Seeing as we went to America by boat we thought it would be great to leave by boat as well (we also thought it would be a good way to skip all of the Mexican border towns that people keep warning us about!). So we got on the Metro in Los Angeles and took the train all the way to Long Beach for only $1.50 - who said you HAD to have a car in LA? - where we boarded the Carnival Splender cruise ship heading to Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta. After 4 months travelling on the Greyhound it really was amazing to be back on a cruise ship: getting pampered; averaging 4 to 5 meals a day; lounging in hot tubs; free room service; generally taking it very very easy indeed!

Highlights of the cruise included Trudy overhearing two Americans complaining about having to walk around the ship (oh dear!), Tom tripping up (yet again) and amost falling head first into a bin in the casino, the towels fashioned into various animals (towelagami), and the amateur impromptu live action 'sex show' in the outdoor hot tub by the drunkest girl ever seen and her boyfriend who should have been locked up in the Goonies cellar.

A big huge special thank you to Trudy's mam who bought the boat tickets right after she watched Ross Kemp's tv show about the world's most dangerous places (apparently Mexico's border towns are no. 1!).