The first in a series of photo rich posts tracing our recent 16 Night Cruise Travel Adventure.
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We arrived in LA late in the afternoon. Joined some friends for dinner then crashed in a Suite at the Crown Plaza. Hotels have always treated us nice during Covid. Because of low occupancy we have received many complimentary upgrades. I could get used to this. We woke up at daybreak because our bodies thought we were still in the Midwest, so enjoyed a beautiful sunrise. The cranes that you see beyond the palms are the Caldres, San Pedro Shipyard. I'm not sure how many square miles of shipping container boxes we saw, piled high. Hard to imagine that each one is a semi truck. We had a little time to explore before boarding the ship. So we went out on a wine hunt. We thought we were looking for a liquor store but a quick google search revealed an historic Italian winery just around the corner from our hotel. You are allowed to carry on two bottles of wine to your cruise to drink in your stateroom. Some times you GET LUCKY! Turns out that we were in a designated Historic District of Los Angeles. San Pedro was acquired in 1909 by the city of Los Angeles.
Spring had SPRUNG in LA - and yet weeks later it's still thinking about it here! The weather was beautiful and it was a perfect morning for a walk in mid February.
Princess Full Transit Panama Canal Cruise - Segment 1
Introducing - The Emerald Princess
our Ship Home for 15 Nights!
Each stateroom is compact and yet very comfortable with plenty of storage so you can live in a civilized way. An architectural challenge for sure to design space that is compact AND comfy! We unpack our bags into all of the closet and shelving space and suitcases go under the bed to collect dirty laundry. I bet we are MORE ORGANIZED on vacation than we are at home.
The greatest challenge is usually finding enough power receptacles to charge all of our Blog and Work Equipment. So we carry a small surge protector. THIS ONE EXACTLY! [affiliate link] We also carry a three prong adapter, in the event that a) you need a three prong adapter, or b) in case the surge protection device needs to be distanced from the wall or receptacle surface for some reason. Getting enough usb ports can be really challenging on older ships. Having these two items on hand has really proved valuable in the past!
Rob gets busy organizing all of our electronics - whereever they fit. And takes his official "room video" that is posted at YouTube and Cruise Ship Deck Plans for others to benefit from.
Who remembers that Puerto Vallarta was also a stop on the original Love Boat Itinerary? The original Love Boat was also a Princess Ship, that the series was filmed on. I am sure it must look different today. Except from those sombrero shaped port buildings down there... I bet they were in the Love Boat footage! They look original!
It turned out to be a road trip day because we joined a fun couple from the ship, who had rented a car.
Enroute out of the city we passed this building under construction. Reinforcing cages being built on site. I wonder when OSHA is coming. Oh that's right, they're not. We're in Mexico! And this my friends is why we have OSHA to protect our construction workers.
We all rode to the quaint "hippy village" of Sayulita. We parked the car and headed out on foot. Here is a 360 degree video shot from the main drag boulevard.
A few shots of our walk through the town. We stopped in a convenience store to grab a snack, beverage and to keep it authentic!
Favorite Photos of the Day from Sayulita:
Beached.
When there's a job to do - you gotta do it well..
note: Which car Needs Work?
And back to the ship in Puerto Vallarta - we'll skip the ran a yellow light story...
Of course we enjoyed the warmth of the remaining daylight, and being served our dinner in the dining room. Perhaps we saw a show or enjoyed the violinists in the Grand Atrium before heading off to be rocked to sleep by the deep blue sea.
Tomorrow would be another working, while relaxing, day at sea. Some Pool time, play time, plenty of healthy food options, and the next day we arrived in Huatulco.
Huatulco Oaxaca Mexico
Right away I spotted some "INVESTMENT PROPERTY" with a capitol "I" yep, a major investment would be needed to bring these beauties back but WOW what architectural potential.
And there is potential. Check out the next door neighbor!
Here we had arranged for a private small boat excursion to the Seven Bays of Huatulco along the Pacific Coast. Rob arranged for this online with Alberto of HomieTours. Isidro was our Captian. He met us on the pier and walked us all over to the Marina!
"Get your sunscreen on Rob - It's going to be a full day in the hot sun!" We were treated to lots of Pacific Coastal Architecture, some by human architects and some by Mother Nature! All home to living beings, like Pelicans and other Sealife. There were seven bays, with of course 7 beaches.. Yep - Life's a Beach in Huatulco! One after another. Each has it's own personality but all had an assortment of Pelicans, like statues decorating the rock formations. Zoom a couple photos to see how many pelicans you can count. Of course we snapped a pic of a beach dog for our daughter Suzee..
At the end of it all we went to shore for lunch. Lynn and I shared "Pulpo con mantequilla y ajo" with a side of Guacamole (Octopus with butter and garlic!) yum. I assume cooked in one of the "Hornos". Who knows that we have a place designated on our home landscape plan for an Horno? Maybe we will build it one day.
One treat on our excursion was the show put on by a blow hole. Mother Nature's Architecture!
And yet another - a Sea Turtle caught on film with the Go Pro Camera! [affiliate link] Which is why you should ALWAYS HIRE A LOCAL to take you snorkeling. Don't waste your time on your own. They know where to take you to almost guarantee that you see something FABULOUS! Thank you Isidro AND Alberto of HomieTours [convenience link] For a GREAT DAY!
Still to come: Panama City, The New Canal, and Cartagena. Check back or better yet - SUBSCRIBE!
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So far this Cruise we have seen more sun, water, and boats than Architecture, but I mean we are headed toward the Equator! We do call our ship architecture, "shipitecture". So back to the shipitecture it is for Happy Hour, a little Entertainment, and then we always know that the band is playing and our head waiter Ricardo is waiting for us in the dining room with our special made to order, Gluten Free Food!
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Segments 2 - 4 to follow.
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