Tues 6 Oct. Today we fly from Melbourne to Sydney then on the big "bus" to Los Angeles. Neil has a sore knee and we ask for assistance from the airlines. We leave Tullamarine in 40 knot winds as the change comes through. At Sydney we are met by a lovely lady who decides she needs the motorized wheelchair to get Neil over the newly laid plush carpet at our lounge. In conversation we learn she used to dance with the Australian Ballet and her feet are shaped like pointe shoes. It is apparent that she has not used the motorized chair before and it is a hiccoughing ride around the terminal.

Our flight is comfortable and in row 3 there is plenty of space around us. On arrival we have the fastest trip through LAX ever as we are met at the plane and taken via all the priority lanes to our courtesy bus.

We drive directly to San Diego and are grateful we can use the car pool lane as we pass four lanes of stationary drivers in the 5pm exodus from LA.

Wed 7 Oct. A leisurely breakfast and despite the high calorie pictures on the menu we find some reasonably healthy food to eat. It assaults the senses to see what you can buy pancakes with syrup and ice cream, waffles and cream and a multitude of assorted dishes with meats, eggs, chips with "extras".

We return our car at the depot alongside the railway and overlooking a busy airport and then a short cab drive, a fast trip through customs and we board the "Zaandam" about 1.30pm. Our cabin is comfortable but smaller than on previous ships, the upside is the whole ship is smaller and probably only two thirds full so there are no queues.

Our English friends, Carol, Phil, John and Margaret, are in the dining room when we find them and we have a noisy and happy reunion. Just before our ship leaves port we watch the antics of two seals and the large sea birds that almost land on my arm as I am taking photographs.

Thur 8 Oct. Today we explore the ship and attend two lectures. Two pools, many bars, a limited library, shops, a casino, theatre and a least three restaurants. Enough to keep us amused for the month. Our first lecture on the "History of Mexico" is a bit dry but we learn it has a history of 2,500 years so much more to research there. Dr Lawrence Kuznetz of NASA is much more interesting as he talks about the space program and shows pictures from the moon lander. He was a senior scientist at the NASA Johnson Center for 10 years. Jasper had some home work to do prior to the last holidays which had to do with debating if the moon landing did occur. In case he reads this blurb - 1. Dr Kuznetz was in the control room when it landed, 2. A responder was left on the moon which is used each year to determine the distance from earth [it is moving further from us] and 3. Technology in 1969 did not allow for Photo Shopping or videos of such quality. Dr Kuznetz is/was involved in space suit development and showed some great footage of the ladies who make the space suits. There is an emergency system built into the suit which gives 30 mins of survival after the other systems have been exhausted so the message was - do not go too far from the mother ship!

There is a school of flying fish intent on playing "chicken" with our ship and it is a fabulous sight to see 50 - 60 large fish leaping from the water. Later there are whales and dolphins to be seen but we miss them.

Fri 9 Oct. A lazy day at sea and I read "A Bookshop in Paris" and head off to dinner with blood shot eyes. Part two of the space lectures is all about the space station. Planning took 16 years and it took 37 space shuttle trips to transport the parts and 140 space walks to assemble it over 9 years. It covers the size of 4.5 American football fields and by logging on to www.spaceflight and listing your location, it is possible to get the times for the next 24 hours when it is visible. There are 16 countries currently involved (Australia not mentioned). One piece of footage was narrated by an American scientist who was excellent. Sonny Williams covered the important questions. After showing how their food floated around in space she took us on a tour of the toilet. If you are squatting you need good aim to have it disappear down a plastic tube and be quick to put the lid on. If it is simply a wee then there is something like a broad ended vacuum cleaner to help out. (I guess astronaut training includes muscle control so that only one bodily function happens at one time.) This lady ran the Boston marathon, registering in advance so she wore her number and ran the requisite distance on a treadmill. It took over 5 hours in space but she did complete.

Sat 10 Oct. We dock at Puerto Vallarta, Mexico about 8.00am. The area is very clean and tidy, the temperature about 35®C and humidity about 95%. We have chosen to stay around the ship while many people take excursions as we have been here on a previous cruise. This port city is surrounded by mist covered mountains and it seems we will get a thunderstorm later in the day. We amble to a few shops and find all the decorations, costumes and pumpkin shaped treats on sale for Halloween.

A major contrast between San Diego and Puerto Vallarta is in the traffic[NR1] composition. Whereas cars dominated in San Diego today almost a third of all traffic was buses. Mercedes featured as the most common bus but they mostly looked very battered and we wondered if they imported used buses from elsewhere. This area has excellent diving, snorkeling, fishing and some interesting geological formations along the coast - all serviced by catamarans or there is a fine looking pirate boat to travel on.

On the street the Colgate toothpaste costs US$9 and my new straw hat US$4. We decline the offer of Margaritas from many store holders and enjoy a pool swim on board before the rain hits as we leave port. Despite the jungle around this town and the humidity, we do not see any mosquitos just a couple of small flies, a few white butterflies and some rather large dragon flies. The birds in the palm trees remind me of screeching cockatoos but we can only hear them so cannot describe what they look like.

We call our family and catch up on Hawthorn club news and the recent mega storm in Melbourne.

Sun 11 Oct. At sea and the sky is cloudy but the temperature is still high and the humidity higher as we get closer to the Equator. We attend a couple of lectures but spend a lazy day reading. I am on to the "Goldfinch" and love it. Felicity kindly lent me her kindle and she has a vast selection of books I can choose.

Mon 12 Oct. Huatulco, Mexico, is where the Sierra Madre del Sur Mountains meet the Pacific Ocean. Nearby is a massive Mayan site encompassing ancient ruins. Known as the Bocana del Rio Copalita Archaeological Zone, this site is a work in progress.

In 1574, 175 Spanish Conquistadors landed here on the day that the one brother was celebrating the overthrow of his brother in a quest to rule the Incas after a civil war lasting 4 years. This small Spanish force killed thousands and imprisoned the surviving bother before cutting off his head, thereby marking the end of the Incas reign.

This huge ship edges through a small bay and moors almost on a beach with white sand and green-blue water. We spend some time in and around the pool as most people have left the ship for excursions. It is very peaceful and we get a bit of sun before leaving to explore the little village (8 bars, several Mexican jewellery shops, one supermarket and a church with great ventilation (no windows and half walls so the sea breezes pass through). "Free Margueritas if you come into my shop. Just looking lady. Nice and cool!" The beach is beautiful and we see only about 40 houses around the nine bays at this port and we resist the temptation to buy anything but a beer.

After dinner there is a very good violin concert by "Slavia & Claudia" who play with a symphony orchestra in Florida when they are not on tour.

Tues 13 Oct. Puerto Chiapas, Mexico. In this steamy part of the world we are woken by flashes of lightning and rolling thunder as we enter this "missable port". No white sand here probably due to the ring of volcanoes above the mangrove and palm foreshore. There are Mexican dancers and the marimba players to greet us as we dock and for US$10 each we ride the shuttle bus with its permanently reclined seats to Tapachula, the biggest town 45 minutes away. The place is desperately poor and with all the barred windows and glass and metal spikes on every wall, it gives the impression of people living under siege. We decide to stay on the bus without visiting the three "places of interest" the C15th church, the town hall or the local market and find a few people rejoining the bus after visiting the church. Some similarities to Mackay, Qld. - bananas, soy beans, mangoes, coffee and tropical undergrowth with pointy mountains above the clouds in the distance. Not alike when you see the size of the guns the local police carry or the man fishing with a net further along the coast.

Wed 14 Oct Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala. We drive in a 20 seat mini bus (with no suspension) to the ancient city of Antigua, a drive of 90 minutes through sugar cane farms then through a pass between active and inactive volcanoes. This drive takes us from 60m above sea level to 1500m. Our guide is an eloquent Mayan man who has a degree in systems management. The Mayans (23 ethnic groups) have lived in this area since 2000 BC but after the arrival of the Conquistadores in 1524 the Spanish pushed them from the fertile lowlands and began planting sugar cane while the Mayans settled in the relatively poorer hilly area of Guatemala. Although Mayans form 60% of the population here they are poorly represented in the parliament and it is hoped through education there will be better opportunities in the future for a more balanced representation. At present the focus is on men supporting the family while women marry young (about 18), generally have 6-8 children and stay home but this is starting to change also.

A line of 33 volcanoes marks the conjunction of three tectonic plates and of these, three are still active volcanoes. On cue, as we chug up hill, many on our bus see molten rock and steam spew from the big beast on our left and we learn that on average this volcano erupts at least 300 days each year. The climate changes as we go through the mountains and the air is cooler and cleaner apart from the slight sulphur smell. As we enter the city of Antigua the road alters from fairly smooth asphalt to bumpy small cobblestones. This is a compact, clean city of one story buildings where regular earthquakes and tremors occur. There is a vista of volcanoes and passing clouds in the distance as you look down each street and we see the small farm allotments which cover the hillsides which have been tended by generations of families.

Our first stop is at the Jade Museum and there is a short introduction by an American archaeologist, Mary Lou Johnson/Rodinger, who established the museum and the current industry in high quality jade over a 36 year period. Quality jadeite is only found in Burma and Guatemala and is worth a million dollars per pound when converted to gem stones!!! This tough Jade had been revered for thousands of years and Mayans had covered their kings in masks and jewellery made of jade to hasten their journey to the afterlife. Unfortunately the very Catholic Spanish had a story than ran counter to the beliefs of the indigenous population and they were forbidden to use jade on penalty of torture and death. Later we wander around the local square and are offered trinkets and local textiles from a veritable army of local Indians (mostly women) wearing their brightly coloured national dress. The handcrafts are amazing and we would like to buy more and support their local industries but alas….. We see Baroque churches that took hundreds of years to build (earthquakes kept the builders in work) and the convents and seminaries. It appears that every branch of Catholicism had a foot in this town.

After returning to the ship we celebrate Margaret and John's impending 50th anniversary (it is some time away but we all had a bottle of Champagne waiting to be drunk and we needed an excuse to share their palatial "suite". After dinner we enjoy a balmy evening outside listening to a really good singer /guitarist who plays music from the 60s and 70s that we recognize. The water laps, the stars shine and the showers hold off although there is plenty of lightning in the distance.

Thurs 15 Oct At sea and it is raining off and on. We are invited to a special Indonesian lunch (many of the staff are Balinese) and although we probably do not need dinner we will all turn up again. It is a day for reading and I have just finished "The Goldfinch" - an amazing book.

Fri 16 Oct At sea

Sat 17 Oct Manta, Equador

Sun 18 Oct At sea

Mon 19 Oct Salaverry (Trujillo), Peru

Tue 20 Oct Callao (Lima), Peru

Wed 21 Oct Callao (Lima), Peru

Thur 22 Oct Coquimbo (La Serena), Chile is off the agenda as the area was badly affected by the recent earthquake and instead we are stopping at General St Martin in the Attaca Desert. There are a number of excursions (sea life on the Baleros Islands; sand buggy riding in the desert; Inca ruins and lunch in a hacienda; visit to a red sand beach) planned but we decide to stay on board.

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