Hasta Luego Las Islas Canarias!

Thursday, March 31, 2011

                               

This is our last day on the Canary Islands and we still haven’t found any canaries… good thing we aren’t visiting the Virgin Islands…  

We woke at 6:30 and saw the lights of the city of Arrecife on the island of Lanzarote. It was still dark…sunrise wasn’t until 8:00 am.  So much for daylight savings time!  The pilot boat arrived and our harbor pilot climbed into the Prinsendam through the portal on deck 4.  Each harbor provides a pilot to direct the movement of the ship through the waters from outside the harbor to the tied-up position on the dock or anchorage in the harbor.  

Lanzarote is one of the more Eastern of the Canary Islands and is only 75 miles from the African coast.  The island of Lanzarote has a lunar-like landscape with over 300 volcanoes.  The landscape is desolate yet hauntingly beautiful. The lava rich soil is perfect for growing vegetables and grapes although it is very arid at this time of year.   We are visiting at the end of the “wet” season but it still isn’t very green.  The crops that we saw were in poor condition, unless one would consider cactus to be a crop – then it would be a bumper crop.  The fields all had lava rock walls around them and in lines within them to block the wind and preserve what little moisture comes from the occasional rains. Today we felt the effects of the Sahara desert with its hot winds and desert dust. 

    

Our tour took us along the coast North from Arrecife. The homes, clustered in small villages, were white-washed, none over two-story, with green shutters and tiled roofs.   They were a striking contrast to the black lava soil.

   

We climbed gradually up to higher elevations while the road wound through volcanic geologic features.  We stopped at several viewpoints to see the cones, craters and lava flows.  We would have had a great view of the fishing village on the Isla Graciosa from Mirador del Rio were it not for the haze.  The overlook location was a nicely constructed structure built into the mountain several thousand feet above the coastal views.  The building was designed by Cesar Manrique and was entirely made of sweeping curved walls, ceilings and roofs. all finished in smooth white plaster.

     

The primary destination of the tour was the volcanic grotto at Jameos del Agua. The grotto was formed by a lava flow which reached the Atlantic Ocean, crusted over and flowed out, leaving a hollow “lava tub”.  When the roof of the tube caved in it created a grotto.  This grotto has been developed into a very nice complex including a pond, a small swimming pool, an auditorium, a volcanology museum, a gift shop and a snack bar.  We could see albino blind crabs which have inhabited the cave’s pool since prehistoric times.  We enjoyed the design of these Cesar Manrique buildings which, like the Mirador del Rio was built exclusively with curved walls and ceilings. 

  

We spent the afternoon on the ship falling right in line with the pace of this island – slow, dead slow, and stop!  We could get used to this.  They are giving us an hour back tonight as Morocco doesn’t observe Daylight Savings’ Time.  We should be well rested. 

By the way, there aren’t any canaries on the Virgin Islands either---look it up.

Day Two, Tenerife

Wednesday, March 20, 2011

Another beautiful day in this charming port.  Arrangements were made to disembark Dorothy from the ship and get her settled and on the way home tomorrow morning.  The port agent lined up a taxi for us to take her to the hotel for the evening.  Paco loved his city and insisted on giving us a very special tour.  Dorothy’s hotel was located in the heart of Santa Cruz, right across from the Garcia Sanabria Park.  This park is filled with sculpture works of contemporary artists, exhibited alongside palm trees and other tropical plant species.  

      

   

The buildings along the perfectly manicured promenades were colorful and displayed varying forms of architecture.  The most interesting of buildings was the Auditorio de Tenerife, the home of the symphony orchestra seating 1700.  this magnificent building was designed by the renowned architect Santiago Calatrava and has become the trademark of the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.  We understand that he is the chosen architect for the 911 monument.

   

The Captain has just announced that we are leaving port and will be travelling in the company of many ships tonight as all ships headed toward Africa will be sailing in the same shipping lanes.  Guess we may have to close the curtains tonight.

The Beautiful Canary Islands

 

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

                                 

We woke up early enough to watch the lights of the harbor of Santa Cruz grow brighter from our verandah.  We had set our alarm for 6:30 and ordered breakfast in the cabin because we were scheduled for a shore excursion at 8:00.  Santa Cruz is a wonderful city nestled between a range of mountains and the beautiful sea.  We have a perfect spot on the dock within walking distance of all the sights of downtown Santa Cruz.  Having just left two ports which failed miserably to meet our expectations it was nice to find that this port greatly exceeds what we expected.   And we get to stay here for two days!   

We have been doing most ports on our own (or at least attempting to), however we signed on for a ship’s shore excursion as it covered all the areas we wanted to experience.  We did luck out!  The highlight of our tour was the drive through lush vegetation and three different ecosystems up to Mount Teide, a 12,270 foot dormant volcano.  As the bus driver skirted the peak, many times having to back up for oncoming traffic, we wound through unusual landscapes including a huge volcanic crater the size of Haleakala.  Barney was chomping at the bit to tighten his shoe laces and take a hike. The volcanic rocks found here are in striking contrast to those in Maui.  The area was covered with black obsidian, red magma, and white pumice.  There was also a lot of  plant growth throughout the Canadas National Park.  Many movies have been filmed in these unusual areas.  The peak of Mount Teide was snow covered and the temperature was a comfortable 60 degrees. 

   

The hillsides are covered in forest consisting of eucalyptus trees, the native Canadas pine, which survives the harsh winds of winter storms, while more typical pines bend and break. We saw evidence of this devastation with tree tops sheared and entire areas of the forest wiped out. 

   

The rolling fields are planted to bananas, oranges, tomatoes, potatoes and grape vines.  We were served most of these during the lunch stop.  The wine may have received the best reviews.  The Spanish cuisine here on the canary islands certainly isn’t based on the low carb diet. 

The drive back to the beautiful Atlantic coast line included a stop at the Orotava Valley Botanical Gardens.  The garden was founded in 1788 as an acclamation garden for plants and trees gather worldwide to be later transferred to mainland Spain.  Spain’s harsh climate was responsible for the failure of this project.  However, mainland Spain’s loss is certainly Tenerife’s gain.  The garden consisted of a huge variety of palms and many tropical flowers and bromeliads.  The centerpiece of the garden is the massive South American fig tree.  Once we were shown photos of the destruction of the garden from the 170 km winds (per our guide) in November, 2010 we were in even more awe. 

   

                          

Our tour returned to the ship late, but no one was complaining.  We stopped by Dorothy’s cabin only to learn that the insurance carrier wanted to arrange for Dorothy to have a “nurse assist” on the flight home.  The only problem is the nurse assist can’t get here until tomorrow afternoon which means the flight home is delayed until Thursday morning.  They are arranging for a hotel tomorrow night for Dorothy and the nurse and all transportation to the airport, along with an upgrade to business class.  Dorothy is rolling with the changes, but we know that she will be glad to get to her home, her family and her doctor. 

The ship turned the Lido deck into a Tapas Bar and offered tasty (not low carb) Spanish fare.  The crew was all decked out in costumes and the band was playing.  Seems like everyone enjoys a night in port.  A local folkloric carnival show is scheduled for 9:30 tonight, but they will have to entertain a crowd minus two. 

                             

Yes, Tenerife is a visitor’s paradise.  You can sunbathe in the morning and trek in snow in the afternoon.  Last year over 5 million visitors enjoyed this “island for all”.  And to think we have another day here.

Two Days at Sea!

Sunday, March 27, 2011 and Monday, March 28, 2011

The title is about as exciting as the last two days.  We always enjoy the quiet, relaxing sea days.  They are a great time to catch up on sleep, reading, visiting, and whatever.  However, these last two days have been filled with emotion as we had to come to the realization that our dear friend, Dorothy, was not going to be able to continue with the cruise.  The ship’s doctor recommended that she fly home at the first opportunity and he gave her a medical release.

We did have another formal night and a grand performance by a musical group from Sidney, Australia via Russia.  Monday, I was in line for buffet breakfast next to one of the male performers and decided to “use” my Russian.  I said “speziba” (thank you) and he spoke back in Russian.  I shook my head and said the only other thing I know “yellowbluebus” which translates to “I love you”.  He started laughing and said that I must lead a very interesting life if those are the only two Russia words I know.  He was still laughing the next time I saw him.

Our course during the two days was slightly East of North and the seas were a bit rougher than those we experienced on our crossing of the Atlantic. Swells ran 8 to 14 feet and needed our sea legs.  We lost another hour on the ship’s clock and were confused by that since we had not moved very far to the East.  We decided that the ship made this change to save us 2 or 3 consecutive daily changes during the next week.   At any rate we went to bed Monday night in a bouncing cabin looking forward to an early arrival Tuesday morning for two full days docked securely in Santa Cruz on the island of Tenerife, in the Canary Islands.

Port of No Return!

Saturday, March 25, 2011

Dakar, Senegal

                           

We waited for the tours to leave the ship before rushing off to catch a ferry for a twenty minute ride to the Ile de Goree.  It was an active hub in the slave trade for 350 years, until slavery was outlawed in Senegal.  Future West African slaves were transferred to slave ships bound for America from Goree Island. The “slave house”, a typical colonial era structure still stands as a reminder to all.  Human “cargo” was stored below and the merchant family lived in the upper floor.  Up to 200 people were kept in the small cells.

You won’t find any pictures of Goree Island in this blog… as we were accosted immediately upon stepping off the gangway.  We told one guy “NO” and he started screaming at me to not say no, and that we were all the same people, and that if we paid him he would protect us.  We continued to walk to the port exit on our way to the ferry terminal and the guy got even closer and was actually grabbing Barney’s arm.  At that point we just turned around and headed back into the port area.  The guy grumbled something in a very aggressive manner and finally walked away.  To distance ourselves from him, we stayed around the area that had been set up by vendors to “market” their wares to anyone who left the ship.  These vendors, too, were very aggressive and made us both feel uncomfortable. 

                                      

The ship had arranged a free shuttle bus to take any passengers/crew into town.  We decided to ride it in but once we reached “Independence Square”, the drop-off location, we quickly decided to stay on the bus and people watch.  What an experience!  the hassling and hawking was worse than we have ever experienced.  The official language is French, but everyone, including the children, had an English version of “dollar”, “buy now”, “help my baby”, and “I love you”.  The passengers who did leave the bus were back on in seconds…….so much for a lovely trip to town.

             

   

Since we don’t plan on returning to this port, we will share a few facts for those students of geography following along with the journey.  The country of Senegal is shaped like a human silhouette, the outline’s “mouth” is the Gambia, and Dakar is the tip of the “nose”.  The highest point is only 1,000 feet above sea level.  Dakar is a city of 1-2 million people. They say the “smell of roasting peanuts permeates the air” – well, we aren’t sure that we agree.  People all over Senegal are said to be proud of their “teranga” or hospitality…someone should tell the local folk in Dakar. To be perfectly fair – Dakar is not a common place for cruise ships to dock so maybe they just need time to adjust.  The old saying “make hay while the sun shines” is no doubt how they feel about capturing the heart and money of the tourists.  For now, Dakar seems to be a place where you can be “taken for a ride” both literally and figuratively. 

After this highly organized chaos, the two days at sea will be a welcome relief. 

Next Stop Africa!

March 24, 2011, Day 13 At Sea

We spent the day at sea cruising slowly from Cape Verde to The Gambia on the western coast of Africa.  We neglected a few days ago to report an interesting event as we sailed eastward across the North Atlantic Ocean.  When we crossed the meridian of 45 degrees West Longitude  (you know, the lines on the globe) we were asleep in the middle of the night.  However, when we crossed 30 degrees West Longitude we were reading on the verandah in the early afternoon.  We felt the significant “bump” as we hit the line and immediately noticed the dark line extending away to the north.  (our verandah is on the port side of the ship)   Patty made a mad dash into the cabin for our camera but, by the time she returned to the verandah the line was so far behind us that it did not appear on the photo.  Maybe we’ll catch it another time and post the photo for you.   

Our traveling partner, Dorothy Allyn, has been under the weather.  She is experiencing severe arthritis pain in her right knee.  We’ve been to the ships’ doctor twice and she isn’t seeing much improvement.  Getting around on a bum knee as the ship rocks and rolls is not an easy thing.  Everyone is hoping that the medicine will kick in soon.  Keep your fingers’ crossed. 

 

March 25, 2011, Day 14 Banjul, The Gambia

                             

We cruised very slowly all night. The captain explained that we could not arrive in Banjul before 6:30 a.m. because a port pilot and a tug boat would probably not be ready for us.  So we were approaching our dock at the time we woke on Friday morning.  Banjul is a large city on the banks of the Gambia River at it’s mouth into the Atlantic Ocean.  The Gambia is a small state about the size of Delaware. They refer to it as the “mouth” of Senegal since it is a narrow country surrounded by Senegal. 

   

The city evolved here as a trade center for all the products of the interior of West Africa which were moved down the river for transportation throughout the Atlantic market.  It is a vibrant shipping point and the port was busy as we opened our curtains and watched the sun rise through a thick muggy haze.  We had a tour scheduled so we ordered breakfast delivered to our cabin.  When breakfast was finished we made a trip down to the promenade deck to take pictures of the port and of the dancers performing for us at the gangway.  A troupe of young, athletic, African women were dancing a very fast dance to pounding drums and rhythm instruments.  After a trip back to our cabin to assemble our tour gear we met our group and left the ship to board a 4 wheel drive truck with seats installed in the truck bed for about 25 people.  The truck was open on all four sides from about the seated passengers elbows to the sun roof, a distance of about 4 feet which allowed for great air movement in the muggy atmosphere.  We were headed for the Abuko Nature Reserve and looked forward to viewing all of West Africa’s most exotic flora and fauna from our comfortable seats.

We traveled through the city of Banjul with a good view of the people on the streets, the markets, the homes, a few churches, government buildings, parks, and traffic, more traffic, horns, more horns, taxis everywhere,.. organized chaos.  The streets were crowded with markets filled with colorfully clothed men, women, and children selling everything from toilets to lettuce.  School children all seemed to be wearing uniforms.  Forty-five percent of Banjul’s population is under 14 years of age.  Many women carried a baby on their front as well as a toddler on their back.  Most waved at us and many even took photos of the “light-skinned” tourists.  The population as a whole seemed very happy and all that we met were cordial – English is taught in all the schools.

  

The crowded street scenes soon gave way to miles of mangrove swamps and then another city looking much the same as Banjul. Serekunda was the location of the Abuko Nature Reserve.  Then, we assume to save depreciation on the 4 wheel drive trucks, we dismounted and walked for about two miles on the trails of the reserve.  We had a very friendly guide who tried very hard to find some wildlife for us but we saw only a half dozen species of birds and one Bushback (an antelope-like quadruped) and a few monkeys. 

  

     

The end of the tour took us to a fenced area with baboons, 3 or 4 hyenas and a multitude of turkey vultures.  After 30 hot and dusty minutes here to take pictures and purchase refreshments and/or carved wooden items we climbed aboard our trusty trucks and retraced our journey back to the Prinsendam.  All wooden items were quickly confiscated by the ships’ staff and promptly places in a freezer for 48 hours.  Experience has taught cruise ships the likelihood of insect infestations in these items.  No worries, we have no products in the freezer. 

A quick lunch followed by a long shower and an afternoon napping on the verandah topped off this dusty and interesting day. We left Banjul before dark so no one needed to worry about the unlawful acts of selling soap or charcoal, or whistling after dark.   We slipped our moorings, let the breeze tease us away from the dock, flipped around (the Captain’s words) and headed for Dakar, Senegal.

P. S.

As we were taking photos yesterday, we often encountered people who would shake their finger at us.  Many little children would shout out “one dollar” and giggle.  Our guide said not to worry as “what were they going to do” since we were in a “safari vehicle” and headed down the road.  Well……………one of the tour groups found out as a policeman thought someone on a safari vehicle had snapped his picture.  He stopped the vehicle, got on board and really caused a commotion.  The lady had not gotten the picture of the policeman but that didn’t seem to matter.  The tour guide intervened and the detained vehicle was allowed to proceed only to get delayed further by a Presidential visit from the head of The Gambia.  All twenty tour members were late boarding the ship and very thankful that they had participated in a ship organized shore excursion since the ship will wait to sail away only if late boarding passengers are on a sanctioned tour.

…and now we head off on a visit to Ilse de Goree by ourselves…if the ship sails without us, this may be the final blog…

Mindelo, Sao Vicente, Cape Verde

Wednesday, March 23

                            

We were being pulled to the dock by our lines when we looked out our verandah window at 6:30.  The “Crossing” was very relaxing with much time spent with our noses in our books, but it was good to see land again after 4 sea days  Cape Verde (green) is much more brown than green.  The islands (10 large and inhabited, hundreds of tiny rocks) lie about 350 miles off the coast of Africa and are volcanic in origin.  Hence the brown color.  The specific island of Sao Vicente was “discovered” by the Portuguese in 1455 and is currently inhabited by very friendly people descended from so many different nationalities that this typifies a true “melting pot” of civilization.  The tour information lists ancestors as “enslaved Africans, Portuguese settlers, Spanish and Italian seamen, Portuguese Jews, Dutch, French, British, Arabs, Middle East Jews, Chinese, Americans, Brazilians”…you get the picture.  And the people are very attractive and friendly as if they absorbed the best of all the these ancestors.  Even their language is a bit unique and is a sort of “pidgin” combination of English and an African slave dialect known as Crioulo (Creole).  Ariup is hurry up.  Ovatine is overtime. 

We had a leisurely breakfast and left for town about 9:30.  A short shuttle ride took us to the center of that part of the town most interesting to tourists.  We enjoyed sitting for a few minutes in the large (for this town) Catholic Church and comparing it to those we’ve seen all over the world.  This was a poor, but well-loved Church.  The differences and similarities are always new and sometimes surprising.  This one had Stations of the Cross hung so high on the walls that it was very hard to distinguish them from each other.

            

We also stopped in at the indoor Mercado Municipal (city market) containing the usual variety of colorful local fruits, vegetables, spices and homemade craft items.  This market was unusual in that it had a balcony from which we could look down on all the venders and their wares.  We had seen this layout only once before…in Guatemala. We also wandered through several open air markets, the park outside the Presidential Palace, and several monuments to local heroes. In addition to the pink Presidential Palace, the neighborhoods were vibrant with cerise, cobalt blue and lemon yellow buildings. 

                               

   

Fishing is the major lifeblood of this island.  Rumor has it that they have 366 recipes to prepare cod – even leap year is covered. The boats are painted in the African style of using bright colors.

  

Everything on the island is expensive since all items must be shipped in – sounds like Maui to us.  The availability of salt from this area is also very important as salt was the most important item to keep food from spoiling.  The importance of salt is reflected in the custom of placing the most important people at the table in a position “above the salt”.

Just prior to sail-away we enjoyed a folklore show on the Lido deck.  A small troupe of local singers, musicians, and exquisite dancers entertained us for about an hour – very lively music and beautiful dancing.     

                               

Another wonderful pianist for our evening show in the ships showroom…and  another lost hour of sleep.  We are now seven hours ahead of U.S. CDT.