama Canal Day 14

Today in Cabo San Lucas, it was nice and cool in comparison to every other day. The ship arrived in Cabo early, 7 AM, and we were ready to go shortly after. We had to go ashore via tender because the harbour is not deep enough for cruise ships.

When we got off of the boat, we were met with a barrage of salesmen pitching their tours. They were most persistent and we walked on until we found someone who wasn’t. His boat tour around Los Arcos was only $10 and he set off almost right away with just the two of us as passengers. It was a ‘glass bottom’ boat and had a roof as well. We got close to some of the beaches and also saw some sea lions. Our driver was able to call to them and make them respond to his barking.

As we rounded the corner, we saw the famous Los Arcos and our guide manoeuvred the boat so we got some good photos. As the waves hit us, our boat really rose and fell but our guide wasn’t concerned so I decided to chill. There were also pelicans roosting on various rocks and boats and we saw some interesting yellow fish that were hard to photograph.

After that excursion, we took off on foot toward the church and then the town square. The church was small but nicely decorated for Christmas. The town square was almost deserted which is unusual for Mexico. Most often, the zocalo is the center of the town or city. It’s where people hang out to visit, relax and meet, kind of like the equivalent of our ‘going to the mall’.

There was a museum nearby but it wasn’t open yet and we didn’t want to hang around waiting so we continued on along a main street. We went into a few shops, one of which sold cotton clothing. The owner did a lot of the sewing and embroidery work in traditional patterns. I tried on a few things and bought a lovely 100% natural cotton top with beautiful lacework in the front. I just love this type of fabric for hot weather!

As we continued along, there were many shops with interesting work: masks, glassware, and Day of the Dead figures, some of which were life-size. I was hungry so we stopped at a restaurant and had quesadillas. My chicken, mushroom, salsa, sour cream and guacamole one was delicious and the tortilla was flaky like phyllo pastry. Yum! We slowly made our way back to the dock and caught the tender boat back to the ship.

The afternoon consisted of a nap then sunset pictures, but clouds interfered again. We had a great comedian tonight in the Stardust Theater, David Naster. He is doing a show tomorrow as well and it should be worth going to. Supper was fabulous: surf and turf (a.k.a. steak and lobster). Dessert was even more fabulous: key lime pie! We checked out the ‘white hot dance party’ in the lounge but it didn’t hold our attention for long. Tonight we set the clock back an hour again. That’s 3 times since we set sail!

Panama Canal Day 13

8 AM - Puerto Vallarta. We headed out shortly after and walked to the main street to catch a city bus to the downtown area. The trip for 2 of us cost $1 USD. The busses have seen better days but you can’t beat the price and the interestingness of the ride. I was amused to see the bus driver’s cell phone holder attached to his dashboard– a child’s holey shoe.

We weren’t sure exactly where to get off but it didn’t really matter because we had all day. We made our way to the big cathedral and photographed the colourful plastic flags which were hung in many rows beyond the reach of anyone.

After that, we headed further south into the ‘old town’ district. There are a few tourists there, but not like the Malecon area. We wandered along a market with many stalls down by the river.

I was in search of the public ‘farmer’s market’ that I remembered from last trip – until I realized it was Mazatlan that I was thinking of. By that time, I had asked several people where it was and I was given directions so I checked them out. Indeed there was a market but on a smaller scale than Mazatlan’s. I still enjoyed photographing the fruits in the stalls, the meat in the market, the children playing in the streets. The sights, sounds and smells are like no other.

We stopped at another church then walked over to the Malecon, a long walkway beside the ocean. There is a fancy new pier since I last visited Puerto Vallerta. As a fisherman was cleaning his fish, many pelicans gathered nearby hoping for the scraps. 

Several boats were moored nearby and there were lots of beach restaurants. The sand and waves were inviting and lots of people were enjoying the water. As I wandered closer to that section, the waves suddenly came much farther than I expected and sent me running.

The forecast for today was 28C, cooler than other ports, but it still felt pretty darned hot to me. We walked north on the Malecon, stopping to look at the statues, Christmas decorations, and browse in a few stores. After grabbing a bite to eat, we headed back to catch a Centro bus back to port. We passed many vehicles with live tigers in cages and some large fibreglass animals as well – the circus was in town! 

The bus stopped by Walmart so we had a look in there before walking over to the ship. The seafood section of the store had octopus, squid and whole fish, not the usual Walmart fare.

Sunset was unspectacular tonight due to low clouds. I enjoyed a movie in our room for a change. Then at 10 PM there was a chocoholic buffet upstairs. There were 3 stations of chocolate desserts galore – chocolate cake, chocolate covered strawberries, cheesecake, éclairs, squares, etc. etc. My oh my, what a day to end the day!