Home!
Home at last! Eight months away. It is sunny with clear skies, 82 degrees Fahrenheit with 52% humidity. We have done 15+ loads of laundry and organised the flat. It is nice to be home….at least until our next adventure in the very near future.
Frinton-on-Sea, England
Leaving late from Edinburgh means arriving late into London City Airport. Unfortunately the car rental services were closed. Another sigh and a bunch of frustration. In the end we had to spend 180 GBP to take a 1.5 hour taxi ride from London City airport to Heathrow airport. But at least the car ren...
Balmoral Castle and Edinburgh, Scotland
On Friday we had a pleasant drive to Balmoral Castle , arriving around 11:00 am. We enjoyed the sunshine and gardens. King Charles has added 130,000 trees since we were last at the castle in 2019. We noted a lot of other changes in the gardens with new mazes being developed, the kitchen gardens modi...
Scotland- Distilleries, Nessie and food!
Heathrow to Aberdeen went as planned, we rented a car and then met Rebecca & Jon at the Aberdeen train station. After excited greetings we were off for a 1.5 hour drive to Dufftown/ Speyside, Scotland. Lots of catching up on the drive before we arrived at The Craigellache Hotel. The Craigellachie Ho...
Cunard's Queen Mary- NYC to Southampton- July 8-15, 2025
We found our way to Pier 12 at the Brooklyn Cruise Port where it was a bit of a scrum to board. Fortunately we had priority as we booked Britannia Club which allowed us to walk directly onto the ship. There isn’t a lot of activity to report as we made it our goal to relax and avoid a lot of running...
New York- June 29-30/ July 5-8, 2025
We arrived back in NYC at Larry & Rom’s apartment mid-afternoon. It was Larry’s birthday so first up was a bottle of Cartier champagne and cake- please twist our arms! After a nap David and I took the subway to Columbus Circle where we did a little shopping before having dinner at Rosa Mexicano (av...
The Pines, Fire Island- June 30- July 5, 2025
It was a glorious sunny day in NYC, but of course we had to pick the day of the Pride Parade on which to arrive. So while everything was very efficient until we hit the island, it took us 2 hours to circumnavigate the island in order to get to Larry & Rom’s to drop off luggage and then head to the...
St. Petersburg, Florida- June 24- 29, 2025
Was this the first time Regent docked in the USA? After arriving on time into Miami it took them an extra hour to begin disembarking and it was havoc. Fortunately we had a lot of luggage so hired a porter which entitled us to cut to the front of immigration queue. We efficiently rented a car from...
World Cruise- Days 167-168- Sea Day & Miami- Time to Leave.....
Comments about the World Cruise- As David's toast one night expressed eloquently, we anticipated seeing the world and gaining weight on our journey, but never in our wildest dreams did we anticipate the camaraderie and the development of such deep and hopefully lifelong friendships. It's been an ex...
World Cruise- Days 165-166- Sea Day & Cayman Islands
As we left Cartagena, as pre-announced by the Captain, the seas started bouncing around. Everyone was dancing along the hallways without the influence of alcohol. The entire night was like being in the spin cycle of a washing machine. The day was more of the same. The ship held a special breakfast i...
World Cruise- Day 164- Cartagena, Columbia
This was our second time to Cartagena in the last couple of years. The first time was in January and it was hot. This time is was in June so it was very hot and humid. We boarded our bus and did a photo stop at the city's fort, Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas. It is a very interesting fort but we...
World Cruise- Days 162-163- Sea Day & Panama Canal Transit
The previous night the Captain had informed us we would begin our Canal experience at 6:30 am so David and I were up and on the terrace as we sailed under The Bridge of the Americas. But by around 7:00 am we were up on the 12th deck along with many others to watch as we moved toward the first set of...
World Cruise- Days 160-161- Sea Day & Puntarenas/ Jaco, Costa Rica
David and I visited Costa Rica, including Puntarenas , in 2009. We remember the country as being very green and beautiful with hills, mountains and volcanoes everywhere. It still feels the same. And while a poor country we found the roads in good shape and it felt like things worked here. We drove 1...
World Cruise- Day 160- Sea Day- NOT Corinto, Nicaragua
Apparently the cruise line felt it wasn't safe for us to visit Nicaragua so we sailed past and spent the day at sea.....
World Cruise- Days 158-159- Sea Day & Puerto Quetzal/ Antigua, Guatemala
Today we docked in Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala. This is actually a new port established in the 1980s. However, it’s really a jumping off point to Antigua, Guatemala , a UNESCO World Heritage site. It’s a 1.5+ hour ride (82 kilometres/ 51 miles) over fairly rough roads (they are currently replacing t...
World Cruise- Days 156-157- Sea Day & Acapulco, Mexico
Our hero, Captain Ahbi, succeeded again. As we left Cabo San Lucas he came over the PA to tell us that tropical storm Dailia was predicted to affect Acapulco on our port day there. So rather than waiting he took off early and hit the petal to the metal accelerating to the ship's top speed so we coul...
World Cruise- Day 155- Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
As we sailed in we enjoyed views of El Arco , the natural arch at Land's End, which is Cabo's most well known symbol. The water was a beautiful blue and we watched the stingrays and sharks (we believe they were hammerheads) swim right next to the ship. We had a a tequila tasting tour at Restaurant P...
World Cruise- Day 153- Ensenada, Mexico
Today was our first ever visit to the West Coast of Mexico as wells as Baja, California. David decided he had "Man Flu"/ lazy-boneness so I went on tour to the Guadalupe Valley myself. Apparently the valley makes 90% of all of Mexico's wines. However, it seems production is still quite limited and I...
World Cruise- Days 151-152- Sea Day & Los Angeles
Today we docked out at Berth 93 at LA Cruise Ship Terminal in San Pedro. We had a view of the Vincent Thomas Bridge , which is a suspension bridge in the style of the Golden Gate, but smaller and blue. Nonetheless it was pretty to look at from the cabin. Side note: LA has one of the biggest cargo p...
World Cruise- Days 149-150- Sea Day & San Francisco (End Segment of World Cruise)
I'll start with Friday in San Francisco --- it was a glorious sunny, warm day during our visit. No sign of Karl the Fog (see below). Unfortunately we woke up at 5:45 am to watch the sailing into San Francisco under the Golden Gate Bridge at the scheduled 6:00 am, and found that the Captain had stepp...
World Cruise- Day 148- Astoria, Oreon
Today we arrived in Astoria, Oregon on the Columbia River. It is the oldest US settlement west of the Rockies. It is a pretty little town of 10,000, but today it was overcast and misty. Apparently this is often the case here. We went to see the wreck of the Peter Iredale. She was abandoned October 2...
World Cruise- Days 146-147- Seattle
Seattle was a first for both of us, and David was excited for our visit to the Boeing Factory. The Boeing Future of Flight includes a Boeing Everett Factory Tour, Gallery, Sky Deck and Boeing Store. Boeing Future of Flight is located in Mukilteo , WA next to Paine Field and the Boeing Everett Factor...
World Cruise- Day 145- Victoria, Canada
Today we were rewarded with sunny skies and a friendly welcome. After docking in Victoria , we took a tour to three wineries- Unsworth, Enrico, and Cherry Point Vineyards. All three tastings were outside and the weather was glorious. The wines at Unsworth were "fine" but the rest were not particular...
World Cruise- Days 143-144- Cruising the Inside Passage & Vancouver, Canada
May 30th was supposed to be cruising the inside passage in Alaska. Well we may have been cruising but it was more like flying left to right and up and down. The seas were angry and bottles were crashing. Seasoned crew looked green. All activities on the ship were cancelled. Fortunately, we felt fine...
World Cruise- Day 142- Klawock
Klawock is new to accepting cruise ships, having begun only in 2024. Since then they have had only had 9 ship visits. The limited visits showed as they were particularly welcoming. We were taken by school bus to a wood carving demonstration at Klawock Henna Carving Shed. The demonstration was given...
World Cruise- Days 140-141- Cruising Hubbard Glacier & Sitka
Tuesday was a ROUGH day at sea as we sailed along the Alaskan coast. Fortunately we tolerate the seas well. The seas calmed as we went into Disenchantment Bay to view the Hubbard Glacier. The glacier is located in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve , straddling the US and Canada. This is...
World Cruise- Day 139- Whittier
Whittier is located at the head of Prince William Sound. The town only has 300 residents and they all live in the same 14 story building, Begich Towers. We had booked a tour directly to do the 26-Glacier Cruise , so we walked the 30 minutes from the new cruise port to join another boat for a 5 hour...
World Cruise- Days 132-138- Seven Sea Days & Kodiak, Alaska
After seven sea days we arrived on land in Kodiak, Alaska. We now can mark off another state visited. First was US customs followed by an 1.5 hour walking tour along the sea. This town was all about the King Crab. The hay days for the crab catches were between 1950 to 1982 when there was so much suc...
World Cruise- Day 131- Muroran/ Date City, Japan
Today, Muroran , is the last of our 11 days in Japan. We had a fantastic welcome by the local people including a handmade Welcome sign, the distribution of paper cranes (a gesture of peace & welcome) and young children greeting us and practising their English. It was adorable. It is a city and port...
World Cruise- Day 130- Hakodate, Japan
Hakodate is a city and port located in Hokkaido. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture with a population of 240,000. The city is the third largest in Hokkaido after Sapporo and Asahikawa. The port of Hakodate was surveyed by a fleet of five U.S. ships in 1854 under the conditions of the C...
World Cruise- Day 129- Miyako, Japan
Miyako is a small town of about 51,000. It has an atmosphere exactly the opposite of Tokyo's-- it is green, mountainous and peaceful. The peace was broken on 11 March 2011 when it was devastated by a tsunami caused by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake. Only about 30–60 boats survived from the town's 960 s...
World Cruise- Day 128- Hitachinaka, Japan
Today will be short. We needed a vacation from our vacation and did nothing today. Honestly, we are so busy on sea days with Bridge lessons, luncheons, and other events we felt we have no time to catch up. So we did nothing official and just took care of our To Do lists and relaxed. The only point o...
World Cruise- Days 126-127- Tokyo, Japan
We arrived in Tokyo on a bright, sharply sunny day. It has been over 10 years since we last visited our former home city. The first thing I will say about our entire trip in Japan has been the HUGE change in the use of English. I previously mentioned our joy at finding the button to use English to...
World Cruise- Day 125- Shimizu, Japan
Today we docked at the Tuna Capital of the World- Shimizu. Here they have an extremely deep port. In addition the area is know for its green tea and we saw many bushes of tea growing in the area. Originally we were going on a tour that gave us a view of Mt. Fuji but the clouds were so thick that we...
World Cruise- Days 123-124- Osaka, Japan
Today we docked around noon in Osaka. Our tour began mid-afternoon to the Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine, which is a Shinto Shrine. It is the main shrine of all the Sumiyoshi shrines. It gives its name to a style of shrine architecture known as Sumiyoshi-zukuri. The shrine is famous for the large crowds th...
World Cruise- Day 122- Kagoshima, Japan
Today, we docked in Kagoshima, Japan. Kagoshima is a regional commercial centre, with an economy centred on light manufacturing, tourism and commercial fishing (we saw several fishing farms in the bay growing fish for sushi) and a population of about 600,000. The city is very much know for having th...
World Cruise- Day 121- Nagasaki, Japan
Nagasaki is on the western island of Kyushu , one of Japan's four islands. Today was sunny and cool but soon warmed up, both in temperature and on the subject of our day. Nagasaki is a city of 390,000 people that now focuses on ship building, agriculture (mainly potatoes) and tourism, with the touri...
World Cruise- Days 119-120- Sea Day & Busan, South Korea
Headline news- Today Bruce was slapped several times on the arm by an old lady in Jagaichi Fish Market. Please read more below. After a relaxing sea day we arrived in Busan, Korea. Busan is Korea's second largest city with over 3 million inhabitants. It has the sixth busiest container port in the wo...
World Cruise- Days 115-118- Sea Day & 3 Days in Shanghai
Shanghai is a lot to take in. It is a city of 26 million that has transformed itself over and over again. It was originally a fishing village, and grew into an important trading port. Since China’s economic reforms in the early 1990s the city has become a large financial centre and one of the world...
World Cruise- Day 114- Ishigaki (Sakishima Islands), Japan
Ishigaki Island is the main island of the Yaeyama Islands Ishigaki City, Japan's southernmost city, is the only urban center of the Yaeyama Islands. It is actually located closer to Taiwan than to Okinawa, and is almost 2,000 kilometres from Tokyo. It has a population of 49,000 and depends on tou...
World Cruise- Days 112-113- Sea Day & Taipei, Taiwan
The sea day was a day of recovery for me. The World Cruise is an amazing experience but it isn't restful. We go, go and go. So today I rebelled and slept all day. We did see Rhiannon Herridge as the guest entertainer in the evening. Among her experiences, she continued her operatic studies at the pr...
World Cruise- Days 109-111- Sea Day & 2 Days Hong Kong
Our sea day, after two hours of bridge, included a beautiful brunch (why is wasn't done on Easter we aren't exactly sure). In the evening we had a pre-dinner show of Krew Kapers. It is always fun to see what new pieces they will show us. They do this at the end of each segment and their enthusiasm i...
World Cruise- Days 107-108- Sea Day & Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
We had a sea day and were were invited to the Anzac Day Service on board. Anzac Day is the national day of remembrance in Australia, New Zealand and Tonga that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the c...
World Cruise- Day 106- Cam Ranh/ Na Trang, Vietnam
Today we docked at Cam Ranh. This was once primarily a military port but has transformed into a beach destination. As we came into dock everyone was taking photos of the fish farms visible everywhere throughout the bay. Around Cam Ranh they fish for a variety of seafood, including lobsters, grouper...
World Cruise- Days 103-105- Sea Day & 2 Days in Ho Chi Minh City
Today was Easter and we expected a big Sunday brunch, which is their normal modus operandi on Sunday sea days. We were disappointed as they failed to deliver but they did have a fantastic chocolate display, and did have a chocolate afternoon tea. That night we were invited to Margaret Soden's birthd...
World Cruise- Days 101-102- Pattaya, Thailand
Today we drove about 45 minutes from the cruise ship, which was docked in Laem Chabang, into the city of Pattaya. First up was The Sanctuary of Truth. It is a private business building a huge wooden museum out of only wood without the use of nails. Everything is hand carved onsite. Everything in the...
World Cruise- Days 99-100- Sea Day & Ko Samui, Thailand
Our sea day was intense with Bridge but otherwise uneventful. But Thursday brought us to Day 100 of our World Cruise. Horrors- where does time go? Upon arriving in Koh Samui, Thailand , we had a nice big tender from shore take us the 1/2 hour across to the pier where we were quickly inundated with h...
World Cruise- Days 96-98- Sea Day & Two Days in Singapore
We had a busy time during our sea day. We had a very special tour with Jeff & Kevin of the Bridge with the Captain. This isn't offered to everyone so we felt very privileged. We spent 45 minutes with the Captain explaining all of the equipment and procedures of the Bridge as well as answering our qu...
World Cruise- Day 95- Surabaya (Java)
The name Surabaya is derived from the Javanese phrase "sura ing baya" which translates to "bravely facing danger". Is that because Indonesia has around 130 active volcanoes that are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, and it has suffered the highest numbers of eruptions resulting in fatalities, damage...
World Cruise- Days 94- Bali-Celukan Bawang(North), Indonesia
Celukan Bawang is on the North side of Bali so this was a new experience for us. It has a much more lush and luxurious appearance from the ship as compared to the very built up south side of the island. While we wouldn't have stepped into the waters on the south side we had friends that spent the da...
World Cruise- Days 92-93- Bali- Benoa (North), Indonesia
We arrived in chaotic Bali in the morning and relaxed until our massages at a local spa in the afternoon (David thought his was great, I thought mine was so, so). Then we had dinner with Melanie & Becki and Jeff & Kevin at Ku De Ta ( https://kudeta.com/ ). David and I had been a couple of times in t...
World Cruise- Days 90-91- Komodo Island, Indonesia
Today we tendered at Komodo Island. Komodo is one of the 17,508 islands that comprise the Republic of Indonesia. It is home of the Komodo dragon, the largest lizard on Earth, which is named after the island. Komodo Island has a surface area of 291 square kilometres, and had a human population of abo...
World Cruise- Days 87-89- Two Sea Days & Darwin
We enjoyed a couple of typical sea days with the added bonus of dinner with the Captain. This was unexpected as we had been told that the new captain did not like to entertain. The table was with the Captain, Jeff & Kevin, David & myself. We were probably selected as David & Jeff had provided some c...
World Cruise- Day 86- Cooktown
Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River , on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the Endeavour, for repairs in 1770. Both the town and Mount Cook (431 metres or 1,415 feet) which rises up behind the town were named after James Cook. Cooktown was fo...
World Cruise- Day 85- Cairns
Cairns is a pleasant resort town of about 175,000 people. Everything here is perfectly groomed and maintained. After our cruise ship docked we walked down the pier and boarded a large catamaran on a chartered Sunlovers ( https://sunlover.com.au/ ) trip to the Great Barrier Reef. After about 1.5 hour...
World Cruise- Days 81-84- Three Sea Days & Townsville
What should have been a sea day, followed by a day in Moolloolaba, followed by a second sea day became three consecutive sea days as the sea was too rough in Mooloolaba to allow for the tenders to make shore. This became quite a big issue for several people on board as we first learned of our failur...
World Cruise- Day 80- Newcastle/ Hunter Valley Wine Region
Today we docked in Newcastle which is a coal mining town. However, since Covid many people from Sydney have moved into the region so apparently it has grown dramatically. Our good friend Robyn Gee picked us up outside the gates of the port at 9:15 am and we were off for a drive to the Hunter Valley...
World Cruise- Days 75-79- Three Sea Days & Sydney
After 2 rough sea days and 1 incredibly smooth sea day, where the water was like a mirrored glass, which apparently is highly unusual, we arrived in Sydney. The captain delayed our arrival so we would be able to sail in at sunrise. Everyone was on the top deck at 6:45 am and we took turns taking pho...
World Cruise- Day 74- Napier
Today we docked in Napier at 12 pm and left at 9 pm. Apparently it's a tidal port and the times of docking are dictated by the tides. It is a busy export port with lumber being the number one export followed by apples. We visited the wine area of Hawkes Bay , the oldest and second largest wine growi...
World Cruise- Day 73- Rotorua
Rotorua is beautiful and so pristine. Everything is so clean and organised. It has fantastic sea views and many people visit to have a relaxing beach holiday here. Rotorua is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. It is sited on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua , from...
World Cruise- Days 68-72- 2 Sea Days, Bay of Islands & Auckland
After a couple of pretty rough sea days we made it to the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. There we were greeted by a dog water skiing around the harbour. A big laugh. We tendered to shore and drove to our friend's, Kiri and Kevin (plus Kevin's son, James) home. We had a wonderful time with them at thei...
World Cruise- Days 66-67- Sea Day & Lautoka, Fiji
Lautoka i s the third largest metropolitan area in Fiji. It is on the west coast of the island of Viti Levu. Lying in the heart of Fiji's sugar cane-growing region, the city has come to be known as the Sugar City. That said, the number one export in Fiji as of 2025 is.... Fiji water, with sugar no...
World Cruise- Day 65- Apia, Samoa (Independent Samoa)
Today we visited independent Samoa (as opposed to American Samoa the previous day). The two locations were only 40 miles apart and they share most of the same characteristics. We docked in Apia , the Capital and largest city (total population of the country is about 205,000). Here we enjoyed another...
World Cruise- Days 62-64- 2 Sea Days & Pago Pago, American Samoa
American Samoa is the southernmost territory of the United States, situated 2,200 miles (3,500 km) southwest of Hawaii, and is one of two U.S. territories south of the Equator, along with the uninhabited Jarvis Island. As of 2024, the population is approximately 47,400 and concentrated on Tutuila ,...
World Cruise- Days 60-61- Bora Bora, French Polynesia
We have now returned to awesome! As a friend on board said, "this place is so beautiful that photographs do not capture its beauty". This is so true. In ancient times, the island was called Pora pora mai te pora, meaning "created by the gods" in the local Tahitian language. A very appropriate name...
World Cruise- Day 59 Papeete (Tahiti), French Polynesia
Actually Wednesday evening we left Moorea for a 19 mile cruise to Papeete. This is the end of a segment and those on segments left Wednesday evening or today. Immediately we saw a difference in Papeete. This "city" has close to 200,000 residents and has a completely different feel with a lot of deve...
World Cruise- Day 58- Moorea, French Polynesia, Windward Island, Society Islands
Today was all about snorkelling. We had an early start with a tender to shore. We boarded a local boat that took us around the bay for magnificent views. We then stopped along the reef where the fresh river water meets with the sea water and waves of about 2.5 meters high allow for the surfers to ca...
World Cruise- Day 57- Raiatea, French Polynesia.
Today we began a 6.5 hour tour that started at 8:15 am. We were docked here so it was a simple walk to a local boat that took us form Raiatea Island to nearby Tahaa Island. Our guide was from Tahaa and he raved about his island (while very enthusiastic he went on and on about the God Hero and the hi...
World Cruise- Day 56- Huahine, Society Islands, French Polynesia
Today we were in Huahine, French Polynesia. Huahine is an island located among the Society Islands , in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the South Pacific Ocean. It is part of the L eeward Islands group. It has a population of around 6000 people but has little infrastructure for...
World Cruise- Days 53-55- Two Sea Days and Fakarava, French Polynesia
The ship makes a big effort to fill our days during Sea Days. On February 28th they held a Country Fair. Each department on the ship set up a booth on the deck and guests played all sorts of games. Guess the location of the displayed photos from the Destination Team, a carry the tray full of drinks...
World Cruise- Days 50-52- Two Sea Days & Pitcairn Islands
We enjoyed two uneventful sea days and then on the 27th arrived at Bounty Bay, near the town of Adamstown on Pitcairn Island. The Pitcairn Islands officially Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands , are a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean that form the sole British...
World Cruise- Days 44-49- Four Sea Days & Easter Island
After four sea days (some a bit rough and the others smooth as silk), we reached Easter Island, Chile, also known as Rapa Nui. Executive Summary: A traveler's highlight, almost spiritual and mystical.... a most beautiful and super remote island, with outstanding sunrises and sunsets, surrounded by a...
World Cruise- Days 42-43- Sea Day & Robinson Crusoe Island, Chile
On the 17th we crossed from Valparaiso, Chile on our way to Robinson Crusoe Island. Immediately as we left port the seas became pretty rough. Lots of dancing across the hallways as a straight line was impossible to keep. If you like roller coasters this was an experience for you. On the 18th we arri...
World Cruise- Days 40-41- Sea Day & Valparaiso, Chile
Today was a special party for the World Cruisers. They drove us 35 minutes from the port to a winery, Vinemar , in the Casablanca Valley. There they put on a huge spread of food under the marquees and also had 10 wine tasting stations (Vinegar, Leyda, Tarapaca, Castillo de Molina, 1865, San Pedro, L...
World Cruise- Day 39- Puerto Montt, Chile
Today we were in Puerto Montt, Chile. It is a city in the south of Chile, just north of Chiloé Island. It's a poor industrial city of about 250,000 people. Its' most pleasant feature was a view of Calbuco Volcano (last erupted in 2015) which resembles Mount Fuji. When Chile was developing in the 180...
World Cruise- Days 36-38- Two Days Cruising the Chilean Fiords and Puerto Chacabuco, Chile
Over two days we enjoyed outstanding views along the Chilean Fiords. In summary, we both felt the area we traversed was even more beautiful than the fiords of Norway. Both days we skimmed past mountains on both sides of the ship. Some were gray with white fluffy clouds hovering halfway down their sl...
World Cruise- Day 35 Punta Arenas, Chile
Today we were in Punta Arenas, Chile , which is right along the Strait of Magellan. It is described as "wind blown" and we experienced this immediately after we exited the ship as we were practically blown off the dock by the winds. When went met our guide he called this only a moderate wind. He exp...
World Cruise- Day 34 Ushuaia, Argentina
Due to an illness onboard the Captain sped us through the Drake Passage to arrive in Ushuaia, Argentina almost 12 hours early, on the evening of the 8th instead of early on the 9th. On the 9th we found out we were 2 of the lucky 15 people that succeeded in joining the Horse Back Riding tour in Ushua...
World Cruise- Days 26-33- 2 Sea Days, Stanley, Falklands, Sea Day, Antartica (3 days), Drake Passage
Starting in the middle- Antartica didn't disappoint. It's been 10 years since our Expedition Cruise to Antartica where we went out on Zodiacs and walked on the 7th continent. This is a cruise ship so we were only able to enjoy the scenery from the ship. I was not anticipating as much interest but in...
World Cruise- Days 23 & 25- Uruguay- Montevideo (day 23) & Punta Del Este (day 25)
On Wednesday, January 29th we arrived in Montevideo, Uruguay. And on Friday, January 31st we were in Punta del Este, Uruguay. Between these two locations we learned of the country's goal to be the first 1st World country in Latin America. They have 5G across the entire country, they have electricity...
World Cruise- Day 24- Buenos Aires, Argentina
We have been to Buenos Aires a few times before but were concerned that the town may have deteriorated given the country's financial troubles. However we were pleasantly surprised at the cleanliness and organisation of the city. Given our prior visits to the city we decided to take a trip to the cou...
World Cruise- Days 20-22- Santos and Itajai/ Blumenau, Brazil, plus Sea Day
On Sunday we were supposed to do a full day to São Paulo. It was going to be a long day as the city is 1.5 hours + away, in good traffic but there is rarely good traffic in São Paulo, from the port of Santos. However, David had a stomach problem so we cancelled and enjoyed a quiet day on board. In t...
World Cruise- Days 18-19- Rio de Janeiro
Mesmerising & Messy This sums up our views of Rio. It has a stunning coast line with beautiful mountains behind a mishmash of buildings, trees, and humanity anywhere. If you crave calm, organised and relaxing then Rio is not your city. It's crazy and fun! During our two days we visited Christ the...
World Cruise- Days 14-17- Maceio, Salvador, Sea Day and Buzios
On Monday the 20th we were in Maceio, Brazil. While picturesque blue waters abound, and our guide highly recommend living there for its safety, cleanliness and beauty, I found it worth no more than a quick visit. It is a laid-back town with 21 kilometres of beaches and lots of palm trees. David took...
World Cruise- Days 11-13- Sea Days (2) and Recife, Brazil
We had a couple of relaxing days on the ship where we focused on learning Bridge, were wonderfully entertained by Josh Henderson and Lisa-Marie Holmes , and chilled. On Sunday, January 19th we were in Recife, Brazil. The city was founded in 1537 by the Portuguese but the Dutch controlled the area fo...
World Cruise- Day 10- Belem, Brazil
Belem was my first step on Brazilian soil, though David had been to Sao Paolo a few times for work. My expectation for joyous chaos was immediately met as we came on to shore after a unexplained delay with our tender. What was billed as a 45 minute drive was closer to 2 hours. Again, was I surprised...
World Cruise- Days 6-9- Bridgetown, Barbados, Sea Day, Devil's Island French Guiana & Sea Day (Crossing the Equator)
In Bridgetown we had been looking forward to a submarine ride with Atlantis submarines, when 10 minutes before departure, we were told that the trip had been cancelled due to weather. To us the weather looked perfect but apparently there were sea swells. So although disappointed we assume this was f...
World Cruise- Days 3-5- Sea Days (2) and Roseau, Dominica
Dominica is in the Windward Islands and is an independent country that won independence from Britain in 1978. There are only 72,000 people in the entire country which makes it the 13th smallest country in the world. It is a beautiful mountain filled island with clouds hovering around the peaks. Lush...
World Cruise- Days 1 & 2- MIA, Everglades, David's 60th birthday with Kool & The Gang
We had an easy drive from St. Pete to Miami on Saturday the 4th. We picked up our stored luggage and checked into The Goodtimes Hotel (a new Marriott property owned by Pharrell Williams) on South Beach. It's a very cool and hip hotel and we wondered if we were the oldest people staying with them. Wh...
St. Petersburg- Friends & Family
It was a bumpy (understated), and much longer than advertised, flight from Austin to Tampa. So bumpy in fact we weren't even able to read- up and down & sideways. Clearly we landed safely or I wouldn't be writing this post. Paul Merada kindly hosted us during our stay, and the first night he cooked...
Austin, Texas
We had a fantastic time in Austin with our Austin family. As always we had a blast with the Hockenyos/ Yerly family- Jon, Rebecca, Jack, Sam, Casey (the dog), and Mr. B (the cat). Plus Amanda Coates, Catherine & Paul Clary plus Chester (the dog). This year I received my first Christmas stocking. Lot...
Days 16-27- At Sea (6), Antigua, Puerto Rico, at Sea (2), Disembark in Ft Lauderdale
Off we sailed from Funchal to our first Transatlantic crossing. The Captain warned that the seas could be a bit rough but for the first few days of our six day crossing there were glorious skies with a warm breeze. Although it was predicted that day four would share the same weather instead we had r...
Days 13 thru 15- Sea Day and Funchal, Madeira
Alluring, appealing, attractive, exquisite, gorgeous, handsome, lovely, magnificent, pulchritudinous, ravishing, stunning. These are all synonyms for Beautiful and they well describe Funchal. It is a beautiful green island covered with banana plants, vegetables, vineyards and flowers. The roads wind...
Day 10 & 11- Cadiz
Having visited Cadiz in August, we choose to visit the Sherry making area near-by. After a drive through Cadiz and Jerez, we visited Osbourne Family Wines in El Puerto. This is a 250 year old family business (currently 300 family members are shareholders) that was originally started by an Englishman...
Day 9- Tangier
Mystical and dangerous with winding narrow roads seems the mystery of Tangier, at least that was our anticipation based on all our favourite spy books. In reality, the city is relatively modern. Perhaps not as much so as Rabat but lightyears ahead of Casablanca. (That said, we did drive by where Jas...
Day 8- Casablanca & Rabat
Today we left the port of Casablanca at 8:30 am for the 1.5 hour drive to the city of Rabat. Rabat is the political capital city of Morocco. The city dates back to the 7th Century and is one of four Imperial cities. It is a far cry from the hectic warrens of Casablanca. It is a surprisingly modern c...
Day 7- Gibraltar
Back in the land of the English, we first visited St. Michael's caves. While a bit touristy it was really quite beautiful inside. And here we encountered our Gibraltar monkeys. This was our second visit to Gibraltar so we know they can be tricky so we kept our distance. We spent time in the tower of...
Days 5 & 6- Malaga
We enjoyed 2 days in Malaga. It is a very nice sea side town with a lot of history, including a Roman theatre and old castles. We arrived after lunch on the first day so we took a cooking class on board in the morning. We made Pastel de Carne Murciano and Marinara Murciana. Delicious (and easy). In...
Day 4- Cartagena, Jumilla
Today we docked in Cartagena (population around 230,000), which is a key military sea base due to its strategic position. It is a beautiful harbour with a fortress and is surrounded by hills. That said, as wine lovers, we drove 1.5 hours out to Jumilla (100 kilometres north) where we visited two bod...
Days 2 & 3- Valencia
Day 2- Sunday. A beautiful day to bike around Valencia. It's an old Roman city and we biked through the highlights noting the architecture of the many prior conquers. It was sunny and temperate. Our efforts were rewarded with tapas and cervezas in the park. After dinner outside at the grill, Kyle Es...
And we are off.....
Our adventure began today. After packing and unpacking for 3 weeks since David's Sabbatical began, as well as preparing to be away from the flat for an extended period, we ordered a large van, and with our 9 cases plus 2 backpacks we made the arduous 20 minute ride to the Port of Barcelona to board...