TravelStream™ news feed for member jimstephkrueger on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/jimstephkrueger en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sun, 24 May 2009 22:14:59 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jimstephkrueger/15/1240881240/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jimstephkrueger/15/1240881240/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jimstephkrueger/15/1240881240/tpod.html Sun, 24 May 2009 22:14:59 -0400 From Pirates to Vikings - Traversing the Atlantic from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic over to Europe and then heading North into Oslo, Norway....

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Lisbon, Estremadura, Portugal

  Here we are back in Lisbon.  We were very happy to have this port included on the itinerary - a chance for us to revisit some of our favorite places in Lisbon - even if only for a short day. We had a taxi driver take us to Rossio Square - our starting point.  We walked around Praca da Figueira and down the Rua da Prata - past our old apartment - and then over to the Elevador da Justa - and up and down the Rua Augusta.  Monroe remembered that this was where he bought his 'manbag' and he found the woman that sold it to him and said 'hello' to her.  It was funny.  Then we did a little shopping - Jeanie bought some very nice painted tiles and some painted dishes.  We went to the Confeitaria Nacional where I had a Cappuchino and Pasteis da Nata every day and we all had coffee and a custard tart.  We stopped at the hardware store - saw the same 'ladies of the street' that were always hanging out on that corner - I found a nice brass water faucet for the garden  - we stopped in the local market and picked up some beverages - then took the old fashioned cable cars for a quick tour through the Alfama district. Back in the Restauradores district we stopped off at the local Ginginha joint for some shots of Cherry liqueur - the price has been raised to Euro 1.10 but it was still good and worth it!  We now have two more members of the Ginginha fan club in Jeanie and Monroe.  Monroe became a fan of the Eduardino - which is like an Anisette - and so we bought some bottles of both - then went to have lunch at Valentino's.  One of the waiters remembered us - although Luciano was not working during lunch that day - so we didn't get to see him - but we had a nice quick lunch of homemade pasta and pizza - it was very good.  Then - back again to the Ginginha joint for a couple more shots and then we needed to get back to the ship.  We were sailing fairly early - and we had invited people to our cabin for drinks and the nice sailing away down the Rio Tejo - under the April 25 Bridge and past the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos - Henry the Navigator Monument and the Torre de Belem. We had champagne and caipirihnas on our balcony along with Brian, Julie and Dennis and enjoyed a very nice evening on our way to Spain.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jimstephkrueger/15/1241056920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jimstephkrueger/15/1241056920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jimstephkrueger/15/1241056920/tpod.html Sun, 24 May 2009 22:14:08 -0400 From Pirates to Vikings - Traversing the Atlantic from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic over to Europe and then heading North into Oslo, Norway....

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La Coruna, Galicia, Spain and Canary Islands

  Next stop La Coruna, Spain and Happy May Day - all shops in this really cute, charming town are closed today!  &%$#  La Coruna is on the Northern tip of Spain and is a clean - charming city.  The weather was getting cooler and we were happy to have a nice sunny day today. La Coruna is about an hour north of Santiago de Compostela - so we could have also visited from this port - however we chose to stay and see the city - We did some window shopping and everything looked so nice here so what a disappointment - fortunately the restaurants and cafes were open so after doing a bit of sightseeing in the city - checking out the churches and government buildings - we found a nice café with HUGE Cappuchinos and wi-fi - so we spent some time there before heading back. It was too bad that everything was closed because I think we would have enjoyed seeing the shops and more people out and about.  If we ever had the chance to return to this area I would definitely put La Coruna on the list of things to see again.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jimstephkrueger/15/1240968840/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jimstephkrueger/15/1240968840/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jimstephkrueger/15/1240968840/tpod.html Sun, 24 May 2009 22:06:56 -0400 From Pirates to Vikings - Traversing the Atlantic from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic over to Europe and then heading North into Oslo, Norway....

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Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain and Canary Islands

Vigo, Spain  - just North of the Portuguese border - was our next destination.  We had decided to do a tour to nearby Santiago de Compostela - where thousands of people make a pilgrimage each year to the cathedral named after  St. James aka Santiago and where we would see his remains under the alter.  The drive through the countryside was wonderful - Northern Spain is absolutely beautiful.  Just off of the coast of Vigo are some islands and these islands provide a barrier to the inlet in Vigo - so when the tides rise and fall they do so in a way that provides a lot of plankton without a tremendous amount of pressure to the waterways inland.  This is a perfect condition for farming oysters, mussels and scallops and we were able to see many examples of the 'beds' used for this farming. After about an hour and a half we reached Santiago de Compostela and walked through the charming streets to the Cathedral.  The streets in the old town are all made of large rectangular slabs of granite and are perfect.  The old town is so picturesque  - immaculate streets - well kept buildings - inviting shops and cafes and some very beautiful churches in addition to the Cathedral of St. James.  We were very lucky today that there was a special mass taking place and that they would be using the incense burner.  This is the largest incense burner in the world and you can not belive the demonstration.    They lower the burner from in front of the alter and 'fire it up' then they use a large pulley system with very thick rope to raise it and start to swing it.  It swings across the transept over the heads of the masses in what seems to be the length of a football field - but I need to check that fact - it was really an unbelievable sight - which I attempted to capture of both film and video - I will see if I have any better luck uploading a video than in the past. After the service we had time to walk around some more - we stopped to have cappucinos and dessert for lunch and I managed to get a little shopping in.  There was a shop that had a lot of pottery from a local town and I found four nice pieces  of local art there.  I found a really nice cross with the cross of St. James along with the clam shell displayed in the center. We saw many pilgrims and quite a few of them had dogs with them which was really sweet - but made us miss Choco.  Jeanie and Monroe have a new White German Shepard named Shadow and they were going through withdrawls as well. Soon it was time to head back to the bus for the drive back.  There was a sailing event going on in Vigo on this day so we saw some of the sailboats - checked out the local mall and then it was time to set sail. 
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jimstephkrueger/15/1240145040/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jimstephkrueger/15/1240145040/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jimstephkrueger/15/1240145040/tpod.html Sun, 24 May 2009 21:12:53 -0400 From Pirates to Vikings - Traversing the Atlantic from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic over to Europe and then heading North into Oslo, Norway....

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Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Another voyage - we have just finished a entertaining marathon in Costa Rica - with a few days in between for refreshing bedrooms - we hosted my parents, Robin and Terry McTaggart, Jason, Marney, Will and Alli, and Michelle Hedrick.  We had a great time and are now looking forward to someone cooking and cleaning for us. ;)We were so excited when Jeanie and Monroe decided to join us on this trip - so here we are in the Dominican Republic - We had a great flight over on Copa Airlines through Panama - it seemed so quick after our longer flights of late.  We arrived about 40 minutes before Jeanie and Monroe - so we were able to share a 'van' to the hotel.  I had made the arrangements for the transportation with the hotel and told them we had 4 people and a lot of luggage but the van had one of those natural gas tanks in the back so that cut down on the luggage space and when all was said and done with the driver, the four of us and the 10 pieces of luggage - it was a tight fit and Jeanie and Monroe shared the front seat with the driver.... We have a microbus taking us to the ship....We rested for about an hour and then headed out to the Colonial Zone of Santo Domingo.  Declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1990 we were looking forward to seeing some beautiful Colonial Architecture.  The Spanish settled here in 1496 - first named La Isabela after Queen Isabella I of Spain by Bartholomew Columbus - brother of Christopher - it was later names Santo Domingo in honor of Saint Dominic.  Bartholomew accompanied Christopher on his last voyage to the Americas.We were able to walk on the grounds of the Cathedral Santa Maria La Menor - the first cathedral to be built in the Americas. We walked along Calle de las Damas and saw beautifully restored homes - like that of Hernan Cortes.  We went into the Panteon Nacional - a former convent - where many members of the Dominican Order are buried.  We headed back to the area around Plaza Colon (Columbus Plaza) where we attempted to have dinner.  We sat outside - then it started to rain - so we went inside - but there wasn't enough room for the four of us at a table and the other options were to dine on a bed - and we didn't want to do that - so then it stopped raining and we went back outside - and finally got drinks and dinner - it was great and we were happy to be outside.  The temperature was great - very mild with just a little humidity.  We walked around a bit after dinner and then headed back to the hotel for a good nights sleep.  Bon Voyage!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jimstephkrueger/15/1240660620/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jimstephkrueger/15/1240660620/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jimstephkrueger/15/1240660620/tpod.html Fri, 01 May 2009 08:33:21 -0400 From Pirates to Vikings - Traversing the Atlantic from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic over to Europe and then heading North into Oslo, Norway....

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Funchal, Madeira Islands, Portugal

  Funchal, Madeira, Portugal   We made it!  We had a rough - but lovely sailing across the Atlantic Ocean.  We had very warm and balmy temperatures with sunshine every day - once in a while we would quickly pass through a brief rain shower - but it never lasted more than a couple of minutes.  The seas were a bit rough - around 20 feet a couple of days - so there was a lot of creaking going on in our cabin.  We were very happy with our rear facing balconies.  Not only did we have beautiful sunsets each evening but we had a different perspective of the waves which seemed to be more helpful due to the high waves those couple of days. This ship did not have a conceirge lounge - but that did not keep us from having our own each night.  We would meet in our cabin - either the four of us or occasionally with some other people from our table - Brian from Pittsburgh - a CPA celebrating the end of the tax season and Julie and Dennis from England.  Our cabin stewards - Kristian from Costa Rica and Alfonso from Nicaragua kept us well stocked with ice and glassware and we enjoyed many nice gifts of wine and champagne from the staff onboard.  We also happened to have some other beverages on hand and quite a few fresh limes from Costa Rica to make Caipirihnas.  We juiced Tangerines each day for Tangerine Mimosas and Tangerine Caipirihnas also.  We had would have an Antipasti platter each evening as well - compliments of the wonderful buffet in the Solarium - which we had a private little staircase from our zone of the ship leading us up there each evening.   We arrived in Funchal - on the Portuguese island of Madeira - to a water spray display in the harbor and the sun shining on the homes on the steep hillsides of this picturesque island.  This was our second visit here.  We were last here in December of 2008 when the city was decorated with Christmas lights and decorations.  We were welcomed this time by the many floral displays and the Flower Festival which was just wrapping up.  We spent the day wandering along the streets - taking photos at the market - having coffee (and beer) at a sidewalk café - shopping for Madeira wines and just enjoying the beautiful flower displays and weather. Since we have been here before I will save you the history lesson - we hope that you enjoy the photos.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jimstephkrueger/15/1240227900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jimstephkrueger/15/1240227900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jimstephkrueger/15/1240227900/tpod.html Fri, 01 May 2009 07:50:48 -0400 From Pirates to Vikings - Traversing the Atlantic from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic over to Europe and then heading North into Oslo, Norway....

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St Maarten, Dominican Republic

  St. Maarten Our only stop before crossing the Atlantic Ocean - We were welcomed by beautiful turquoise waters and sandy beaches.  Our idea for the day was to walk around in the town - do a little browsing and find a nice place for beach and internet access.  There isn't a whole lot to say and I only took a few photos...we look forward to five days crossing the Atlantic.  Jeanie and Monroe have the cabin right next to us so we are looking forward to drinks and cigars on our extra large balconies while we start our voyage to Europe....
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jimstephkrueger/14/1233952020/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jimstephkrueger/14/1233952020/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jimstephkrueger/14/1233952020/tpod.html Sun, 15 Feb 2009 15:32:28 -0500 Back to Brazil - then meeting up with friends to cruise South America once again - we will stop in Costa Rica for one day before continuing up the coast to Los Angeles, California.

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Arica, Chile

We spent the day today in Arica, Chile.  This was our second visit to the area ' although the first visit never was recorded on our travelpod from last November....but here is a look into Arica ' which is a city in Northern Chile bordering the Atacama Desert.  This is one of the driest places on earth ' they record less than 1 millimeter of rainfall per year!  We did not bring the umbrellas ashore today!  The city is like a small oasis with a valley of green running through the mountains upon mountains of sand.I will eventually get back to upload more photos of our prior visit ' because during that visit we visited a museum with mummies and also saw many petroglyphs and geoglyphs.  Today we spent the day in town and Carnival was taking place so we will show you some great photos of the different groups that were performing in the parade.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jimstephkrueger/14/1233683400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jimstephkrueger/14/1233683400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jimstephkrueger/14/1233683400/tpod.html Sun, 08 Feb 2009 12:53:31 -0500 Back to Brazil - then meeting up with friends to cruise South America once again - we will stop in Costa Rica for one day before continuing up the coast to Los Angeles, California.

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Santiago, Chile

We had a hazy entry into Valparaiso, Chile on February 2 but we know that this can typically be the case in this area so we weren't too worried about the weather for the day.  The Captain made a nice wide swing North of the city so that we could make a grand entrance along Vina del Mar and into Valparaiso - unfortunately the haze was maybe too thick for most people ashore to really see the ship make her entry.  We were docked right next to the Star Princess which our good friends Denny and Kathy were on.  They were just a few days before us on this trip - but they made an expedition to the Falkland Islands and then down to Antarctica - we were hoping to run into them but no such luck.  We will have to wait until we get home to get a report. We had asked Jeanie and Monroe if they wanted to spend the day with us as we had rented a car for two days and they accepted.  We picked up the car and headed towards Santiago.  We stopped along the way for a little wine tasting in the Casablanca Valley.  The usual vineyards that we have stopped at in the past were closed on Monday so we went to a new one - Veramonte.  It was very nice - they are owned by the same people that have Quintessa Vineyards in Napa Valley.  We really liked the Pinot Noir so we picked up a couple bottles of that for our collection.   We headed into Santiago - the drive took us through the center of Santiago which was a nice drive.  Jeanie and Monroe, like us, have spent time in Santiago before so we didn't need to do any sightseeing - and we headed over to see our friend Hamoody - who has the coffee shop that we frequented on one of our previous visits.  He remembered us and we introduced Jeanie and Monroe to the wonderful cakes that Hamoody has - we had coffee - drinks and used the internet.  Jeanie and I took a little walk around the area and did a little shopping - then we headed over to Bellavista where we shopped at Patio Bellavista and then had dinner at Como Agua para Chocolate - Like Water for Chocolate.  The meal was excellent and then after dinner we walked around a bit and then figured we should head back to the ship - as we had a 2 hour drive ahead of us.  We made it back by midnight. The next day we had asked Glen and Roseann if they wanted to join us and they did.  They had had a wonderful day before in Santiago as well so today we had a different plan.  We first went back to the vineyards as I was looking for some Carignon and I knew that the other wineries would be open.  We opted for Casas del Bosque and we had a nice wine tasting on the terrace and bought a few bottles of wine.   We then headed back to the coast and the plan was to drive North to Maitencillo where we had had a great lunch the last time we were here.  We drove through the sand dune area - the refinery and power plant and then up and along the beach.  We had a very nice lunch and then headed back - enjoying the coastal drive all the way back to Vina del Mar and then into Valparaiso.  We stopped and saw the sea lions along the way - and wished that we had more time in this beautiful part of Chile. Next port of call - Arica, Chile - up along the Peruvian border.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jimstephkrueger/14/1233242880/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jimstephkrueger/14/1233242880/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jimstephkrueger/14/1233242880/tpod.html Fri, 06 Feb 2009 10:30:16 -0500 Back to Brazil - then meeting up with friends to cruise South America once again - we will stop in Costa Rica for one day before continuing up the coast to Los Angeles, California.

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Ushuaia, Patagonia, Argentina

Land Ho!  We were happy to be getting back on solid ground today - although we have been very fortunate with smooth and calm seas for this whole journey thus far.  Jim unfortunately has a terrible cold and I am trying to figure out which day it is going to strike me.  The weather was looking a bit questionable today - so we threw the umbrellas in the bags and headed out.  We had to tender today but fortunately they were chartered tenders that held a lot of people.  Just soon after getting off of the tender the rain started - so we went to use the internet (slow and busy) and then went to have lunch at the restaurant we ate at the last time we were in Ushuaia.  We had the same waiter and although Jim wasn't feeling the greatest - we did have a nice lunch.   After lunch Jim headed back to the ship and I headed out to do a little shopping.  About 20 minutes after Jim left the sun came out in full force and we had a beautiful afternoon.  The town is really picturesque -  since we were here last year - I didn't take too many photos and won't go into too much more detail since most of you read about it then. On our way out of Ushuaia tonight we sailed by 5 glaciers so we didn't go to the dining room for dinner - Jim was feeling terrible - so we just waited to view the glaciers and called it a night.   I will include the next two days with this journal - we had two sea days and we sailed first through the Strait of Magellan and then the next day through the Chilean Fjords.  Jim was very happy since on our last cruise around Cape Horn - we were headed in the opposite direction so the timing was off in that we did not sail through the Strait during the day - but at night - so this was a much more enjoyable day for us.  We had beautiful views from our balcony and thoroughly enjoyed the day. The next day we sailed through the Chilean Fjords - we were in the Fjords until mid afternoon and once again - we enjoyed a beautiful landscape.  Tomorrow we will be in Valparaiso/Santiago, Chile.  We will be there for two days and have rented a car to go and do some of our favorite things with our friends.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jimstephkrueger/14/1233931080/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jimstephkrueger/14/1233931080/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jimstephkrueger/14/1233931080/tpod.html Fri, 06 Feb 2009 10:27:47 -0500 Back to Brazil - then meeting up with friends to cruise South America once again - we will stop in Costa Rica for one day before continuing up the coast to Los Angeles, California.

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Cape Horn, Chile

Rounding Cape Horn - Captain Johnny is absolutely ecstatic about this day - in all of his years of sailing - he has never been around Cape Horn - so we knew that we were in for the best experience possible. We were up very early this morning and it was a hazy morning - we saw some islands from our balcony and it was nice to see land on this fourth day at sea.  We weren't due to reach Cape Horn until around 2 p.m.  We passed the day in typical fashion - after trying to fall back asleep - we hit the gym - then showered and headed to lunch.   I must mention that no trip would be complete without Jim getting some sort of ailment - so today he is coughing - coughing - coughing!!!  We will be looking for cough syrup tomorrow in Ushuaia.   After lunch we got the camera ready and headed out on deck as we approached the lighthouse at the 'end of the world'.  Captain Johnny decided that a social call was in order and he and a few others put a launch down and headed to shore to take gifts to the lighthouse keeper and his family - wife and two children.  While this was taking place - we took more photos - not sure just how many photos one can take of the same subject - but I managed to take quite a few of the cabin - lighthouse and shoreline.  The Staff Captain did a number of 360's while we were waiting for our Captain to return and once he was finally able to tear himself away - he came back to the ship and we headed to the exact location of where the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans meet and the smaller lighthouse that designates the exact position of the "End of the World" I used this opportunity to give Jim his birthday present - since I think he should be using it on our trip.  He loved it and is anxious to use it tomorrow - I will have to get a photo of him carrying it.   We had nice clear skies - very calm waters and a very brisk wind.  Now we are heading to Ushuaia - in the Beagle Channel - in the Straits of Magellan.  Tomorrow we will enjoy the day in Ushuaia -have a crucified lamb for lunch - and enjoy our last stop in Argentina before we head up the coast of Chile - through the Chilean Fjords and on to Valparaiso/Santaigo. That will be our next chance to update our travels - so you will be looking at the 2nd or 3rd of February for that.
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