Santa Cruz de la Palma / Mon Apr 1

Santa Cruz de la Palma is the capitol city of the island of La Palma which is part of the Canary Islands. It's located along an old lava flow coming out of the Caldereta - a volcano located just south of the city. The island is the most north westerly and 5th largest of the main Canary Islands.

We were going to hike today but the forecast was for rain so instead we took a VIP motor coach tour of the island.

Our first stop was at the Santuario de Nuestra Senora de Las Nieves or the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Sorrows. It's home to the Canary Islands' oldest religious icon - the Patron Virgin of La Palma. The religious image is made with terra cotta and dates to the 14th century.

The priest is the person who can open the church but unfortunately he was late so we never got inside.

Oranges

Avocado tree with an avocado

Next was a stop at La Concepcion viewpoint where we had a good view of the bay.

We then drove through the dorsal mountains via a 1.5 mile long tunnel which brought us from the east side of the island to the west side which has a very different landscape.

Just before going to the Taburiente National Park to see the huge Caldera de Taburiente we stopped and had snacks and champagne that our hostess had set up for us.

Af We had a brief stop at the Visitor Center at the National Park before

driving to La Cumbrecita viewpoint to see the Caldera de Taburiente.

Next stop was at a local hotel - Parador de La Palma - where we were served lunch.

LeThen we were off to Fuencaliente to walk along the edge of the San Antonio

crater.

There was an exhibit there where you stood in a specific area and you could feel the ground shake as if it were a magnitude 5 earthquake.

This was also the location of Cumbre Vieja which is one of the most active volcanoes in the Canaries. It last erupted in 1971.

Our last stop was at El Molina Pottery where we saw people making pottery in the same way the natives made it years ago. We also saw a Dragon Tree which is actually a plant that is native to the area.

More champagne was waiting for us as we left the pottery workshop. We then boarded our luxury motor coach and headed back to the ship.

Tomorrow is a sea day. We arrive in Malaga, Spain on Wednesday.

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Dakar, Senegal / Wed Mar 27

Today we docked in Dakar which is the capitol of Senegal. We took one of the ship's tours since we weren't sure what to expect safety wise. Surprisingly, the tour bus was pretty modern complete with air conditioning and our local tour guide's English was good. We spent about 4 hours going to some of the highlights of the city. We didn't always stop for photos and the windows of the bus were quite dirty so there aren't that many great photos to share. Dakar has many modern high rise buildings, well paved roads and a decent highway system yet there is so much poverty. People are set up almost everywhere selling their goods and piles of garbage are all around. On one corner we saw someone selling bed frames and in another area, selling refrigerators. There are modern cars on the road as well as horses, wagons and goats. You can see how developed the road system is in the city... We saw a number of small, colorful buses on the roads. T

Busselton / Tue Feb 19

We tendered in Busselton, Australia today. Busselton is best known for the the Busselton Jetty which was built in 1865. It's more than a mile long and is the longest timber piled jetty in the southern hemisphere. At the end of the jetty is an underwater observatory. You can get to it by walking the length of the jetty or by taking the Jetty Train which looks like a Victorian locomotive but is powered by solar panels. We spent the day in Busselton with two other couples. We sat on the beach for a couple of hours then walked into town to explore. We met Walter who was quite the character. After that we had a snack at a local restaurant then took the train to the end of the jetty and toured the underwater observatory before walking back to the tender. Fun day!

Parting Thoughts and More ...

It didn’t take too long to re-enter our normal lives. Although I did miss having our linens changed daily, Larry was delighted to get back home so he could eat dinner wearing shorts (not long pants) ... which he couldn’t do on the ship. Because I get sea (and motion) sick I used the scopalomine patch on this cruise. Usually Bonine is enough but the cruise started in rough waters (crossing to Hawaii from LA) so I decided to use the patch. It worked really, really well with no side effects so I continued using it. When it was prescribed (by two different doctors) I asked each if using it for almost 3 months would be an issue and both said 'no.' Well, I should have done more research as it turns out you can get addicted and experience withdrawal .... and I did. I wasn't able to get off it until the 3rd time I tried and even then it took about 3 weeks to be free of all symptoms. After going online to find out how to withdraw, I saw that some people have much more trouble t

Opals and Romeos

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