Usually by now, we would be sailing southwest towards French Polynesia or the Hawaiian Islands as we begin the circumnavigation of the globe. However, we are starting three weeks later, on January 22nd instead. You may ask why? Well, we assume by popular request, the final segment will be northern Europe, not an area normally visited on a grand voyage. At least, not for the Holland America Line in recent years. The Amsterdam will be heading that way towards the third week of April, which should present us with cool temperatures, but on the way towards springtime.
So where else are we going? After boarding in Ft. Lauderdale, we will have stops in Santa Marta, Colombia and the San Blas Islands, Panama. The ship will transit the Panama Canal, with an overnight visit in Fuerte Amador (Panama City), Panama. Salaverry, Peru is the next stop, followed by two full days in Callao (Lima), Peru. Arica, Chile, will be the final port before we head west for another Chilean visit….Easter Island, a most unique place in the Pacific. On the way towards French Polynesia, we will drop anchor at Pitcairn Island, which is loaded with history. Hopefully, the natives will be able to bring their treasures onboard to sell. The most beautiful ports in Polynesia will be Tahiti, Moorea, and Bora Bora, where we cross the International Date Line, thus losing one full day of the calendar. No worries, however, since Captain Mercer always promises to give back all of those missing hours one at a time before returning to Florida.
There is only one stop in Tonga….no Fiji or Papua New Guinea this year. Heading south, we will visit Auckland, Tauranga, Wellington, and Picton….all in New Zealand. Then going west, the next ports will be two days in Sydney, Townsville, Cairns, and Darwin….all in Australia. Then things get exotic such as stops in Komodo, Bali, and Semarang in Indonesia.
Mid-March finds us in Singapore for two days, but no Hong Kong this time. Again, some favorite places have to be skipped to make time for northern Europe. Sri Lanka and two ports in India follow….namely Cochin and Mumbai. Then it is off for two days in Aqaba, Jordan with a transit through the Suez Canal. This will find the ship in the Mediterranean, but with only a few ports. We will head directly for Italy with a visit to Naples, followed by Barcelona and Cadiz, Spain.
This is where the cruise turns north going to Lisbon, Portugal. One more visit to Leixoes in Portugal, and we sail to Cherbourg, France. A stop in Zeebrugge, Belgium, will give all a chance to see Brussels. One port in the Netherlands will be Amsterdam, then it is off to Copenhagen, Denmark. Cruising Oslofjord, we will stop in Oslo, Norway. Then off to Flam, viewing the Sognefjord in Norway. Portree Scotland will be a first for us, as will be Belfast, Ireland. We have been to Dublin and Cobh, Ireland, but it has been many years ago. The final European port will be Bantry in Ireland.
Transatlantic sailing will bring us to Ft. Lauderdale, and going home for most. The two of us will be sailing onward towards Seattle, with stops in Colombia, the Panama Canal again, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Mexico, San Francisco, Victoria and Vancouver, Canada, and finally Seattle, where we fly home to SF on June 3rd. Great way to spend the first half of the year, right?
In the meantime, much of the in-and-around the house chores have kept us busy. A couple of years ago, we had a 40 year old pine tree decide to kick the bucket. Figured it was a good time to have it taken down before it crashed the house and blocked the driveway. Splitting and stacking the future firewood was accomplished by the more industrious one of us. The other one of us has been occupied whipping up some new clothes for the trip, making good use of the fabric shopping abroad. Still trying to figure out what to do with the waxed fabric from Africa…..
Our four duffels have made their way to Florida. Normally we track them from day one, only to be frustrated as they sometimes separate and go different ways. As we don’t need any extra worries, this time we waited until they all arrived four days later. Where they went in the interim, it doesn’t matter, since they are where they need to be.
Now the last of the concerns has to do with the situation with the airport security check, namely the TSA agents. Due to the recent government partial shutdown, the security teams have been slow or missing in action. There is no control over this, so we simply pray for the best. Going to the airport very early is another option, which we have already planned to do. In addition, this is another reason we spend three nights in Ft. Lauderdale prior to a long cruise. It gives us a little wiggle room for possible delays. Bad weather this time of year comes to mind as well.
So the next time you hear from us will be either at the airport, if we get stuck (heaven forbid), or when we check into the hotel in Ft. Lauderdale. Looking forward to an exciting trip!
To be continued…..
Bill & Mary Ann
PS This is where you can find the blog complete with photos when it is available: https://cruisingwithbillandmaryann.blogspot.com
Thursday, January 17, 2019
Report # 1 Ready - set- go January 15, 2019 Tuesday Rainy and 55 degrees Part #1 Of 1 6 Pictures (Clayton)
