Our next port of call was A Coruna, Spain, and Tom and I had a shore excursion to Lugo. A Coruna looked like an interesting place to explore. It had a castle and a Roman lighthouse, but Tom and I wanted to see the Roman Wall in Lugo. Shortly after arriving in A Coruna, we …
From May 2024
Towel Animal Orgami Onboard
One of the things Tom and I enjoy about cruising is the towel animal orgami that greets us when we get back to our stateroom in the evenings. Tom and I usually head out to supper about 6 and then to the evening show at 7:30. So we are generally gone from 6 to 8:30. …
Gibraltar, Gateway to the Mediterannean
Tom has really looked forward to going to Gibraltar, ever since we first looked at this particular cruise possibility. In fact, when I showed him the iternary and suggested going, he was all in, just because of the one port. Gibraltar has enormous strategic importance for the British, and he spends a lot of time …
Arrecife de Lanzarote, Canary Islands
Our third stop in the Canary Islands was the city of Arrecife on the island of Lanzarote. Lanzarote is the easternmost of the Canary Islands about 80 miles west of Morrocco. The island is the driest in the Canary Islands with rainfall, on average, only sixteen days a year. The rest of the year is …
Caldera de Bandama de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands
After two days of exploring cities on our own, Tom and I were ready for a different adventure. We booked a shore excursion that took us up to Caldera de Bandama for a hike. Caldera de Bandama is part of the Bandama Natural Monument. It took us about an hour to ride our bus up …
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
The day after our wonderful visit to Funchal, Tom and I were off the ship exploring Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary Islands. People in Europe go to the Canary Islands for vacation the way people in the United States go to the Caribbean. There were 16 million visitors to the Canary Islands in …
Funchal, Capital of Madeira, Portugal
Our first port on this part of our cruise was the city of Funchal, Capital of the Island of Madeira, Portugal. We had a perfect day for our visit. As a bonus, it was Freedom Day, kind of like our 4th of July. On the one hand, Freedom Day meant that many buisnesses and museums …
Watching the Sea Change and the World Go By
One of the things that Tom and I have really enjoyed during our cruise is watching the sea change and the world go by. The ocean is as hypnotic as a fire. It changes from moment to moment. The color, the waves, the peaks of the waves. The ocean is different on sunny days than …
Changes in Clientele onboard Nieuw Statendam
The clientele onboard ship changed in Rotterdam. When we docked in Rotterdam, we were at the end of our first two-week cruise. Tom and I are on the ship for two months, so technically we are doing four back-to-back cruises. But each of the two weeks has a distinct itinerary, so it seems right that …