We’ve been on the ship two weeks. Most cruises will have ended by now. We’ve just started, still establishing the rhythm of a long cruise, shedding the tensions of packing, air travel and the holidays. We are ending our first … Continue reading Sea Interludes (first movement)
In Sitka I walk most days. I walk because, Penny, the Public Health Nurse told me I needed to. I went into the “Backdoor” coffee shop (The backdoor of the local bookstore) and announced that I would walk every day … Continue reading Shadows on Teak
Pete wrote, in his blog “The Inside Cabin,” (theinsidecabin.com) about his briefcase of good intentions. The things he planned do on sea days that never get done. For him it is catching up on reading books. That is also one … Continue reading Devices
In the Panama City’s old city there are a lot of murals. Some depict local heroes like boxer Roberto Druan or Salsa and Latin Jazz master Ruben Blades (who is also a politician and former minister of tourism.) Some depict … Continue reading Pictures on a Wall in Panama
A few blog posts ago I made fun of Potemkin Jamacia, a cruise port made to look like the real port, only cleaned up and safe. Visitors like old towns, especially when they are neat, clean and freshly painted. Our … Continue reading Two Faces of Panama
We have never actually been in Panama City’s new town, but we’ve seen it three times from three perspectives, from the deck of a ship, from the causeway connecting it with the cruise port, and from the perspective of the … Continue reading Panama City, From a Distance
… is probably the best know palindrome in the English language. I had to get it in. We’ve sailed through the Panama Canal three times and each time it brings wonder at what people and our technology could do 110 … Continue reading A Man, A Plan, A Canal, Panama
With all travel it is the unexpected that delights, the deviations from plan that make a trip special. After transiting the Panama Canal (I will get to that post later when I have time to sort through 300 exposures) we … Continue reading Martyrs’ Night Out
…Sloth’s do. Sloths are slow moving animals. They live on leaves with very low energy content, so they have adapted to conserve energy. On a hot and humid day in Porto Limon Suzi and I decided to take a lesson … Continue reading When in Costa Rica do as the…
I once wrote a satire “Potemkin Sitka.” I proposed we build an artificial Sitka on a nearby island for tourists to visit. That way the chains like Diamonds International could own a piece of the town, it could attract the … Continue reading Potemkin Jamaica
It was me! … and everyone else on the ship, including the guy who delivered 5 more gallons of distilled water to our cabin. First there was no distilled water for medical devices now I have more than I can … Continue reading Who Was That Masked Man Anyway?
It’s hard to sail into the sunset when you are on the East Coast. But today we sailed away from Fort Lauderdale and away from the sunset, at sunset. Boarding was not as much as a problem as we anticipated … Continue reading Sailing Away From the Sunset
Here are the posts from this year’s cruise, so far! Please keep checking back for more. Am I Excited Yet? Sailing Away from the Sunset. Potemkin Jamaica When in Costa Rica do as the … Martyr’s Night Out. A Man, … Continue reading 2023 Grand World Voyage, MS Zuiderdam!
My kids used to say our family never took vacations, we took field trips. I always planned out things to see, what books we should read while seeing them, and discussions about where we were going, where we were and … Continue reading Am I Excited Yet?
This is the final post in my Sitka Winter series. It is designed to allow me to carry home with me wherever we travel on this next adventure. It is winter shots from all along the 14 miles of Sitka’s … Continue reading Winter Scenes Along the Road
Wintertime Alpenglow is special. Because of the late sunrise (Just before 9 AM) and the early sunset (Just after 3 PM) I am up to see it on both ends. The snow is also further down on the mountains giving … Continue reading Winter Alpenglow
Sitka has many microclimates along its 14-mile road season. Even a few hundred feet of altitude or distance from the ocean makes a difference. And even along the ocean there are differences. As you approach Starrigavan Bay it gets colder, … Continue reading Winter at the End of the Road.
Winter in Sitka is a season the tourists don’t see. They often ask us “What do you do in the winter?” We smile and think about … Continue reading Winter on the Totem Trail
Sometimes I am out and about when the sun sets especially in December when it sets just after 3 PM. Fortunately I have a new iPhone 13 pro so I always have a reasonable camera with me. These are sunset … Continue reading Out and About When The Sun Goes Down.
Suzi and I are skipping the rest of the winter. We’ll attempt to complete the circumnavigation we started in 2020 when our world cruise was interrupted in Australia, and we were sent packing back to Sitka and quarantine and then … Continue reading Winter Sunsets From My Perch
My son, Brian, and I went out Sawmill Creek Road past the old mill site to look at the half mile where a wall of ice sometimes forms. It was not as continuous as it was when Suzi and I … Continue reading Winter Wall 2.0
I’ve played Santa on several occasions; I have the beard and physique to pull it off. While I enjoyed it, I was somewhat put off by the greed displayed by some of the kids who sat on my lap when … Continue reading Claus for the Cause
Sometimes Sitka surprises me, even having lived here for more than 40 years. A week or so ago I was driving and walking along Sawmill Creek Road, beyond the old mill site, across the Sawmill Creek Bridge, heading for Herring … Continue reading Winter Wall
After the deluge of political mail last cycle I vowed to count each piece of political mail I got this year and report back. This report is late because we’ve had incredibly beautiful winter weather. Walks and taking pics trump … Continue reading Political Junk.