Tenerife is just a 180-mile stepping stone away from the coast of Africa, and the largest of the Canary Islands of Spain at 790 square miles with a population of 700,000. Santa Cruz is the capital, administration and commercial center, and a busy port with large cruise ships lined up the day we arrived. The…
Continue reading →The Maderian capital of Funchal, with its 16th century charm, is the Portuguese word for “fennel plantation”, named for the wild fennel discovered there by the first settlers. Famous for its wine, the island is also a major tourist destination with its lush mountainous landscape, exotic plants and trees, clear seas, and mild, sunny climate. One…
Continue reading →Cartagena has gotten a bad rap from years of misinformed media, suffering from a past reputation for drug trafficking, kidnapping and violence. While, as in every destination, one must be alert and take precautions, it seems the bad guys here have pretty much killed each other off, and left behind a charming and breathtakingly beautiful…
Continue reading →Like it’s national bird and symbol of freedom, the dramatic and sacred Resplendent Quetzal, the mystical bird of the Mayans with its iridescent plumage, Guatemala has its own splendor. It has a wide diversity of landscape from humid highlands, tropical jungles, rainforests, volcano-guarded mountains and spectacular ancient ruins, all in a country about the size…
Continue reading →Huatulco is a tourist development in my favorite Mexican state of Oaxaca, where I spent several extended visits much earlier in my life. We docked at Santa Cruz Port, a favorite with the crew for it’s easy access to the beach of the same name, located right next to the pier with cafes and souvenir…
Continue reading →I don’t know why, but I expected, after all the foreign ports we had approached by sea, that Hilo would look different….I guess more ‘merican (which, according to the urban dictionary, is a word that means “American”, but doesn’t require you to put your burger and fries down to use the shift button in order to…
Continue reading →Cruise ships are often heavily rated by the quality of their food. Great attention is paid to its excellence, availability, and visual appeal, as eating is a primary onboard pasttime. When describing this voyage to friends, they would gasp in horror at the mental calculation of just how much weight one could actually gain if…
Continue reading →One of Polynesia’s best-kept secrets, Huahine, has steep mountains descending into protected azure bays with white sand beaches, sacred blue-eyed eels, mystical ancient temples and archeological sites, lush forests, and untamed landscape. Scarcely developed, It is said to be one of the more interesting islands to explore. But, the longer I spend in Polynesia, the…
Continue reading →Our ship approached Tahiti at dawn, with the island outlined in the rising sun. As we got closer, I could see that Papeete was a town of more significant size than any on the other islands. With a population of almost 26,000, it is French Polynesia’s capital and cultural center. When spelling Tahitian words the…
Continue reading →Arriving at Pago Pago felt a bit like an early homecoming, as it is the capital city of American Samoa, a territory of the US since 1900. English is spoken along with native Samoan, and the local currency is the good ole’ US dollar. The territory is made up of five volcanic islands totaling 76…
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