SAILING HOME

DAY 105 — April 19, 2017 – Sailing the North Atlantic Ocean

No more port stops.  Just 7 days of sailing back to the USA! 

  

DAY 106 — April 20, 2017 – Sailing the North Atlantic Ocean

Adjusting the ship’s course to avoid a storm in the North Atlantic.

 

DAY 107 — April 21, 2017 – Sailing the Atlantic Ocean

The sea days give everyone a chance to rest, sort through their stuff, and figure out how to get it all home.

 It is also a time when the Indonesian and Filipino crews get to highlight music, dancing, and folktales from their countries.  We have seen many of these shows over our many years of cruising but the shows on this World Cruise have been the best we have ever seen.

Indonesian Crew Show.

Filipino Crew Show

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DAY 108 — April 22, 2017 – Sailing the Atlantic Ocean

The Captain hosted a champagne reception to honor all the passengers who have sailed with HAL 100, 300, 500 nights and more.  Ron and I are now up to 236.

This was followed by a Masquerade Ball.  Uni-sex masks were distributed at dinner. Some people wore their C-pap masks to the Ball.  A mask is a mask?  Apparently.

DAY 109 — April 23, 2017 – Sailing the Atlantic Ocean

Bought a souvenir of our trip around the world – a drawing of the northern hemisphere with all the ports we visited created by artist-in-residence, Benjamin Sack.  His original is wall-sized.  Ours is a bit smaller.

DAY 110 — April 24, 2017 – Sailing the Atlantic Ocean

Saying goodbye to the Spa and my facialist/masseuse, Carmen.  It is easy to get spoiled on a cruise.

  

DAY 111 — April 25, 2017 – Sailing the Atlantic Ocean

Packing.  Parting tears all around.

April 26, 2017 – Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA

HOME!!  Yay!  Free phone and mobile data service once again.  How did we live without it for 111 days?  Cannot wait to see everyone again.

Becoming a successful World Cruiser requires some inside knowledge, experience, and a certain mind-set.  Do I want to do it again?  Not for awhile.  I can't say it is kinda like childbirth but it does take a lot out of you the first time.

MOROCCO and MADEIRA

DAY 102 — April 16, 2017 – Casablanca, MOROCCO

Easter Sunday.  HAL always wants to make us feel at home.

Casablanca, MOROCCO

Our first stop was a photo op for Rick’s Café in Casablanca (between the two palm trees).  It is owned by a British woman who seems to want it to blend in, not stand out.

The huge Casablanca Mosque.  Inside it holds 25,000 people.  The square outside holds another 30,000.

A walk through one of the oldest sections of the city brought us to a marketplace where we found a variety of “antiques” and other junk.

When we rounded a corner, and turned down an alley, we knew what we were going to find before we got there because of the aroma of . . .  olives!  I never knew they came in so many different varieties.

We then raveled to Rabat, the capital of Morocco to visit the Presidential Palace.  

Our luncheon restaurant was hidden in a warren of back alleyways and turned out to be a very cool place.

Our table had its own alcove at the restaurant.  

After lunch, we went to a Casbah in Rabat. A casbah is a home or small community with reinforced walls for security and gardens and patios for pleasure. 

An interesting door in the Casbah.

A garden in the Casbah.

The Mauseleum of King Hussan and his two sons.

The library for the Mausoleum.

All the Islamic countries we visited on this trip have unbelievably ornate buildings massive in size.  The other thing they had in common was they all wanted us to know that their Islam is peaceful and tolerant and not anything like what we hear about in the media.

DAY 103 — April 17, 2017 – Sailing the Atlantic Ocean to Madeira

DAY 104 — April 18, 2017 – Funchal, MADEIRA

Our last port stop on our cruise was in the Portuguese archipelago of the Madeira Islands.  It is located off the African coast just north of the Canary Islands. 

Although the island of Madeira is basically a massive dormant volcano, everywhere you look it is just beautiful.  Over a million visitors come every year to enjoy this year-round resort island.  You can see why. 

Little communities are nestled in the rocky hills.

 Beautiful harbor front.

Lush tropical gardens.

Pretty parks.

Pretty streets.

Because of the steep volcanic terrain, Madeirans use terracing to take advantage of available surfaces. 

One last wonder of Madeira.  

Our day in Madeira was a nice surprise.  We had great weather and a nice overview of a place we knew next to nothing about but would revisit whenever we have the chance

SPAIN

DAY 96 — April 10, 2017 – Sailing the Mediterranean Sea to SPAIN

DAY 97 — April 11, 2017 – Palma de Mallorca, SPAIN

On this visit to Palma, Ron toured on his own because I ate something that didn’t agree with me.  We have been here before and that time I dragged him around shopping – not his favorite activity.  So, while I spent the day in our bathroom, he was happy to go off on his own and see the sights that interested him.   Here they are.


Palma’s unique round-shaped Gothic-style Bellver Castle was built between 1300-1311 AD as a royal residence and fortress for Mallorcan King James II.  It is also known as the Castle of the Beautiful Views since it sits 403 feet above sea level and gives an awesome panoramic view of Palma Harbor.

The majestic Cathedral of Palma de Mallorca sits in downtown Palma near the waterfront.    It was built in Gothic style in 1230 on the foundation of an ancient mosque.  With the mountains in the background and the water before it, the church presents a picture-perfect postcard from the sea.

DAY 98 — April 12, 2017  – Barcelona, SPAIN

Barcelona is a city of magnificent architecture from the Gothic Quarter buildings of the 13^th-Century to the modernist buildings of today.  Riding the HOHO (Hop-on Hop-off Bus) around the city we had the chance to view a lot of interesting buildings.

This hotel is startlingly fresh looking when you first see it against a beautiful blue sky.  It is in the new section of Barcelona that borders the Barceloneta beach area which used to be full of factories and warehouses.  This is also where Barcelona built a lot of new buildings for hosting the 1992 Summer Olympics.  

A huge metal fish glittering in the sunlight is a local icon in New Barcelona.  I never learned exactly what its purpose was.  It is right next to a casino, so maybe . . . reel ‘em in?

Designed by a French architect, the Agbar Tower is supposed to remind you of geysers bursting into the air.  It reminds most people of a pickle.  It can be seen from all over the city and changes color as the sunlight moves.

The old Barcelona Bull Ring is now used as a shopping mall.

Known as The Basilica, this building was originally built to be a hotel but became a medical clinic instead.

There are many lovely old, classical apartment buildings in neighborhoods all over the city.  I like to imagine the lives of the people living tn them.

DAY 99 — April 13, 2017 – Barcelona, SPAIN

Barcelona is often defined by the architectural work of Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926).  His buildings are unique because he saw each of them as a total piece of art inspired by nature and geometry.  He is greatly admired today but, for a long time, many critics have felt he walked that fine line between genius and insanity.

La Sagrada Familia (The Holy Family Church) has been under construction since 1888, when Gaudi made its design and construction his life’s passion.  He died in 1926 with the church far from finished.  Other architects have taken up his work and are closely following the original plans to the smallest detail.

When Ron first visited the church in the early 1990’s, the shell of an exterior was up but there was no ceiling.  Over the years, he has watched its progress and visits every time he is in Barcelona.  This was my third trip to La Sagrada Familia and the progress that I have seen in the last 7 years has been astounding.  The goal is to have the church completely finished by 2016 on the 100^th anniversary of Gaudi’s death.   

This is what the church is projected to look like in 9 years. Seven more towers need to be added including the tall one in the center which will double the height of the current church.

Although he was the creator of several of Barcelona’s most famous buildings, he was a bit eccentric.  When he was killed by a tram in 1926, he was dressed in rags and had no identification.  It took several days for authorities to figure out who he was.

La Pedrera

Described variously as “a stone poem, a giant sculpture, and a great petrified wave,” La Pedrera is an apartment building built by Antoni Gaudi for one family.  It is now on the UNESCO World Heritage list because of its “uniqueness.”   Gaudi wanted its rough outer appearance to remind people of an open quarry with curves and decoration from nature.  It took 6 years to complete.

The roof terrace of Pedrera has no resemblance to the architecture of its time.  Gaudi hated buildings with flat-topped roofs because their antennas, pipes, and other hardware sticking up reminded him of a bald head with a few stray hairs popping up.  This collection of weird towers and sculptures covering stairwells, ventilation, and chimney shafts apparently was far more pleasing to him.

Barcelona is an amazing city with always something new to discover.  We are looking forward to our next visit.

DAY 100 — April 14, 2017 – Sailing the Mediterranean Sea

Day 100!  Only 11 more to go!  I am happy and sad at the same time.

Sailed through the Prime Meridian this morning so we are back in the Western Hemisphere once again.  We sail through the Straits of Gibraltar in the middle of the night tonight – for the 4^th time.  We may get to see it in daylight someday.

DAY 101 — April 15, 2017 – Cadiz, SPAIN  

Cadiz is the oldest continuously inhabited city on the Iberian Peninsula and has served as the home port to the Spanish Navy since the 18^th century.  It is on a peninsula that stretches out into the Atlantic Ocean.  Its Old Town, on the waterfront, is another labyrinth of narrow, winding streets. Apparently, pirates need to be foiled everywhere in the Med and the common wisdom of the day was that they had no sense of direction on land.

Cadiz has always been the launching point for cruise ship travelers who want to make the trip up to Seville.  Having already done that, our main interest in Cadiz was to see the Camera Obscura located there, one of the 60 Camera Obscuras that can be found worldwide.

What is a Camera Obscura?

Here it is sticking out of the top of the tower, like a periscope.

It works exactly like a pinhole camera, that is, just like the human eye.

Although we could not take photographs, this photo from the brochure shows what you see during the demonstration.  The Camera Obscura projects a brilliant MOVING image of whatever it is pointed at – vehicles moving, people walking, boats sailing in the bay. 

The optical principle is quite simple, really.  But to see it in action was a surprisingly interesting experience.  And to have a little fun, the demonstrator used small card stock to “pick people up” from the sidewalk they were on and then they were walking on the card.  Using a tent-folded card, people appeared to climb up and then fall off the other side.   If you are demonstrating something 8 times a day you have to do something to amuse yourself as well as your visitors. 

We then moved on to the fish market . . .

and the cathedral.  Visiting both of these places are required in every Spanish town.

Photographing picturesque doorways are required also.  

Cadiz was a beautiful, historic place but we are now happy to be leaving Spain.  Next: Morocco!