São Vicente by 4×4

Saturday, April 19

Panoramic São Vicente 

Saturday, April 19

Our second tour today was by bus. We travelled up

a road that took us to the top of Monte Verde a

2,400 foot massive cliff. We couldn’t see much as

the top was shrouded in clouds. The group tasted

some local rum drinks at the top. However, on the

trip down our bus stopped at numerous scenic

viewpoints to see the city.

In one area we stopped at some large sand dunes

that were created by sand particles blown by winds

from the Sahara desert some 350 miles to the east.

Drake loved climbing these dunes that led to the ocean.

 

Our bus also took us around the city there. This was a

good way to get to know this island. There are about

500,000 people living on this archipeligo chain.

They speak Creole as one of their languages.

We had a good time.

 

Happy Easter

Another time change last night-this time we lost an

hour because we are travelling east around north Africa

to get to the Canary Islands and then Morocco.

 

Today we went to 3 lectures. The first was a history

about African Queens and the power they held in the

once trribal areas of Africa.

 

The second was about the color red, the history

behind it and its popularity today.

 

The third was a wildlife lecture by a photo naturalist

on Orca whales.

Since today is Easter Sunday, the kitchen staff and chefs

had a chocolate station in the buffet/ restaurant area.

Eggs, chocolate this and that. We also got chocolate

easter eggs and bunnies in our room.

 

Today we spent going again to a number of

shipboard lectures.

 

First one was about Malta and a part of Spain

that was influenced by Europeans.

 

After lunch, Drake had some fun in the pool.

 

Second lecture concerned the indigenous people who

lived in the Canary Islands, our next port of call, just

west of Africa called Tenerife.

 

Third lecture was a port talk on the Canary Islands and

the excursion we will take there tomorrow.

 

Fourth talk was about the history of the camera

and sound development and recent innovations

with each.

Tenerife & Masca

Off-Road Excursion

Tuesday, April 22

 

This morning 11 white 4×4 trucks rolled onto the pier

to pick up 50 of us to go on this expansive excursion.

 

We got in and left the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

This is the capital city of the Canary Islands and is a

colony of Spain.

We then traveled uphill on winding roads past pine

forests and rocky volcanic slopes on the long drive

up the 12,000 foot Mt. Teide. At first it started to

rain on us as we were caught in the mist and clouds.

It then cleared up and we were amazed at the

landscape and views we had. As we climbed higher

all the clouds were below us, as we saw tall colored

volcanic slopes in redish, brown, light yellow, and gray

colors. The vast ancient volcanic topography was

other-wordly with picture taking quality views.

 

We stopped for a few photo ops with our guide telling

us about how all this formed eons ago. We then

traveled to Teide National Park as we were in the large

ancient caldera of this now dormant volcano. This

caldera was a valley like area, surrounded by tall cliffs.

We climbed some long path-like stairs to the top of

some formations to take pictures of sweeping

volcanic landscapes. Fantastic volcanic formations of

ancient lava flows, giant boulders strewn everywhere,

people parked on the side of the road to hike in these

natural wonders, and an eerie, beautiful rock strewn

landscape made it perfect for taking pictures. We felt

like we were on the moon.

 

We left the park by traveling up the cliffs admiring

the arid, brownish, geologic landscape dotted with

millions of rocks and twisted landforms.

 

We then had a Disney like roller coaster ride going

down from the top of these cliffs. Our 4×4 took us

down steep, switchback roads with dozens of hairpin

turns. We admired and photed the Masca gorge, as our

driver negotiated a harrowing, twisty road. The ride

itself was exhilerating and fun with remarkable, scenic

vistas of steep slopes, tall mountains and dramatic

views of the ocean.

 

We then stopped at a small mountain village called

Masca on our way down these nerve racking slopes.

This small village of modern houses and commercial

places selling tourist wares was fun to go. The village

was on a rocky outcroping in this gorge and a steep

stone pathway with stairs took us about 200 feet into

the gorge. There we got great photos.

 

We then proceeded to a restaurant in the town below.

But our jeep had to go up another tall mountain cliff

for us to get there. We ate a small lunch with great

ocean views from this lofty, scenic perch and then

travelled back to our ship.

What an excursion! Now we understand better

about how this island chain called the

Canary Islands formed.

.

Wednesday, April 23, 2025

 

We had a partial at sea day. Our arrival in Agadir,

Morocco was delayed due to the weather. We have

had very choppy seas with 3 to 4 foot waves that has

caused our delayed arrival. Actually the boat was

rocking quite a lot, making walking in the ship uneven.

We were to be in port at 6 PM and leave on our

excursion as soon as we cleared immigration. Now

our arrival was pushed back an hour. So we have a full

day at sea before leaving on our Marrakesh Overland.

In reality Marakesh is a 4 hour bus drive from our port

so we have a long night today before we reach our hotel.

 

Thus, we attended 3 lectures today. The first was a

geology talk about the Atlas nountains in Morocco.

 

The second, a talk about the Arabain Nights stories

with their history and the stories themselves.

 

The third talk concerned the history of Northwest

Africa with Islamic influence and colonialism.

Marrakesh Overland,

4 Days

Wednesday, April 23

to April 26

Marrakesh

Overland

Thursday, Day 2

We started our day from the centrally located

Savoy Hotel taking a bus to nearby Menara Gardens in

Marrakesh. This consisted of acres of  beautiful groves

of olive trees. There was a huge reflecting pond in the

midst of long never ending rows of olive trees.

 

We then took pictures of the old city walls that once

protected Marrakesh. We also took pictures of the

Koutoubia Mosque in the center of town. This is an

old square, tall mosque over 120 feet tall and

looms over the center of the city.

 

We then went to the Bahai Palace where the king

and his haren once lived. We were fascinated by all the

architectual details including the Islamic arches, ornate

woodwork, floor and ceiling tiles and attention to

intricate Islamic designs.

We then wandered in the Medina – or the old part of

town where there are thousands of small shops selling

every conceivable thing in the world. Our group walked

for the longest time going past all sorts of vendors,

walking down small, narrow streets. They sold carpets,

shoes, clothes, art crafts, tourist trinkets, food, metal

crafts – you name it and it was there.

We loved the noise, crowds, and chaos of this vibrant,

congested area. Our pedometer showed that we put in

22,000 steps today-probably walking 4 to 5 miles.

This explains why our feet were sore and tired – but

this is the heart and soul of the city.

 

We had lunch in a traditional Moroccon restaurant.

We were treated to Moroccan delacies and 3 different

types of dances. A belly dancer, a whirling spinning

lady with lights on her cape-gown and a lady who

danced with a plate of candles balanced on her head.

 

We then spent time at the Souks or the Jemae El Fna

which is another busy, crowded marketplace with a

central open square in the middle. We got time there

to wander, shop and see local crafts.

 

We then visited the Ben Youssef Madrassa which was

an important Islamic school in the city from the 16th

century. Once again it was a gem of old Islamic

architecture to admire, with hand crafted painted

ceilings, arches, a courtyard with reflecting pool,

small detailed tile rooms.

It was crowded as it was a popular tourist place. It

was fun to photo, with beautiful intricate designs all over.

 

 We came back to the Savoy Hotel

and had dinner on our own.

Marrakesh

Overland

Friday, Day 3

We left our hotel this morning to travel by bus to

Essaouira, Morocco which is rich in history. On our

way we stopped at a Ounagha which is a small village

for a wine tasting. This event was an attempt by the

surrounding cities to showcase their wine making

abilities. We had appetizers on a farm that grew

grapes and made wine.

 

We also saw a multitude of animals today including

peacocks and peahens, turkeys, ducks, geese,

sheep and camels.

 

In Essouria we checked out the city’s old cream colored

stone ramparts and the Sqala. This was a stone fortress

next to the beach with cannons and walkway ramps

built 3 centuries ago to defend the city.

 

After a buffet lunch, we had time to photo a

walled city called a Medina. Inside this area we once

again we spent time at the local Souk or marketplace.

We walked through narrow, winding streets with

hundreds of vendors on each side selling everything

under the sun. It was wonderful to catch the full flavor

of the city by walking through these colorful, chaotic

and vibrant shopping places.

We, of course, were not interested in shopping.

Instead, we crossed over to the wide and expansive

beach. We got our feet wet in the ocean and

enjoyed the scenic beach.

 

On the way back to our hotel we stopped at a

proceesing station/farm where they produced argan

oil. This expensive oil is made from local tree nuts.

We watched the women crack open the hard nuts,

then take the inner seed, mash it up, make it into

balls, and then squeeze the oil from it to produce

this exotic oil. It was an ardous process for them, but

this oil extract is highly coveted.

 

We then drove back to the Savoy Hotel in Marrakesh

and had dinner on our own and saw spectacular

water light show in front of our hotel.

 

  

Casablanca, Morocco

Saturday, Day 4 

Casablanca: City of White

Saturday, April 26, 2025

 

Immediately after our return from the Marrakesh

4 day Overland trip, we boarded a bus and went on

another excursion, Casablanca, City of White.

On this bus tour we stopped again at the Hassan II

Mosque next to the ocean.  But this time the

barracades were removed and we were able to cross

the large courtyard to get next to this iconic mosque.

Our guide explained about this new super tall mosque

in detail. We took more photos but could not get

inside as it is for Muslim worshippers only. Our

surprise bonus was hearing the call to prayer from a

loudspeaker on the courtyard with a voice reminding

us all to be kind to one another and that God is great

or Allah Akbar.

 

On this tour we made a stop to go into the old walled

city or Medina of Casablanca. We once again strolled

on narrow sreets past shops, but this time we ventured

into the olive section were dozens of vendors sold all

types of olives that we could taste sample. We also all

had a sip of Moroccon tea at an outdoor cafe.

 

We again admired the Art Deco 1920’s architecture

mixed in with old Islamic stone fortifications of a walled

city right in the middle of a modern one. We also were

in United Nations Square, saw their electric public

transportation train that ran through the streets,

shopped at local souvineer stores and we had

great views of the ocean.

 

This was a long bus touring day that we took. We were

both tired at the end of it but glad that we had such

wonderful, meaningful tours of a great city.

 

When we got back to the ship today, we did laundry,

had dinner and listened to our port talk about

tomorrow’s excursions in Cadiz or Seville, Spain.

We have left Africa and are now heading north.

 

Vejer de la Frontera

& Cape Trafalgar

Sunday, April 27

 

Today we journeyed into the beautiful Andalusian

countryside to learn more about the charming village

of Vejer de la Frontera. We took an hour long bus ride

to the very picturesque town high on a tall 400 foot hill.

We walked up cobblestone steep streets to visit this

charming 200 year old town.

 

All the buildings there were painted white and it was a

maze of narrow winding streets. We saw numerous

Catholic churches, old stone walls with ramparts, small

artisan stores, street cafes with scenic views of the city,

small town squares with statues and fountains in them,

and small dwellings all linked together.

This place had class and an old world charm that

captivated our attention. It was very much like being in a

postcard of small European elegance. Our guide

personally took us to hidden corners in Vejer, through

twisty streets that went up and down because we

wanted to see more of the town.

We spent almost 2 hours wandering in town. It was hard

to leave this scenic, picture perfect ideal town.

We then drove to the beach area some miles away for a

stop that commemorated the famous sea Battle of

Trasfalgar. Drake got his feet wet in the cold, choppy

Atlantic waters at the beach.

 

We concluded this tour by walking from our port into the

central part of Seville called Cathedral Square. There we

took pictures of old colonial buildings, a big town square,

a large  bronze statue, streets that radiate from this

plaza, and got caught up in the Old World European

design of a town preserved from the past.

 

Later today we listened to a pre-recorded port talk about

 Algarve, Portugal. We will take 2 tours there tomorrow.

However, we later learned due to weather conditions

that we would not be stopping in Algarve. 

These port talks enable us to plan our upcoming

day better.

 

We also attended a lecture entitled

Explorers – Age of Discovery.

 

After that we set our clocks back an hour.

Porto

Exploration

Tuesday, April 29

Braga & Guimaraes

Exploration

Tuesday, April 29

Mondariz & Palacio del Agua

Wednesday, April 30

Bev had a chance to relax and enjoy the tranquil

thermal waters at Palacio del Agua. She went into the

sauna, jacuzzi, lazy river, bubble pool and water

jet areas. Eased all her aches and pains from the

extensive walking excursions we have been on lately.

 

After a little more than an hour, we left the spa and

went across the street for a tapas lunch before

returning to the ship.

Very relaxing and enjoyable day for Bev.

Cíes Islands Escape

Wednesday, April 30

Drake’s Excursion

 

Drake took a tour today and cruised on a catamaran

ride to Cies Islands National Park just off Vigo, Portugal.

It is a number of  gorgeous isolated marine-terrestial

protected islands with sandy beaches, rocky

outcroppings and forested interiors.

 

There a guide took us on a 1.5 mile dirt and stone

paved trail to the top of the main island. It was fun and

challenging to hike this Alto del Principe

route nature trail to the top of Agudo Mountain.

 

We walked through forests of eucalyptus trees, large

granite boulders and low lying plants. At the top of this

trail hundreds of feet up we were treated to a

spectacular view of the ocean below, beaches, and tall

granite cliffs surrounding our never ending horizon

of the Atlantic It was fun and challenging to hike this.

 

Later Drake took a dip in the cold Atlantic Ocean, and

had a small lunch in the cafe there. It started to rain

and he returned by cartamaran to the ship.

 

It was a nice day for both of us and we both did the kind

of activities we enjoy.

 

Later that day we had a port talk about our next

port of call, which is A Coruna, Spain.

 

After dinner, we went to a lecture on Sir Francis

Drake, who was Queen Elizabeth I’s favorite pirate. 

 

A Day in Santiago

de Compostela

Thursday, May 1

We had a great day today which started out taking a

bus ride to Santiago de Compostela. This is a 12th

century cathedral, and serves as an endpoint for a very

long famous hiking trail called El Camino De Santaigo or

Way of James and contains an Old Town area around it.

 

We first stood in an immense town square framed

by the huge, tall, massive granite Gothic cathedral,

built there to celebrate the saint and martyr

St. James who is interned there. It is  immense and

imposing with 2 bell towers at the top, statues on its

facade, overly ornate stone coppulas, columns,

gargoyles, huge entrances, stone bric- a- brac

everywhere that never ended up to the sky. This

scene and imposing facade was right out of a movie.

Our guide explained its history.

 

We then had free time to explore the surrounding

Old Town area with cobblestone streets, small churches

and cathedrals, bell towers, statues, Baroque building

facades, narrow winding old streets, thousands of

tourists, old stone fountains in squares, cafes, and a

medieval feeling, as the whole area is a UNESCO World

Heritage Site. We stepped into a medieval world of style,

grace and complete dedication to relgion.

 

While in the town square in front of this very iconic

church, we saw many groups of people, young and old,

coming into it after just completely walking the equally

famous hiking trail or El Camino de Santiago. This

trail extends for hundreds of miles to the east in

northern Spain and ends up at this church where we

stood. Hundreds of thousands of hikers reach their

endpoint here. We saw groups of all kinds celebrating

by gathering in circles and dancing and jumping for joy

because they finished their journey. They get certificates

doing this, showing them off proudly in the square.

They took weeks walking this pilgrimage trail, staying in

hostels overnight, and then celebrating right in front of

this cathedral as their journey came to a joyous close.

We even talked to a few who chose to share their

journey with us.

 

We then had lunch at a nice Old World restaurant, and

proceeded to visit this old cathedrals’ museum. It was

chock full of stone embelishments from the cathedral,

medieval tapestries, huge old books written by monks,

guilded and very ornate ceilings, very thick 5 foot

granite walls and some religious statues and

paraphenlia from 8 centuries ago.

 

This musuem led us right inside into the main

cathedral. What a sight this was. Pews and large stone, 

columns lined the back part of the cathedral. This was

flanked by 2 sets of organ pipes on each side of the

balcony in the middle of the church.

 

Then we saw and photoed the altar which was sooooo

over the top. The whole guilded altar in gold plate was

tall, overly decorated with angels, embellishments of all

kinds and housed the remains of St. James. We were

in awe of this magnificient medieval cathedral because

of its obsessional drive to pay homage to this saint.

Hundreds of tourists lined up to get in, took other tours

in this church and was the focal point of their time

in this magical place.

 

This whole area was fun to visit in many different ways.

It was a wonderful sight to behold, and seeing hundreds

of pilgrims coming together for completing an ardous

journey made this place special.

 

Friday, May 2, 2025

A sea day gave us a chance to catch up from our

previous busy days which preoccupied our morning

and afternoon times.

 

We went to a lecture this morning on the

History of France.

 

In the mid afternoon we attended a lecture on the

pop group ABBA and the qualities of their

memorable music.

 

We then attended a port talk about Paris,

which we will visit tomorrow.

 

Paris On Our Own

Saturday, May 3

Explore Paris Our Way

 

 

 

White Cliffs of Dover

Canterbury Cathedral

& Leeds Castle

Sunday, May 4

This morning our ship came into the port of

Dover, England.

 

While eating breakfast we saw in the far off distance

the white cliffs of Dover. However they were too far

away to get a good picture. Luckily, at bit later our ship

sailed within 100 yards of these iconic cliffs. This

happened because our port location was very close to

these cliffs. We had a field day taking pictures of these

white chalk tall cliffs.

 

We then took an 8 hour excursion going to 2 famous

landmarks not far from Dover. So we first visited Leeds

Castle in Kent which is a 1000 year old stone castle with

a rich history to it. Some famous English kings and

queens from the 11th through 15th century lived there.

Kings such as Henry Xlll, his queens or wifes, and other

lesser known medieval kings lived there way back in the

day.

 

This classic stone  castle was fun to tour. A rich English

woman named Lady Baillie bought the castle in the

1920’s and fixed it up so  she could live in it and later

so that tours could go through it.

 

We walked from the bus on a pathway through acres of

well maintained park-like areas full of trees, flowers,

grass, bushes and ponds with ducks which all had the

reality of a quaint countryside English garden estate.

 

We toured the inside of this old castle with the

rennovations she made for her to live in it. The rooms

were fun to walk through with her furnishings to look at

such as her bedroom, dining room, library, sitting room,

office area, bathroom etc.

 

We then walked outside to the large outdoor estate

English formal gardens in back of the castle. It was very

pretty and well maintained. We walked further on to

find a big area for children to play in as families take

their kids to this castle like complex for a nice afternoon

in the countryside. They had a maze to walk through

of tall hedges. Of course Drake went into it and got lost.

But that’s the fun of it.

 

We then travelled to Canterbury to visit the Canterbury

Cathedral. From our bus we strolled through the main

town of Canterbury where the streets had been blocked

off so that tourists could shop without traffic.

 

After lunch, we then went into the iconic 12th century

Gothic Canterbury Cathedral, which was a tall, immense

cream colored stone, very imposing medieval church.

The church was built to honor Thomas Becket who was

murdered 1000 years ago and became a martyr and

saint. This church is over a hundred yards long and

70 yards tall. It is so big it easily resembles Nortre

Dame Cathedral in France.

 

We took photos outside of the church’s tall stone walls,

windows, roof with flying buttresses to support the walls,

and arches. This medieval church built by the Normans

1000 years ago is still a functioning church.

 

The inside of this massive church did not disappoint.

Since we started out at the back of the church, we were

very impressed with the height of very tall ribbed arch

ceiling and the 16 huge, thick tall columns to support the

ceiling and the overall depth of it. This is classic Gothic

medieval architecture at its finest.

 

Walking further to the middle of the church and up

some stairs we passed by dozens of tall large, colorful

stained glass windows, stone church decorations, and

tombs of old kings and queens with their stone

likenesses carved in marble on top of their tombs.

 

We saw beautiful, small inside chapels, more colorful

windows, very intricate and well carved stone works of

all sorts, with stone floors and an awful amount of

superb stone craftsmanship displayed in a somber and

religious setting fit for architectual historains.

 

We were very impressed with this massive, medieval

wonder that seemed to go on forever.

 

Thames River Scenic Sail In

& Royal Greenwich by Foot

Monday, May 5

The Tower of London

Monday, May 5

ON

OUR

OWN

Stonehenge and

Roman Baths

 

Since we had a full free day in London we decided to

book a tour with Viator to visit Stonehenge and Bath

by bus. These 2 sites are about 2 hours outside of

London, with Bath being a well preserved ancient

Roman spa complex.

 

We left the ship early in morning as we had to take a

clipper ship to get from our ship on the Thames to its

riverbank. Then we took a Uber to get to the meeting

point at a London’s Victoria Coach bus terminal.

We left the terminal by coach and traveled to

Stonehenge. It was truly wonderful to walk around

these ancient stone monolithes built 5000 years ago.

Located in the English countryside, on a vast grassy

knoll we saw man’s quest to calculate the beginning

and end of summer and winter. Their imposing size,

how they were arranged, and their strikingly simple

beauty was fantastic. At this site it was peaceful,

somber and serene. A guide there showed us the

exact position where the sun would come up over

certain stones on the first day of summer and winter.

Wow!!

 

After this we traveled to Bath which was an Ancient

Roman spa that used the hot spring water there as a

resort type pool complex.

 

We wandered through the museum which explained

how the Romans built this large complex that later

became the city called Bath. In the museum we had

headsets that told of ancient Roman life there.

We saw hundreds of artifacts such as Roman coins,

stone temple pieces, their aquaduct system to divert

and channel natural occuring hot water, models of

how it was in its heyday, and the baths themselves

which looked right out a movie set. The whole thing

was educational and beautiful as the hot springs

still come through the area.

 

We also walked through the city of Bath, which is also

a UNESCO site. Much of this city was built in the early

18th century with iconic Georgian architecture. There

were dozens of wonderful old buildings with ornate

stone facades with shops to browse.

There was also a famous circle of connected Georgian

houses. In Bath, the term “Georgian circle houses” 

primarily refers to the two iconic architectural wonders:

the Royal Crescent and The Circus. These are grand,

semicircular terraces of Georgian-era townhouses,

known for their classical facades and symmetrical

designs.

We also photoed an immense a great Gothic cathedral

with superb outside stone works. Inside huge tall

stained glass windows and a stunning altar set the tone.

 

The town had the Avon River running through it that

we got next to–as the whole place had charm and grace.

 

Of course the town of Bath is surrounded by huge

swaths of gently rolling hills and well tended green

farmlands. We saw scenes from our bus that looked

right out of a postcard of these scenic countryside

vistas. Another great day!

 

Wednesday, May 7

Hop on-Hop Off Bus

We saw the highlights of London on a full-day tour

 

Thames River Cruise

Wednesday, May 7

Vintage Railway

& Bodiam Castle

Thursday, May 8

Menai Strait by RIB

Sunday, May 11

Caernarfon Castle

Sunday, May 11

 

Plas Newydd &

Llangollen Heritage Railway

Monday, May 12

Giant’s Causeway

Tuesday, May 13

Knockan Crag Hike

Wednesday, May 14

Heart of Neolithic Orkney

& St. Magnus Cathedral

Thursday, May 15

Stromness Shoreline Walk

Thursday, May 15

We took another excursion in the afternoon called a

Shoreline Walking Tour of Stromness. Our bus left us

off by a shoreline of a loch that became part of the

ocean. Our group took a long 3 mile hike on a gravel

trail along the shoreline.

Here we saw, local birds, many areas of  large ancient

grayish granite flat slabs that were on the shore of the

loch, WWII era pillboxes to protect the town and the

blue waters of the loch. This path took us right into the

town of Stromness were we walked though narrow,

winding streets to join our bus in the town center.

Clearly it was a fun day to visit a whole range of sites.

Magnificent History

of Scone Palace

Friday, May 16

This morning we  took an excursion to Scone Palace in

Perth, Scotland. It is the Crowning Palace of Scottish

Kings and Queens.

 

We arrived there and took a self guided tour of this

sumptuous palace. It is the ancestral home and current

residence of the Earls of Mansfield for 400 years that

  is – royalty to the Crown. 

 

This Palace was a large stone imposing castle like place

with extensive estate grounds. We went through

numerous heavily decorated and ornate rooms.

Guides gave us information about these rooms.

We visited the 24 seat dinning room. A room showing

off many different makers of porcelin China from other

European countries from 250 years back. We then went

through a music room plus a room with large oil paintings

of past family members. We saw a room that contained

curiosities from around the world such as cabinets,

clocks, tables and some taxidermied bears. Another

room highlighted in photos the ongoings of this family

from past decades.

We then went outside to wander the King’s trail which

the estate. This was a park-like area with pretty bushes

in bloom, tall trees, and forest settings. There was a

cemetery, a garden area with greenhouses and other

gravel trails to walk.

 

We visited the nearby chapel which was the actual

crowning plaxce of Scottish kings hundreds of years ago.

 

Afterwards we took a small excursion into the city of

Edinburgh by our shuttle bus. We took pictures of some

landmark churches and pubic places. We noticed that

almost all the buildings – residential and commercial – in

the city were made of a light brown colored sandstone.

The chimneys on these buildings there were prolific.

 

After our excursions, we listened to a port talk

about Aberdeen, which is our next port of call.

 

 

Our after dinner lecture was on textiles.

Very interesting.

 

Aberdeen Highlights

 

This afternoon we took a tour of Aberdeen. This tour

slightly overlapped with our morning tour. However,

now we know why they call this Aberdeen Granite City.

All the buildings there were made of  grayish blocks of

locally sourced granite. Commercial, residential,

businesses, churches, public buildings, monuments, etc.

all had the same block like uniformity and look.

 

We traveled down Granite Mile by bus, which is a

shopping district and is a 1 mile long street full of old

granite buidings. We saw imposing tall churches,

Neoclassical buildings with front doric columns, ornate

stone facades, bric-a-brac stone details, clock towers,

tall heavily decorated church steeples with a look and

feel of Old World stone craftsmanship.

 

We first saw Aberdeen beach where people strolled

right on this beach.We then stopped by an old nearby

fishing village called Fotdee which consisted of very small

houses built for the fisherman to live in 200 years ago.

 

We then traveled to Kings’ College again but this

time took in more of the school with its stately

stone granite architecture.

 

We then had free time to spend in the old part of town

right off the Granite Mile. We spent a lot of time in front

of Marischal College which is the 2nd largest granite

building in the world. It is about 100 yards long with

towering steeples on each end, a courtyard in the center

and is 60 feet tall. We wandering to other public squares

taking shots of the old very decorated stone facades

of public buildings, churches and clock towers that

dominate this city.

In a way this was an architectual tour of a city frozen

in time, encased in granite with a Eurpoean charm to it.

 

Sunday, May 18

Stavanger

Walking Tour &

Oil Museum 

This morning Viking had a special breakfast for us

world cruisers. A nice treat! Plus since we had a half sea

day, we attended 2 lectures. A port talk on upcoming

Bergen and a talk on the 13th and 14th century

Hanseatic League – or Baltic traders that included Norway.

 

This afternoon we had 2 tours, which is what we like to

be able to do. Our first tour was a walking tour of

Stavanger. Since our ship was in port right in front of the

main harbor and business area, it was convenient. Our

group walked by dozens of brightly colored wooden

2 and 3 story commercial buildings that surrounded

the horseshoe shaped harbor. It looked quaint and

rustic. We then walked through narrow cobblestone

streets that were lined with shops and businesses again,

painted in reds, yellows, greens and light orange. A large

stone church was featured in a public square highlighting

the harbor and colorful buidings.

 

Our group then visited the oil museum in town since big

oil money has made this town thrive. This museum told

how they drill for oil in the sea using masssive and

expensive oil rig platforms in the dangerous, cold and

unpredictable North Sea. We saw industrial oil drill bits,

models of oil/sea platforms, the history of drilling in the

sea and how men live on these paltforms out at sea.

 

Sunday, May 18

Fjord Foray by RIB