USA 2017: Sightseeing in Portland, Maine

Lets just dial it back a notch today. Just two things on the agenda - a sightseeing tour of the town and a boat tour of the harbour.

We take the local bus into town (catch it from across the road), have a bit of breaky / morning tea, then peruse the shops. We have a town tour on an old fire engine booked. Portland has basically been settled since the 1600's but was burnt by the British, the Indians, the French and then by themselves over the next 200 odd years, so the vast majority of the buildings date from the 1860's or later. But as a result they have been able to reclaim land and build a harbour that accommodates ferries, pleasure craft and big cruise liners.

Our tour bus

Memorial to the Civil War

US Customs building

City streets

We have lunch, and as it will be our last opportunity for Maine lobster, we have lobster rolls (again!). Then we join the mail run cruise around the various inhabited islands off the coast from Portland.This is a great way to see the harbour plus the islands. We only dock at the public docks, but there are a few private islands we pass along the way.