January 28, 2020, Off of Port Stanley, Falkland Islands There’s no sleeping in on port days in this stateroom. The tender hangs right outside our window and as soon as the ship anchors we hear the whine of the engines … Continue reading Looking for the Vicar of Bray
January 25, 2020, Montevideo, Uruguay We had nothing in particular planned for Montevideo, Uruguay this morning, just get off the ship and watch what happens. Suzi asked “what will you do for a blog post.” I said if a story … Continue reading Future Imperfect
January 24, 2010 Buenos Aires Normally I like a narrative post with stories to go with my pictures. This post is stretch. Ataneo Grand Splendid Books is my second favorite bookstore in the world. It’s an old theater, restored, but … Continue reading My Second Favorite Bookstore in the World.
January 23, 2020, Buenos Aires. One year ago, my dollar would buy just under 38 Argentine pesos. Today it buys somewhere around 62 at the official rate and 80 on the black market. Argentina has undergone massive inflation and devaluation. … Continue reading Black and Blue Tango
January 22, 2020, Iguassu Falls National Park, Argentina The movie “The Mission” opens with a dramatic scene where a Jesuit missionary priest is tied to a cross by angry Guarani people and sent down a towering waterfall. That fall is … Continue reading All Senses Engaged
January 21, 2020, Iguazu, Argentina. When you check into the Grand Hotel Melia Iguazu on the Argentine side the clerk reminds you to keep the door to your balcony closed. If you don’t, monkeys will come in and rob your … Continue reading Is That a Serbian Flag?
January 21, Iguassu Falls, Brazil Lonely planet describes it as a conga line and they are not far from wrong. The Brazilian side of Iguassu falls is crowded with people walking along catwalks from one scenic point to another, stopping … Continue reading A Conga Line (Iguassu Falls, Brazil)
January 20, 2020 Rio You know you’re in Rio when you stand on the rooftop of a Copacabana hotel. Eyes left you see Sugarloaf. Eyes right, you see Copacabana fort. Eyes forward you have Copacabana Beach. Eyes down the Copa … Continue reading Intermission
January 19. 2020, Rio In San Francisco an earthquake brought down the Embarcadero freeway giving the city a chance to revitalize its waterfront making it more pleasant for pedestrians, streetcars and allowing a vibrant waterfront district to emerge. Seattle is … Continue reading Planned Graffiti
January 19, 2020, Rio In Brazil Samba is a major league sport. Every Carnival 12 “samba schools” (teams) compete in Rio’s Sambadrome to see who will “win the Carnival.” Perhaps, more importantly they are trying to make sure they don’t … Continue reading Premier League Samba
On our way to the “Venice and Brazil” tour the bus took us to the “Cultural Center,” which is an old prison with cells converted into stalls for crafts people. The bus took us past the old fort, through downtown. … Continue reading Stay Safe in Recife.
We are not booking many tours on this trip but are getting off the ship to see what we can see. However, in Recife I wanted to take the “Venice of Brazil” tour, that would take us on a ride … Continue reading Amsterdam in Brazil, Canals and Tolerance
This is the second post from Belem, it is a continuation of the last post Delta Town, Belem Brazil. The first set of pictures are of boats on the river. This next gallery of photos is from our drive to … Continue reading Life on the Amazon, Belem Brazil
January 13, 2020, Belem Brazil You could say the riverfront of Belem, Brazil has gone to seed but gone to spore is more accurate. Along the river old buildings, some must have been grand in their day, covered with Portuguese … Continue reading Delta Town, Belem, Brazil
January 11, 2020 It was officially called Bange de Cayenne (Cayenne Penal Colony) or Bange. Informally it was tagged “the dry guillotine” because most of the 80,000 people sentenced there died before their sentence was up. Many of the rest … Continue reading Hotel in Hell, Devil’s Island
My last two posts were from Dominica and St. Lucia. On each evening we sailed out of port at about 5 PM and did some scenic cruising along the coast of each island and were treated to beautiful sunsets and … Continue reading Sea Days, Sunsets and iPhones
January 9, 2020 In Dominica the touts were obnoxious. We ran the gauntlet of operators trying to get us into their cab or boat. When I said “no”, politely, I got a somewhat cross “Why?” One driver followed us up … Continue reading Diamonds International. It must be the Caribbean
We are just waking up and early risers are already walking their laps on the Promenade Deck just outside our window. But the shadows are wrong. By some convention everyone walks counter clockwise. (On our other world cruise, I tried … Continue reading The Shadows are Wrong
Pop and “Uncle” Ed, one of those honorary uncles who had been one of pop’s army buddies, built a cabin cruiser in Ed’s garage. It was a 16-footer made from a kit. They proudly trailered “The Laurel” to a marina … Continue reading Which Amsterdam?
Suzi and I are setting out on a grand adventure. I haven’t had the time to plan for this trip that I have had for past ones. I’ve not read all the books I wanted to read or poured over … Continue reading 2020 MS Amsterdam Grand World Voyage.
It is navigational dawn. That means I can just make out the horizon. It’s 6:14 AM and I am too excited to sleep. I am watching a parade of Cruise Ships entering Port Everglades. Right now, I’m watching a Celebrity … Continue reading Too Excited to Sleep
Actually it was a little less than 19 miles an hour, 18.9 mph or 16.4 knots as I reckon it. Nineteen miles an hour seems like a leisurely pace to circle the planet. But on a human scale it’s really … Continue reading Coda – Around the World at 19 Miles an Hour…*
We were upgraded to first class on flight 67, Alaska Airline’s “milk run” up the coast to home. It seems like we knew every 4th person passing us getting on the plane. We had early boarding because Suzi broke her … Continue reading S#it Happens — Re-entry
We’ve almost completed our circuit of the earth at the stately speed of 19 knots. Holland America has done most things right on this cruise but I think they overplayed the ending. In the last days we wanted to have … Continue reading A Whirlwind Finish