Author Archive

lisbon to palermo cruise, august, 2023

Posted by on February 10th, 2024

Trying a new cruise line, Swan Hellenic, we flew to Lisbon and boarded the SH Diana for a cruise with stops in Portimao, Seville, Tangier, Oran, Algiers, Bejaia, Annaba, Tunis and ending in Palermo, Sicily. The weather in Seville was brutally hot but once we were along the coast, temperatures were more tolerable. The stops in Algeria were the prime reason for this cruise, as Alan’s father had served in the Navy in WWII and his ship had stopped in Algeria. The photo album is online for viewing.

monaco to rome cruise, june, 2022

Posted by on February 10th, 2024

Our first post-COVID cruise took us from Monaco to Rome with stops in St. Tropez, Barcelona, Cartagena, Melilla, Alicante, Valetta, Sicily and Pompeii. We extended the trip a couple of days to visit Florence and Pisa. One new pin in the map (Melilla, a Spanish enclave on the coast of Morocco), two for Alan (Melilla and Monaco). The photo album is online for your enjoyment.

Finishing the Lower 48, Boundary Peak, NV

Posted by on August 8th, 2021

I completed my goal of finishing the lower 48 State highpoints. There was some cost, as I slipped on some ball-bearing gravel on the way down, fell and broke two ribs. Those will heal. The trip report is online.

Papeete to Aukland Cruise, November, 2018

Posted by on November 30th, 2018

We spent two weeks on the Holland America M/S Maasdam, cruising from Papeete, Tahiti, to Aukland, New Zealand.  Rough seas prevented tender disembarkation on the Cook Islands and Niue, but we did land on Tonga as well as revisiting Tahiti, Fiji and New Zealand.  The photo album is online for your viewing pleasure.

West Africa Cruise, April, 2018

Posted by on May 1st, 2018

We spent the last two weeks of April on a Silversea cruise from Tema (Accra), Ghana, up the west coast of Africa, ending in Lisbon, Portugal.  In addition to Ghana, the cruise visited Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Sierra Leone, Senegal, the Gambia,  Western Sahara and Morocco.  The photo album is posted for your enjoyment.

Norway to Canada Cruise, September, 2017

Posted by on November 1st, 2017

In September, we flew to Bergen, Norway and boarded the Viking Sky.  The ship sailed to the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland, Newfoundland and up the St. Lawrence to Montreal.  The photo album is posted for your enjoyment.

Namibia, Zimbabwe and Botswana Tour

Posted by on May 23rd, 2017

We recently took a SmarTours trip to southern Africa, visiting Namibia, Zimbabwe and Botswana, plus a quick walk across the bridge into Zambia (giving us a fourth pin to put into the map). The photo album is online for your viewing pleasure.

Once again, SmarTours came through with an interesting itinerary, good accommodations and an eclectic group of fellow travelers. This was our seventh SmarTours trip and we recommend them for price and quality.

Bali to Singapore Cruise

Posted by on April 15th, 2017

In February, 2017, we flew to Bali, Indonesia and cruised from there to Komodo, the Philippines, Brunei, Kota Kinabalu and Singapore. The album is posted for your enjoyment.

Papua New Guinea Cruise

Posted by on April 15th, 2017

Catching up on photo albums. Here is the album from our trip in January, 2016, to Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, New Britain and Vanuatu.

Star Flyer Cruise

Posted by on December 27th, 2015

Over Thanksgiving week, we flew to Panama City, Panama and boarded the Star Flyer for a cruise that transited the Panama Canal from Pacific to Caribbean and then sailed north to San Andres, Providencia and dropped us off at Grand Cayman. (The European and Canadian passengers continued on to Cuba.) The ship is small and intimate, with about 150 passengers on this itinerary. Sailing close to the wind, and with a cabin far forward in the bow, the ride was a bit rough but the opportunity to be on a sailing vessel was worth the extra effort of hanging on. The photo album is online for your viewing pleasure.