Tourists in Florida

That is what we were today. The commuter rail service between West Palm Beach and Miami, Tri-Rail had a "Dump the Pump Day" making all rides free today in an effort to increase use of public transportation. It sounds like a good idea to me.

J and I had never ridden on Tri-Rail so at 1:05 pm we decided to take the 1:30 train from Delray Beach as far as we felt like riding - maybe all the way to Miami. The train was punctual and crowded - free rides all day in an air-conditioned train. There families using it as entertainment for their children and with schools already closed here there were lots of them. But everyone was well-behaved and quiet by American standards. In Europe the trains are pretty quiet, in Japan and China the people were silent.

After 45 minutes we reached the stop at Dania Beach for the Fort Lauderdale Airport and decided we had had enough. We got off the train and walked a short distance toward the I.G.F.A. Fishing Hall of Fame. We walked on by it into the large building housing the Islamorada Fish Company Restaurant and a Bass Store. A quick tour around the store and we were headed to the train station and our ride back to Delray Beach.

The return train was exactly on time and we spent a few hours riding the on the upper level of the train and watching the other passengers.

Jerusalem

We have been home nearly a month now and I am just finding the time to post some of the photos I could not get uploaded from the ship.

We docked at the port of Ashdod in Israel and had a wonderful tour provided by Ofer from Guided Tours Israel. From the ship we traveled to Bethlehem and then to Jerusalem in a van that comfortably held the 16 of us. We encountered some closed churches in both Bethlehem and Nazareth, which we visited the next day. The city of Jerusalem was very crowded because it was a holy day for all three major religions sharing the city: Passover, Easter weekend and also for Moslems. Nevertheless, our guide managed to keep us all together and get us to all of the sites on the itinerary.

Dome of the Rock, a Moslem memorial, and the old wall of the city of Jerusalem taken from the Mount of Olives.

The Garden of Gethsemane, where the core of these olive trees are said to have existed during the time of Christ.

One of the gates into the Old City, note the vendor with bread in the right foreground. We weren't sure if we wanted to eat a loaf of bread, so we ended up paying twice as much by the time we reached the place we stopped for lunch.

We walked Via Dolorosa, the Way of Suffering, with the Stations of the Cross. We visited the first nine, but the remaining five are inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which was closed because of the holy days.

Many of the first nine stations are now inside of churches. As is this one at Station II.

This bread, which we seasoned with zatar, ( spice made of dried sumac, thyme, sesame seeds and salt) given to us in a little packet of paper, was well worth the price we ended up paying. Obviously in the Arab quarter because there was no leavened bread in the Jewish quarter because it was Passover.

Also inside a church, Station III, Jesus falls.

Shopping area between Stations. It was very, very crowded, but the weather was a perfect temperature for tourists and everyone was considerate, polite and careful.

The Western Wall/ Wailing Wall where men and women pray at the Wall separately. I went with the women and Jerry went with the men and we each managed to get through the crowds up to the wall to leave messages in the cracks between the stones. The security was very tight, with everyone's belongings getting screened. It was so crowded at the wall that it was necessary to take turns. Several of us talked about having concerns about the lack of any escape route if anything bad had happened. But nothing bad did happen - it was a wonderful day.

Katakalon, Greece

Emergency alarm blast

One blast from the emergency alarm.

I jump up from the bed, saying to Jerry, “This is not a drill.”

Maybe the alarm is an accident.

No. There is another blast. I turn on the light.

The light works. How many blasts was that?  I think we are supposed to count.  Six short blasts, one long one means go to the muster station. Oh, God.

I walk to the window and look out. It is still dark night and there is nothing to see, Good sign. I look at my watch and see that it is 6:20 am.

Jerry heads to the bathroom. I walk to the cabin door.  I listen and hear nothing.

Remember your CERT (Community Emergency Response Training.) Don’t burn your hand on a hot door because you might need to use your hand.

I brush the back of my left-hand hand across the door and then the door handle. Cool to the touch. I open the door a crack. No smoke. I step forward a little and see normal light in the corridor and nothing else.

How many blasts was that? I don’t think the last one was long. It must be a fire and not muster stations.

“Jerry, where are the things?” I wave my hands up and down over my torso unable to remember the words life vest.

Jerry says, “The life jackets are under the bed. We have to get dressed.”

I go into the closet and get underwear, socks, and my athletic shoes. I put on my wedding band and watch.

Dress warmly. If we end up in lifeboats, it could get cold and we are halfway across the Atlantic so we could be in the lifeboats for days. Why doesn’t the Captain say something? How bad is this? What am I going to put on?

Then the familiar voice from the bridge comes on. “We had a strong indication that there was a fire in a section of the ship.” He explains that the procedure is to sound the alarm. However, it has turned out to be a false alarm and we should all go back to sleep.

Relief. Joy. No fire. No lifeboats.

Jerry does manage to go back to sleep, but after an hour, I give up and turn on the computer. I am very happy that I am sitting here in the darkness, listening to Jerry’s even breathing, and wishing my son a very happy birthday.

Funchal, Madeira

Another port in which we expected nothing and were pleasantly surprised.  Funchal is on the island of Madeira, a small island in the Atlantic off of Portugal. The city is renowned for its flowers, which were not only in bloom everywhere, but there was also a competitive event underway. In the island in the center of the main street, people were laying “carpets” of flowers on a background of cedar branches with a judging taking place the day after we left.  The aroma of the flowers and the cedar makes the display doubly appealing.

There is some road construction between the dock and the center of Funchal, so there was a shuttle provided. While technically it would be an easy walk, the road construction had turned it into an unappealing trail. We were pleased to take the shuttle that dropped us off a block from the flower carpets and the Hop On/Hop Off bus. We often use the HO/HOs because they are an easy way to cover a large part of a city in a day at a reasonable price and see the important things for tourists to see.

We chose the Yellow Bus, although we usually choose the Red City-sightseeing line. The Yellow Bus has two routes, one around the city and another that travels a bit out of town as far as Camara De Lobos. You may have heard of that town because Winston Churchill spent time there and painted the charming houses built into the hillside.  We rode the shorter in-town route in the morning, returned to the ship for lunch, and went back on the shuttle again to ride the 90-minute out of town route. There really was not time enough for us to do hopping, so we just rode both routes round trip, enjoying the sunshine on the open top deck and the ride.

Not only flowers are growing everywhere, there are also banana trees in big farms and in little yards. There are many hotels and restaurants because Madeira is such a popular vacation destination.  It is clearly a prosperous place and one that looks like a place to visit more than once. Even if I return, I will not be taking the famous basket ride down the mountain or the gondola ride up and down. The bus ride was adventure enough for me.

Piraeus for Athens

We have lost track of how many times we have been to Athens but it is enough so that we no longer feel a need to visit ruins. It is enough to see them in the distance while we are enjoying the city. So without the pressure of sight seeing, we left the ship late in the morning and headed for the Piraeus Train Station. We can never remember exactly where the station is, but we know the general direction. We walked along the harbor past ferry terminals until the neighborhood began to look like an area where the train station would be. And then we asked a few people which way. It took about 30 minutes to reach the station and buy tickets. (And for those of you who know the story, we did it without screaming at each other in the middle of the street.)

In 17 minutes the train took us to Monastriaki  Square, which looked familiar right down to the fresh strawberries for sale at the first cart outside the Station’s entrance. We walked to the right toward the Acropolis and turned at the first street that took us past Hadrian’s Library and the Tower of the Winds. We strolled among the shops and restaurants in the Plaka for a while, sitting on a stone wall to watch a crew filming a scene on a side street. We ended up by the entrance to the new museum.

Our main purpose in visiting Athens was to return to Scholarhio Restaurant at 14 Tripidon Street for lunch in the Plaka and we easily found it. Lunch was even better this time even though it was too cold to sit on the outside balcony. We sat inside and chose six out of the 12 dishes on the vegetarian tray and enjoyed a wonderful feast.

Bodrum

Sometimes the best ports are those for which we have low expectations. Never having heard of Bodrum before seeing the name on the itinerary for this voyage, I expected very little. What we had was another wonderful day.

Expecting nothing, we took our time, had a leisurely breakfast, and slowly made our way ashore. Thom, the Cruise Director, had announced that there was a complimentary shuttle boat to the Castle of Saint Peter, an ancient fortress overlooking the harbor and we headed to the embarkation area. The ferry was just the right size for a 15-minute ride across the harbor from Prinsendam’s dock to the Castle dock. The sun was bright and temperatures were in the low 70s with a light breeze. We rode on the open deck on the upper level of the ferry.

At the Castle, we had intended to be diligent tourists and walk through the structure, admiring the history and archeology of the site. At the entrance, however, we found out that only Turkish Lira were accepted for the admission fee of around US$14. (Had we been properly motivated, we could have walked to the money changer and received the exact amount of money to pay in Turkish Lira.) So we were off the hook for the diligent tourist thing. Instead, we admired the scarves, jewelry and trinkets being sold along the dock beside the Castle. There was one tent filled with about eight women making thin bread, filling it with seasoned potatoes and cooking it on skillets heated by bottled gas.

At the end of the dock, the city center began. The city center shopping area is clean, safe, with wide sidewalks lined with shops selling more jewelry, leather goods, artwork – a variety of merchandise, as well as cafes and restaurants. The menus sounded appealing and the cooking food smelled really good. We looked at leather vests and jackets, rings, necklaces and had fun not buying anything.

We could have had lunch in Bodrum, but it is so much easier for me to eat on the ship that we walked back along the beaches and ate in the Lido. After a quick lunch, we were back in the City Center at a café with wi-fi, so Jerry had a cup of Turkish tea to get the password for the wi-fi. With the seven hour time difference, we had to wait until close to time to be back on board before we could start using Skype to call our kids. This time we were able to talk to the two we missed the last time and two others and my three grandsons. Talking to our family makes us very happy.

Now the ship is under way with an early arrival tomorrow in Kusadasi and Ephesus.

Alexandria

Egypt! What a great time to be here!  We are only the second ship to stop here in three months. Prinsendam docked in a cargo port beside a very new passenger terminal. There was a complimentary shuttle provided to take people not on tours into the center of the city. Since we have been to Egypt before and seen Cairo and the pyramids, we decided to take a ship’s tour of Alexandria in the morning and do whatever presented itself in the afternoon. In addition to having already been here, I was a bit anxious about the wisdom of our being here this time, wondering if the situation was stable enough so a ship’s tour seemed like a good idea.

Our tour took us to the main sights and sites in Alexandria, but the highlight of the tour was the spectacular library. This new one was built a few hundred yards from the first Alexandrian library, which was burned in antiquity, can’t look it up now. The new building is massive with space enough for 8 million books. Not to say that the library is not digital. Check out the website – just Google it.

Alexandria is a city of great diversity with 7 million people from many countries and religions living in harmony. It is relatively clean for an Egyptian city with very little trash on the ground. It is crowded though with an insane way of driving. There is one traffic light in the city and it didn’t seem to be working when we rode past. Pedestrians, buses, taxis, cars, trucks, horse drawn wagons, scooters, all seem to be in motion and somehow they work out right of way and the traffic moves. There is also a lot of horn honking and occasional yelling out the vehicle window.

The other site we liked seeing were the Roman Theater and baths. The theater was built by the same man who built Hadrian’s Wall separating Scotland from England. The tour guide said that there are so many layers of past cultures that every time there is digging for a construction project another new ruin is discovered.  

After the tour and lunch back on board, we shopped at the vendors just outside of the pier area. We bought postcards and papyrus paintings. With many hours still here in the port we decided about 4:30 pm to see if we could ride the complimentary shuttle into the center and town and then return to the ship. At first it appeared that we were too late, but we spoke to the person in charge of the shuttle and he said we could ride to the city center and back. We boarded a large tourist bus, the driver boarded, and a security guard with an enormous weapon in a holster on his hip joined us. We sat in the front seat with the best view and the four of us set out back into the city in our big bus. The streets were even busier because late in the afternoon the temperatures begin to drop and people are out and about at the markets, shopping and living their lives. (Last week the temperatures were well over 100 but today the high was about 70. Perfect weather for tourists.)

When the bus driver discovered that he could make Jerry laugh by using the bus’ horn, he made a point of doing it even more often, with all of us lacking a common language but having a great time. We reached a square where we stopped and a young man carrying small rugs ran over to the bus to try to sell his goods. Jerry decided he wanted one of them, so he negotiated a price and we ended up with two little rugs. Good thing we don’t have to fly home at the end of the cruise.

The people were so happy to have us here! A group of girls in uniforms of a private high school surrounded Jerry and me at the Alexandrian Library, bubbling with exuberance and ready to practice their English. Where are you from? What is your name? Have you been to Egypt before? Can you speak Arabic? What languages can you speak?

People on the streets stopped to wave and smile as we rode by in the bus. That did not happen on our bus when we were here in 2009.

I watched our tour guide put a few coins into a man’s hand and noticing that I observed her, she said, “They haven’t worked in three months so I do what I can.” With tourism their main industry and that eliminated, the people here have been struggling. I hope that our visit has also done a little bit to help them. The people we spoke with were guarded in what they said about the political situation, but the tour guide asked us all to keep the people of Egypt in our prayers.

Ravenna Italy

The ship docked about half an hour from the center of town but there was a complimentary shuttle provided from the ship into town. I took the shuttle after a leisurely morning letting everyone in a hurry get off the ship and into town.

The best thing to do in Ravenna was apparently being on the 7:30 am ship’s tour to San Marino to get passports stamped. That is what the passengers who are “collecting countries” opted to do. We are counting the countries we have been to but are not so into it that we would get up around 6 am to make the trip.

The shuttle dropped us off a couple of blocks from the train station in one direction and all of the main sites within walking distance in the other direction. I managed to find Dante’s tomb, the Duomo, Basilica, and most importantly a tourist information center. I looked everywhere as I walked for “WC” and found none. At the tourist info center there were much better maps and I was able to locate the nearest “WC.” In Venice all of the public toilets cost 1.5 Euros but in Ravenna, it cost only .25 Euro – a real bargain. Right now a US dollar is equal to .69 Euros at the bank exchange rate so we can ballpark the exchange by adding a third to the prices.

In each new port, it is always difficult to figure out the basics such as where there are public toilets and how much they cost, how the public transportation works, and how to mail postcards. I found the Poste Italia at Piazza Garibaldi without any trouble but then I couldn’t figure out how the lines worked. It seemed to never be my turn, so I asked and was told to go to the ticket machine, press “P” and get a number. Then it was quickly my turn and I was able to have postcards of Venice stamped to be mailed from Ravenna.

There were very nice clothing stores with very large Euro prices, many cafes, some produce markets where I almost bought a quart of strawberries for 6 Euros. It is a Saturday so many of the locals were walking around the town enjoying the nice weather just like the tourists.

I wandered back to the shuttle pick-up point and stumbled upon the 5^th century Battistero degli Ariani and its mosaic ceiling. From the shuttle I was able to get some photos of these unusual fishing shacks with nets that drop into the water and fill up with fish.

Siracusa

Although we had been scheduled to tender at this port, we were able to dock right beside the old town. Docking in the tight space here is apparently impossible for a ship the size of ours if there is wind, so we were lucky to have a light breeze enabling the favorable situation. I expect that the Captain will have an interesting post on his blog about it.

The peninsula of the old area is quite small so we easily walked to many of the sites, including the Duomo, the Fountain of Artemsia, the Museum, and the ruins of the Temple of Apollo. The Baroque façade of the Duomo masks the façade of the 5^th century BCE Temple of Athena, which can be seen quite clearly from the side street.

One of the shops had Easter sweets on display in the window – quite elaborate. Again turning each corner brought another charming street into view. Many passengers had lunch in the restaurants, but we were back onboard in time for lunch.

On one of the ship’s tours, they were not far from Mt. Etna and heard it rumble, saw it spew steam and then felt a sprinkle of ash fall on them. Very exciting experience.

Right now we are delayed in our departure from Siracusa. The second time we have been delayed in leaving a port because a lifeboat required repairs. And this time it is our lifeboat, number 2, so I want them to take their time and fix it right. I don’t know what the problem was either time, but on one of the tender trips I took a photo of some kind of a device on the windshield of the tender that had a missing screw and was hanging down with wires exposed.

Two days at sea as we make our way up the Adriatic toward Venice.

Lipari, Italy

It took us until 1:00 this afternoon to reach Lipari so we took advantage of the time to do the laundry again. The Laundromat was not crowded and we quickly finished so we could enjoy Lipari. Off the coast of Sicily, it is the largest of the Aeolian Islands, all of which are volcanic in origin. Most of the volcanoes are nearly extinct, but Stromboli has an active vent releasing steamy clouds and sometimes glows red. 

Lipari has a pretty port, charming houses set into the hillside, a medieval castle, an old Norman palace, and ancient Roman and Greek ruins. Prinsendam anchored and we used the tenders to reach the dock at the center of town. There are restaurants right at the port serving delicious looking fish, brought in fresh this morning. Along the streets from the town center to the Basilica are more restaurants and shops offering jewelry, clothing, tourist treasures, and wine. I tried on a dress in one of the shops. In a jewelry store, I talked with the designer and tried on a necklace of pink coral carved into an octopus and starfishes wrapped in strands of black coral.

We walked many of the winding streets admiring the charming architecture, orange and lemon trees, and small gardens. Then we walked up an old stone stairway leading from the town center to the 11^th century Basilica Cattedrale de San Bartolomeo. The church does not look like much from the bottom but inside are awesome frescoes on the walls and the ceiling.

In a couple of hours, we will be in the Straits of Messina. The last time we were in that water there were large waves and we were bouncing off the walls as we walked to our cabin after dinner. The weather forecast for this evening sounds like smooth sailing and a pleasant passage. We might even see a volcano glowing red as we pass by.

Rome

Thanks to our travel agent, Ken, we had a complimentary tour yesterday in Rome: Roman Holiday, a tour which ook us to the places in the movie. We sat at the Spanish Steps, tossed a coin in the Trevi Fountain, toured the Palazzo Brancaccio, drove by the Coliseum, and had tiramisu gelato at La Plama Gelateria. Lunch was at Cecilla Metella, the restaurant where the Hepburn and Peck characters hid away trying to avoid photographers. I have to admit that I do not remember the movie “Roman Holiday” at all, but it will be shown onboard soon to the group of 40 who shared the tour.

Since we have been to Rome several times, we did not feel the need to visit the usual tourist places and were delighted to be on the tour. The sites of Rome were interesting, what a history! The highlight of the day, and probably of the cruise, was the lunch at Cecilla Metella. First, both the setting and weather were perfect. We ate outdoors on a patio under vine-covered trellises at tables covered with bottles of red and white wines, still and fizzy water, and baskets of fresh bread.

Waiters delivered plates of sliced prosciutto and other meats to most people. We vegetarians were asked to go inside to fill our own plates from a large selection of grilled vegetables, olives, artichoke hearts, eggplant parmesan, and more. We all thought that was to be our meal, but the waiter, looking at our very full plates, explained it was only antipasto. We looked like a bunch of gluttons and then we behaved like gluttons too.

After the antipasto, the table was served an incredible pasta dish made with green linguini in a very rich cream sauce. For vegans, they served pasta with marinara sauce, which I could not eat because I was already so full. Then the entrée was served. I couldn’t tell if it was veal or pork with sliced roasted potatoes, but everyone said it was outstanding. We had sliced tomatoes. By then, the eight at our table had become the rowdy bunch, drinking wine and laughing so much that other people told us we were having too much fun.

Then dessert was served. Not vegan, but when in Rome, do as the Romans do. It might be the best dessert of my life. On the plate was a cream puff filled with gelato and covered with a lighter lemon cream sauce, a bit like a sauce Anglaise. Words cannot begin to describe the tastes and mouth feel of this dessert. I wanted to eat two or three of them!

The owner of the travel company in Rome also owns the Vespa used in the movie, so we all had our photos taken on the scooter before heading to the “Mouth of Truth” for photos with a hand inside the mouth. Legend says if you lie, it will bite your hand off. Fortunately no one lost any appendages and we snoozed our way back to the port of Civitaveccia to the ship.

Cinque Terre

 I am including specifics of travel to help others trying to make one-day visits to Cinque Terre from a cruise ship anchoring and tendering at La Spezia. It may not be so interesting to our families and friends!

On the northwest coast of Italy, east of Genoa in the Ligurian region, is the picturesque and popular area known as the Cinque Terre, The Five Lands. La Spezia is a lovely town on its own but for us it was the gateway to the Cinque Terre. These five villages hang on the cliffs, connected by an ancient footpath. Much to our delight we were able to travel to all five villages and return to the ship well before the last tender, which was scheduled for 4:30 pm. At first it looked as if it would not be possible to do it on our own at all, but it turned out that the information on the Internet was not quite accurate – surprise! Nevertheless, I am putting this information on the Internet, but if you plan to use these details, be sure to check the train schedules to be certain when trains will operate during your visit.

We were off the ship on Tender 1 and asked the way to walk to the train station. There we were able to get a complete train schedule, train tickets valid for 6 hours of on and off in villages (11.80 Euros for both of us roundtrip) and a ticket for the park so we would be able to walk between the villages (5 Euros for two people.) We had only a short wait to get on the 10:01 train from La Spezia. We arrived a very quick seven minutes later in Riomaggiore, the first of the villages heading west.  This was the place we made our only bad move. We missed the signs that pointed the way to Via dell’Amore so we walked a little bit out of our way before we realized our mistake and retraced our steps back to the Station. From there we followed the signs. We walked the Via dell’Amore, Lovers’ Lane about 20 minutes to Manarola. Back on another train at 11:23 for a four minute ride to Corniglia, the only village that is not seaside. There was a little bus waiting for people who wanted to ride rather than walk the 600 steps up the cliff. We hadn’t known it, but the bus fare was included in the park ticket we purchased to walk between the villages. We rode. Corniglia was also very old with narrow cobblestone streets and houses perched on cliffs. Back on the little bus to the station to board the 12:15 train for a five minute ride to Vernazza.  We spent more than an hour in Vernazza, enjoying the busy little streets, the very best foccacia, and just people watching. There were restaurants there that had pizza and lovely looking seafood for anyone interested in eating there. The train left Vernazza at 1:38 for the four-minute ride to Monterosso, the last of the five villages, where we spent about 40 minutes. Once in Monterosso, walk out of the station to the street facing the beach and turn to the left. Walk along the beach until you can see the tunnel and walk through it. This will take you to the old section and many shops and restaurants.

I follow a healthy vegan diet except when there is tiramisu. The gelateria at the beach in Monterosso had tiramisu gelati that tasted exactly like tiramisu. I ate about half of one scoop and shared the rest with you know who.

For the return trip, we boarded the 2:44 express, which stopped only at Riomaggiore, and arrived at the station in La Spezia at 3 pm. The walk back to the ship took us about 40 minutes, but we walked slowly just soaking up the perfect weather and a perfect visit to a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Tenerife Day 1

What an excellent day and overnight we had in Tenerife. We are not scheduled to leave until after 4:30 this afternoon, so we will go ashore again and go to McDonald’s to try to Skype family. McDonald’s now offers free wi-fi in most of their restaurants around the world and is a very popular place now with cruise passengers and crew. The way to find the nearest wi-fi spot is to ask a crew member, so at dinner last night, I asked our waiter who told me that he had spent a long time using Skype to talk with his wife and son at McDonald’s.

The ship is docked about 100 yards from a main street making it easy to get on and off as often as we wish to, but yesterday we walked right out to the tour bus waiting for our group from Cruise Critic to board. There were around 20 of us in the group organized by Ken for an 8-hour tour of the island. The bus was large, new and comfortable and we had lots of room, giving everyone a window without a post interfering with the view.

We road through the town of Santa Cruz and began our climb into the mountains. Along the way there were spectacular views of many different kinds of lave, each with an interesting color and shape. The island is volcanic like Hawaii and reminds a little bit of features there. At over 6000 feet, we had a view of Mount Tiede, at an even higher elevation than we were. There was still snow along the side of the road (looked like Syracuse in late March, except that there was very little snow there.)

As the bus made its way around the hairpins and switchbacks on a two-lane road, I was sitting on the side with the drop-off. It looked to me as if the bus was about four inches from the edge, with an occasional 6-inch high flimsy barricade. I looked down to the bottom a couple times and decided that was not a good idea. The driver seemed to have it all under control and I relaxed, comforted by the idea that on the return I would be on the other side. But we didn’t return via the route up. We crossed over the mountain ridge to the other side and I had the drop off most of the time on the way down as well.

We stopped for a break just in time for a very much needed toilet break. There are several restaurants around the National Park so people had Spanish coffee and sweet bread. Tenerife is very connected to Spain and seem to think of themselves as Spaniards and Tenerifenos the way we think of ourselves as Americans and whichever state we are from.

The landscapes are spectacular and I wish I could post lots of photos. After I am home I will put some on Facebook. For now, I will try upload a few at McDonald’s.

From the park we descended to a black volcanic beach at Laguna, a charming area of shops, resorts and restaurants. For lunch I had papas con mojo and gazpacho de Andalusia, not the gazpacho I expected, but that is why we travel – to have new experiences. The potatoes were cooked in salt just like the salt potatoes from Syracuse, the Salt City, but were served with a red sauce and a green sauce rather than butter.

The cultural differences made us about 5 minutes late returning to the bus, and I hate to keep other people waiting. The unanticipated leisurely pace caught us off guard and we were making a made dash to get back to the meeting point after waiting for each course, waiting for the sauces for the potatoes, waiting, waiting, waiting. We made such a mad dash through town that we overheard someone comment, “They must be from the States.”

Yes, we are.

Dakar, Senegal

Our second port in West Africa was different from the first in Banjul, The Gambia, in several ways. First, we chose to take a ship-sponsored tour, which we seldom do, and it turned out to be an excellent idea. Independent tours in smaller groups mean that the guide is able to give us more information and we do not have to wait for so others who are late getting back to the bus. On the other hand, there is a sense of security being on the buses with other passengers. We had been warned about keeping alert, dressing to avoid attention, moving about in groups, and leaving our credit cards on the ship so security was on my mind.

The tour we chose was called Dakar Highlights and included views of the modern city as well as the early twentieth century buildings, the Presidential Palace with its Spahi guards wearing red and blue uniforms, the train station. We saw a demonstration of sand painting, the Medina (Old Town) and, of course, the obligatory market. Everywhere we go we end up where the locals sell their wares to the tourists.

The vendors are trying to eke out a living in very poor economic conditions so it is understandable that they are persistent in their efforts to make a sale. It can be a clash of cultures as we want to be left alone to look and choose what we want to purchase and they want to make every sale they possibly can.  Today, the vendors were among the most aggressive we have encountered. They tried to lure us into their stalls and block the way out, they were annoyingly persistent in following us, and they touched us. One vendor grabbed my shoulder with such a firm grip that my adrenaline shot up and I yelled at him “Don’t touch me!” He was very apologetic and backed off and pointed to where our guide was sitting to reassure me that I was safe and had nothing to worry about. I am sure that I was safe there or I would not have stayed, but overall, I would have bought more if I had been closer to the comfort zone of my own shopping culture. And as I write this, it sounds familiar to me and I think I wrote something similar in a different port on a different trip.

The African Renaissance Monument, a 160-foot tall statue, is the source of controversy for the Senegalese. It is a dramatic, hill-top celebration of the African family. ( I will try to upload photos in the Canary Islands.) It was built at the cost of 85 billion Senegal-CFA francs. Exchange rate today: $1 US is equal to 490 francs. The controversy is about the expenditure of that amount of money in a country with so many people who do not have enough food to eat.

Sea day 2 of 4

This is our second sea day out of the four we will have crossing the Atlantic between Barbados and the Cape Verde Islands, our next port of call. The weather was perfect today with bright sunshine, force 5 winds and small swells so we spent most of the day outdoors.  There are so many places for passengers to be on the Prinsendam that we often feel as if we are the only ones onboard.

Most mornings we have breakfast and lunch on the aft deck outside of the Lido (buffet) under a large canvas canopy providing shade and shelter when there are light rains.  The tables are set for four people, but we usually eat alone.  The setting reminds me a little of being on the back deck on Tahitian Princess (now renamed Ocean Princess) except that was always crowded with people sharing tables out of necessity

We were quite late for breakfast again. For some reason we are not waking up until around 9:30. Since second seating for dinner in the La Fontaine Dining Room is not until 8:00, we still have time for lunch. Can’t miss a meal, you know. At lunch today, we enjoyed the company of Dave and Barb, fellow Cruise Critic members, talking about past cruises and upcoming ports.

In between meals we spent some time forward on Deck 9, standing at the rail watching flying fish jump out of the water and take to the air for many yards before splashing back into a wave. Before and after lunch we spent time sun bathing at the pool reached through the Spa. There were lectures and a movie today but with eating and talking to people and a snooze in the sunshine we didn’t get to do anything indoors.

I enjoy reading about the nautical details of the Prinsendam’s voyage on our Captain Albert Schoonderbeek’s blog.  He writes about the things I know nothing about, such as picking up the pilot, plotting our course by great circle or other route, negotiating the currents and rocks in channels, and other maritime matters.

Martinique

The ship docked right at the town which is always more pleasant than tendering ashore.  From the docking place it was a very long walk along the pier to the street, but the day was perfect for walking that distance and much further. On the way we passed a merry-go-round with primitive, hand-made horses and other animals to ride. Our main purpose today was getting Internet access that didn’t feel like a ticking meter. We found free Wi-Fi at McDonald’s so I was able to upload photos to the blog and catch up on email.

French is the official language and English spoken less than in many tourist areas. I did get to practice a little bit, trying to retrieve French words. I know they are still in there somewhere, but they were not even close to the tip of my tongue. Of course, toilet is sort of a universal word now, so the most essential matters were taken care of without difficulty.

The place most interesting to me was the market. The building it was in was substantial with a roof and may have covered an entire block. It reminded me of the market in Papetee, Tahiti.The colors were amazing and I don’t know if I will use the photo, but one vendor wore an enormous hat decorated with plastic fruits and vegetables. The things for sale were not for tourists. The goods ranged from perfect tomatoes by the grocery cart full to clothing to local whole and ground spices. There were also bottles that appeared to be flavored local alcoholic brews.

This was also our first try at using the self-service laundry on the ship. This afternoon turned out to be a great time to check it out. Nearly all of the washers and dryers were available and much to our surprise everything was free.

St. Patrick’s Day is being celebrated onboard as a major event with decorations everywhere and people wearing green clothes, silly hats, and shamrock eyeglasses. I never seem to have anything green to wear but another passenger gave me a little green shamrock that will have to do.

As the sun set, there was a rainbow, no doubt leading to a pot of gold left by Leprechauns. Tomorrow we will be in Barbados and then we will be several days crossing the Atlantic to West Africa.

St. Bart's

People kept telling us that Holland America’s World Cruises and Grand Voyages are more special than a regular cruise and I am beginning to understand what they mean. We have received a lovely gift each evening: a leather-bound diary, a canvas bag, a canvas bag lined with plastic for beaches. I wonder if we will receive a gift again tonight.

There has also been a lot of champagne flowing. First at the welcome aboard and sail-away, then the Captain’s party, and another cocktail party yesterday. Looks as if this will be the first day without champagne.

Our first port of call, St. Bart’s, is a small wonderful Caribbean island, apparently quite popular with billionaires judging from the yachts in the harbor and Hermes, Prada and other elegant shops lining the streets. It is a good town for walking with Shell Beach being about a mile from the tender pier. The beach consists of small and broken pieces of shell up to the turquoise water. The people were friendly and several teen-aged people greeted us in English as their school let out for mid-day recess.

The Anglican Church is a local landmark on the way to Shell Beach from the tender pier.

The most important thing about today is that I finally got the name of our ship right. We are on the HAL Prinsendam not the Prisendam. As we left the ship on the tender to St. Bart’s I looked at the name on the ship and finally saw that it has two of the letter “n”.

Another French island tomorrow: Guadaloupe.

PS

No photos yet. I keep getting server error messages. Sorry but will keep trying.

Embarkation Day

The ride to the port went so fast we almost drove past the exit from I-95. Then things slowed down. Apparently there were problems on the dock in addition to there being nine ships leaving Port Everglades at about the same time. We stood in a long line to check-in in spite of a very efficient process but everyone was happy and chatting so the time passed quickly. Then on board for our first cruise on Holland America Line’s Prisendam.

The ship is small at about 38,000 tons and there are only just over a thousand people onboard. It annoys me that the count is usually only passengers ignoring the ship’s crew and staff who make the journey possible, safe and pleasant, so that number is the total number of humans. Our cabin seemed small at first but after our cabin steward, Augustus, removed our five empty suitcases, the cabin felt larger. Everything is now put away and the room is beginning to feel like home.

We decided to try late seating for dinner this cruise since the itinerary is so port intensive. That was already a good decision because at the early seating time we were at the Sea View Bar with people from the Cruise Critic roll call and another couple and we didn’t want to leave. The weather was nice, the welcome aboard drinks were free, and I saw the green flash as the sun set.

The ship left a bit late as all of the supplies on the dock were finally aboard. We sailed past the high rises between the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean with the Bon Voyage wishes of the people in the houses and condos along the way flashing lights, blowing air horns, and waving.

Now we are ready to check out the Lido for breakfast.

The most important news is that the rumors were true about the change in ports. Calls in Egypt are cancelled and are replaced with an overnight in Ashdod, Israel and a stop at Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Itinerary Changes

Rumor has it that the calls in Egypt have been canceled. I was pretty sure that they would be, but it will be good to hear it for certain. And I was telling everyone that I wanted to go to Dubrovnik and another day in Israel would be nice. That is exactly what the changes are rumored to be. Now I just have to scramble to get information about Dubrovnik and see what can be done about the tour from Ashdod.

Counting down to sailing

The list is slowly getting checked off but the pace of checking off had better accelerate. We now have two days before we leave. We have to pack! Yikes! Do we ever have to pack. I hope that our previous long cruises will really make packing for 62 days easy. Today we tested empty suitcases in the car to make sure that there is room for us, a driver, and 5 suitcases for the 2 of us. They fit but with no room to spare. Fortunately we have only a 45 minute ride to the port since the way the bags fit is with 2 large bags on the back seat between us.

The only decisions I have made so far are about the clothes for formal nights. There will be nine formal nights and I had no trouble choosing which dresses to take with me this time. The ship is usually so cold at night that I end up trying to keep warm by wearing a jacket or a shawl anyway.

While we were in Key Largo with my brother yesterday, I found a pair of water shoes in the Pennekamp State Park store so my shopping is complete. The snorkeling (for my brother) was excellent and J and I enjoyed sitting on the beach, eating at the picnic tables, soaking up the sun.

Today I read the news that Costa Cruises has dropped calls in Tunisia, Israel, and Alexandria, Egypt through the end of the year. There was also violence in Alexandria which resulted in 14 dead and over 100 injured according to one report. Although some cruise lines have canceled calls in Egypt, we still have no word about our calls in Alexandria and Port Said.

Today I stumbled upon something that gave me another reason to look forward to being on the ship. A few years ago, while on a cruise, I watched the performance of Livewire: A Whirlwind of Music and Celtic Spirit. After the performance I wanted one of their CD's but I didn't buy one. So the next day I went to the shop on the ship to see if I could purchase one there. The shop did have them, but when performers leave the ship they take their CD's with them and Livewire was gone as were their CD's. I searched online for them with only the name since that was all I could recall,  but there was a more famous group named Livewire and I was not able to find the group I was searching for.

Since this was our first time sailing on a Holland America Line ship, our travel agent had given us some of the daily publications from his last cruise with HAL. One of the performances was by Livewire and the listing included the Whirlwind description, so, of course, with that additional information I had no trouble locating their website. And this is the surprise part, Livewire will perform on the Prisendam in April while we are onboard. I will be first in line this time to purchase a CD.

 You can check them out. And no comments about my taste in music! I like a wide variety of simple music.

More last minute details tomorrow and packing for sure.

Where am I? Who am I? What am I doing?

First question: Where am I? As often as possible I am on a cruise ship traveling the world. In the past, I have blogged  about our travels and tried to upload photos as well. I say tried because the Internet connection on a ship is much slower than we are used to and I can't wait for photos to upload. This time I plan to take a flash drive and try Internet Cafes thanks to JW's suggestion.

Right now we are between cruises. Last week we were on the Crown Princess in the Western Caribbean with family. In two weeks we will be on the Holland America Prisendam for the Grand Africa and Mediterranean Voyage for 62 days. It will be our first cruise with HAL and we will be missing our loyalty perks from Princess and Cunard, like free Internet and laundry. But the itinerary is outstanding, with calls in many countries we have not been to as well as a stop in Syracuse, Italy. As long time residents of Syracuse NY, we are looking forward to visiting the Italian city of the same name. You will also see below that we may not be stopping as scheduled in Egypt, Morocco, Israel... Who knows at this point how stable the region will be by the time we arrive in the area.

Day             Date             Port                        

0             12 Mar 2011             Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US                        

1             13 Mar 2011             At Sea                        

2             14 Mar 2011             At Sea                        

3             15 Mar 2011             Gustavia (St. Barts), France            

4             16 Mar 2011             Terre-de-Haut, Guadeloupe           

5             17 Mar 2011             Fort-De-France, Martinique           

6             18 Mar 2011             Bridgetown, Barbados             

7             19 Mar 2011             At Sea                        

8             20 Mar 2011             At Sea                        

9             21 Mar 2011             At Sea                        

10             22 Mar 2011             At Sea                        

11             23 Mar 2011             Mindelo, Cape Verde            

12             24 Mar 2011             At Sea                        

13             25 Mar 2011             Banjul, Gambia            

14             26 Mar 2011             Dakar, Senegal            

15             27 Mar 2011             At Sea                        

16             28 Mar 2011             At Sea                        

17             29 Mar 2011             Santa Cruz (Tenerife), Spain                       

18             30 Mar 2011             Santa Cruz (Tenerife), Spain                         

19             31 Mar 2011             Arrecife, Canary Islands             

20             01 Apr 2011             Agadir, Morocco 

21             02 Apr 2011             Casablanca, Morocco             

22             03 Apr 2011             At Sea                        

23             04 Apr 2011             Cartagena, Spain             

24             05 Apr 2011             Mahon, Spain              

25             06 Apr 2011             At Sea                        

26             07 Apr 2011             La Spezia, Italy 

27             08 Apr 2011             Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy            

28             09 Apr 2011             Lipari, Italy 

29             10 Apr 2011             Syracuse, Italy 

30             11 Apr 2011             At Sea                        

31             12 Apr 2011             Kotor, Montenegro 

32             13 Apr 2011             Split, Croatia 

33             14 Apr 2011             Venice, Italy             

34             15 Apr 2011             Venice, Italy                         

35             16 Apr 2011             Ravenna (San Marino), Italy             

36             17 Apr 2011             At Sea                        

37             18 Apr 2011             At Sea                        

38             19 Apr 2011             Alexandria (Cairo), Egypt            

39             20 Apr 2011             Port Said, Egypt             

40             21 Apr 2011             Ashdod (Jerusalem), Israel             

41             22 Apr 2011             Haifa, Israel             

42             23 Apr 2011             At Sea                        

43             24 Apr 2011             Bodrum, Turkey             

44             25 Apr 2011             Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey            

45             26 Apr 2011             Piraeus (Athens), Greece             

46             27 Apr 2011             Monemvasia, Greece 

47             28 Apr 2011             Katakolon, Greece             

48             29 Apr 2011             At Sea                        

49             30 Apr 2011             Cagliari, Italy 

50             01 May 2011             At Sea                        

51             02 May 2011             Motril, Spain             

52             03 May 2011             Cadiz (Seville), Spain             

53             04 May 2011             At Sea                        

54             05 May 2011             Funchal (Madeira), Portugal             

55             06 May 2011             At Sea                        

56             07 May 2011             At Sea                        

57             08 May 2011             At Sea                        

58             09 May 2011             At Sea                        

59             10 May 2011             At Sea                        

60             11 May 2011             At Sea                        

61             12 May 2011             At Sea                        

62             13 May 2011             Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US           

The other questions will have to wait until another day - or month.