Travels With Keith and Kathy

Voyage of the Vikings, Day 36 - Homecoming

2009-08-29T13:40:00.003-04:00

Keith is up at 4am, anxious to see our night approach to Boston, worried about visibility in a light rain.

Topsides at 4:30, coffee in hand. Didn't see anybody in the lounge, but a voice called out when I turned out the lights, saying it made it difficult to read. Rude Keith told him that there are numerous other lighted spaces to read by a window, but only one observation lounge. He apparently didn't know where to turn the lights back on, nor to engage in fisticuffs, so bad Keith prevailed.

Other early risers soon arrived, and we spent a glorious hour watching the lighted shoreline approach from the darkened Crow's Nest, whilst Mr. Grump continued to make nasty comments. Keith went out in the rain to take a few pictures, but they didn't turn out real well, as I am sure you can see.

Our Approach to Boston Harbor

Boston By The Dawn’s Early Light i.e.,

The New England Power Grid

Keith descended at 6, when we were firmly tied to the dock, to bring Kathy Coffee and to do the final packing. Up for breakfast at 7am. We have scheduled a 9:30 departure, to give Jennifer time for a decent sleep before arising to drive into Boston to pick us up. We hope we don't get tangled up in traffic from the Kennedy funeral. Our only remaining obligations before debarking are to finish breakfast, to go through shipboard customs, to collect all of our carry-on luggage from the stateroom, to cross the gangplank to the terminal, to find our checked luggage in a large pile, to exit the terminal building with carry-on and checked luggage in hand, and to find our Kindly driver, and Turo. Sounds simple, don't it?

A Leisurely Last Breakfast

The Perpetual Blogger Makes One Last Entry

at 7:30am, Eating and Waiting.

8:am announcement: "Please do not congregate in the stairways or around the gangway. It is creating a safety issue."

8:15am, and they are out of Danish. Outrageous!

10am, through customs and ashore, waiting for our Turo.

Walking the Gangplank, Exiting the Ship

Home At Last

10:15, in the car with all our luggage, glad to see our kids. Jennifer asked if we were glad to be on dry land. The answer is no, but we are glad to see her and Turo. In the best of all possible worlds, she and Turo, and the rest of the family, should re board for another 35 days on the high seas.

It would be nice to say that we are on the way home to relax for a few days, but family obligations intervene, so we are on our way to to Nancy's house for a family get together. Tomorrow we relax, and start editing out journals. Unless something comes up, that is...

Voyage of the Vikings, Day 35 - At Sea, Bound for Boston

2009-08-28T13:25:00.003-04:00

Up late, at 7:30 (6:30 after setting the clock back. Continuing to steam for Boston at 14 knots. Skies overcast (a for-runner of hurricane Dennis, or just local weather?), wind somewhere at 8 knots. Calm sea, the kind we prayed for on summer weekends in southern New England.

I didn't catch our geologist speaker's pitch a few days ago on Inuit culture, so I watched a bit of it on channel 29 before going up for first breakfast.

8am, relaxing in the Lido over a cup of coffee, while reviewing our shipboard account. Prior to embarkation each passenger must register a valid credit card. The cruise company immediately places a $1000 hold on this card, to cover anticipated shipboard charges.

It's hard to believe how we could accumulate over $1100 in charges, just sitting watching the world spin by. Most of it ($770) is the $22 per day daily gratuity for the help. Why this is levied as a separate charge, instead of being built into the overhead, is a mystery to me. Tradition, I guess. Most of the rest is Kathy's daily drink, plus a few miscellaneous charges such as SD cards and Internet service.

It's a constant battle to keep from charging stuff to the room. They make is so easy! The most egregious example is the opportunity to charge as much as $1000 per day in the casino. I haven't investigated their policy, but it is my guess that they check your registered credit card limit at embarkation, and cut your gambling off at that limit. I must report that Kathy has been scrupulously careful about this booby trap. It's not easy for her, because she loves to gamble so much.

8:30 and the southern tip of Nova Scotia is in view on the far horizon.

1pm. Our morning was filled with fun activities like a disembarkation lecture, and a session on backing up and sorting photos.

Room Boys Displaying Towel Creatures

Deck Crew Wishing Us a Fond Farewell

Proper Way To Fold A Napkin

(What Everyone Needs To Know) NOT!

Wind is variable at 3 knots, seas placid. This is the calmest I have seen on this trip. The skies have cleared for a bit, so Keith ran out and took a photo.

“Blue Skies, Nothing But Blue Skies, Do I See”

Lunch was a mixed theme buffet by the pool, featuring carved lamb accompanied by a diversity of ethnic dishes. All topped off with an excellent blackberry - blueberry crumble, a la mode.

The kitchen staff also displayed their creative and artistic talents with food.

Eiffel Tower Crafted With White Chocolate

Bread Artist Displays His Masterpiece

Bread Animals

Fruit Artists Display Their Skills

This Watermelon Looks Just Too Good To Eat

Our captain was just on to announce that Denny has spluttered out, and is no longer a hurricane. Our next question is, will we be able to get home before it rains.

This afternoon promises to be the most fun we have had so far. It's time to pack. Our luggage must be outside the cabin by 1am tonight. Not wishing to stay up that late, we shall pack this afternoon, except for the carry-ons.

4pm, all packed, and in the Crow’s Nest for Kathy's daily double. Except it won't be a double today, since we are not in port. Must run. Kathy is expecting me to play cards and chitchat with her, and she is worth the effort.

7pm, our last supper aboard is done, and Keith is showered & in bed. Kathy is in the library puzzling, and e-mailing. We are meeting the pilot boat at 4:30am tomorrow morning. Keith hopes to be in the Crow's Nest for the sail-in. I hope it's not raining. The weather here, 130 miles east of Boston, is starting to cloud over and look threatening. Wind is still light at 8, so the ride continues smooth.

Stay tuned.

Voyage of the Vikings, Day 34 At Sea, Bypassing St. Pierre, bound for Boston

2009-08-27T10:53:00.004-04:00

Awake briefly at 2am. The boat is moving about a bit. Channel 40 says the wind is blowing out of the south at 40 (again), on our port beam. We are proceeding west ar 14 knots. I thought we were through with this nonsense!

5:30am, showered and waiting Danish at 6. I am anxious to watch our approach to St. Pierre.

In the Lido Awaiting 6am Donuts

6:01am, in the Crow's Nest, alone. It's pitch black outside. The GPS says sunrise is 6:58am. The interior lights are dimmed, but there is enough artificial light to completely destroy night vision. Oh well, daylight can't be that far off.

We are still almost two hours from port, and there is a good book to listen to. I am currently listening to a series of Teaching Company lectures, on the history (not the content) of Darwinian theory.

Surprise! Kathy is awake and has joined me for the arrival in the Crow’s Nest.

7:45am ABORT! ABORT! ABORT!

Our morning advisory group is sitting in the Crow's Nest watching our supposed approach on the GPS, when it became obvious that we were sailing away from, not toward St. Pierre. David is the first to make note of this.

At 8am, our intrepid captain came on the PA to announce a strikeout. First strike, dense fog. Second strike, a broken down pilot boat and no pilot. Third strike, a combination of 40 knot breeze and substandard dockage which is judged inadequate to securely hold this vessel in this breeze.

We Bypass St.Pierre Harbor in the Fog

Since there is no port and few scheduled activities today (it was supposed to be a port day), we thought this would be a good point to include some shots of our room.

Our Boudoir, With Excellent Mattress

Foggy Day View From Our Cabin Window

Sitting Area, Where We Dump All our Stuff

Desk and TV Monitor Where Cable Appeared Sporadically

Ship Navigation Information Was on Channel 40, 24/7

Keith Takes His Own Photograph in The Necessary Room

Deeply Set Bathing Facilities

Are Challenging for Us Shorties

Commodious Closet Space, Sufficient For All the Clothes Kathy Brought

We currently are on a course for Boston, hi-tailing it at 20+ mph. We are trying to beat Hurricane Denny to port.

Room TV Monitor Shows Ship Position and Course

11am, still boosting 20+ knots, straight for Boston. We were informed earlier about hurricane Denny, lurking off the US east coast, and threatening to move north. I believe our intrepid captain may be trying to make port early, Friday night instead of Saturday morning, to avoid a schedule delay. I'm told that one thing HAL doesn’t mess with, schedule-wise, is turnaround day. Fine by me, as long as we don't get kicked off early. Kathy is disappointed. She was looking forward to getting off in France.

4:45pm in the Crow's Nest, looking for Nova Scotia on the starboard. Beautiful sunny day. Wind is down to 25, on the port beam, but we now are sheltered in the lee of Cape Breton Island, so we have a smooth ride. Two downsized drinks for the price of one full size drink.

Kathy in the Crow’s Nest For the Last Hurrah

Choppy Seas Homeward Bound

The captain announced we will be docking in Boston at 4am Saturday, just a tad early. The approach in the dark should be spectacular. It will seem plus strange to awake to corn flakes Sunday morning.

Formal dinner 5:30 to 7:30. Escargo was on the menu, as well as baked Alaska. Kathy wanted both. I believe she secretly wanted to dress up one more time. Curmudgeon Keith has warned her that he will be leaving the blazer ashore for our next cruise.

The Presentation of the Baked Alaska

Farewell From Our Chef

Who Apologized For an Ageing Vessel

Keith to bed at 8. Kathy out partying to 10.

Nite-nite.

Voyage of the Vikings, Day 33 - St. John's, Newfoundland

2009-08-26T10:12:00.005-04:00

Up at 5, crusing south at 17 knots (just about as fast as this tub will go), wind W at about 10, seas calm. Beautiful ride.

Shave, brush teeth, and dress, then stall around in the room 'till 6, when danish are served in the Lido. Up to the Crow's Nest at 6:01am, coffee and danish in hand. Just a glimmer of light on the eastern horizon to port, town lights in view ashore to starboard. Keith just loves this time of day!

Overnight Passage From St. Anthony to St. Johns

Map of St. John's Harbor

Sunrise Approaching St. John’s

We were an hour late departing St. Anthony yesterday, because of late tours. We hi-tailed it all night and didn’t slow down until about a mile off the entrance to the St. John's harbor, where we picked up the pilot boat, a bit past 7am, when we were supposed to be tied up in port.

Approaching St. John’s Harbor

Note Signal Hill Tower on Right

Close Up of Signal Hill Tower

Shot Over the Stern

View of St. John’s Harbor Channel

Photographed by K&K From Signal Hill in 2006

St. John’s Harbor, Photographed by K&K From Signal Hill in 2006

Proceeding Through The Narrows Into St. Johns Harbor

The entrance to the St. John's harbor is very impressive. It is a narrow opening in the hills, which debauches into a small but commodious harbor surround by the hills.

The town marches up the hill on the northwest side of the harbor. The architecture spans about three centuries, ranging from simple colonial homes, to late 18th century Victorian grandeur, to modern glass and steel.

Example of Colonial Architectures

Gingerbread Victorian Homes

Modern St. John Skyscraper

About a block or two from the harbor are two imposing granite churches.

St. John’s Abounds With Churches

Another Beautiful St. John’s Church

A Mix of Religious and Secular Buildings

Up the hill another block is a modern looking building (another church?) and two more granite buildings. One is a twin-tower church. The other looks like a 19th century municipal building.

Keith went down to breakfast about 7:30 to wait for Kathy, who showed up about 8:30. This gave Keith time to go out on the aft deck and take a few pictures before the sun disappeared.

Keith lingered over breakfast and the NYT crossword 'til 10:30.

N.Y. Times Puzzle Expert

Kathy went ashore briefly, seeking retail therapy, after which we met in the puzzle room. Kathy did what one does in puzzle rooms.

“The Puzzler”

Keith listened to the last chapters of the seventh Harry Potter book. He has read it previously, but he enjoyed s listening to good stories more than once.

There was excellent "crab" salad on the salad bar today. Crab is in quotes because it really should have been labeled seafood salad, but there was crab in it, and it was good enough that Keith had two helpings. Keith also had a large serving of blue cheese, a cup of lentil soup, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream with crème de menthe sauce.

Some of the soups are very good, and some not so good. This was in between; a good flavor, but there was no broth. I'm guessing there was another pot with all broth and no beans, poured off the top of the mother pot. The soups that aren't so good are the "cream of ---" soups, which are thickened with too much corn starch. Just like the soups served in the company cafeteria twenty years ago.

We both had long naps after lunch, and are now in the Crow's Nest at 4:30, watching sail away. The exit from the St. John's harbor is every bit as impressive as the entrance, except for the conspicuous absence of sunshine. But then, this is still the North Atlantic.

As we exit the narrows we turn north slightly, then cruise east until we are clear of Cape Spear, after which we turn right and head south toward our next port.

Approaching the Narrows From the Harbor

We Must Squeeze This Giant Tub Between

The Lighthouse and the Green Buoy

We Graze By the Green Buoy

Then We Graze by the Rocks Exiting the Narrows

This Captain is a Truly Good Boat Handler

Cape Speare is advertised as the most easterly point in North America. We fondly recall visiting this and many other sites in St. John's three years ago with WIT.

Cape Spear Visitors Keith & Kathy, Photographed On Our 2006 Visit to the Area

The Sign Proclaims This to be the Most Easterly Point in North America

We Sail By Cape Spear in the Maasdam

It's about 5:30 and we are steering south at 15 mph in a light breeze, with what appears to be about a 10 foot swell on the stern. We are riding very comfortably, with very little pitching.

This would be a good point for me to apologize for mixing units in these blogs. Being lazier than the average bear, Keith reports whatever is to hand. In Europe, where the tour guides talk SI, Keith reports in SI. When reporting from the channel 40 navigation channel, where speeds are reported in knots, I report knots. When reading from my GPS, which I have set to statute miles, I report mph. I could reset the GPS to read nautical miles, but I am too lazy. If this bothers you, read somebody else's blog.

Excellent dinner at 6:30; prime rib (Kathy) and tuna (Keith). An excellent seafood soup, and apple thingy (Kathy) and chocolate eclaire a la mode (Keith). After lingering awhile over tea, Kathy puzzled 'till 8, when she went to the show. Keith kept her company 'till 8, then to bed.

We currently are cruising comfortably at 15 knots. Wind 20 on the nose. Outside air temperature a balmy 55 deg. This southern air has a much balmier feel than the cold, biting wind further north. I sincerely hope we do not feel any more 65 knot winds before we disembark in Boston Saturday.

More tomorrow, when we visit St. Pierre, the only remaining French possession in North America.

Voyage of the Vikings, Day 32 - St. Anthony, Newfoundland

2009-08-25T09:26:00.004-04:00

6am, 50deg., wind NW 9, sea calm, "steaming" SSW across the mouth of Belle Isle Straight and along the east coast of Newfoundland. I use the word "steaming" advisedly, as a traditional nautical term, although our propulsion is actually more modern diesel-electric.

Fall is approaching, with later sunrises and earlier sunsets. Sunrise today is 6:45 ship's time. The sky is just beginning to glow on the eastern horizon. It's a beautiful sight, with the nascent sunrise reflected from the lowering clouds.

Very Early Morning in the Crow’s Nest

Sunrise Over the Labrador Sea

Keith has sort of lost track of time, including clock time, as well as day of the week. That's one of the reasons to go on a journey like this. He thinks we are two hours ahead of Boston, but he is not sure. As an aid to the perplexed, the elevator carpets are changed daily to tell us the day of the week, and to keep us glued to the daily program.

6:45, we are approaching St. Anthony, and sunrise is upon us. Keith has been wondering if our intrepid captain will attempt to take this ark into the inner harbor.

Approaching St. Anthony, Newfoundland

7am - Not. We are dropping the hook just outside the inner harbor entrance. Good judgement! As with Red Bay, I am astonished how close we bring the bow inshore before letting go. The captain must have complete confidence in the capability of his azipods to keep us off the rocks all day.

We have been in port a couple of places with a Princess cruise ship. Keith has noticed that the Princess ship will anchor far enough out to swing, whereas our captain brings it in close, backs down to set the hook, then uses the azipods through the day to keep tension on the rode, and to kick the stern around as needed to maintain a constant heading. I believe he does this to maintain a stable, wind sheltered platform for the tenders, and to shorten the ride to shore. I guess Princess doesn't care so much.

Starboard Side Prop Wash From the Maasdam Azipods

9:45, still sitting in the Lido café, working a crossword and looking at the scenery. We contemplate going ashore, but definitely will wait for open tendering. We must be careful here, as the ship leaves on the early side (about 2:30?).

St. Anthony Lighthouse

Whale Watchers

Suddenly noon, after a late morning nap. We have been in St. Anthony on a Motorhome caravan with WIT three years ago, so decided not to get off the boat.

Keith had just a touch of the cruise crud this morning. Lunch seemed to help that problem. Keith ate a salad, to encourage regularity.

Kathy Puzzles Away the Morning

Kathy Protects Her New Voyage of the Vikings Shirt at Lunch

After lunch another nap, then up to hear the geologist talk about Newfoundland and Labrador. He spoke first about glaciations and it's effect on the local landscape, then about the Cod fisheries, which collapsed totally in the early 1990s.

Up to the Crows Nest at 3:30 to watch sail away. The weather is beautiful. Kathy is down below working in a puzzle. Keith is ready for bed already. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s exciting journey.

Early Afternoon Sail Away

Voyage of the Vikings, Day 31 - Greenland to Newfoundland

2009-08-24T09:00:00.002-04:00

3am and it's blowing 62 knots, dead on the stern, fortunately. The ride is surprisingly smooth for such a bluster. I don't know if this is the outer fringes of Bill, or ordinary Labrador Sea weather. Stay tuned.

6:00am and the breeze has plummeted to 20 knots, clocked arounnd to 250 deg. It must have been a localized storm we transited last night, nothing to do with hurricane Bill. We are high -tailing it across the Labrador Sea at 17 knots, almost as fast as this tub will go.

The captain stated that his intention was to make tracks overnight, allowing us the option to slow down later in the day if seas kick up. While the locally generated wind driven waves have pretty much subsided, there are beginning to be a few rollers. The sun is up and it is a beautiful day!

Another Beautiful Morning on the North Atlantic

Being a sea day there's not a lot of touring activity to talk about (except Bill, maybe), so I thought I would branch off to the subject of stuff we brought, and what I left behind that I wish I had brought. I have italicized this rant, so you can quickly scroll through it if you wish.

The only major item we miss is our laptop. I left it home because I didn't want to deal with the luggage, but it was a mistake.

Another minor item is lanyards for our room keys. Keith made one from parachute cord, but Kathy thinks it looks tacky and didn't want one.

Finally, a very small item is insulated coffee cups with handles. Keith brought two cups, but they don't have handles and are difficult to carry through the corridors.

The reverse category is stuff we brought that we didn't need. This is a longer list.

At the top of the list is formal clothes. They are truly optional, needed only if one is anxious to dress up, just for the purpose of dressing up. Kathy thought she did, but has changed her mind. Keith knew better, for himself.

Keith brought too much warm clothing in anticipation of the North Atlantic climate. A sweater, a sweat shirt, a heavy denim jacket, a windbreaker, and a heavy storm jacket. None of this will go to the Pacific with us in October.

The next category is toys. The material in italics is a rant about Keith’s toys. You are welcome to scroll past it if you wish.

Keith brought, a scanner, two MP3 players & spare headphones, a GPS, two cameras plus spare memory cards and batteries, the PDA on which this is being composed, various battery chargers, and an power strip to plug them all into.

The only thing that didn't work out very well is the scanner, which is bulky and difficult to understand. Keith may shop for a miniaturized high quality, ultra high speed (read not Radio Shack) scanner for our next cruise. However, even a higher fidelity audio circuit won’t help interpret the heavily accented English heard on the scanner.

The MP3 players worked exactly as advertised. We use them all the time at home, as a sleep aid, and to listen to in the middle of the night when sleep is elusive. Keith also listens to audiobooks during the day. He reads a lot less than he used to do, as his eyeglass prescription has gotten stronger.

The GPS also works as advertised, more or less. It is a handheld Garmin with a worldwide base map that includes land outlines, major roads, and, surprisingly, major navigation markers. It does exactly what I want, which is to tell us about where we are when approaching and departing harbor. It also tells us where we are in the open ocean, but this duplicates the navigation display that is available more or less continuously in our room on channel 40.

The two cameras work quite well. One is a small, pocket size Canon PowerShot A 720 IS. Eight megapixels, 6X zoom, image stabilization (necessary with 6X zoom), and a smallish but acceptable lens. Most of our photographs are taken with this camera, because it's always with us.

Our other camera is a Canon Powershot S3 IS. Six megapixels, 12X zoom, image stabilization, and a large, high quality lens (for a point & shoot camera). We bought this camera to photograph wildlife and soccer champions, and it works very well for this purpose. Because of the larger lens, it takes better pictures than the smaller camera, despite having less megapixels. But it is bigger and clumsier, and it doesn't fit conveniently in purse or pocket. Most of the pictures in our blogs are taken with the smaller camera, because it's the one thats always with us.

The last gadget is the PDA, on which this journal is being composed. It is a 2003 Hewlett Packard IPAQ h4300 series, purchased second-hand specificly for this cruise, so that we would have something to keep a digital journal without having to drag along a laptop. When Keith started to shop for this gadget a couple of years ago, he was surprised to learn that PDA's are passé, having been replaced by smartphones like the Blackberry and the iphone. Keith didn't want one for two reasons. First, he wants a miniature telephone that he can carry conveniently in his pants pocket, and smartphones are not small enough. Second, the smart phones do not have legitimate word processors. They have notepads, which are not adequate for journaling. This PDA has pocket Word, and a removeable SD card to which the Word documents can be saved, for easy download to the desktop.

The PDA keyboard is just under 3 inches wide by a bit over an inch high, with 39 triple function keys about 3/16 inch diameter, separated by somewhat more than 1/4 inch. Keith bought a more or less full size Bluetooth keyboard, but was never able to link it to the PDA. He had envisioned using this device in the cabin, or in the library, but he finds himself using it all over the ship, and on tour busses, where a portable keyboard really would not work out. Keith has learned to use the miniature keyboard reasonably well, so does not really miss the Bluetooth keyboard.

The bottom line is, Keith can generate more words on this miniature device than you probably want to read. On this cruise he is downloading the saved word documents to a second SD card in the computer lab, for backup. When we get home, Keith will download the documents from the SD card to the laptop, edit them, then use the words to construct the daily Blogs.

As I said, I regret not bringing the laptop, for backup of text & photos, and for photo editing. We are fortunate to have access to laptops provided by Bill Gates for educational purposes. We bought a couple of 4GB SD cards and are using the Microsoft provided computers to sort our photos, and to backup to the cards. We will not go on another cruise without a laptop, although Keith will probably buy a smaller unit for this purpose. Keith likes to shop just as much as Kathy, just for different stuff.

Enough about Keith’s toys. It's 9am, the sun is well up, and the seas are moderate. Could it be that our captain's mad dash will get us across and under cover before Hurricane Bill arrives off Newfoundland? Only time will tell. Stay tuned.

10:30am, Kathy is puzzling, and Keith is waiting for the computer lab to open. The computer guy is in the lab teaching a course just now. Kathy wants to attend a display buffet at noon in the main dining room.

Kathy Puzzles Away the Morning

Noon at the buffet display. It looks elegant, but not worth the mob scene. We head upstairs to the Lido to enjoy a good steak, served with zucchini, string beans, and really good fries. I think they must have new oil in the cooker, because the fries have been especially good the last couple of days.

Mob Scene in the Main Dining Room

Keith spent an hour in the computer lab this morning. Believe it or not, he is about caught up sorting photos. It's a really good feeling. It would be a daunting task, sorting through thousands of photos when we get home. We faced that task after our China trip, and it almost didn't get done because of the monumental effort required.

4pm, and Keith is relaxing over a cup of tea in the Lido Café. Kathy is watching a movie. It's blowing about 25, and there is a bit of a swell running, maybe 10 feet on the starboard beam. We are bouncing a bit, but not bad. Nothing compared to what it could have been, had we had a closer encounter with Hurricane Bill, which seems to be headed off to the British Isles.

8pm, supper is history, and we are in the showroom, instead of in bed, as we ought to be. Surf & turf for dinner for Keith, lamb shank for Kathy. If this keeps up, we shall be big as houses. Keith doesn’t know what the show is tonight, and don't care. Keith has his MP3 to listen to. Keith doesn't really care for live entertainment, buy attends occasionally to please Kathy.

Turns out the 8pm entertainment in the showroom is a tribute group called The Unexpected Boys. They are Frankie Vallee and the 4 Seasons impersonators. Kathy says they are quite good. Keith & Kathy attended, and Kathy enjoyed it very much.

9pm, and we are in bed, anticipating our sail-in to northern Newfoundland tomorrow morning. In the meantime, since there really wasn’t much by way of activity photographs this day, I have included below a few random shots taken around the ship over the course of four weeks.

Enoy!

Art is Everywhere

Delft Accents the Dutch Theme

Oceans Bar

Piano Bar

Casino Bar

Retail Therapy Zone, Jewelry Department

Watches That Fell Offa the Baka Da Truck Department

Discount Luxury Department

Gambling Inducement

This One is Truly Scary!

Gamble on Your Credit Card,

Up to One Thousand Dollars per Day

The Explorer’s Lounge

Dutch East India Company Legacy

Maasdam Defensive Armament

Would This Canon Repel Somali Pirates?

Don’t touch that dial!

Voyage of the Vikings, Day 30 – Qaqortoq,Greenland

2009-08-23T07:55:00.001-04:00

Up at 6 to shower and ascend to the Nest for our approach to Qaqortog. As with all other Greenlandic approaches, the shore is dark and foreboding. However, as we approach the town we are greeted with a colorful mix of architecturally interesting homes and buildings. They are not displayed to best advantage in the early morning sunlight, but they appear very pleasing nonetheless. Keith will attempt to take more photographs later in the day, providing it stays partly sunny.

Qaqortog Harbor and Approach

Early Morning Approach to Qaqortog

Early breakfast was danish; late breakfast was a mix of nuts, raisins, and oatmeal in yogurt.

Qaqortoq is a tender port, so after breakfast we stopped by the oceans bar for tickets, and were ashore by 9:30. Fortunately we don't need to walk very far to reach the retail therapy zone, which keeps Kathy happy.

Tenders Transport Us to Ashore in Qaqortog

Qaqortog Retail Therapy Zone

Qaqortog Retail Therapist

Keith Types this Blog In the PDA While Kathy Shops

Kathy went into the souvenir/tourist Center and contributed to the local economy. During our trip we have dealt with a variety of different currencies . In many of the small villages we have visited your need the local currency. Kathy thought she had done a pretty good job of keeping track of each type of currency, when she tried to use Icelandic money instead of Greenland.

Thank goodness they took Visa.

Since it was Sunday all other shops were closed. There were 5 or 6 shore activities available such as kayak racing, folk dancing and the Qaqortoq Choral Society but we did not choose to attend.

This is a really pretty little town. Like every town in Greenland, there are no roads in or out. Transportation is mostly by ferry. There are paved streets in town.

A Pretty Little Town

Qaqortog Fishing Fleet

One thing that sets this village apart is the Rock art, which is everywhere in Qaqortoq. Some of which is very well done. A few examples are provided below.

Fishy Qaqortog Rock Art

Faces in the Rock

Dodge Ram Hood Ornament Immortalized in the Qaqortog Rock

Granite Critter

Our vessel is anchored quite close in, and also quite close alongside a sizeable chunk of ice. I am assuming we have the ice pilot's permission to be this close. Just on the other side iof the berg is the Tahitian Princess, which has been shadowing us several says.

Maasdam Shares the Qaqortog Harbor

10:40am, back aboard, Kathy $80 poorer. Up on the Lido deck to relax over a cuppa, while watching the tenders shuttle back and forth.

Smiling Attendants Welcome Us Back Aboard the Maasdam

Overcast is spreading up from the southeast. I believe we are way too far away for these clouds to be from hurricane Bill. I believe it to be typical local weather. Must rush topsides to get a few sunny day pix.

Front Desk Poster Projecting the Track of Hurricane Bill

1:00pm and lunch is history. Nothing memorable. Kathy is puzzling while Keith is journaling. The geologist is lecturing at 2; Keith wants to stay awake to hear him. In the meantime the weather has definitely turned cloudy, but no appreciable wind. We are wondering what tonight and tomorrow will bring, weather wise.

3:30pm and we just finished with a lecture about Greenland ice sheets, given by the geology guy. He is very interesting and knowledgeable, although it was clear that he was not quite as comfortable with ice as with the core geology stuff.

Professor Smith Lectures About Ice and Geology

Professor Smith’s Slide of Greenland

We are Anchored in the “Banana Belt”,

The “Warm” Red Zone On the Southwest Tip of Greenland

Keith cornered Prof. Smith after his talk to ask a question that has been puzzling Keith for over 30 years. The question is, do we know what causes hot spots, and the convective circulation, which in turn causes continental drift? The answer, in a word, is no.

Current speculation involves inhomogeneous distribution of the suspected heat source, radioactive uranium, in the earth's interior. I did not have time to ask the follow-on question, which is what would cause such inhomogeneous distribution. I don’t think anyone knows.

Since the earth is thought to have formed by accretion of space junk, I suppose there is no reason to think that the elemental distribution would be anything other than inhomogeneous. I guess I just never really thought it through. I hope I live long enough for a definitive answer to be developed.

4pm in the Crow's Nest waiting for Kathy, and for sail away. The weather has reverted to the standard North Atlantic overcast. We were just incredibly lucky to have had sunshine all day yesterday for our transit of the Prince Christian Sound.

6:45pm in the cabin. Wind on the port beam blowing a steady 45 knots. A rough wind driven sea running, but no swells (yet), so the ride is smooth (recall we have stabilizers).

Tonight there is a special dessert buffet at 10:30. Kathy thinks she wants to go. I told her I will join her if she can stay awake that late, and if she can wake me.

Stay tuned for the outcome of this exciting episode.

9pm and the wind is up to 55 knots. We are beginning to pitch about a bit. Kathy is not saying anything about going out...

Voyage of the Vikings, Day 29 - Prince Christian Sound

2009-08-22T07:18:00.002-04:00

8:00am, wind 22kt NNW, speed 13 knots, seas moderate, temperature 50 deg. Clear skies! We hope it holds for our transit of the Sound, which was cloudy and hazy for our eastbound trip.

Unusual Clear Weather Greets Our Day

Over the past two nights the crew has given us back two more of the hours they stole from us on the eastbound journey. We now are only one hour different from Boston, I think.

Keith was up for coffee and early breakfast at 6. He was joined for awhile by one of the fellows we see frequently in the Crow's Nest. We had a pleasant time chatting about boats and boating, and about hurricane avoidance. It also was pleasant to just sit on top of the kennel and watch the waves roll by.

A letter from the captain was distributed to the cabins last night. It said in part:

"...Hurricane Bill is currently in the Atlantic Ocean, and is heading north-northwest. If the projected path holds true, there is a chance that our itinerary could be affected. With the assistance of personnel in our corporate office, we are reviewing alternate arrangements in case we need to revise our itinerary. The storm will not impact our arrival in Boston on August 29th."

Keith has been tracking this storm for several days, and thinks that dodging it may be a bit tricky, because pesky continents keep getting in the way and limiting our options. We shall see. I have absolutely no qualms about safety, as I don't think we are likely to come closer than 500 miles to the center of the storm, based on it's current projected path.

11am, and the latest update from the captain on Hurricane Bill. His assessment, based on much better information, I am sure, is much the same as mine. He does not think we will need to change our itinerary, but we may jink a bit. Being very cagey, he did not comment on the possibility for snotty weather Monday.

Keith went to the Rembrandt Lounge at 9:15am to hear the ice pilot talk, again. He was very busy taking notes the first time, and was anxious to photograph the ice pilot’s slides to incorporate in the Blog. Photographs of slides do not look great, but are better than nothing. The lecture was basically similar to the eastbound lecture, but was still excellent and Keith enjoyed hearing it again. Keith’s attention span isn’t what it used to be, and he needs to hear it over and over and over again before he gets it.

It's currently 11am and we are in the Crow's Nest viewing the approach to Prince Christian Sound. Keith was extraordinarily lucky to get a premium seat. The lounge was packed when Keith got up here after the ice pilot talk. Fortunately one of the nice ladies from the "early risers club" saw me wandering about trying to find a seat. She informed me that she and her husband were leaving for lunch at 11, and gave us their seats. A very kind act. But then, they are Oregonians who are an inherently kind people.

The Greenland Ice Sheet Comes Into View

as We Approach Prince Christian Sound

11:40am and we are entering the Prince Christian Sound. It's partly sunny, and looks very different from last trip. Once again Keith's GPS has us doing 13 knots through solid granite. It's only off by a hundred yards or so, but that's enough to put us solidly aground in this area. We hope the captain has a better GPS.

Entering Prince Christian Sound Westbound

Helicopter Performing Weather Station Maintenance

At the Entrance to Prince Christian Sound

Our Route Through Prince Christian Sound Is Extended

To Take Advantage of the Beautiful Sunny Weather

As we proceed into the sound, we are treated to a running commentary over the PA system. A couple of miscellaneous tidbits from this commentary follow:

Prince Christian Sound is 36 km long, and 1300 ft. wide at it's narrowest point.

The Greenland Ice sheet averages 1-1/2 miles thick, and covers 80% of the land area.

We are down to 6 mph going through a patch of ice cubes at the base of a glacier.

Brash Ice at the Foot of a Greenland Glacier

Along the way we see nightmarish whorls in the face of the shore side rock. It looks as if it has been molten at some time or another. I have a foggy recollection that this is Precambrian granite. I later inquired of our resident geologist, who confirmed the ancient granite, but then told me that there have been numerous volcanic eruptions up through this basement rock.

Ropy, Glacier Polished Lava Overlies the

Precambrian Granite of Southern Greenland

The Thin Vertical Streak of Magma

Intrudes the Greenland Granite

We have come below to the Lido Deck enjoy the poolside Mongolian buffet. They just opened the roof to ventilate the smoke. I don't know if we will be able to stay here, as it is very cold and breezy with the roof open.

1:30pm, and we have moved into the warmer Lido Café to finish our lunch. The Mongolian BBQ was excellent. Kathy had Chinese veggies with mixed shrimp & scallops. Keith had same, plus beef, pork, & chicken. Feels like a nap, but Keith wants to edit pictures.

We just passed a surprisingly large chunk of ice, considering we are 10 miles inland. It’s an interesting coincidence that this bergy bit was floating just at the narrowest part of the Sound.

Prince Christian Sound Narrows to

1300 Feet at it’s Narrowest Point

The Bergy Bit at this Narrowest Point Provides

an Additional Challenge for Our Pilot

It feels like we are like sailing up the Virgin River in Zion National Park, with high, almost vertical, naked rock walls enclosing a narrow canyon. We continue to be favored with sunshine. Along the way we pass more ice, and more interesting geological features.

Growlers and Bergy Bits Present Little

Navigational Challenge in the Brilliant Sunshine

Aluvial Fan at the Base of the Steep Mountainside

Trickling Waterfall Drains the

Tip of a Hanging Glacier

Later in the afternoon we again pass the sealing village that we saw on our eastbound trip. Small buzzy outboard boats chase us for a couple of miles past the village.

4:45, and we are most of the way through the Sound. Because the weather is so good, our captain took the long way through. There are numerous channels that weave their way among the dozens of island-mountains that comprise the southern tip of Greenland, so there are dozens of ways to pass among the islands. Proceeding eastbound three weeks ago we took the most direct route through in marginal weather. Today we took the scenic route.

Reflections of the Sun Guide Us Through

the Exit From Prince Christian Sound

Our GPS balks periodically because the steepness of the surrounding mountains blocks the satellites. I believe us to be close to the exit, but I'm not sure.

5:20 update. We are back in the open ocean, on the west side of Greenland. There are some major icebergs in view. Seas are very small waves, ship is rock steady. May be hard to sleep tonight. It's hard to believe there is a hurricane spinning in the same ocean we are sailing in.

Looking Back at Prince Christian Sound

Icebergs Mark Our Path Away From the Sound

We are in the Lido Café, waiting for supper to appear at 5:30. Having turned the clocks back twice in two days, our bodies are still somewhere just west of Reykjavik, thinking it is almost 7:30.

My body now thinks it's 8:30. Good night.

Voyage of the Vikings, Day 28 - At Sea, Iceland to Greenland

2009-08-21T17:16:00.003-04:00

7:30am, and it seems to have settled down some. Keith is awake at one to two hour intervals every night, for potty break. At about 10pm, Keith staggered a bit on the way to the bathroom. He turned on the TV, and found it was blowing 60 to 65 knots on the starboard quarter. That’s almost hurricane territory! No wonder the boat is moving about. The good news is, this motion actually helps Keith get back to sleep. Kathy did not sleep well, and said that the captain was on the PA about 9pm, apologizing for the unpredicted tempest. Keith was awake again at midnight, and the wind was down to 25, where it remained through the night. Virtually no white caps in sight this morning. Temperature 51, skies overcast.

On the way up to breakfast, we snap a photo of the elevator rug. These are changed every night, as an aid to us retired folks who can’t remember the day of the week.

Maasdam Elevator Rugs Are Changed Nightly

We continue to anxiously await developments with hurricane Bill. Keith would be on weather.com every fifteen minutes if he could afford the internet time. We plan to check weather and e-mail later this morning.

We saw the ice pilot in the Lido last night, which means there is still ice somewhere ahead. I hope he gives his talk again!

We have what would seem like a liesurely day ahead. Pick up our passports at 8; geologist talk ar 9; computer lab at 11;lunch, then the historian talks at 2, and the computer lab is open at 5. Keith is sitting on top of his dog house, sucking down coffee, and wishing it would all go away and he could sit here all day. He really wants to do all this stuff, but he is tired from two days of power touring.

View From the Doghouse Roof

There being no special touring theme for this day, I have chosen to talk trivia, including some random photos taken around the ship.

Early Every Morning, the Deck is Hosed

and the Windows are Washed

We Breakfast With a Friend Named Dave

Whom We Met on This Trip

Dave is a Regular Member of the Early Risers Club

Our Friend Liz Sketches in Her Journal

In addition to imbibing coffee, Keith is watching the water. Kathy noted a bit of a swell (maybe 8ft.) running in on our starboard quarter. On top of this we have a wind driven chop, maybe 4ft. on the starboard bow, with a few more white caps than an hour ago. The ride remains smooth, with just a bit of chatter. Is this wave action, or is a prop out of balance? Methinks the later, as I have felt this vibration before, in calmer waters. In the meantime, I provide a couple of bathroom photos to titillate your imagination.

Countertop Art, Found in all Maasdam Men’s Rooms

HAL Graciously Provides Small Hand Towels

in Place of Paper in the Men’s Rooms

Interestingly, Kathy reports that such art is not found in the lady’s rooms.

9:30, and no lecture. Seems we had the time wrong; it's at 10, and it's the history guy, not the geologist. We don't know if they have swapped morning and afternoon slots, or if the geology lecture is cancelled. We hope the former.

10:am and we learn the geologist is "under the weather”, so it's double history today.

Being a slow day, event wise, I thought I might relay some interesting information on today’s placemats, about who is cooking on this boat. Scroll down if it bores you.

The entire kitchen brigade includes 84 persons who are divided in several areas and different functions:

1 Executive Chef
1 Second Executive Chef
1 /innacle Grill Chef
2 Sous Chefs
6 Chef de parties
3 Demi Chefs (Hobbits?)
2 Apprentice Cook
18 Assistant Cook
14 General Purpose Attendants Pantry
1 Chief Baker
5 Assistant Pastry
1 Chief Butcher
1 Assistant Butcher
3 Crew Cooks
1 Chief Steward
1 Foreman
19 General Purpose Attendant S.A. (KP?)

After an hour sorting photos in the computer lab, we Lunch in the Lido. Kathy is excited it's fish fry day. Keith prefers the taco bar. Dessert was small cream puffs al a mode. They were delicious, but they did remind Keith of something he saw all over the Scottish countryside.

Delicious Cream Puffs

Top Off Lunch

Lido Café Art

After lunch Kathy attends the second history lecture of the day, then worked a puzzle, while the old dog laid down on the top of his kennel and slept for a few hours.

Kathy Puzzles Over the Pieces

Maasdam Librarian

Back to the computer lab at 4:30 to continue sorting photos. The instructor is teaching, so we must wait a few minutes to get a free computer.

While Kathy was puzzling, another puzzler received a phone call from his son, who informed him about hurricane Bill. She said the guy panicked, and soon had a dozen other people in near panic. Later in the evening, the captain circulated a letter officially acknowledging the existence of hurricane Bill, and reassuring us that all measures would be taken to avoid it, possibly including alteration of our itinerary.

Stay tuned.

Kathy Drinks a Toast to Hurricane Bill

Voyage of the Vikings, Day 27 - Reykjavik, Iceland Second Day

2009-08-20T12:11:00.005-04:00

6:30am - our first and only night in port seemed unnaturally quiet, without the bed rocking us to sleep.

Weather this morning is more of the same - overcast and threatening, temperature 51, barometer 29.0 and steady, wind calm. We are told that the name Reykjavik means hazy inlet. It seems to fit. This is the North Atlantic. Deal with it.

Kathy Stokes the Inner Woman

In Preparation for Another Power Tour

Today's tour holds a lot of promise. I hope HAL doesn't screw it up. Called the Golden Circle, it is a trip through the volcanic countryside outside of Reykjavik. I hope to confirm (or deny) what I heard yesterday about Iceland being the only place in the world where a hot spot exists under a mid-ocean rift. This interesting stuff! We'll see if it's 8 hours interesting.

8:20am, on another tour bus (our last!). Keith in the back seat (his preference). The good news is, this tour guide speaks very good English, and the PA system is working well.

First we hear the Icelandic view, which is that the British, then the United States invaded Iceland at the start of WW II, against the will of the Icelanders, who wished to remain neutral. In view of the islands highly strategic location, neutrality probably wasn't in the cards. It is rumored that a guy named Adolf had similar interests in Iceland, as a German naval and air base.

The tour guide points out a local empty distribution building, victim of the bad economy. I hope this tour improves.

Our tour guide has a British accent. She informs us she came to Iceland from Australia in 1994. Now I know why we can understand her.

Our guide points out a small suburb where a lot of people have lost their homes. Depressing.

We stop at a spot on the Mid-Atlantic Rift named Dingvellir. It's impressive in it's own right, but doubly so because of it's geological significance. This is what Keith came to Iceland to see, and to photograph! Please bear with me, as it is causing me a lot of anguish to avoid launching into a lecture on plate tectonics, one of my favorite subjects. We took lots of pictures, a few of which are displayed below.

Crack in the Bottom of the Atlantic Ocean

Emerges onto Dry Land in Iceland

Looking North, the Crack Widens

to Accommodate a Footpath

Kathy Joins the Hikers through the Crack

Keith Rides the Bus to the Bottom

And Pauses to Photograph the Pretty Flowers

A Pretty Babbling Brook

Descends the Into the Rift

The countryside is beautiful, but difficult to photograph through a bus window. Our driver takes us on a short cut over an unpaved, one lane road. Kinda sorta bumpy, sitting in the back of the bus. As are the numerous hairpin turns, where we get whipsawed at the rear of the overhang. The tour guide laments that the verdant green of summer is past, and the grass is already starting to show it's fall colors. Looks pretty green to us.

A Small Icelandic Village

Nestles at the Base of the Mountain

Camping is Popular in Iceland

A Small Resort Community

Provides Respite for Busy Reykjavikians

Next stop is a hot spring, with gift shop and hotel, where we are to have lunch. We hate to seem jaded, but having visited Yellowstone, the mother of all hot spots, this seems kinda plain vanilla. I hope lunch is good.

Icelandic Geyser

Viking Troll Guards the Lunchroom Entrance

1pm and lunch is history. On a scale of 1 to 4 COWS, we shall give it a 2.5. Decent cream of yesterday's vegetable soup, a nice size piece of somewhat fishy salmon, mixed veggies, and very good boiled new potatoes. A very small piece of candy for dessert.

After lunch we drive a short distance to Gulfoss Falls. If you believe the Google Earth map Keith printed and brought with him, there are at least four places with that name. Kathy hiked out the trail to photograph the falls, while Keith sat on the wall.

Gulfoss Falls

After stopping at the falls, we drive to another rest stop with opportunity for retail therapy. While Kathy shopped, Keith snapped a few pix of the quintessential Icelandic scenery.

Mt. Hekla, the most active Icelandic Volcano

Edge of the Icelandic Ice Sheet

On closer examination we discover that the balance of this tour replicates the tour we took yesterday. We inquire if we can get off at the boat, and are informed that we wren't going that way. Oh well.

Keith is anxious to return to the boat to spend some of our precious internet dollars to check up on Hurricane Bill. When I checked it this morning, it had sustained winds of 135mph, which a strong category three. The projected track places it just off of the east coast of Newfoundland Monday morning, then moving east northeast. We depart western Greenland Monday morning, headed southwest. Unless we change our route, we will brush the northern edge of Bill Monday night or Tuesday. We hope the captain is paying attention.

On our way back to town we stop to see a volcanic crater. Very deep, very steep sided, very impressive. Along the way, we see more truly impressive Icelandic scenery, and hear stories about how bad the snow is in winter.

A Volcanic Crater Near Reykjavik

Lava Field, With a Thin veneer of Greenery

Reykjavik Suburb

Then another stop for potty, ice cream, and more retail therapy.

Last stop the pearl, again, then a mercifully quick drive through town and back to the ship. We shouldn’t complain. This was a mostly very good tour. We just did not realize that the last part duplicated yesterday’s tour. Had we realized this, we would have saved our time, energy, and money yesterday.

It's 4:20pm and Keith is in the Crow's Nest, waiting for our 5:30 sail away. Kathy remained ashore to do more shopping in the terminal building. I hope she makes it aboard in time for sail away. I would miss her. The cocktail hour entertainment includes a female vocalist today. She sings mostly older songs, appropriate to the geriatric crowd. She is a pretty good singer.

Cocktail Hour Entertainment in the Crow’s Nest

Sail away tonight could be interesting. We are portside to a dock, with another cruise boat aft and a breakwater just off the bow. It's blowing about 20 off the starboard bow.

Our only option, as I see it, is to move sideways to starboard about a half a boat length, then go ahead like hexx out of the harbor. Hazzards, in additipn to those already mentioned, are an island about one boat length to starboard, and a narrow channel between rocks and an island outside the docking area. I shall be interested to see if the captain has tugs standing by for this operation.

4:50pm, and it is official. The captain has announced that he has two tugs standing by for our departure. Kathy is back aboard. She said that the local port security guy at the entrance to the dock said last week it was blowing like this, and a cruise boat was unable to depart. Apparantly our captain, or our vessel (or both) are more capable, or more daring. Whatever transpires, it is reassuring to know that the band will play on.

5:53pm, and we are under weigh. We had a tug shoving our port bow sideways to get us off the dock. He let the bow lead the stern, then sort of paused as soon as the bow cleared the green buoy marking the breakwater. Recall that the buoyage is reversed here; it's green right returning in this part of the world.

Right now we are headed for the opposite shore. I sure hope he kicks the stern to starboard, soon. We seem to be just about dead in the water just at the moment, but not pointed quite in the right direction.

It's five minutes later, we are pointed in the right direction, and starting to move at a pretty good clip. Right down the slot, with red to starboard and green to port. We are heeled about 10 deg. To port, with the wind on the starboard quarter.

We Head Out of Port,

Into a Choppy Inlet

As I've said before, it's the mark of a true professional that he makes it look easy.

7pm update. W have cleared port and the seas are kicking up a tad. Wind is on the starboard beam at 45 knots. Very little roll, a bit of bumpiness. We are not completely out of the northwestern Iceland wind shadow, so it could become a bit lumpier. The starboard deck is closed, and the barf bags are out. The best news is there is no swell running, so the boat isn't pitching or rolling appreciably.

Voyage of the Vikings, Day 26 - Reykjavik, Iceland

2009-08-19T08:16:00.004-04:00

Another gray morning, 50deg. A few hardy walkers on the Promenade deck. Wind 15 on the beam. We are making 18 knots on our way to Reykjavik, with an ETA 2:30pm. We had better be on time; we have a tour booked at 3pm. Mercifully, the tour is only 2-1/2 hours. We love seeing stuff, but the European busses are just enough narrower to make us very uncomfortable, and bus (and airline) seats are killers for Keith's back.

Early Morning Power Walkers on the Promenade Deck

Our Route Around the Southern Iceland

I think we mentioned that we booked a Panama Canal cruise in October. We are both resolved that there is nothing in central or south America that we wish to see badly enough to get off the boat, so we are going to spend 28 days watching the magnificent central American seascapes, from the Crow's Nest. Sort of like that old sled dog I mentioned in a prior post.

On second thought, I might step off in San Diego, just to touch base with the Homeland.

Please do not misunderstand our comments. We are very, very happy we booked this trip, and we have been delighted to see things we have read of all of our lives. Just as we were so, so happy to visit China two years ago. But there is no question that one of is getting to be an old dog, and is loosing his capacity (not his desire) for adventure. I'm not sure I could do China again.

As much as I am trying to pretend it doesn't exist, I think that the recently diagnosed coronary artery disease is affecting my overall energy level, as well as my capacity to perform vigorous activities. That’s punch one. Punch two is spinal stenosis, which limits my mobility and makes me ache. Please understand, I'm not complaining, but it is what it is.

All the more reason to fill my bucket sooner, rather than later. The Panama Canal definitely is on my bucket list. But then, so are a bizillion places in the western United States. And Antarctica, and Australia-New Zeeland, etc., etc. The later is also on Kathy's Bucket list, as are the British Isles, Europe (particularly Greece and ancient Rome), a circumnavigation of South America, etc. Our lists intersect at Australia-New Zeeland, so that's probably where we will go next. Depending on what's on sale, of course. And right now, with the economy still in the "U" bend, the whole world seems to be on sale.

Our daily schedule lists an Icelandic entertainment at 8 (and 10), and an Indonesian cooking demonstration at 11. PM, that is. Kathy says she definitely plans to do the Icelandic show, and possibly the food thingy. Keith is betting she will attend neither, preferring to sleep. We shall see.

In the meantime we fill the morning (what's left of it) with puzzle making (Kathy) and photo editing (Keith), then lunch. There was supposed to be a BBQ poolside, but it was cancelled because the deck was moving about just enough to make it unsafe. The motion didn't seem all that bad to us, but we are all in favor of conservatism, at least where safety is concerned. Politically, ....

Moving right along, we are following with interest the track of Tropical Storm Bill, which is forecast to be off the coast of Nova Scotia by Sunday. We will be off eastern Greenland Sunday. Not close enough to be endangered, but we probably will encounter heavy swells on our passage from Greenland to Newfoundland.

Here comes the pilot boat. We must be in harbor waters. It's difficult to tell where we are going to land. Now we are approached by a tugboat, followed by two excursion boats, out to look at the big cruise boat, or whales. We're down to 6mph, so we must be on final. Oops. Back up to 14; the slow-down must have been to pick up the pilot.

Reykjavik Harbor Approach

Approaching Reykjavik

Reykjavik seems relatively flat, surrounded by mountains. It would appear to be a large alluvial fan.

Reykjavik, Iceland

At the last minute we realize that the captain is going to flip the ship and back in. Kathy rushes out to the rail to watch. Keith proceeds more leisurely, by way of the comfort station. The docking is very interesting. We back into the harbor, then move sideways a couple of hundred feet to the dock. A tug is standing by, but our practiced captain does not need it, in the very light breeze. Nonetheless, Keith applauds his abundance of caution.

Approaching our Berth in Reykjavik;

Another Shoehorn Job

We Line the Rail to Watch Docking

Our Crow’s Nest Cocktail Waitress

Joins Us to Watch the Docking

Alongside, With The First Line Ashore

Bring Your Child To Work Day

Dock Workers Place the Gangplank

2:55pm, sitting in the Rembrandt Lounge, waiting for our 2:50 Panoramic Reykjavik tour. We are told the gangway is very steep, and there is massive congestion.

Congestion Approaching the Gangplank

3:20pm and we are on the tour bus, finally, after a very steep descent down the gangway from deck 5. Just as we were reaching the bottom, the deck 5 ramp was closed, and a perfectly level gangway was opened on deck 3. Murphy reins supreme.

The tour guide tells a bit about Icelandic history and geography. Look it up, if you are interested. We are told that 60% of Iceland is a desert. Seems strange, in such a wet climate. Could be a rain shadow effect. Keith will look this one up when he gets home.

In an thick Icelandic accent: "It has been raining the last days, and it will be raining the next few days." This is the North Atlantic. Deal with it.

We drive by a group of new apartment buildings, empty because of the financial crisis.

We are passing pseudo craters, similar to the one we saw in the north. Some of the craters were desteoyed in the war when the dirt was excavated for building construction. We stop for a photo op. Kathy gets off, leaving Keith to compose.

Dirt Pile at the Lip of a Pseudo-crater

Our tour guide is soft spoken, with a pronounced accent, and the volume on the PA is too low. We ask her to turn up the volume; it helps, but it doesn't fix the problem.

We pass a large block of apartment buildings from the 1970's. A uniform gray color, somewhat drab. Some buildings have windows of different sizes, breaking up the monotony somewhat. Colorful roofs help also. Lack of trees creates building challenges.

We pass the pearl, named for it's funky shape. The pearl is a collection of humungous hot water tanks, heated with geothermal energy, and topped with a tourist friendly dome. We stop for 35 minutes. It has toilet facilities!

The Pearl

Statuary at the Pearl

Tourist Entering the Pearl

The sun came out, and Keith ascended the building to take photographs from the viewing platform. The sun obligingly came out, so I am hopeful about the pix. Kathy & I are both have sore legs. But then, at our age, those parts that don't hurt don't work any more, so we shan't complain. The point of this building is geothermal power, and we hear virtually nothing about this subject. Further, there was little interpretive displays in the building. Disappointing.

View From the Pearl

Neat Sculpture In the Pearl Lobby

Our attention is directed to the rugged mountains south of town. We are told these are volcanoes, part of the mid-Atlantic ridge. I don't think we are going there, so I'm glad I took pictures from the pearl.

Gasoline is $189.9Kr/liter. No idea what this amounts to in dollars. We inquired about the exchange rate at the front desk, and were told that the Icelandic Kroner is currently worthless. Go figure.

We stop at a picturesque lighthouse that is on a high tide island. We are told that a path to the island bares at low water. We also are told that the tide range is 18 feet. Another fact I plan to check.

Telephone Poles Line the Low Tide Path to this Lighthouse

Next we tour downtown Reykjavik. Here a house, there a house, everywhere a house, or a parliament building, or a supreme court building. Major retail therapy street. The bus driver offers to let people off here, to shop, and then to find their own way back to the ship. We stay on the bus.

Icelandic Government Building

Typical Reykjavik Street Scene

Our tour guide keeps promising to tell us about the Icelandic financial crisis. Now she is promises to take us through the business district, where she will tell us about the financial crisis.

But first, we stop to photograph the building where Ronald Regan met with Gorbachev. This meeting is said by some to be the beginning of the end of the cold war.

Historic Building Where Regan Met Gorbachev

We pass through a district with empty office buildings. We are told that the three major banks in Iceland speculated in the stock market with people's savings. We are told that there are about thirty people involved in this activity. Sounds like Bernie Madhof all over again. Greed and avarice are evils that are necessary to drive growth and development, but they must be carefully regulated to prevent such excesses. End of rant.

Our guide tells us that there is a mantle plume under Iceland, in addition to the mid-Atlantic ridge. Our resident geology professor later confirms his fact.

Back to the ship at 6pm. Keith was thinking of the taco bar for supper, but it closes at 6. Kathy remained behind in the information center, to shop. She hasn't shopped in several days, and is exhibiting pronounced withdrawal symptoms. Keith promised to wait dinner for her. How bad can it be, sitting with a cup of tea, overlooking magnificent Icelandic scenery.

7:15, and Kathy has made the fateful decision, that she is too tired to attend the Icelandic entertainment tonight.

Good night, Mrs. Calabash...

P.S. The chocolate éclairs tonight were to die for.

Voyage of the Vikings, Day 25 - Djupivogur, Iceland

2009-08-18T06:04:00.005-04:00

Pronounced ju'-p-vor

6:30am in the Crow's Nest, Approaching Iceland. Brooding peaks and ridges with softly eroded slopes sliding down into the sea. A subtle difference from the Faeroes, which have a craggier, more rugged coastline.

Map Showing Djupivogur Approach

The Dark Icelandic Coastline

We cruised about 16kt. through the night, northwest into a light breeze and kindly sea. Kathy looked out the window this morning and said "interesting clouds". And they were interesting, and pretty. Most mornings have been overcast, or hazy, or just plain foggy. This morning was partly sunny, with the picturesque type of clouds.

A Rare Moment of Early Morning Sunshine

I keep reminding myself, and Kathy, what the captain said about the North Atlantic climate: "If you want sunshine and calm seas, visit the South Pacific. This is the North Atlantic; deal with it." I know I've reported this before, but it bears repeating.

Our Cruise Director Moyra dropped by the Crow's Nest to chat this morning. I asked her to convey my compliments to the Captain for his boat handling skills, and in particular his extraction from Glasgow. She expressed surprise at my comment, and said that many passengers complained, I guess because it was not a placid exit. Or maybe it was the 10 degree list to port. My view, inherited from the Captain, is "this is the North Atlantic; deal with it". We're gonna say this over and over and over again until we get it right.

Moyra commented that the captain was over 40, with 3 children. He looks younger. She also commented how intelligent he is, and what a joy to work with. Those two qualities don't always go together.

We have no plans for this day. The vessel is anchoring and tendering, and we have no tours scheduled. If the town looks interesting from the deck, we will take the ride and maybe walk about. Keith enjoys tendering, just for the sake of the small boat ride. It brings back fond memories.

Djupivogur is a Tender Port

Having exhausted the range of "normal!" entrees, Keith had bagels and lox for breakfast today. Not bad, but the cream cheese seemed a bit tasteless. This was, of course, after his early breakfast of danish, and was followed with a mixture of fresh fruit and raisins.

Breakfast in the Lido Cafe

My son in law complains that his mother's travel journals are all about food. I suppose he thinks the same of mine, if he reads them, which I think he doesn’t. But after all, isn't food what life is all about?

What a difference time (and age) make in life. Twenty years ago Keith would have been out riding the dingy and tramping about the town. Today, at 10am, after sleeping 11 hours, he is lingering with a cup of tea over a long breakfast, while Kathy does the crossword.

I am reminded of a visit with the sled dogs in Denali National Park. As the musher was getting the sled ready, the dogs became increasingly excited, prancing and leaping at their chains in their anxiety to get out on the trail. All except one old retiree, who sat on top of his kennel, watching the world go by. Keith has become this retired sled dog, sitting in the Crow's Nest, watching the world go by.

After breakfast we spent an hour or so sorting photos, then Keith got motivated to dingy ashore and sniff the local color. As said above, Keith enjoys the tender ride, just for the sake of being on the water in a “small” boat.

Tendering Into Djupivogur

Tender Interior

One Hundred Fifty Persons

Seems a Bit Much for This Craft!

Djupivogur is a truly small village, population just a few hundred. Teenage children meet us at the top of the ramp with brochures. They seem a bit sullen, and will not return smiles. Forced labor?

Sullen Djupivogur Tweens Greet Passengers From the Maasdam

A Humorless Ubergreeter Superintends Young Greeters

There is not much about the town but a small hotel and a café/gift shop/information center. Keith walked half a block to a good place to photograph the Maasdam, then returned to the picturesque dock to photograph the small boats and then reboard the tender. He thoroughly enjoyed the fresh air and the short walk, but he especially enjoyed the 15 minute tender ride, and the small boats in the harbor. There was a bit of sea, running 2 to 3 feet in from the ocean, on the beam, lending a comforting roll to the ride in and out.

Djupivogur Harbor

A Unique Flagpole Base

Close Up of Flagpole Base

Beautiful Small Boats in Djupivogur Harbor

Beautiful Big Boat Anchored in Djupivogur

Up to the Crow’s Nest to watch the sail away at 4:30. The weather has turned cloudy (big surprise), so it's not clear how scenic this one will be. I was told that we will be sailing relatively close to the coast around the south of Iceland.

5pm and here we sit, waiting for the last of the shore tours. The captain seems a bit impatient to get underway. He promises a smooth night, and hopes to make good time to Reykjavik, our next destination.

In the Crow’s Nest for Sail Away

In the meantime we watch the gigolos (their badges read "dance host"), waiting eagerly for the opportunity to dance with single old ladies in the lounge.

Dance Hosts Eagerly Await Clients

"I cannot say this is the prettiest place we have visited." Kathy's parting shot for Djupivogur.

5:30pm, and finally we are under way. We shall see if the captain can make up an hour delay overnight. We shall paddle as hard as we can.

We Sail Away From Djupivogur

Voyage of the Vikings, Day 24 - Torshaven, Faroe Islands

2009-08-17T18:43:00.003-04:00

Pronounced tor'-shan.

6:30am in the Crow's Nest, watching our approach to Torshaven. A quiet night last night, sea state-wise. Keith is having trouble with his left shoulder, and it kept him awake some. Probably bursitis. Old age is hell, but it sure beats the alternative by a country mile.

There is a group that shows up in the Crow's Nest for almost every arrival, and for many departures. After a couple of weeks of this, the management started putting out coffee for us.

The Early Risers Club

Another Early Riser

A Not So Early Riser

The harbor at Torshaven is very small. Keith is amazed that our captain would bring this large vessel in here. I would think he would be in a world of hurt if a good breeze picks up in time for sail away.

We Approach Torshaven in Partly Cloudy Weather

The captain announced last night that there would be three cruise ships in port today and that, as we are the largest, we were requested to enter last after 8am, because we are so big as to block the harbor entrance. In fact we entered first, at 7am. The Princess boat behind us chose to anchor just outside the breakwater. I don't know where the third boat is.

Our Approach to the Faroes

How Shall We Fit This Gigantic Cruise Boat

in This Tiny Little Harbor?

With Finesse, That’s How

In most ports, we must turn around to leave. I am surprised that our captain almost always chooses to flip the ship on departure. Were I doing it, I would do the flip on arrival, and dock on the other side, so as to be pointed in the right direction for departure. The would be especially helpful if the weather turns snotty, as it did in Glasgow. Could it be that, with azipoids in the stern, this vessel actually steers better going backward than going forward?

It challenged my capability just to handle a 28 footer, so I am really in no position to comment on the handling of this 700-odd foot behemoth. Other than to say that this captain seems to do a superb job. I was especially impressed by his departure from Glasgow. It is the mark of a true professional that he makes a difficult maneuver look easy. And he looks so young for such responsibility! He doesn't look a day over 35. We were later told that he is in his early 40’s.

We have a tour planned for today, but it doesn't leave until 10am, and it is mercifully short. Really just a drive around the island to view the scenery, then back to the boat for lunch. Judging by what I can see out the window, the scenery promises to be outstanding.

Torshaven, Photographed Later in the Day with Sunshine

Faeroese Cliff Homes in Torshaven

I see the tour busses lining up just next to the gangway. That is an improvement on many of the places we have toured, where the busses were a long walk from the boat. The Faeroese are new enough at this that, perhaps, they are still anxious to please. We hope they have free internet somewhere nearby.

10:30am, and we are packed in a tour bus. I see 3 empty seats. We were warned again that tourism is new to Torshaven, and to expect some rough edges. It will take a lot of rough edges to spoil such scenic beauty.

Good news - they drive on the right side of the road here, folks.

Our pert young tour guide tells us that the Faros comprise a group of 18 islands, 17 inhabited. Streymoy, where Torshavn is located, is the largest island. There are 70,000 sheep, and 48,000 people. Seems to be a theme in this part of the world. This is about the best tour guide we have has so far on this cruise. Keith complimented her and she seemed surprised, saying that this was her first experience as a guide. Keith thinks she simply hasn’t had enough time to become slick and jaded.

Our Pert Young Faeroese Tour Guide

There are many tunnels, and every village has a road connection. Ferry services serve Denmark, Greenland, Iceland, and Scotland. Air service to London and further points.

Roads Tunnel Under the Faeroese Mountains

A Ferry Boat Docked at Kaldbaksbotnur

We are driving along the edge of a fjord-like inlet. Magnificently, breathtakingly beautiful. Stratified rock with a thin veneer of lite green grass, punctuated with beautifully magnificent waterfalls. Farms are few and far between.

A Beautiful Faroese Inlet

A Stony Land, With a Thin Veneer of Soil and Grass

Waterfalls Abound in this Stony Land

Rare Faeroese Farmsteads

The Faeroes are a Danish territory, but with their own flag, their own language, and an independent government. Written Faroese goes back only 150 years. It snows, but it doesn't stay around all that long. Another gift from the Gulf Stream. Sea water temperature is about 7C most of the year, a bit warmer in summer.

The Faroese Keep in Touch With the World

The countryside is very rugged. We have traversed two tunnels in the course of 30 minutes, and have passed a third tunnel that crosses under the sea to Eysturoy Island. The countryside is littered with boulders, typical of glacier country.

Across the water we see the island of Koltur, home to exactly one family.

A beautiful staircase falls is in view to the left, descending into another delightful little fishing village. We are stopping for a photo-op. Keith is also making this an ad-hoc comfort stop, across the road and down in the gully. Kathy is jealous.

Keith Smiles Smugly after Getting Comfortable

Gate to Nowhere

A Beautiful Waterside Village

Not a tree in site anywhere, nor a shrub, nor even a bush. Just short, stubby grass, and stone; but mostly emerald green grass.

We are turning on the mountain road to cross the island back to Torshaven. This was the only way across the island before the tunnels were bored. The elevations provide for some magnificent panoramic views.

Panoramic View

Panoramic View of Tourists

Photographing Panoramic Views

Back down the hill into Torshaven, with a photo-stop (note the clever contraction of photo-op stop) to snap the docked Maasdam (see above), then back to the boarding ramp. It's so nice to be in a backward place where they provide door-to-door service.

Lunch in the Lido. Today's specialty, in honor of Phillipine independence day was, of course Phillipino. Keith tried everything, but didn't like much of it. Sensible Kathy had beef stroganoff from the regular buffet.

Keith napped after lunch, while Kathy took the shuttle into town to send post cards. She sure puts a lot of effort into our grandchildren.

Kathy’s trip into Torshavn took a bit longer than planned. She took a wrong turn and walked more of the city than she planned. In her travels she learned that food is very expensive. A hotel offered a lunch buffet of 300 krona which is about $60. She finally arrived at the Tourist Info Center. It had everything she needed; postcards, postage and internet.

Mission accomplished.

Up to the Crow's Nest for sail away, then a late (for us) supper. Kathy has ambitions of a movie after supper. Keith will fall asleep listening to a good book.

We Sail Away From Torshaven, A Delightful Surprise

Voyage of the Vikings, Day 23 - At Sea, Glasgow, Scotland to Torshaven, Faroe Islands

2009-08-16T18:12:00.002-04:00

We bobbed and weaved a bit in the middle of the night. Wind was 40 to 45 knots on the port bow.

It calmed down around daybreak. It's 8:30 and we are at breakfast. Wind is down to 20 knots, still on the port bow.

We normally sit on the starboard side of the Lido Café, for no very good reason but habit. This morning we are sitting to port, as the bright sunshine is almost blinding on the starboard side.

Kathy is eating poached egg and potatoes. Keith is having Danish and omelet with ham, bacon, tomato, onion, mushroom, and cheese. Very tasty.

Our 9am lecture is titled "The Norse invasion of Iceland". Our lecturer, Professor Michael Millwood, emphasizes Norse settlers, as opposed to Viking raiders. He told a cute story about the use of Ravens for navigation guidance. The folklore says that ravens will fly toward the nearest land, as opposed to pigeons, which fly toward home.

Believe what you wish.

Pretty much the standard settlement story. Malcontent gets in trouble with the local government. Malcontent gets tossed out, sails to someplace new with no authority figures. Malcontent settles and becomes an authority figure and tosses out other malcontents who sail to some other place, etc., etc., etc.

Prof. Millwood’s Slide Showing Late First and

Early Second Millennium Norse Migrations

We were told that much of Iceland is full of lava, but about one sixth of the land near the coast is habitable.

More apocryphal tales about dirty hair and other economic disasters in Norway, leading to the earliest known Norwegian brain drain.

Then we heard more stories about malcontent 8th century lawyers migrating to Iceland to found the Alething, the early Icelandic parliament. We will visit the site of this parliament when we are in Rakjaevic. Keith is looking forward to this visit, because it is situated atop the Mid-Atlantic Rift, which is what he came to Iceland to see.

Apparently religion must have somehow got mixed up in all this, but Keith doesn't understand this part of the story.

By the 13th century the authority figures in Norway got big enough and powerful enough to dominate the authority figures in Iceland, leading to it's loss of independence. Eventually the authority figures in Denmark prevailed over the authority figures in Norway, and Iceland was Danish until World War II, when the US military invaded, to prevent the German dominated Danish government from militarizing the island for the wrong side.

In 1944 Iceland was declared independent. In 2008, Iceland went bankrupt. Currently, all bets are off.

Keith is attempting to photograph some of the slides, but it's tricky, as you can see above. The theater is located in the bow, which feels the sea state more than other parts of the boat. Kathy had a brief encounter with mal-de-mer, but seems ok now. We shall move to the library after the presentation is over. It is more in the middle of the boat, and should not be moving about so much.

10:30 update - we are in the library and Kathy is feeling much better. At 11 we will attempt to capture a computer to sort our photos from the last couple of days.

Noon update - The seas have calmed down a bit more. We spent a tedious hour sorting photos. We love looking at the pictures, but sorting them for this Blog is a frustrating process. We have too many good pix from our Wales tour in nice weather, and too many awful photos of rainy bus windows from yesterday's rainy day tour of Glasgow. In both cases sorting is difficult.

Lunch at 1pm. The poolside buffet is serving Indonesian today. The Indonesian crew has decorated the buffet in celebration of their native food.

Indonesian Buffet Art

Watermelon Art

The Indonesian food is not entirely dissimilar from yesterday's Dutch food. The menu included shrimp salad with sweet soya, gado-gado (sweet shrimp salad), sweet and sour cucumber, krupuk (rice cakes), coconut milk rice pudding, banana fritters, nasi goreng, beef sumatra, spicy green beans, spicy shrimp, spicy roasted chicken parts, egg curry, meatballs, chicken satay, beef satay, and peanut sauce. The similarity to Dutch is not surprising, considering the long association through the Dutch East India Company, which exploited Indonesia as well as India.

Indonesian Buffet

Also available poolside were burgers and dogs, and a pretty complete taco bar. And, of course, all the appetizers, entrees, salads, soups, and desserts in the Lido Café. Nobody leaves hungry.

Nap time follows lunch like night follows day. At 3pm, after his nap, Keith attended the second lecture by geologist Prof. David Smith. This erudite gentleman has the rare gift of being able to take a complex, almost arcane subject and make it clear and interesting.

Prof. Smith’s first lecture a couple of days ago dealt primarily with plate tectonics, with emphasis on the Atlantic basin, the mid Atlantic ridge, and the emergence of Iceland. As a secondary topic, he tossed in just enough climatology to cover ice ages, and their effect on sea level and consequent human migratory patterns.

Today's lecture was focused on the geology of Iceland, with lecture one as background. It was explained that Iceland is the only place in the world where a mid-ocean rift surfaces as a significant land mass. Lava flows have been pouring from the rift and accumulating for millions of years to build Iceland. Diagrams were presented to explain a little bit about how volcanoes work, and why there are different kinds, and maps were provided to show where the historic and contemporary rifts and volcanoes are located.

Dr. Smith’s Slide Showing The Location of the Reykjanes Ridge,

the Piece of the Mid Atlantic Ridge Around Iceland

Dr. Smith’s Slide Showing Detail of the Reykjanes Ridge Near Iceland

Dr. Smith’s Photo of Thingvellir,

a Section of the Mid Atlantic Rift in Iceland,

And site of Alething, the First Icelandic Parliment

Dr. Smith’s Photograph of an Eruption at Surtsey,

a New Volcanic Island off the South Coast of Iceland

I apologize again for the poor quality of the photographs of Dr. Smith’s Slides, which were excellent in the original.

Jumping to climatology, Dr. Smith talked a bit about ocean currents, and the effect of the Gulf Stream on the Icelandic climate and glacier formation. Because of the Gulf Stream and the prevailing winds, most of the contemporary Icelandic glaciation is in the southeast, where we are going day after tomorrow. Most of the current volcanic activity is focused in the south and southwest of the island, where the mid-Atlantic rift comes ashore. We visit this area in a couple of days, when we dock in Rjakaevick.

Dr. Smith’s Slide Showing Ocean Currents Around Iceland

Warm Gulf Stream Currents are Colored Black

Keith is hoping to encounter Dr. Smith around the ship somewhere, as he has a few questions to ask.

Keith regrets that he did not have the sense to photograph the Ice Pilot's slides a couple of weeks ago. He is attempting to make up for this omission by taking pictures of the geologist's slides, for further study at his leisure. Now Keith is anxious to get into the computer lab to sort and view these photos.

Speaking of photos, Keith was going to go topsides this morning and shoot some pictures of the brilliant sunshine reflecting off of the deep blue seas. He got lazy, and decided to put it off until later. Well, it's later, and the only scenes to be taken are of foggy seas. Duh...

The Hazy, Foggy North Atlantic

Voyage of the Vikings, Day 22 – Greenock/Glasgow, Scotland

2009-08-15T17:16:00.005-04:00

Another day, another tour. Let's see - it's Saturday; this must be Glasgow. In the rain. We docked in Greenock, a town near Glasgow with good docks, on the banks of the River Clyde .

The Firth of Clyde and the River Clyde

Keith was up and showered at 6am, in the Crow's Nest watching the raindrops fly by. Entering the Firth of Clyde, the shore is barely visible in the rain. Methinks this countryside would be magnificent in the sunshine. The usual crew in the Crow's nest, talking mostly of shore side tours and of other cruises. It seems the majority of people we meet are marathon cruisers, with numerous cruises under their belt.

Greenock as Seen From the Maasdam

Speaking of shore tours, we are on one this morning for Glasgow and the Burrell Collection. What, you are asking, is the Burrell Collection? So are we.

Aboard the tour bus, we are told by our tour guide that she is a native "Glaswigian". Today's tour guide is as good as yesterday's was bad.

We are told the Clyde is a long river, over 100 miles. And here we thought the Mississippi was long!

Historically there were over forty shipbuilding yards on the Clyde, where vessels such the Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Mary were built.

Low Tide on the Clyde

Rainy Day in Glasgow

As we drive along the River Clyde, we hear something of the history of Scotland. Sounds like a country of underdogs. A succession of loosing rebels who died heroically battling the evil English.

To the right we pass the Chivas Regal factory. Any questions?

Coal, iron, steel, and shipbuilding are the foundations of the old Glasgow economy. Since the 1960's this largest city of Scotland is reinventing itself as a high technology economy. It now is a major regional conference and tourism center. The city is an interesting mix of Victorian and modern. We are told it is about half the population it once was.

Traditional Architecture in Downtown Glasgow

Modern Architecture in Downtown Glasgow

Rainy Bus Window Frames a Fancy Streetlight in Glasgow

Glasgow is a little bit hilly. We are told that these hills are remnants of ancient volcanoes. Funny, I don’t think of Scotland as volcano country, in the way that I think of Iceland as of volcanic origin.

The funniest thing we've seen so far on our voyage is a statue of James Watt, with a pigeon sitting on his head. This is the ultimate fate of all engineers, to be rained upon and shat upon by pigeons, in perpetuity.

Rainy Bus Window Frames James Watt & Companion

Typical Glasgow Street

We are approaching Argyle Street, the main shopping street of Glasgow, which is said to be the second largest shopping center in Great Britain. I'm so impressed!

We are headed now for the Burrell Collection. We still don't know what it is a collection of, but from the build-up, it must be really something!

Scottish Farmstead

Keith Thinks This is a Tractor Museum

Update - it's an art museum, folks. Kathy is walking about, viewing the exhibits, while Keith sits in the Café enjoying another wonderful example of British tea. They say you can’t get a bad cup of tea in Great Britain. So far, I must say it’s true.

In a absolute classic case of pearls before swine, Keith doesn't seem to appreciate art museums. He thinks museums should contain tractors, locomotives, airplanes, airplane engines, and other really interesting things.

On the other hand, Kathy seems to feel this place is the best thing since sliced bread. Different strokes.

Speaking of different strokes, today is the end of our "civilization" touring. After today we are back to natural and scenic wonders, such as volcanoes, the mid-Atlantic rift (again), geothermal power stations, etc. We have thoroughly enjoyed visiting places like Holland and the British Isles, but enough is enough, for the time being, as you can probably detect from some of the sarcasm which has begun to creep in the last couple of days. We are looking forward to a day at sea, then the natural wonders of the Faeroe Islands, Iceland, and Greenland.

We return from touring to learn that the Tahitian Princess is docked in front of us in Glasgow. Hmm - which ship shall we board?

A Steep Descent Reboarding the Maasdam

Back aboard at 12:30 for lunch. Dutch food at the Terrace Grill; sausage salad, red beet salad with herring in sour cream, pork satay in peanut sauce, bami goreng (Indonesian noodles), baked chicken in soya sauce, maatjes herring in platter, red cabbage slaw with carrots, chicken ragout on patty shell, veal croquette, meat balls in gravy, torpedo soft roll-brioche roll stuffed with hot dog. As you can tell, Dutch food is strongly influenced by the long Dutch relationship with Indonesia.

Indonesian Lunch

All this in addition to soup, salad, and half a dozen "normal" entrees and many desserts in the regular grill. Or, formal dining service in the dining room.

After lunch Kathy trudged back to the cruise terminal to shop for souvenirs. While there she logged 15 minutes of free internet, and learned that her father entered the hospital Wednesday, for carotid artery blockage. We are trying to learn more.

On return Kathy put clothes in the washer, while Keith laid down for a nap.

4pm and it's happy hour in the Crow's Nest. Sail away promises to be more interesting than usual today. Skies have cleared, and the sun is even peeking out now and again. Our exit promises to keep us in sight of land for several hours.

Our berth is on a very broad stretch of the River Clyde. Interestingly, the channel width seems only a few boat widths. It seems strange to see large commercial vessels sailing so close to us, in such a wide river. Sort of like Mouse Island on the Connecticut River; lots of water, very little of it deep enough to navigate.

A Narrow Channel at the Edge of a Broad River Clyde

The narrowness of the channel made for an interesting departure. About the middle of the afternoon the breeze freshened on our starboard quarter, blowing us off the dock. We were in the Crow's Nest, where there is no wind gauge, but Keith estimates it was blowing a steady thirty, with higher gusts.

Whitecaps on the River Clyde

Make for a Tricky Departure from Glasgow

Because of the wind, and because our position was somewhat confined in a narrow channel, with another cruise boat dead ahead of us, the captain requested two tugs to assist our departure. The maneuver involved moving sideways to port, away from the dock, then reversing several hundred yards to a wider channel, where the captain could swing us around 180deg to head us downriver. To complicate matters a bit more, it looked like a current of about 4 knots was flowing upstream. Tides in the Clyde are said to be the second highest in the world, after the Bay of Funday.

The risks with this maneuver were that the wind might blow us ahead into the Princess boat, or sideways to out of the channel, grounding us in the shallows. I have read that the bow thrusters on these vessels will hold the boat from moving sideways in winds up to about 20. With the wind blowing about 30, the need for the tugs is obvious.

The mark of a good boat handler is to make it look easy, and our Captain did just that. No muss, no fuss, no bother. Keith was never any more than a mediocre boat handler, so he is all that much more admiring of Captain Van Schoonhaven's excellence.

The rest of our sail away was uneventful, but the views were spectacular, with alternating sun and rain squalls. We sailed down river listing about 10 degrees to starboard in the high wind. I don't understand why the stabilizers didn't correct this list. We later were told it had something to do with the ballast tanks.

Rain Squalls Over the Firth of Clyde

A Traditional Side Wheeler Battles the Chop

The Maasdam Swimming Pool Demonstrates Our Port List

Tomorrow is a sea day. One hundred percent relaxation, no tours. I can't wait. Please don’t misunderstand us. We like the tours, but they are tiring.

Voyage of the Vikings, Day 21 - Liverpool, England and the Welsh Experience

2009-08-14T19:21:00.006-04:00

Day is breaking as we enter the river Mersey and approach Liverpool. On the way in we spot a large oil or gas platform, glowing like a small city in the dawn sky. Weather is overcast, temperature in the 50's, wind light & varisb!e; what's new?

Fairie Castle in the Early Dawn Irish Sea

As we approach Liverpool, the low, dark shoreline gradually resolves into individual structures, mostly industrial. Windmills are everywhere, onshore and off.

Liverpool Emerges From the Murk

8am, we are docked in Liverpool, and are in the Rembrandt Lounge awaiting our "Welsh Experience" tour. Kathy's father's people came from Wales, so Kathy especially wants to visit and see the countryside.

Liverpool seems a bit tawdry and gray, but it is home to the Beatles, for those of you who care. A very utilitarian looking city, with occasional litter in view. Daily ro-ro ferry service is available to Belfast and Dublin.

Typical Suburban Liverpool Homes

The good news is we have an all day tour to North wales. The bad news is, we need to walk a considerable distance to the tour bus. The better news is, there is a complimentary shuttle for those of us who have trouble walking. The worst news is we are the last ones on the bus and there are not 2 seats together. The travails of young love!

After leaving Liverpool, we head southeast between the Rivers Mersey and Dee. This territory is on a peninsula called the Wirral . We are still in England. Wales is across the River Dee. The landscape is flat to rolling, and is very green. Along the way we see evidence of re-forestation.

Rolling Green Landscape on the Whirl Peninsula

Roadside Reforestation

We are now crossing the Clwydian Hills. Moelfemmau (bald top) hill is in view.

Approaching the Clwydian Hills, With Bald Top in view

We now are crossing the canalized River Dee into Wales. All road signs bilingual. The Welsh language is very different from English. Wales, very much a rural country, has 3 million people and 12 million sheep. A very pretty, and very well ferilized countryside.

The Unimpressive River Dee Separates England and Wales

Sheep Abound in Wales

Sheep Fertilizer Abounds in Wales

Passing through another pretty Welsh village. Won some sort of prize. If I see another cute Welsh village, I think I will barf.

A Traditional Welsh Thatch Roof House

A Typical Welsh Stone Church

A Typical Welsh Butcher Shop

In all honesty, the Welsh countryside is beautiful. Tall hills (or short mountains), thickly wooded in places, with broad swatches of green green grass, all courtesy the Gulf Stream.

After driving for a couple of hours, with no comfort stop, we pause at the Ponderosa Café and gift shop. In Wales you need to pay to use a public toilet. It costs 20 pence. The tour company has a deal with the Ponderosa so for us he toilets are free. Keith couldn't wait, so he went behind the bus. Fortunately, Kathy didn't know about it. Keith took a couple of landscape photos while Kathy was shopping.

Welsh Countryside, With Heather in the Foreground

Slate Quarry Tailings, Sandwiched Between Heather and Sheep

The Ponderosa gift shop is very unusual. It has a large selection of post cards as well as inexpensive souvenirs, but in the back it also had a selection of adult (read x-rated) items. When Kathy told Keith, he said he was not surprised because this is not the repressed US.

After leaving the Ponderosa we drove along a highway that traveled a long horseshoe curve as it descended into a steep valley.

Looking Down Into the Valley From the Horseshoe Curve

Next we board an antique train for a short ride through yet more Welsh countryside. It reminded Keith strongly of the ride through the Berkshires on Amtrak, except these were vintage coaches are not nearly as comfortable as our modern cars. The train engine was built like Thomas and is a big draw for families in the area. For 1 price kids can ride Thomas all day. The kiddies also get to see and speak with Sir Toppem Hat, of Thomas fame.

Thomas, the Very Useful Locomotive

Sir Toppem Hat Supervises Loading Thomas

Along the way we see more typical Welsh scenes, including a campground, a sturdy looking stone farmstead, and the ruins of an ancient monastery.

Camping is Popular in the British Isles

A Traditional Welsh Farmstead

The Ruins of An Ancient Cistercian Monastery

After our train ride we have lunch at a local hotel. Now because we were in Wales I thought maybe we would be served Welsh food, like pasties or something. No such luck. Would you believe lunch was turkey, cranberry sauce and steamed vegetables from a New England boiled dinner. Oh well what can you expect for a 5 pound lunch.

After lunch we drove through more beautiful countryside and past the Agricultural College of Wales. Here students learn how to be competent farmers and herders as well as hedge builders and stone wall constructors, which is a dying art. The other feature of interest was a modern viaduct built on the lines of the ancient Roman arch bridges.

An Modern Arch Viaduct Fashioned in the Ancient Roman Tradition

Our next stop was Crick Castle. Keith said it reminded him of Richards Hall, his freshman dorm at Lehigh. As you may surmise, neither Keith or Kathy are into castles.

Crick Castle

The ride to the boat was entertaining as our tour guide Violet played Welsh choral music for us. Wales is famous for its international music festival held every year.

The good news is that the shuttle was waiting to drive us back to the ship; however the bad news was that Keith’s back was bothering him a lot more than usual, as a result of a bumpy ride in a grossly uncomfortable bus seat.

We are now sitting in the Crow’s Nest. Kathy is enjoying a Mojito and Keith is enjoying our debarkation from Liverpool. Tomorrow we tour Glasgow and environs. I cant wait!

Voyage of the Vikings, Day 20 – Dunmore East/Waterford, Ireland

2009-08-13T17:04:00.004-04:00

8am, 55deg, mostly sunny at anchor in a light breeze off of Dunmore East, near Waterford, Ireland.

At Anchor off Dunmore East, Ireland

Notice Tender Being Lowered

The Town of Dunmore East, Ireland

Known traditionally for Waterford Crystal, the town and the area are quintessential Irish; quaint, picturesque, and green. Vibrant, verdant green. The green, unfortunately, is representative more of the vegetation than to a surfeit of currency. Like the rest of the world, the once burgeoning Irish high tech economy is suffering with the global recession.

Irish Green

We don't know what we are going to do today. We have no tours planned, but Kathy insists that our feet touch Irish soil, so we will probably tender ashore. Keith's back hurt like h-e-double toothpicks when he awoke, but is feeling better as the pain pills kick in, so maybe a short walk ashore is in the cards.

It's now 8:55 and Kathy is waiting eagerly in line at the future cruise desk to maybe book another cruise. Two day specials are being offered on fall and winter cruises at what appear to be really good prices. We may book an October Panama Canal cruise if everything looks right. The canal transit is on Keith's bucket list, and the offered prices look really attractive. We'll see if there are any hidden surprises - stay tuned.

Kathy Negotiating With the HAL Future Cruise Consultant

10:00am, and we are five grand the poorer. 28 days round trip Fort Lauderdale to San Diego, minimum cost outside cabin (only 200 more than inside, which is a bargain). Departs 16 October, which fits our travel plans reasonably well. It will mean departing Massachusetts with the camper after Christmas, like we did last year, instead of early October, as we had planed, but life is what happens while you are making other plans.

Kathy Examines Our Panama Canal Cruise Itinerary

After the excitement of spending so much money, Keith went up to the flybridge to cool off, and to snap some pix. Unfortunately, while we were spending, the weather slid down the sun scale from mostly sunny to mostly cloudy, so the pictures will not be so nice as they could have been. I will repeat, once more, our captain's pronouncement that this is the North Atlantic. Deal with the cloudy weather.

After Keith’s wallet cooled off, we made our way to the tender platform and tendered into port at Dunmore East.

Kathy Descending the Stairs to the Tender

Water View of the Maasdam

Fast forward to 11:45. Kathy is shopping in Dunmore East, while Keith takes pictures and sits on a bench admiring the harbor. A sign at the harbor entrance reminds the intrepid cruiser that this is a working harbor, and the tourist should proceed with caution, and at his or her own risk. Dunmore East is definitely more of a working sea village than a tourist destination. I love it!

Warning to Numbskulls

A Beautiful Working Harbor

Kathy Climbs the Hill From the Harbor

A Picturesque Dunmore East Shopping District

While Keith was waiting for Kathy to do her shopping thing, he wandered up the street to look around. Looking back were half the residents of Dunmore East, out to view the big ship in their small harbor. Keith met four delightful natives, who courteously offered to take his photograph.

A Local Lass Out to View the Maasdam With Her Dog

Three Lovely Irish Lassies and a Lucky Laddie

The Courteous Laddie Snaps Keith in Dunmore East

As we were going ashore, we noticed a large number of small sailboats in the harbor, presumably assembled for some sort of regatta.

Small Sailboats Dot the Horizon in Dunmore East Harbor

Kathy has bought, written, and mailed post cards to the grandkids. I applaud her for this effort to reach out and touch them, from all the different countries we visit.

Kathy Returns From Her Shopping Expotition

We tendered back to the boat about 12:30 for lunch. Why should we buy lunch in the village, when we have prepaid meals aboard? On our way out, the tender pilot was required to dodge many of the small sailing craft, which appeared to have become becalmed.

Where’s My Evinrude, Dude?

Sign at the Break Door Where the Tender Docks

Kathy had steamship round of beef with veggies for lunch, while Keith sampled the Irish stew and Irish pasties at the poolside grill. For dessert blueberry crumble, anyberry pie, and chocolate pie. The crumble is excellent, and the chocolate outstanding. And yes, Virginia, you can take as many desserts as you wish. Decadent!

Shipboard Vendor Selling Drinks at Lunch

Water, Coffee, and Tea are Free; All Else, Including Pop, is Extra

Speaking of food ashore, we were handed a flyer on the sidewalk, advertising the Spinnaker Bar in Dunmore. Typical entree prices 19 euros, surf & turf 28 euros. When Kathy changed money at the front desk (probably not the absolute best rates), she got about 60 euros for $100. That puts the typical Spinnakers entree at about $30US, which makes our prepaid lunch aboard seem an even better bargain.

A nap after lunch (spending money is exausting work), then up to the Crow's Nest for a drink at happy hour. Live music, but there are very few people up here, and nobody is dancing, on a port day. Also, there is an Irish music show going on down below. Kathy wanted to attend, but overslept.

It's such a beautiful day. It's bright and sunny again, although there are clouds on the horizon for sailaway. Keith is torn. He wants to be in the Crows Nest for sailaway, but the computer lab is open during that time, and he also wants to be there, to sort the last three day's photos. Well, at least the computer lab has windows.

We missed the sailaway. The draperies were shut in the computer room, and we were in there well over an hour, sorting our Rotterdam and Dunmore East photos. We didn't finish dinner until 8pm, which is very late for us. I hope we sleep well. Keith wants to be up early for arrival at Liverpool, and we have a long tour tomorrow.

See ya...

Voyage of the Vikings, Day 19 - At Sea - Rotterdam to Dunmore/Waterford, Ireland

2009-08-12T10:39:00.003-04:00

Thank God for sea days! Power touring is fun and educational (wholesome even maybe), but at my age, it has become very tiring.

For many years Keith has been reading stories about the English Channel. Now he is sailing in it! It really doesn't look that much different from any other patch of ocean, except that there is much, much more ship traffic than we have seen previously. From Boston to the North Sea, it was rare to see another ship, for days at a time. Today we have seen dozens of other vessels.

Sailing the English Channel

We are homeward bound. Rotterdam was the termination of our outbound voyage. Most passengers stayed aboard for the return trip to Boston, but about 300 people disembarked, and an equal number embarked for the return voyage. Our route back is similar to the outbound voyage, except we stop at the Faeroes, instead of sailing by. About 4800 miles each way. If we add in our Alaska voyage, we are approaching 10.000 frequent sailor miles, except they don't keep track that way; they track nights aboard. We will have 42 on return, which is almost enough to get us some silly little pin.

Speaking of repeat business, we received a flyer this morning with some really attractive prices on future cruises. We think the slumping economy must be hitting the cruise industry very hard. We are being tempted by prices well below $100pp per night. We are thinking about it.

To cope with the ailing economy and the reduced passenger revenue, we see cost cutting everywhere. It’s all still very nice, but a critical observer can see occasional examples of cutting corners, such as the broken elevator rail shown below.

Infrastructure Breakdown

To give credit where credit is due, this rail was repaired the day after the photo was taken.

We have done four tours, so, far. One has been so-so (the Nessie thing), one very good (although misleading), and two excellent, including yesterday's tour of Holland. It covered everything iconically Dutch, including old Amsterdam and it's canals, the Ann Frank house, the dykes, the lowlands, and the canals, the windmills (traditional and modern), and modern Rotterdam, rebuilt from the ground up after being leveled by the Germans at the opening days of WW 2. At this time of year, a very green and very picturesque country.

We slept late this morning, arising at 7:30. We get our first hour back tonight, so Keith is going to pretend it's 6:30. Kathy ordered room service. She will breakfast and watch the English Channel roll by. Keith went up to the Lido Café to breakfast and watch the English Channel roll by.

Interesting stuff at the breakfast buffet. In addition to the normal stuff, there is a selection of oddments, including nuts (pecans, sliced almonds, and a small, more or less spherical nut that Keith recognizes but doesn't remember the name of), raisins, prunes, and, strangest of all, for breakfast, chocolate shavings. It's there every day, but Keith just decided to sample it today.

Odd and Interesting Breakfast Garnishes

Kathy Relaxes After Breakfast

We have new speakers aboard. On the outbound voyage we heard an ornithologist, a historian, and a licensed ice pilot. The ice pilot was outstanding. The other two were really pretty lame.

Today we hear a geologist talk about the English Channel, the North Sea, and such. Keith has great hopes. Keith is itching to sort our Holland photos, but does not expect to be able to get a seat in the lab. The instructor teaches on sea days and his courses have been very popular. With a new population on board, I don't think we will get in today. We will try tomorrow, when we are in port.

It is noon in the middle of the English Channel. 60 deg., overcast, wind west 20, seas moderate.

The speaker before lunch was as good as the outbound speakers were lame. A little bit of plate tectonics, a bit about ice age sea levels and migrations, etc. Subduction was mentioned, but the term orogony was not used. Future lectures on other geology related topics are promised. Keith will be there.

David Smith, A Retired Geology Professor, Lectures on Various Topics

One of Prof. Smith’s Slides Illustrates the Mechanisms Underlying Continental Drift

Featured poolside for lunch was a German theme buffet. Excellent liverwurst!

A nap after lunch, then another lecture, about the 6th century voyage of St. Brendan. The lecturer was a History Professor named Mike Millwood. Another excellent lecturer, who managed to make this seemingly very dry topic actually somewhat interesting. His talk was about a supposed year 575 voyage by a guy named St. Brendan, from Brendan’s Cove on the west coast of Ireland to Newfoundland, by way of the Faeroe Islands, Iceland, and Greenland. Just the route we are following.

Professor Millwood’s Slide Showing St. Brendan’s Putative Route

The putative voyage was made in a traditional Irish vessel named a carrough. Framed with wood, the hull is made of seal skin softened with lanolin. This vessel is said to have the advantage in dealing with ice, which deforms but does not damage the seal skin hull.

St. Brendan supposedly sailed back to Ireland, taking advantage of prevailing winds and the Gulf Stream. There is an oral history which claims the voyage took 7 years, and that Brendan embarked at the age of 71. He is said to have died shortly after his return.

It is claimed that the climate in the 7th century was warmer than today making the voyage a bit easier. The hypothesis is advanced that Irish fisherman sailed to Newfoundland before Brendan, but kept knowledge of these prolific fishing grounds secret. The voyage was reproduced in the mid 1970's by a guy named Tim Severin, who wrote a book about named "The Brendan Voyage", published in 1978. I plan to try to find this book.

A major point was made about the difference between Norsemen (settlers) and Vikings (war raiders). He says this trip should be called "Voyage of the Norsemen", because it retraces the route of settlers, not raiders. Damn purist!

A mohito for Kathy in the Crow’s Nest followed Prof. Millwood’s lecture, then supper in the Lido Café. Beef Wellington with asparagus and baked potato for Kathy, shrimp cocktail, sirloin, and asparagus for Keith. Chocolate napoleon and chocolate mud for Keith.

Kathy Blogs in the Crow’s Nest, with Inspiration From a Tasty Mohito

We won't be up much later tonight. We are looking forward to an extra hour of sleep. Tomorrow we anchor in Dunmore, near Waterford, Ireland.

Voyage of the Vikings, Day 18 - Rotterdam

2009-08-11T08:37:00.004-04:00

Another day, another power tour.

Keith is up at 5am after a restless night. Bright lights in view close by out the cabin window. Smells like an oil refinery.

Early Morning on the Banks of the River Maas

Keith is showered, shaved, and in the Crow's Nest with coffee at 5:30 for a ride in the early dawn light, up the Maas River into the heart of Rotterdam. Rotterdam is about 20 miles upstream from the river mouth. The banks are lined with industrial stuff like refineries, wind farms, tank farms, etc. It's a beautiful ride before sunrise, with a bigillion lights. It's almost like Disneyland after dark.

Rotterdam and the River Maas

As the day brightens, the industrial infrastructure supporting the lights begins to emerge from the darkness. Further along, the Rotterdam cityscape looms out of the haze. Rotterdam has a relatively low skyline, with no hundred story skyscrapers such as are seen in many large cities.

Fireboats Greet Our Arrival in Rotterdam

Rotterdam, Looking Across into Germany

As we near the dock we see an older incarnation of the vessel Rotterdam, docked permanently near the city center. It is said that this vessel is being converted to a hotel, like the Queen Mary in Long Beach.

We dock on the south shore of the Maas River in the center of downtown Rotterdam. Police boats patrol continuously to keep terrorists and sightseers away. There is a modern cable stayed bridge just off our bow. We are told that Germany is on the other side of the bridge.

Nearby is the former world headquarters of the Holland Amerika Lun, also now a hotel.

The Elder Rotterdam, Being Converted to a Hotel

The Elder Holland America Headquarters

Following a quick breakfast we board a bus to tour Holland. Our first stop is an Amsterdam canal cruise, then lunch in Volendam, a visit to a traditional windmill whirlwind, and some traditional Dutch shoes, maybe.

Our route takes through Rotterdam, then north toward Amsterdam. The tour guide tells us that the Netherlands has 60 million residents, and fits in Maryland. The tour guide told us a lot of other stuff about the history of the Netherlands, when the Dutch ruled the world of commerce. All this stuff went in one ear and out the other. If you are interested, look it up on Wikipedia.

Typical Rotterdam Residential Architecture

What a pleasure to be back in the part of the world where they drive on the right side of the road! We are on a freeway with an 80kph speed limit, enforced by an interesting camera system that photographs and time stamps all license plates entering the motorway, then exiting the motorway. A computer sorts photos by plate number, then matches entering and exiting plates. Transit times are calculated for each plate, and a summons is mailed to the owner of any car with too short a transit time. Any car exiting the motorway before entering is required to return to their TARDIS for transport off world.

Cameras are located every 100 meters along the highway, and help is dispatched to any vehicle stopping on the shoulder.

Big brother is watching you, in Holland.

Along the way we are treated to a rant about how Holland does not try to prohibit deviant behaviors such as prostitution, drug use, etc. These activities are regulated, contained, and taxed.

North of the Rotterdam suburbs we travel through the traditional Dutch countryside, much of it below sea level. Drainage canals criss-cross the lush fields. The level of the water in the canals is above the level of the surrounding countryside, which is below sea level. Pumps work continuously to pump water from the fields up into the canals.

Dutch Canal and Countryside

Approaching Amsterdam we again enter a zone of urban sprawl. Most of what we see, even near the city center, is relatively new construction. After a very brief drive through the supposedly old section, we arrive at the harbor and turn right to follow the water.

A Traditional Amsterdam Street

Dutch Bicycle Parking Lot Along the Amsterdam Waterfront

After a brief ride along the harbor we arrive at the train/boat station, where we get off the bus and board a canal boat. We spend about an hour riding the canals around Amsterdam. Photography is difficult because the boat is low, to pass under all the low bridges, and is covered with light-distorting plastic, to keep out liquid sunshine. There are open skylights which are accessed by standing on the seats. The tour guide barks at Keith for this behavior, warning him that he could bump his head on a low bridge. Keith ignores him and gets some good pictures. Fortunately we have a partly sunny day for our tour.

Boarding a Canal Boat for a Canal Tour

The many traditional houses along the canal are narrow, 14 to 20 feet wide, mostly 3 or 4 stories tall. Typical depth is said to be 60 feet, for a typical footprint of about 1000 square feet. With four floors, this grosses out to 4000 square feet. They are said to sell for upwards of a million dollars. At $250 per square foot, that's not too different from typical US values. The older canal front homes are sometimes tilted, like the leaning tower of Pisa, because the entire city is built on wet soil, similar to Venice. A shortage of housing leads to numerous floating residences.

Amsterdam Canal Front Homes Lean and Tilt

On the Poor Canal-Front Sub Soil

Amsterdam Floating Residence

Most canal front homes have a traditional beam at the peak. When these homes were used for commerce, this beam was used to hoist goods to the upper stories, which were used as warehouses.

Cargo Hoist is Typical of Most Canal Front Homes in Amsterdam

Seven Bridges Canal

A Unique Dutch Watercraft

A highlight of the canal cruise was a trip by the Ann Frank house, where a diary written by a young Jewish victim of the Nazis was found after the war, by the father and sole survivor of the Frank family.

The Ann Frank House and Museum

Back on the bus for a ride to the small fishing village of Volendam for lunch. Soup, chicken, ice cream, and gift shop. On our way we went through a long tunnel. What it passes under, and where we are, we don't know. We are pass a bridge known locally as the Dolly Parton, because it (supposedly) looks like a brassiere.

Dolly Parton Bridge

Approaching the restaurant, we ride on top of a dike separating the town from the Zeider Zee. It seems creepy to look left and see water that is a good 10 feet higher than the land on the right.

Dutch Waterfront Dyke

Only the Third and Fourth Stories of the Homes are Visible Behind the Dyke

Lunch was about 2-1/2 Cows, across the board, except for the ice cream, which was 3-1/2. Service was slow, taking 75 of the allotted 90 minute lunch break. This was fine with Keith, but Kathy was itching to shop, shop, Shop! She desperately wants to take Dutch shoes home to the grandchildren.

Next stop wooden windmills. Cute. Enough said.

Traditional Dutch Wooden Windmills

Dutch Trailer Park

Back to the Maasdam at 4:30, just in time for sail away. We go up to the Crow's Nest at 5 to watch sail away. Not! Way too crowded to get a good seat. We needed to arrive at 4, while we were still on the motorway. Down one floor to the Lido deck for dogs & burgers. Both very good, and available before the Lido Café opens at 5:30. The view from the Lido is almost as good as the view from the Crow’s Nest.

At about 5pm we backed away from the pier and swung 180 degrees, then headed west for the 20 mile run back to the North Sea. With bow thrusters and azipods in the stern, the maneuverability of these large ships is simply amazing. No tugs required, thank you (unless the wind is strong enough to overpower the thrusters, in which case tugs are called for).

Along the channel, and especially at the exit to the blustery North Sea, are hundreds of modern windmills.

Modern Windmills Abound in Holland

Buoy Farm on he South Bank of the River Maas

Tomorrow is a sea day (thank God). We don't know if we get our first hour back tomorrow, or the next day.

Stay tuned!

Voyage of the Vikings, Day 17 - At Sea, Edinburgh to Rotterdam

2009-08-10T09:37:00.002-04:00

Where's the usual map? Keith forgot to upload it, and he is on a remote computer and can't access it, so it ain't there. Today we are at sea between Edinburgh and Rotterdam. Look it up in an atlas.

9am, and we are lingering over breakfast; I love these days. Power touring is educational, it is interesting, it is wholesome, but restful it is not! If I organized these trips there would be two days at sea for every day ashore. But then, my tour doesn't have brochure appeal, and I would go broke.

Lingering Over Breakfast

Course is southeast, speed 13, wind SW about 15; light seas, as perceived from 11 stories up. This boat rides much smoother than the Yacht Christine. But then, the Christine was rated just over the 5 ton minimum for Federal documentation. The Maasdam is rated 55,000 tons, four orders of magnitude larger. And, it has stabilizers. No wonder it rides so smoothly.

They give back our passports today. They were collected before we arrived in Iceland. What they don't give back is the hours they stole from us; in fact, they are going to steal another one at noon today. I didn't realize that Western Europe is an hour ahead of the UK.

9:23am and an announcement from our captain, who is very good about keeping us informed. We are making an immediate right turn and heading due west toward England, due to a medical emergency. It is not determined yet whether the medevac is to be handled by docking, by boat, or by helicopter, but the captain wants too get as close to the English coast as possible for whatever. We are told this detour will not delay our scheduled arrival in Rotterdam.

10:45am and a chopper is in sight. I think the pickup will be on the forward deck, but I don't know for sure. Passengers are not permitted in the Crows Nest. Keith got some good photos of the bird from the sports deck, but that now has been cleared, as well as the Lido deck. While Keith is disappointed to miss an opportunity to witness a helicopter pickup, he thinks clearing the decks is the right thing to do, for safety reasons. He overheard some lady say to security "you put on this show, then you don't give us a place to view it". Duh... So, in the meantime, we will have to be content with these photos.

RAF Rescue Chopper Approaches

Preparing to Hoist

11:15am The captain has announced that our rescue is complete, and we are back on track for our scheduled 4:45am pilot pickup in Rotterdam.

Originally planned for the foredeck, the helicopter pickup was shifted to the top deck when a Sea King helicopter showed up. This craft is too large to safely maneuver around the bow. This information explains why they chased us off the sports deck.

Kathy stood in line 45 minutes to get her passport back. Keith can't stand that long, so will wait for the line to shorten. The computer lab is overstuffed (it's a sea day), so Keith is composing and relaxing in the Explorer's Lounge / library.

In Line, Waiting to be Interviewed by the Dutch Immigration Authorities

11:30 and the passport line is getting longer, not shorter. Keith heard that the Dutch immigration officials refused to work during the rescue operation. The HAL lady says they will not feed the immigration officers until the line is cleared. Not wishing to stand 45 minutes, Keith stole a stool from the slot machines, and slid along the line. The Dutch immigration guy was very courteous.

Noon becomes 1pm, as we set our watches ahead once again.

1pm, Mongolian buffet at poolside for lunch. We love Mongolian buffet! Keith goofed and poured too much red pepper from an open container, but it turned out tolerable, and Keith enjoyed it. Had it been too hot to eat, there would have been no problem going through the line a second time.

Mongolian Buffet Poolside

Kathy Enjoys Her Mongolian Lunch

The Dutch imigration officials showed up for lunch about 2pm. The way the behaved, I think they are enjoying this assignment as a holiday.

Dutch Immigration Officials, Last In Line for Lunch

The afternoon slipped by in the computer lab, and the casino. After Kathy finished in the casino she helped Keith sort photos, then she whiled away the rest of the afternoon in the puzzle room. The breeze picked up a bit during the afternoon, then settled down later in the day. The weather is overcast, but the visibility is good.

Kathy reports someone (unofficial) telling her there are thirteen children aboard, 11 of them teenagers. I hope they have found one another, among all these septuagenarians.

A lite supper in the Lido, then to bed, in preparation for tomorrow's power tour of Holland.

Stay tuned.

Voyage of the Vikings, Day 16 - Queensferry/Edinburgh

2009-08-09T07:42:00.005-04:00

Another day, another tour. We arose on the late side, being fatigued from yesterdays tour. Keith very much wanted to be in the Crow's Nest early to watch our approach into the Firth of Forth. Man plans, God laughs.

Today's tour destinations are the Falkirk wheel and the Antonine Wall. As a bonus, Keith is looking forward to seeing the Firth of Forth bridge, which is historically significant. The good news is, this is just a morning tour, so we shouldn’t be so tired from it.

As we approach our anchorage at Queensferry, Keith is excited to find us anchored just downstream of the bridge. Photo follows later.

The port of Queensferry, Scotland

Following breakfast, we board the tender for a short ride to the dock, where we are greeted by bagpipers.

Bagpipers Greet Our Arrival on the Dock in Queensferry

The Falkirk wheel is a boat lift device that replaces a series of locks to connect the Union and the Firth & Clyde Canals. Like a ferris wheel in principle, the wheel picks up boats from the lower canal at the bottom of it's rotation , and delivers them to the upper canal at the top of it's swing. It is a very interesting structure, claimed to be unique in the world.

Being oppositional, Keith must point out another such boat lift on the Trent-Severen Canal in Canada. While different in the details of it's operation, the principal, and the function are the same.

Jump shift - we are now on a canal boat, waiting to enter the lower gondola of the wheel. Kathy is mildly annoyed with Keith because he declined to be photographed by a sweet young thing who wants to sell us a picture of Keith & Kathy on the tour boat. Just go along quietly, Keith! You don't have to buy the damned thing!

About 15 minutes ago Keith photographed a private vessel entering the lower gondola. He waited and waited, to observe and photograph the operation of the wheel. Nada. It seems they wait to operate the wheel until the gondola is full. It takes 18KW (180, 100 watt light bulbs) to start rotation, 12 KW to maintain rotation. Our tour guide bragged that in 4-1/2 minutes the weel draws 1-1/2 KWH, just enough energy to boil 8 kettles of tea. I guess that's enough energy to justify waiting for a full load. The accompanying photo of the wheel in rotation was stolen from the internet.

The Falkirk Wheel, Viewed From the Lower Dock & Visitor’s Center

Boat Entering the Lower Gondola of the Falkirk Wheel

The Falkirk Wheel in Rotation, Halfway Up

(or Down, Depending on Your Point of View)

Boat Exiting the Falkirk Wheel Gondola at the Top

After a 4_1/2 minute ride up 86 feet, we sail out of the gondola, and into the Union canal, and through a tunnel under the Antonine Wall. Past the tunnel the Union Canal proceeds up two more locks, then onward 31-1/2 miles to the center of Edinborough. From the lower end, the waterway enters the Firth & Clyde canal to Glasgow. At the entrance to the locks, we turn around and head back to the wheel for our descent back to the visitor’s center. During our ride we learn that the Scottish canal system was abandoned in the middle of the 20^th century, and was neglected for nearly 50 years. It recently has been restored as a recreational facility.

Recreational Canal Boaters

The Canal Passes Beneath the ruins of the Antonine Wall

Proving That There Really is Light at the End of the Tunnel

The Scottish Countryside as Viewed From the Approach to the upper Gondola

View From the Upper Gondola

Our other destination on this tour is the Antonine Wall. Built 2000 years ago by the Romans, the Antonine wall stretches 60km from sea to sea. It separates England from Scotland, sort of duplicating the function of the earlier, and much better known Hadrians Wall. Why two walls? Don't know. Belt & suspenders, maybe. As indicated above, the canal cuts through the wall, as do many other structures such as homes, roads, condominiums, etc. As we rode through the town of Falkirk we heard from our excellent tour guide "that ditch is part of tew moat", or "that mound by the garage is part of the wall". It reminds Keith of our Oregon Trail, which is built over, ploughed over, and generally ignored by modern America.

The Antonine Wall tour was basically a 1 hour walk in thru the woods. We chose instead to sit in the cafeteria with a cuppa.

As we sat in the café we, watched the Falkirk wheel operate as we eat and drank. Keith is having generic tea, which is excellent. As we have proceeded east, the tea has gotten better. The tea in Iceland was quite good. Tea in the cafe's in Scotland has been terrific. Much stronger than tea available in the US, it seems to want less sweetener to bring out the flavor. Keith loves it.

On the way back to the ship we passed Lithgo Palace , the birthplace of Mary Queen of Scotts.

Our tour guide also pointed mountain ash trees, also called Rowan. They grow beautiful red berries and are planted to keep witches away. Keith had one in his back yard in Wethersfield, and was never troubled by witches, so it must work.

Following our return to the ship we were faced with the question of whether to take the shuttle bus into Edinberg, or take a nap. Nap won, hands down. But not before taking photographs of another major engineering marvel in Edinburg, the famous Firth of Forth cantilever bridge.

Firth of Fourth Bridge

Built of cast iron in 1890, this railroad bridge is to cantilever bridges what the Golden Gate is to suspension bridges, in iconic terms. It is the bridge whose photograph appears as the quintessential example in encyclopedia articles about the cantilever bridge. Keith is tempted to launch into a technical discussion, but will restrain himself.

Before napping we enjoyed a poolside lunch. Kathy had a really good burger, while Keith enjoyed the taco bar.

Following our naps Keith spent some time in the computer lab, while Kathy went to a Scottish music show. Kathy enjoyed it very much. It was a variety show with pipers, dancers, a fiddler and a singer-comedian emcee. The talent for this show was brought in from shoreside.

Scottish Dancers on the Rembrandt Stage

Scottish Fiddler

We enjoyed a late (very late, for us) dinner in the Lido at 8, Then to bed. We are at sea tomorrow, and Keith has a busy day planned in the computer lab, sorting our photos. However, before retiring, Keith took a couple of shots of passing boats from the deck outside our room.

A Passing Freighter

Seems Everywhere We Go, We are the Sightseeing Attraction

Voyage of the Vikings, Day 15 - Invergordon, Scotland

2009-08-08T20:05:00.005-04:00

5am in the Crow's Nest, fresh coffee in hand. I must say the coffee is pretty good. Vessel in the North Sea, entering Moray Firth. Wind north 12, seas calm, heading 216 at 16 knots. I heard the captain announce last night thay we are to meet the pilot boat at 5am, but I see no sign of it. Lights visible ashore. Donuts at 6.

Went outside a couple of minutes ago and took some pix. Glad I did; it's 5:11am, and we just entered a fog bank. Pix dull, not worth showing.

Today begins a round of visits to various ports in the British Isles, and the Netherlands. Our course to these vrious ports is sown below.

Our Tour of the British Isles

Today's activity is a tour of Loch Ness. Kathy is excited, and Keith is interested. Keith only gets excited over stuff like the mid-Atlantic rift, and the Firth of Forth bridge, which I think we are supposed to see tomorrow.

5:30 and still foggy. Keith's GPS says we are well inside the entrance to the Moray Firth. We hope the captain's GPS is working. He is blowing the foghorn. Donuts at 6.

6:10am, donuts in hand. The fog lifted for a few minutes, long enough to snap pixs of a couple of freighters anchored in the firth near the harbor entrance, which is totally obscured. As we enter the harbor, visibility has dropped to near zero.

7am and we are docking in Invergordon. Visibility opened up to about a quarter of a mile as we approached the dock, but it is closing down again as we dock. I hope it improves for our tour.

We just finished breakfast and have an hour before our tour leaves. We decided to go out on deck and listen to the bagpiper welcoming us to Invergordon. Kathy love bagpipes while Keith tolerates them. The pier is a hub of activity as we watch a diver suit up to do an inspection dive of the pier, or the bottom of the boat perhaps. Could this have anything to do with the rumor that we bumped a piece of ice in Nanortalik?

Welcoming Committee

Divers on the Pier

We passed an oil rig on our way to port this am. They are brought here from the North Sea periodically for repairs and rebuilding.

North Sea Oil Platform

9:30 and we are under way, on a tour bus, headed for Nessie. The busses were a long walk to the end of the pier, but we made it.

We are told that Invergordon was a major naval port in the two world wars. With the demise of the Navy, the forth has been taken over by oil rigs.

We passed through the village of Allness, which has won the all-UK prize many times for it's public display of beautiful flowers, all privately grown (no town sponsorship). The flowers really are pretty.

Allness Flower Display

Lots of talk about local distillerys.

We are driving on the wrong side of the road!

The Architecture Of The Homes Looks Very British

We are passing by Cromarty Firth, the second largest in the British Isles. The largest is Scapa Flow.

We now are passing through the town of Dingwall, where 10th century Viking raiders wintered.

The landscape around the east coast is sort of pastoral, with numerous farms, punctuated with patches of trees. As we proceed inland, the terrain becomes more rugged. Farms disappear in favor of steep hillsides, many covered with a scrubby, dark, slightly purplish plant called Heather. The narrow, winding roads remind Keith of West Virginia. Along the way we spot numerous sheep. We are tld there are more sheep than people in Scotland.

Scottish Heather

Sheep Dot the Scottish Landscape

Barley, an Ingredient in Scotch Whiskey

Scottish forests are being threatened by two plants. Bracken (fern) is overgrowing the base of the trees as a ground cover, while Rhodendron are crowding out the canopy growth.

Urquhart castle is located on Lake Ness. It is very old, very scenic, and very dilapated, and we are stuck here for 90 minutes. An ambitious young person could walk about the ruins, but this decrepit old fart will sit in the café overlooking the ruins, with a cup of Scottish breakfast tea. Kathy is, of course, in the gift shop, then the theater.

Urquhart Castle Tourist

Urquhart Castle Ruins, With Loch Ness in Background

Where is Nessie?

Our Scottish Tourguide Won't Tell Us Where to Find Nessie

Loch Ness is very scenic, but not by any means unique. Except for the ruins, we could be on the Hudson River, or one of the Finger lakes.

In the lake I see a couple of swans, which could very easily be mistaken for a monster.

Loch Ness lies in a spreading fault called the Great Glen, which runs from northeast Scotland to southwest Scotland. We are told that the hills on the two sides of the Loch are moving apart at about the same rate your fingernails grow.

The loch is 750 feet deep, with a virtually sheer drop-off on the north side. It is claimed to contain more water than all the lakes in all the rest of the UK. The Caledonian Canal, that travels from the North Sea to the Irish Sea, travels through Loch Ness.

Lunch was at a Hotel in Inverness. Filling, but unmemorable.

Lunch

Inverness Castle

The River Ness in Inverness

It's 2:30 and we are on a motortour of Inverness after lunch, which eas at a local riverfront hotel. Game pate appetizer, baked chicken & gravy, and mixed vegetables, with vanilla ice cream & blackberries for dessert. 3-1/4 Cows.

Kathy is very disappointed that she mistakenly booked the wrong tour. She thought she was booking a tour of Loch Ness including the Nessie center and all that schtick. Instead she booked a tour of Inverness & environs, including a stop at Urquart castle on the Loch, but no Nessie stuff. She says we've got to come back.

One of Kathy's Nessie goals was a Nessie hat for our grandson. She didn't get one at the Nessie center, because we didn't stop there. She did find one, however, on a post priandal shopping tour of Inverness. Keith modeled the hat on the street in Inverness.

Nessie, Spotted on an Inverness Street

Inverness Retail Therapy District

A Twin Spire Church in Inverness

Next stop Culloden battlefield. Significant because it was the last battle fought on English soil, between English peoples. Battle date 1746.

Last stop Cawdor Castle. Dunundestan the significance of Cawdor Castle, don't care. Nap time!

90 minutes sitting in the bus, and under a tree in the sprinkles. Kathy back to join me after 30 minutes. Whatta waste! We are not entirely satisfied with today's tour.

Back to the boat, finally, at 5:30, 15 minutes in line to board because everyone was negotiating the extremely steep gangway with extra caution, then 15 minutes to regroup and make it to the Crow's Nest foe sailaway, and for Kathy's mohito.

There are two oil platforms in port for repair, plus a third incomplete tower in the middle of the channel. We'll soon be back of the North Sea, on our way to Queensferry/Edinburg. Finally, after two weeks, we have a partly sunny day for our touring, and for our sailaway. We hope the nice weather holds for tomorrow!

A Pretty Scottish Lighthouse, Photographed on Sail-away

Voyage of the Vikings, Day 14 - At Sea, Iceland to Scotland

2009-08-07T16:44:00.003-04:00

This has started out as another lazy day. Up at 4, then again at 5, then finaly at 7:30 for a late (for us) breakfast. We don't know what has happened to our penchant for early rising. We suspect a combination of causes.

First, of course, is a mild form of jet lag. Our biological clocks are somewhere between Boston and Iceland, a 4 hour time difference. And they are going to steal another hour from us today, to put us on UK time, for our arrival tomorrow in Scotland.

The second factor is the touring of the last few days. Riding a narrow European bus on narrow, bumpy dirt roads is tiring, in and of itself. Worth the effort, no contest, but still tiring.

Third is the prospect of a day of liesurely dining and total relaxation in the Lido, by the pool, in the Library (AKA Explorers Lounge), in the computer lab, in the casino, etc., etc.

Part of our reason for doing this 35 day cruise is to see if we have the stamina for a really long, (60 to 120 day) cruise to the South Pacific, or around the world. At this point, two weeks in, Kathy says, enthusiastically, "no problem!". Keith says, with equal enthusiasm, "go Dow! Go Nasdaq!...

An Overcast Morning off the Faeroe Islands

Weather last night was moderate seas, wind 35 off the starboard bow, barometer steady at 29.6, temperature 50. It is much calmer this morning. We are beginning to be able to distinguish the different motions of the vessel. First, let me say that in no sense has anything been anything like what I have experienced in a 28 foot boat on Long Island Sound. I can clearly recall the day my crew mutinied near bell 8, off the mouth of the Connecticut River. My son-in-law rebelled when his head hit the ceiling coming off the top of a wave. It seemed just fine to me, up on the flybridge, but I turned around anyway, to keep peace in the family. I have since ridden down below, while a friend was on the bridge steering, and must admit that the ride was much more uncomfortable in the cabin.

Visibility has been mostly limited in haze and fog, with occasional clear patches. The barf bags are deployed in the corridors, but so far we haven’t needed them. Kathy came close the evening we departed Greenland in a 45 knot breeze directly on the bow. Last night was nothing like that ride.

Barf Bags Left Over from Last Night

We currently are passing just west of the Faeroe Islands, headed southeasterly toward Scotland. We aren't close enough to see anything, but we know they are there because there is a handy position map on display on the Upper Promenade deck. This map is duplicated in our cabin 24/7 on channel 40, so Keith can awake in the middle of the night (which he does regularly, for other reasons) and see where we are. Also displayed, 24/7, are ships speed and heading, wind speed and direction, and outside temperature.

Kathy Making Notes in the Explorers Lounge AKA Library

It's 1:45, and we are finishing lunch in the Lido. Keith wrote 12:45, but then Kathy reminded him that they stole another hour from us today. Today, in addition to the regular selections, there is a fish fry by the pool, with trimming’s. I hate to keep harping on this topic, but there's something almost hypnotic about sitting up 11 stories, gazing out the picture window at the sunlight reflected off the waves. The only fly in this ointment is the constant thumping. Keith was beginning to wonder if our propeller was falling off, until he recalled that we are directly below the Sports Deck. Must be a heck of a ball game going on up there.

Competing For a Table in the Lido

Mesmerizing Seas Photographed While Lunching in the Lido

Lunch Was Cod Bought Fresh off the Boat in Iceland

Back to the room for an unlaxing hour or two, then Keith went up to the Crow's Nest to compose and watch the world go by. Kathy showered, dressed, and went to the casino. She has asked Keith to cease reporting her losses, so no more, folks.

Seen on a sweatshirt in the Crows Nest:

"I'm traveling at 33RPM in an iPod world"

About 5 Keith descended and spent an hour or so in the computer lab, then extracted Kathy for a drink in the Piano Bar, where we spent more time watching the sun on the waves, while listening to live piano. At 6:30 we entered the Rembrandt Lounge for tonight's stage show.

A word about talent. The dancers and singers on this boat are head and shoulders above the crew we saw on our Alaska cruise. Keith doesn't care much for stage shows, but he can recognize talent when he sees it. Kathy, on the other hand, just loves the whole stchick. That's why Keith goes.

After a late supper we shall attempt sleep, in preparation for tomorrow's shore tour to Loch Ness. Kathy is just convinced she will see Nessie! But then, she also listens to Art Bell. Wish us luck on the sleeping thing. They stole another hour today, so that when we retire at 9, our circadian system will think it is 5 or 6. Just about the time our systems adjust to UK time, we will turn around and head back. I guess it is better than flying across 5 time zones.

8pm weather addendum: Pressure 29.9 steady, temperature 58, wind 6 knots, seas calm. We haven't seen it this nice since we left Boston. Hope it holds! Before retiring, Keith went on deck to catch a sunset shot.

Sunset on the North Atlantic

See ya tomorrow.

Voyage of the Vikings, Day 13 - Seydisfjordur, Iceland

2009-08-06T13:21:00.002-04:00

Just another picturesque fishing village. Not to complain; this one truly is beautiful. It's just the fourth day in a row. Our preference would be two sea days between every port.

Sedisfjordur certainly is well situated, at the head of a steep sided, narrow fjord of the same name, with scenic waterfalls everywhere. The surrounding landscape shows a lot of similarities with Skagway, Alaska.

Seydisfjordur Port Map

Weather today is 50deg., cloudy with rain forecast. Winds at sea last night were 30 to 35 out of the east, on our port beam. Good sleeping conditions!

Keith was determined to arise in time to view our approach into this beautiful fjord. Not. He awoke at 5:30, started to drag himself out of bed, blinked, and discovered the clock had jumped ahead to 7. Oh well...

After breakfast Keith went on the aft deck to take a few photos.

Waterfalls Abound in Seydisfjordur Fjord

Just one of Many Beautiful Seydisfjordur Waterfalls

Picturesque Icelandic Rowboats

Ghost of the WCYC Marine Railway

It's 8:45, we are fed and on a tour bus, headed up through a steep valley at the head of the fjord. We hate to keep making comparisons, but it reminds us of the cliomb up from Skagway, through the White Pass. Or, maybe like the climb up Thompson Pass, out of Valdez, Alaska.

Kathy on Her Way to the Gangway

BTW, Valdez is where we saw one of the lifeboats from the sinking of the HAL cruise ship Prinzendam in the Gulf of Alaska almost 30 years ago. Read all about it in a recently published book titled "Burning Cold".

The tour we are on today is entitled Monsters and Elves. As we drive through the mountains, our tour guide is telling us about the settlement history of Iceland. Since we can't begin to spell or pronounce the names, all of the history referenced can be found in the Icelandic Sagas.

Today’s Tour Map

We have driven past several public improvement projects that have been halted due to the dire economic situation in Iceland.

Tourguide Factoids:

The national day in Iceland is June 17th.

Iceland is the second most volcanicaly active country in the world, after Hawii.

As we said, this tour is named Monsters and Elves. The following information is provided by the tourguide, without endorsement.

One day God came to visit Eve, and she was not prepared. Some of her children were clean and presentable, and some were dirty and raggedy. Eve was ashamed, and hid the dirty children so God wouldn’t see them. Being omniscient, God of course saw the dirty children. To punish Eve, he told her that the children would remain hidden, forever. To this day, these children live in the rocks in the form of monsters, elves, trolls, etc.

Take it or leave it.

Iceland is also known as the Land of the Elves. Many people in Iceland believe in these hidden people. There is an estimate of 70,000 elves hidden in stones and rocks. They come in many sizes and shapes. Some are mischievous and some are helpful.

JRR Tolkien was fascinated with The Icelandic Sagas. Many of the places and people in his famous Ring Trilogy have their basis in Icelandic lore.

10:00am. We have crossed the pass from our docking port and have driven northbound through a beautiful broad, flat Fljotsdalsherad Plain that descends gradually into the sea. We just turned right, and are now climbing a narrow, winding dirt road back into the mountains. Our destination is, supposedly, another picturesque Icelandic fishing village. Imagine that! In the meantime we feel like we are on the top of the world highway, except this road is in much better condition.

A Cairn Marks the Peak of the Seydisfjardavegur Pass

The Fljotsdalsherad Plain

Critters Spotted on the Fljotsdalsherad Plain

The Village of Egilsstadir, on the Fljotsdalsherad Plain

The Fljotsdalsherad Plain Meets the Arctic Ocean

We have descended again and are now crawling along a dirt track clinging to the side of the mountain, at the edge of the Arctic Ocean. Our destination is the gift shop at the end of the Universe. I hope they have potties at the end of the universe.

Njardvikurskridur Road, Where the Rumbler (a Mythical beast)

Caused Rockslides that Killed Unwary Travelers

Monument to Travellers Killed by the Rumbler

10:38am. The bus droped a load of people at a quaint church, then drove about a block to the gift shop at the end of the universe. Unfortunately, Keith got off at the church to use a nearby facility, and the bus drove off. Not a big deal, but a block is a longer walk for Keith than it used to be.

Quaint Church in the Iceland Fishing Village of Bakkagerdi

Quaint Tour Guide Pontificates in Quaint Church

Bakkagerdi Rainbow

In the meantime, the gift shop at the end of the universe don't open 'till 11. On the positive side, the partly sunny weather is magnificent, rainy forecast notwithstanding. You just can't trust anything HAL tells you.

Lunch was served in what appears to be a small community building in this small town of 150 population. Cream of asparagus soup, codfish, salad, rolls and butter. Portions were generous. The soup was good, and the fish excellent. Much better than the tour lunch two days ago.

We stopped at an artificial man-made harbor at Harbor Hill where there is a large puffin colony. Puffins are plentiful and a food source in Iceland. Only puffins younger than 5 years old are allowed to be eaten, so as not to interrupt the breeding cycle. Puffins mate for life and lay a single egg in a hole. They return to the same spot to mate yearly. They have been known to live for 40 years.

Puffin Roost near Bakkagerdi

Puffin Doing What Puffins Do

More trivia: The European standard elevation for gentlemen's bathroom fixtures is a couple of inches higher than the American standard. It may not sound like much, but for us shorties, it makes a difference.

Our return journey through the Fljotsdalsherad Plain offered more opportunities to take photographs. A small sampling is presented below.

Happy Campers Parked at a Fljotsdalsherad Plain Overlook

An Isolated Farmstead on the Fljotsdalsherad Plain

Another Marshmallow Farm!

We Descend the Pass Road Into Seydisfjordur

Welcome Home to the Maasdam

Keith & Kathy’s Window is Visible, Just Below the Lifeboat

Kathy Kibitzes at the Gangplank as Keith Dawdles Taking Photographs

Fast forward to 5pm, in the Crow's Nest, waiting for sail away. This should be a good one, with the fjord being so scenic. On our way back from our shore excursion we were confronted by a very steep boarding ramp (see above). The Captain came on the PA system and explained that there wasn't as much water at the dock as promised, so they were docked further out than expected. Sounded specious to Keith.

It's 5:10pm and we are exiting the fjord. Time to go below, sort pictures, eat, and go to bed.

Nite - nite. Don’t let the bedbugs bite.

Voyage of the Vikings, Day 12 - Husavik

2009-08-05T09:50:00.003-04:00

Finally, a destination I can pronounce, sort of.

Just in case any of you were waiting on the edge of your chair, we did cross the Arctic Circle last night (and then turned about and re-crossed it), but we did not attend the festivities. Too much power touring during the day. Don’t get us wrong – we thoroughly enjoyed the tour, but we were very tired when we returned. The narrow and low bus seats are killers on Keith’s back.

The other big news was a $191 win at the slot machine, after loosing $90 at the table. To celebrate her big win, Kathy immediately put $20 back in the machines, Netting $81 for the day.

Keith is topsides at 6am. Visibility is about a quarter of a mile in fog, and closing in. But it seems to be getting brighter in the east... Weather is cool (50deg). The wind was out of the NE at 35 when I awoke in the open ocean. Lots of whitecaps. Now that we have entered the Skjalfandi Bay, Wind has calmed somewhat and sea state is much abated as we proceed toward Husavik. Perfect weather for Kathy to sleep in.

Skjalfandi Bay and Husavik Harbor

Earlier there was a bright patch ashore where our harbor is located. Approaching the harbor, however, it has begun to rain. We hope the locals don't blame us for bringing the rain with us.

It’s Getting Brighter in the East!

Still no whales, BTW. An Australian lady sitting next to me tells me that this area is known for whale sightings. Oh well.

Looks like another relaxing shipboard day. It's 8am, Kathy is still in bed, we're docked about a quarter mile from town, and it's still raining. I can't say I'm chuffed; the older I get, the more these days of relaxation appeal, especially in a luxurious environment where there's always something going on.

Rainy Day Approach to Husavik

Kathy Approaches Husavik in the Rain

Fast forward to 2pm, and we've accomplished little, but have enjoyed it immensely. A liesurely breakfast, followed by time in the Library fiddling with the Blog, then time in the computer lab fiddling with photos, and suddenly it was lunchtime. A nap after a liesurely lunch, then back to the library for Keith, while Kathy consumes another novel.

A Small Part of the Lido Dessert Buffet

What happened to our ambition to walk into town? The weather has cleared and the merchants are waiting for us. Lunch is what happened to our ambition. In addition to the fact that Keith's back is aching pretty good after yesterday's long bus ride. , so we took a few photos from the deck.

Husavik is A pretty Northern Icelandic Harbor

Close-up of the Pretty Icelandic Church

Colorful Homes Cling to the Icelandic Hillside in Husavik

We are sorry to miss one of the museums in Husavik. according to the literature published by Holland America, "The Icelandic Phallological Museum... is all about science. Among Icelandic people, the subject does not bring so much as a blush - the museum's unabashed theme is the phallus. Male genetalia representing different species are preserved in remarkable ways, and the museum documents various (and perhaps surprisingly fascinating) facts about the organ."

The surprisingly fascinating fact is that the person who was fascinated by all this was not Keith. It is the same person who insisted we drive all over southern Nevada to photograph brothels.

Brochure Photo of a Husavik Museum

We can't wait to see what Holland America has to say about the red light district in Amsterdam.

Factoid: according to Liz, the fascinating artist we toured with yesterday, a common criminal charge in 19th century London was "For Unnatural Carnal Knowledge", often abreviated in the police logs. We also were told that the nickname "copper", later abreviated to "cop", refered to the copper buttons worn by early London policemen.

We don't endorse this trivia, we just pass it along. Best say no more, and segway to the photos

Keith on Deck, Checking the Dock lines

Triple Spring Lines Hold Maasdam Securely

Kathy Looking Out Over the Skjalfandi Bay

Tourists Look for Whales in the Skjalfandi Bay

Looking ahead to dinner, we should report that we officially gave up our standing 5:30 reservation in the dining room. We exchanged it for a system where we make table reservations each morning, as desired. We found it tedious to spend two hours at the dinner table every day, despite the pleasant company. We also found ourselves skipping the dining room in favor of the Lido, because of conflicting schedules. One of the things Keith most enjoys about cruising is sitting in the Crow's Nest watching the scenery, and the boat handling, as we sail away from port. That generally conflicts with the dinner time slot. Keith has been bribing Kathy with liquor to bypass formal dining on sail away days (most days, except those at sea).

While on the subject of dinner, we thought we would like to share one of the HAL moneymakers with you. Called the Six Courses Candle Light Dinner in the Pinnacle Grill, it features the following menu:

EXCLUSIVE CANDLE LIGHT DINNER

"The Maasdam is proud to announce that the Pinnacle Grill is once again elevating it's elegant dining experience by offering a one time only Candle light Dinner this cruise, to be held on Wednesday August 5th, 2009.

This evening filling event will feature a special Six Courses Candle Light Dinner Menu designed and prepared by our Pinnacle Grill Chef John. Ingo, our cellar master, who is blessed with a keen ability and a passion that keeps him in constant pursuit of the ultimate wine and food combination, has selected the perfect accompaniment for each of Chef John's culinary delights. Ingo and your Pinacle Manager Peter will explain each combination in depth at your table and can answer any further queries during thus special dinner.

To enhance the wine and food pairing discussions, seating arrangements will be shared by other guests, which is to surely enliven the spirit of the evening. You will be welcomed at 7:00pm in the Pinacle Grill where an evening of mouth-watering dishes, exceptional service and world class wines awaits you.

The Matre’ de Awaits Your Pleasure

MENU

Avocado Rendevoux

Domaine Ste. Michelle Sparkling Brut NV, WA, USA

*****

Seenade of White Tomato and truffle essence Soup

Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling, WA, USA

*****

Boquet of Fresh Greens on a bed of Sunset Boulevard

Rosemont Chardonnay, South Eastern Australia

*****

Champagne Spoon to settle down

J. Roget Sparkling Brut NV, NY, USA

*****

A Harmony of Lobster Tail and Seared Tuna

Conundrum, CA. USA

Rack of Lamb Seduced by a Garlic-Rosemary Mint Sauce and fleshy Vegetables with a Stimulating Espresso-Potato Gratin

Kenwood Sauvignon Blanc, CA, USA

*****

Cupids Pinnacle Grill Dessert sampler

Graham's Six Grapes Port, Portugal

*****

Coffee or Tea Friandise

Is this supper, or gastronomic poetry? Can somebody please explain to me what the dickens it means to say rack of lamb seduced by a mint sauce? And all for only $45 per person, over and above the cost of the dinner you've already paid for.

My dear departed father, who grew up on a southern Indiana dirt farm, would have looked at this menu and said "well la-ti-da".

That's all, folks!

Voyage of the Vikings, Day 11 - Akureyri, Iceland

2009-08-04T02:58:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was the first of four days in northern Iceland. Last night, and the next three nights we will be hop-scotching this territory. Northern Iceland is penetrated by numerous glacier-carved fjords. The Icelandic Fjords are different from the Greenland fjords. Whereas the valleys in Greenland were steep-sided and stony, the Icelandic fjords are soil and grass covered, and have an altogether softer aspect, as seen in yesterday’s photos of Isafjordur.

The Icelandic Hop-Scotch

Soft Green Mountains Backstop Akureyri

Today will be our first shore tour, where we will explore the interior of this mountainous land. Akureyri is located at the head of Eyafjordor, the longest fjord in Iceland. We entered the fjord at 4 this morning. Keith had planned to be topsides to view the passage, but failed due a couple of reasons. First is the 4 hours the HAL line recently stole from us. At 4am ships time, Keith’s body thinks it as about 1am, which is the middle of his body's sleep cycle.

Second is a thick fog. Couldn't see nuttn’ anyway. Keith knows this because he was up briefly at 4, and at 5, and at 6. We won't mention why Keith is up hourly every night, but it might account, at least in part, for why Keith is perpetually tired and grumpy these days. The other cause is a chronic back ache.

It's now 7:30 and the fog is starting to lift. We hope that trend continues, as we are touring today.

Akureyri is one oh hundreds of cute villages which litter the coasts of Greenland and Iceland. At 15,000 people, it is significantly larger than most villages.

A Pretty Icelandic Village

This Modernistic Cathedral is the Pride of Akureyri

We've seen hundreds of cute villages all over the place, so don't get much fussed if we miss one on account of illness, rain, etc. We are touring from Akureyri to see the countryside. We are anxious to see some of the interior of Iceland. There is supposed to be a pretty lake and waterfall at the destination, but it's the ride through the countryside that Keith is looking forward to. If we glimpse some of the town on the way, so much the better. But Keith says no shopping!

9:12am and we are on the bus. Quite a nice luxury tour bus, not a school bus. The Maasdam is docked on the west side of the fjord. Our route takes us around the tip of the fjord, then north up the east side. Our first stop is a turnout where we can view Akureyri across the water.

Tour Route, Shown in Yellow

Icelandic Tour Guide

The Maasdam Seen from the Other Side of the Fjord

On leaving the turnout we reversed and returned to town so that one of our passengers could pee. Kathy was surprised that it wasn't Keith. But then, Keith doesn't hesitate to walk across the road and disappear into the bushes for a few moments.

Proceeding back around the tip and north along the fjord, we are reminded of other places we have been. The scenery looks like Newfoundland. Kathy says the fjord reminds her of Turnagain Arm south of Anchorage.

About 10 miles north we turn right and head up into Vikurskard Pass. We are told we are on the ring road, which goes all the way around the Iceland. The pass is low and gentle, and we are through in the time it takes to write about it. We hate to harp on weather, but it really is delightful to have a partly sunny day for touring.

Eyafjordor Seen from the Road to Vikurskard Pass

A Beautiful Farmstead Seen Climbng Up the Pass Road

Descending into the next valley the scenery is very pastoral, with no trees and broad, verdant green valleys between low tabled mountains. Nestled on the hillsides are small groves of Mountain Birches. Most of the indigenous trees were burned for firewood a century ago. The forestry service is working to revegetate, mostly for erosion control.

A Pastoral View of the Fnjoskadalur Valley

A Pretty Waterfall Seen Along the Way

Driving through the Midwestern US in the fall, one sees bales of hay scattered about the fields. In Iceland, one sees what appears to be marshmallows. We are told that these are also hay bales, hermetically sealed in white plastic. We are told that one tourist insisted that they really do grow marshmallows in Iceland. How dumb do they think we are?

Marshmallow Farm

These Creatures Eat the Marshmallows

We are told that Iceland should be completely covered with ice, based on latitude (almost on the arctic circle). Instead it enjoys a relatively mild climate because of the Gulf Stream.

Our next stop is Godafoss falls. Not a large waterfall, but very picturesque, by virtue of having carved it's way through volcanic rock. Every tourist trap stop has it's story. The name supposedly means waterfall of the gods. The story is that the Christian Monks raided the homes of the heathens and threw all of their statuary into the falls.

Icelandic Goddess Poses in Front of Godafoss Falls

Riding next to us on the tour bus was a fascinating lady. She had a 400 page notebook which she was filling with notes, interspersed with some of the most exquisite sketches Keith has ever seen. Turns out she is a professional artist with a studio in New York. She pointed out that her professional work is much more modernistic than her personal sketches. When blunt Keith thoughtlessly expressed his view of modern art, Liz good naturedly responded with her frank view of totally unimaginative engineers. A day of off and on good natured but pointed exchanges followed. At the end of the day, Keith felt totally outclassed by this very sophisticated lady.

Kathy Poses Next to Liz, Sketching the Falls

Godafoss Falls Outflow

Keith is fascinated by license plaes. He has photos of license plates from all over the place. Shown below is an Icelandic license plate:

Our next stop is Lake M’yvatn. We are told that this lake sits in a valley created by the spreading of tectonic plates. The east side of the valley is part of the European plate, while the west side is part of the North American plate. The valley is slowly widening as the plates drift apart, at the rate of about a centimeter a year. It is similar to the San Andraus fault in California, except that the relative motion is spreading instead of sliding.

Once one starts to travel one is struck that many areas look similar. This countryside resembles North Dakota, as well as Newfoundland. Unique to this landscape is the volcanism associated with being on a plate boundary. We are told that the entire area is heated with geothermal energy.

Lake Mytavn is named for the ubiquitous midges which infest the area. Keith recalled this factlet when he found a dead midge in his soup bowel at lunch. Lunch was at a small hotel. On the menu were mushroom soup (3), salmon (2), and mixed vegetables (1). Midges optional.

One of the features of Lake Mytavn is the pseudo-craters on the side of the lake. The pseudo-craters are formed by steam explosions when burning lava encounters lakes or wetlands.

A Pseudo-crater at the Edge of Lake M’yvatn

Keith Poses in Front of the Lake

Midge Soup for Lunch at Lake M’yvatn

After lunch, instead of napping, which would have been the sensible thing to do, we drove further to visit the Dimmuborgir lava fields. The overlook was perhaps the most scenic place to view the extensive lava flows, but Keith was a bit disappointed that this spot did not display the diversity of solidification features seen along the road. I've been looking for the columnar crystal structure produced by directional solidification. I have seen this in other lava fields, but not this one. We do see occasional examples of "orange peel" skins that form as the outside of a blob cools and freezes.

Dimmuborgir Gatekeeper

Dimmuborgir Lava Fields

Our next site is a rift name Grjotagja, where Mid-Atlantic Rift is clearly visible. We were excited to see this special geologic feature. Keith has been wishing to see the mid-Atlantic split since he first read about the then new theory of plate tectonics 35 years ago.

The Mid-Atlantic Rift; North American Plate to the Left, European Plate to the Right

Geothermal Energy Installation

Next stop is the volcano which erupted for 10 years starting in 1975, and a nearby older caldera from the early 1700's. Next stop a fumerole. Ho hum. It really is interesting to see all these geothermal features, but, for the most part they are not as impressive as Yellowstone. The thing that makes this area unique is the mid Atlantic ridge, which is under the Atlantic Ocean most places. You can tell we are starting to become jaded, can't you.

A comment on Icelandic roads. They are excellent. The circle road is quite narrow, in keeping with European tradition, but it is well graded and well paved. Signage is excellent. There seem to be a lot of campgrounds, but they mostly have tents.

Factoid: the ring was road completed 1972.

Back to the boat at 5pm. The weather has deteriorated to scattered showers, but no fog. We are looking forward to being able to see the fjord as we sail away tonight.

We're also looking forward to supper!

At 10pm tonight we shall cross the arctic circle. Appropriate ceremonies are planned poolside. Something involving a swim across the arctic circle, in the pool. We may be there, and we may not. Right now, Keith is in the Crow's Nest watching the scenery roll by, at 8mph. Watching scenery roll by at 8mph is like watching grass grow. I love it!

Maasdam Sails North out of the Eyafjordor Fjord