…especially conversation. While Dublin has many fine sights it’s the conversation that attracts me, the storytelling in word and music. When I saw the sign on the barbershop (above) I almost went in for a haircut even though I didn’t … Continue reading Cuts and Conversation…
Ireland is going to the polls this month and Dublin is strewn with posters for every sort of candidate and for one referendum issue. All of Europe is voting for members of the European Parliament. Further Dublin appears to be … Continue reading Diversity of Views and Style
The Town of Tobermory seems to be built upside down. The High Street runs along the waterfront and the other streets sit above it on a hill. In since the turn of the century High Street has been inundated during … Continue reading Upside Down, Tobermory
Helen was the last baby born in the Hospital on the Isle of Skye before they closed the maternity ward. And Helen is a young woman now. She’s our cabdriver on Skye. Today, expectant mothers now have to drive three … Continue reading The Isles of the Blest (Skye)
When we first decided to take this cruise I messaged my Facebook Friend Catherine. Her people are from the same town in Ireland that my people are from, Greencastle County Donegal. She found me while Googling, I think, a great … Continue reading A Tardis and a Traffic Cone.
… sounds like an oxymoron but Glasgow Cathedral is Presbyterian. It started as Catholic, a dark early Gothic building. The first cathedral on this site was dedicated in 1136. It was destroyed in a fire in 1197 and the current … Continue reading A Presbyterian Cathedral…
We had intended to travel to St. Davids on our own, using the bus system through Pembrokeshire. But Fishguard is a tender port and the seas were fairly big so it took a long time to disembark. They had to … Continue reading A liner returns to Fishguard.
Truro is the County Seat of Cornwall. It’s also the county’s cathedral town. Truro Cathedral is not ancient but an example of Victorian Gothic Revival. The Architect said that when people went in, he wanted them to drop to their … Continue reading Truro Mambo
Some sail-ins are spectacular for their natural beauty, Rio and Vancouver come to mind. Some sail-ins have wonderous cityscapes, New York or Sydney. Sailing across the bar into the Fal River to Falmouth is not spectacular, it is gentle, it … Continue reading A Pretty Town, Falmouth. Cornwall.
The English Channel has some of the widest tidal ranges in the world, ranging to 40 feet. Sea farers have to have different strategies to deal with these tides. In Jersey some harbors are open to the sea and the … Continue reading Tides in the English Channel.
Right now we are sailing in some rough seas. We were supposed to leave Falmouth at 6:00PM but the Captain ordered all on board at 4:00 so he could get around Land’s End to beat a storm. But after we … Continue reading The Beaufort Scale and Jersey’s Public Art.
I was flying back from an assignment in Turkey in June 2016. I follow the route of the plane on the monitor attached to the back of the seat in front of me as I read my book. I saw … Continue reading Quick Before It Melts: A Cruise Blog
I listen into other’s conversations. I can’t help it, it’s part of my reporter’s training, just like I scan the desk of anyone’s office I walk into, the walls as well, what types of pictures, awards, souvenirs or sports memorabilia … Continue reading Cruise Coda
According to Lonely Planet Isafjordur in the Westfjord country is best known for its folk museum and for a tunnel that has a “T” intersection in the middle. One part of the T goes to the town of Sudureri and … Continue reading Waterfalls, Tunnels and Sustainable Fisheries.
We berthed in Akureuri, which styles itself “The Capital of the North.” Akureuri, Iceland’s second city, sits at the head of the Eyjafjorur, a 60 mile long arm of water reaching into the interior of Iceland from the Arctic Ocean. … Continue reading Where North America and Europe Drift Apart
You approach Eskifjordur by sailing down the Reydarfjord until you see a big aluminum smelter. A small fjord, Eskifjord, branches off to the starboard. At the end of that small fjord you see some gleaming white fuel tanks. This is … Continue reading Aluminium and Fish, Eskifjordur, Iceland,
Torshavn, Faroe Islands, August 21, 2017: Holland America assured us that they loved whales but wanted to warn us. “Holland America expressly disassociates itself from whaling. We cannot control the cultural of the areas of the world to which we … Continue reading Torshavn, Faroe Islands.
We are onboard and underway, on our cruise to Iceland and Greenland. But we weren’t sure that this would happen. I had complications from surgery the week before we left for Amsterdam and I didn’t get clearance from the docs … Continue reading Rising to Sea Level, the North Sea Canal.
March 16, 2015, Sitka, Alaska How could this be my 75th post for a 68 day cruise? OK, one post was anticipation and this one is a coda, written after we got home but still… I averaged more than one … Continue reading Coda, Prinsendam Grand South America & Antarctica Voyage
February 28, Manaus, Brazil It’s a pleasant anachronism. The Manaus Opera House (Theater of the Amazon) was built by the Rubber Barons at the end of the 19th century. The house is decadent; angels, theatrical masks, a painted curtain and … Continue reading A Pleasant Anachronism or Nintindo in the Jungle.
February 23, 2015 Sailing around the eastern hump of Brazil We are just coming off of 5 ports in 5 days. Everyone thinks this is too much. The ports tend to merge into one another. It’s easy to fall into … Continue reading Thoughts on a Sea Day
February 22, 2015 Natal, Brazil Poor Natal. This is the fifth port day in a row and we were low on energy. Natal has huge sand dunes. Some took dune buggy trips. We watched the dunes as we sailed by … Continue reading Missed the Giant Cashew Tree, Got the Chocolate Pizza
February 21, 2015 Recife Brazil What you notice first in sailing into Recife (which means “reef’ in Portuguese, it’s surrounded by them) is what looks like a giant asparagus. It sits there looking, I think, kind of silly. When I … Continue reading Asparagus and the Birth of New York’s Jewish Community
February 21, 2015 Olinda, Brazil Olinda is a UNESCO World Heritage Site six kilometers from Recife. It was on high ground and so would be easier to defend than Reciefe, so the Portuguese thought. They were wrong. The Dutch took … Continue reading Oh Linda! It’s Not a Doo Wop Song