Eivissa, Ibiza 26th August 2011

Ibiza is a small Balearic Island off the East coast of Spain, administered from Palma de Mallorca as a Spanish province.  It has a harsh rocky landscape, which received little rainfall.  This island was untouched until the late 60s early 70s, when it became a popular tourist destination for Europeans, in particular the young. Islanders still harvest salt from the sea in salt beds using evaporation, a process that dates from the time of the Carthaginians

We docked in Eivissa, also known as Ibiza Town. The town definitely has a split personality. During the day, it's a typical Spanish seaside village with historical sights, shopping, some interesting restaurants and a beautiful harbor -- by night, in the summer season, it becomes a loud and boisterous party town, with one club trying to outdo the next.  The ship left at 5pm so did not see the night life but understand that clubs charged over 50 Euro entrance, 15 Euro for a beer and didn’t start til about 2am!!

I walked around the harbour to the old 16^th century walled town of D’Alta Vila, which sits perched on a hilltop and offers lovely views and a maze of stone steps.


In the afternoon Charlotte and I headed to the beach and met up with Charlie and her family.

Cadiz, Spain 24th August 2011

Cadiz is a major city and seaport in southern Spain. It is said to be the oldest city in Western Europe, apparently founded by Phoenician sailors about 3,000 years ago, as a commercial stronghold. It lies at the tip of a narrow isthmus that forms the western boundary of Cadiz Bay, and has various watchtowers and forts that were a necessity for a bustling port, protecting its cargo from pirates. Today, a large part of Spain’s exports to America go through Cadiz – exports consist largely of sherry wine, cork, olives, figs, salted fish, and salt.

Carnival in Cadiz, one of the oldest and best in Spain is often cited as the third biggest Carnival in the world (I guess after Rio and Trinidad?)

Charlotte wanted to stay on board, swimming in the pool with Charlie and her sisters and playing in Club HAL. I took the open top tourist bus around the city – a great way to see and get a feel for the town.


Cadiz has an old town, with lots of narrow alleyway and old buildings and then a newer town with lovely wide long beaches. The beaches were packed, as were the cafes, across from the beach. It is a picturesque city, with white buildings and beautiful promenades.


As we sailed out, there were many boats sailing around. About 1am that night we passed through the narrow entrance into the Med between Gibraltar and Africa. At that point both continents could be seen (but not by Charlotte and I who were fast asleep!!)

Portimao, Portugal 23 August 2011

Portimao is the second biggest city in the Algarve, and famous for its fresh fish restaurants, grilled sardines being the most famous.



We took the tender ashore and walked over to Praia da Rocha, a nice beach. On the way there, we passed a couple of marinas, bringing back memories of Heat Wave. Charlotte had great fun playing on the blow up playground in the sea with Charlie and her two younger sisters.


The last tender back to the ship was at 5.30pm. As the ship hadn’t docked until noon, a lot people were making the most of the day and catching the last tender back to the ship. The tender ride was quite long, and made longer due to roughish seas. Combining this with only 2 tenders, carrying 90 people each and a half hour tender ride, not surprisingly, we didn’t finally get back to the boat til after 7pm! Fortunately there was a bar at the dock so we all got to sample the local beer! The tender ride was made more exciting by the waves splashing over and into the tender, getting a few people wet!

Lisbon, Portugal 22nd August 2011

Lisbon is the capital of Portugal, the most westerly capital in EuropeIt is built on seven hills, at the mouth of the Tagus River on the Atlantic Ocean.  At its heart are wide tree lined avenues graced by Art Nouveau buildings, museums, castles, cathedrals, mosaic pavements and street cafes.  The city is a mix of vibrant blue and white azulejos (painted tiles), cobblestone laneways, faniculars and more than a touch of the medieval.  Port and painted tiles seemed to be the tourist souvenirs.

I took Charlotte and her friend Charlie into Lisbon for the day.  They took turns riding her scooter on the 20 minute walk from the dock to Praca do Comercio, the central plaza.  We took a ride around the city on an old fashioned tram,

From Lisbon

then ate ice cream and paddled in the ocean.

We found similarities to San Francisco, with the hilly town, trams and a bridge that looked similar to the Golden Gate Bridge.

Leixoes (Porto), Portugal 21st August 2011

Porto is one of Portugal’s chief economic centres, and the principle site of the region’s famed wine storage warehouses. Port wine is Porto’s most noted manufacture and export. 

The ship docked in Leixoes, about 5 miles from Porto.  We took a bus into Porto.  The city is built on the hills overlooking the Douro River estuary, with lots of old cobbled streets.  Along the waterfront are lots of restaurants, and on the other side of the river, the port cellars.  We took the “6 Bridges” boat ride on the Douro River.

A Coruna, Spain 20th August 2011

A Caruna is at the top left corner of Spain. It is one of Spain’s largest ports and is also a popular resort town.

That morning we received an email to say that unfortunately Jimmy’s brother-in-law Fred had passed away. We found an internet café and sorted out flights (what did we do before the internet?) – the boat left at 4.30pm without Jimmy on board as he made his way to Madrid to catch a flight back to NY.  Hopefully he will rejoin the boat in Barcelona in a week’s time.

Sea Day 19th August 2011

It was unusual for us to go so long before a day at sea to “catch up”!!  “Life on Deck” is going well.  Charlotte has already made some friends – in particular an English girl of 8 called Charlie – there are kids speaking all different languages on the ship, as we go through Europe.

We are on the Ryndam – our third Holland America ship this year, and already recognizing people from different cruises.  We have already seen 2 officers and a wine steward that were on the ms Veendam with us in Brazil (who recognised Charlotte!).  Also the Travel Guide lady was on our last cruise across the Atlantic on the ms Rotterdam (and she will also be on our next Holland America cruise on the Westerdam in the South Pacific!!)

I’ve started with good intentions of going to the gym classes at 7am each morning (in an effort to offset the food intake! Not to mention the afternoon cream tea on the sea day!) but so far seem to feel worse and ache all day….

We don’t seem to see Charlotte much as she enjoys her freedom around the boat and at kids club with Charlie. 

We have been very fortunate with the weather so far, and as we head south, it should only get better! 

St Malo – France 18th August 2011

St Malo is a beautiful small walled coastal city in Brittany, north west coast of France. It was largely destroyed in World War II but painstakingly reconstructed.  It is a big sailing port where Jacque Cartier sailed out of when he discovered St Lawrence, Canada, for the French.

We anchored out and again there was over 30 feet of tide.  We arrived in high tide, and during our stay, it was as though someone had taken the plug out - as the water “drained out”, a lot of the many boats, were left sitting on the seabed.


 There was a castle on an island when we arrived – at low tide we could walk out to it!

The specialty foods of the region were mussels, oysters and pancakes.

Guernsey, Channel Islands 17th August 2011

How on earth did the UK get the Channel Islands?  They’re 8 miles from France and 70 miles south of England!

The rocky Channel Islands (Guernsey and Jersey being the main 2 islands) are spread across 75 sq. miles of open sea off the Brittany and Normandy coasts.  Guernsey is 24 sq miles (6 miles long, 3 miles wide) with a population of 60,000. The island’s 10 parishes offer a perfect mix of unspoilt countryside, great beaches and long winding cliff paths. The island was very British, but with some French names. Financial services account for about 55% of the total income in this tax haven, so it’s similar to Bermuda in a lot of respects. The Channel Islands were the only British soil occupied by the German troops during World War II.

We anchored in the capital of St Peter Port, a nice town with cobbled streets, where there are 30 foot tides, leaving a lot of the boats sitting on the mud at low tide.  Ashore, we took a bus right around the island. Once again we were blessed with great weather.  The island’s 10 parishes offer a perfect mix of unspoilt countryside, great beaches and long winding cliff paths.  We stopped at L’Eree and went to the local 2 day Agricultural fair.  Charlotte enjoyed seeing all the farm animals,


different fruit, veg (a 2 foot carrot!) etc in competitions on display, the shows and in particular, the fairground rides!

Brugge, Belgium 16th August

The ship arrive in Zeebrugge, and laid on a shuttle bus to the nearby seaside town of Blankenberge, where many people were swimming in the North Sea!  We took 15 minute train ride to the lovely town of Brugge.   We were last here 7 years ago and it hadn’t changed much, even though the town was established in the 1300s!

It is another canal city, with lots of tourists. 



The main Markt square was lined with outdoor restaurants and very old buildings. It was a lovely sunny day and we got a chance to enjoy a Belgium beer in the Markt Square.

There were chocolate shops everywhere (what Belgium is famous for) – we bought some for Charlotte but unfortunately they never made it back to the boat! (yet again she had pleaded to stay in Club HAL all day rather than coming with us).

Rotterdam, The Netherlands 15th August 2011

This was our second time to Rotterdam, having arrived here on the ms Rotterdam from New York, 3 weeks ago. This time we got to explore the city (although Charlotte decided to spend the day in kids club with her new friends instead!)

The Netherlands is located at the delta of five major rivers in northwestern Europe. Following a devastating bomb raid in World War II that almost completely leveled the city, Rotterdam has risen from its own ashes to become the largest seaport in the world -- and the driving force behind the Dutch economy. From 1962 to 2004, it was the world’s busiest port; then it was superseded by Shanghai.
For a relatively small country, the Netherlands has more than its share of international companies, from beer, to banks, insurance companies and oil. Rotterdam has a population of less than a million, and everyone seems to speak a multitude of languages!

As in Amsterdam, we had to be careful not to get run over by the many bicycles – there are separate bike lanes on most major streets (which we often forgot about when trying to cross roads!) The city also had lots of canals with protective dikes, dams and locks, and many barges and boats.

We explored the city including the following sights:
- the asymmetrical Erasmus bridge, a city landmark, often referred to as the Swan:


- The Euromast, 185m high, where we had great views of the city and its harbour.


- Blaaske Bos, a row of colorful, cube-shaped houses tilted precariously on their sides and supported by concrete pillars. Designed in 1984 by architect Piet Bloom, the houses are meant to represent trees….


There were many street cafes.  Unfortunately (for Jimmy) the museums were all closed on Monday.

As the ship left the dock, the fireboats gave a great water display. Rotterdam is miles inland, on the River Maas and it took us over 1.5 hours to get back out to the North Sea.

Dover - Boarding the Ship 14th August 2011

A nice drive from London, to Dover, where we boarded our second cruise ship of the trip, Holland America’s ms Ryndam, for a 25 day cruise around Europe and the Mediterranean.

After checking in our luggage we went to enjoy a stoney English beach and dip our feet in the cold English Channel!


There was a group of mad people there, swimming around in circles, training to swim across the channel to France (about 20 miles) – they looked blue getting out of the water, with their friends, dressed up in winter clothes, handing them a hot cup of tea and blankets!  We had a nice walk in the brisk wind (wearing a fleece – in August) along the waterfront.

As we sailed out of Dover, we passed the iconic White Cliffs of Dover - very dramatic.

Apparently within the cliffs are many tunnels built by the British for the artillery for the different wars going back to the 1700s.

Tennis Star 12th August 2011

Charlotte did 2 weeks of Tennis camp in the morning.  At the end of each week they had a mini tournament. At the end of the second week, Charlotte won the runner-up medal:

London Riots 6th August 2011

The first rioting and looting took place Saturday August 6^th in Tottenham, about 4 miles away – close enough to be familiar but far enough away to just read about it. The next night, Sunday 7^th, the rioting took place in Enfield, about 1 mile down the road – too close for comfort.

That afternoon we had been shopping in Enfield - I didn’t think too much about it as T-Mobile suddenly closed and pulled down its shutters at about 3pm. The shops were being warned Enfield was the target that night, for rioting and looting. It seemed it had changed from rioting for a cause, to looting for fun.  That evening we saw and heard many police sirens – at one point a string of about 10 police cars in a row, going down the street outside, sirens blaring, lights flashing, on their way to Enfield.  There were also helicopters in the sky.  Charlotte got very scared and didn’t want to be left alone in bed.

The following night, about 3 miles away, the big Sony warehouse was set on fire – a day later we could still see a cloud of black smoke.  By now the rioting had spread to towns all over London, and at least 10 cities throughout England, and as the police struggled to keep up with it, the looters went on a field day.  Many people were afraid to venture out.

Over the next few days, the area changed – shops shutting early, shop windows all boarded up, and police everywhere (including cycling around and many cops back on the beat.)  Order seemed to have been restored.

London 4-14th August 2011

Charlotte had a great time in London while we were away, being thoroughly spoilt by Denise and John, Hilary and Claire, with delayed santa presents, cooking, painting, water hoses, playdates, tennis camp, ..….. One of Charlotte’s favourite activities was the self-service supermarket check out!

She also got to see the sights on London and a show with Hilary.


She loved going shopping with Denise!  Many thanks to Denise and John for looking after Charlotte all that time.

Once we got back, we enjoyed catching up with friends and family.

A group of old school friends, Helen, Alex and Kay round for dinner at Denise’s house:

Visiting Uncle Bernard:

On the night before Denise and John flew to Bermuda, we had a nice meal out with Denise and John, Hilary and Alan. The restaurant was full, after being empty for the last 2 nights as people stayed in doors due to the riots in Enfield.

24 hours later Denise and John were enjoying the warmth of Bermuda in our apartment, while we enjoyed the “London changeable weather” in their house…

Paros 31st July – 4th August

Paros is a larger island, about 7 miles by 7 miles, with a population of 13,000. It is the main ferry hub for onward travel to other islands in the Aegean, and so its port is busy. It is quite hilly with the central high point of Mt Profitis Ilias (770m). White marble made Paros prosperous from the early Cycladic period onwards.

We anchored in the bay of the busy main town of Parikia, a lively colourful town with a long straggling waterfront crammed with tavernas, bars and cafes. I was first here 30 years ago, backpacking around the islands with Helen – things have changed a lot since then (and so have we!!)



We spent time exploring the town and enjoying the beach. One day we all rented a car and drove all around the island. Despite the size of the island, we managed to drive about 80 miles, including dirt tracks!



We saw some ancient ruins. We came across one beach, on the opposite side of the island, that was packed with people a lot younger than us!! And saw later in the book it was described as an all day clubbing venue. We saw a few nightclubs that would not start to get full until a long time after we fell asleep! (and probably emptied out not long before we woke up!!)

We took a 4 hour ferry from Paros back to the mainland, Piraeus. The ferries were big and all packed! At about $50 or more a ticket, this should be making some dent in the Greek deficit! From Piraeus we headed out to Athens airport to fly back to London, and our darling Charlotte!



We had a great, relaxing time in the Greek Islands - our thanks to Philip and Cosi.
A few of our observations on the Greek Islands:
- There are loads of Greek islands
- Throughout the day, many large ferries are stopping to drop off and pick up numerous passengers
- There are churches everywhere, each with the white washed walls and blue circular roof, some very tiny.
- Jimmy’s new beach drink was the local Ouzo
- Every restaurant has the same menu
- The winds are very changeable – one minute no wind and then, when the meltini blows through, winds are over 30 knots for a week straight
- The towns are made up of little rambling alleyways, and often the shops are in, what looks like, the front of people’s houses
- All the buildings are whitewashed (with some blue trimmings, in line with the colours of their flag) – they must get bulk discount on white paint!!
- The night life seems to go on til dawn (and start well after we had gone to bed) – oh to be 20 again!
- There are lots of “Rooms for Rent” everywhere, as opposed to large hotels