scubacruiserx2

The next stop was a pretty area near the beach Boca do Inferno - Hell's Mouth arch I don't know why these photos are coming out so small from Photobucket . Please click twice on them to enlarge them .

Our next stop was the Belem Tower https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belém_Tower

Praca do Comercio Victory arch Got Coke ?

Moving back to see the whole monastery I first saw the horse and carriage lady . I asked if I could take a photo of her . What a beautiful smile ! We wished that we had time for the carriage ride but we had to meet our group .

We did stick our heads out . But I used to work on a Bell 412 as a Flight Medic and it was the whole body sometimes wearing SCUBA gear during an air deployment .

Our favorite way to see the Na Pali coast and the Waimea Grand Canyon was a doors off helicopter . And our favorite way to see the NCL POA was from the beach at Duke's Canoe Club .

The monastery line The Church Iglesia de Santa Maria de Belen

We explored more of Lisbon with friends that we met on CC and the aid of a local guide . This allowed us to see and do more with other kindred spirits . We started at the cruise port and our first stop was the Monument of the Discoveries . We were given an hour to explore . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monument_of_the_Discoveries We met back here and our guide brought us Pasteis de Belem We first walked to the Monument to the Discoveries where we recognized Vasco de Gamma , Ferdinand Magellan the first man to circumnavigate the World and Prince Henry the navigator who led the Age of Discovery at the head of the monument holding a Caravel, a fast , light ship that he invented that allowed the discovery of the new world . The light at our back The light in our face The Compass Rose and the Monastery in the distance The compass rose and mappa mundi, a gift from the Union of South Africa created from beige, black and red limestone. Jerónimos Monastery is in the background. From Wikipedia The monastery line was too long so we went into the Church The lady begging in front of the church we gave some money and asked for a photo , but she wouldn't smile .

We are currently and for the past week have been victimized by multiple attempts of identity theft . We just got another attempt to open a bank account in our name . Also on the home front a pregnant female racoon has chewed 2 holes in the roof and is trying to nest in our attic . The trapper has set the trap so that we can humanely remove the racoon to a better place for us and them . It is raining for the next 2 days here and he advised us to leave the holes open until it is trapped . We don't like rain coming thru our roof and we hope and pray for a peaceful and reasonably priced solution for these 2 issues . We hope that if you pray , please remember us in your prayers . Thank you and love to all . Pat and Joe .

We just scratched the surface of Lisbon and Portugal and we feel that we would be remiss to just show our first visit to this great city It is the second oldest capital in Europe but one of the oldest cities in the world . It's also the the most western point of continental Europe . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisbon Sailing in The large statue of Christ the King We were not alone A two lip ship

What we didn't realize was it was a 5 mile ( 8Km ) walk . So when we arrived at our refreshment place we needed a pick me up . This was a staged photo . Pat in the take out line . If you go inside you can see them baking and we sat down to an Expresso and a couple of the delicious custard tarts . They also sold them by the box so we took some to give to the cabin attendants and some for an afternoon treat on the balcony overlooking Lisbon . https://pasteisdebelem.pt/en/

Unlike the Azores , the day before entering Lisbon was dry , sunny and cool exciting us more for our first visit to a large city on this trip . Entering Lisbon on the Tagus River we first passed the Torre de Belem Followed by the Monument of the Discoveries Soon passing under the Ponte 25 de April Bridge ( Lisbon's version of the Golden Gate ) Tying up in the port our plan was simple ( in our simple minds ) . Take a waiting cab up to the Castelo de San Jorge and walk down thru the Alfama to the water . From there we would walk follow the water back to Belem and view on land what we had seen on the water . São Jorge Castle Photo from Wikipedia

We did stop at a very pretty lake but we're not sure which one . And they were mooving the cows from pasture to pasture down the road The pretty town of Ribeira Grande https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ribeira_Grande,_Azores Leaving the Azores in our wake and headed for Lisbon

We made it to the island of São Miguel Island and the port of Ponta Delgada on a rainy day . At the port was the Solstice , the 6 year younger sister of the Connie and the first of the Solstice Class . We met our guide Carlo of Amazing Tours and he and they were . We headed out toward Furnas . The waterfall in the distance was pretty impressive and with the steam coming from the hidden volcanic vents , it reminded us of a Jurassic Park . You can see it here in the video clip : We went to a volcanic area with boiling water and mud and there are holes where they place pots of meats and vegetables and it slow cooks a stew over hours .

We loved our aft view corner for sunning and the wake view and since we were headed East it always had a sunset . We indulged in the Chef's table with a wine pairing And an over the top show . These distractions made the 2 sea days to the Azores more relaxing .

Norris we did enjoy them for the view and convince . We have a very good private guide there that we have used several times who takes us around the Island for about $ 300 . She show us a couple of local places in the South . One was on the water where the fishing boats come in named Zeerover . No menu , fresh off the boats tell them what you want and how to cook it . One we picked was Kammi's Kitchen . She had never eaten there but they had curried Goat for Pat and curried Conch for me and homemade coconut ice cream . Tell us if you want Esther's contact info .

A couple more photos from Bermuda . The lighthouse and the Eclipse from the the top of the Fortress . And a view of the Eclipse from the ferry just ahead of the storm . Click twice on the photos to enlarge them .

We do Norris . We didn't enjoy our first cruise on that one when it was new . Maybe it was the Spring Break crowd or the fact that I was the odd man out with a large group of hostile women toward men . Anyhow , we miss the Pinnacle Grille Breakfasts on the newer Pinnacle Class . We prefer the Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam size and dining wise .

Thanks Norris , Our original plan was to do the NS in August this year . 2024 Aug 03 21 days, round-trip Ultimate Viking Explorer Amsterdam $2439 Date / Time Port 03 Aug 16:00 Departing from Amsterdam, Netherlands North Holland hotels 05 Aug 08:00 - 16:00 Eidfjord, Norway Hardangerfjord 06 Aug 11:00 - 19:00 Lerwick, Mainland Shetland, Scotland 08 Aug 10:00 - 18:00 Akureyri, Iceland, Lake Myvatn 09 Aug 08:00 - 17:00 Isafjordur, Westfjords Iceland 10 Aug 08:00 - 23:00 Reykjavik, Iceland 11 Aug 08:00 - 17:00 Grundarfjordur, Iceland 14 Aug 08:00 - 17:00 Qaqortoq, Greenland 15 Aug 07:00 - 13:00 Nanortalik, Greenland 18 Aug 11:00 - 18:00 Torshavn, Streymoy, Faroe Islands 19 Aug 10:00 - 18:00 Stornoway, Isle of Lewis and Harris, Scotland 20 Aug 08:00 - 16:00 Invergordon, Scotland 21 Aug 08:00 - 22 Aug 16:00 Leith-Edinburgh, Newhaven-Rosyth-Queensferry, Scotland 24 Aug 07:00 Arriving in Amsterdam, Netherlands North Holland hotels But that morphed to the NCL Star version with a stay in Iceland for a week and London for a couple of days in May this year . 2024 May 18 12 days, one-way from Portsmouth UK to Reykjavik Portsmouth UK $1299 Date / Time Port 18 May 16:00 Departing from Portsmouth UK, England hotels 20 May 07:00 - 17:30 Leith-Edinburgh, Newhaven-Rosyth-Queensferry, Scotland 21 May 06:00 - 15:00 Invergordon, Scotland 22 May 15:30 - 21:30 Ulvik, Norway Hardangerfjord 23 May 09:30 - 20:00 Bergen, Norway 24 May 08:00 - 19:00 Alesund, Norway 25 May 09:00 - 18:00 Lerwick, Mainland Shetland, Scotland 26 May 09:30 - 18:30 Torshavn, Streymoy, Faroe Islands 27 May 09:30 - 18:30 Djupivogur, Iceland 28 May 10:00 - 20:00 Akureyri, Iceland, Lake Myvatn 29 May 08:00 - 16:00 Isafjordur, Westfjords Iceland 30 May 04:00 Arriving in Reykjavik, Iceland hotels But as I said it was double the cost in Europe so we chose Antarctica on the NCL Star .

It looked rainy the next day so we did the bus ride around the island . We stopped for the smallest drawbridge in the would but it didn't need to open . The Crystal caves . It was raining so we ducked inside literally . Leaving Bermuda for the Azores . The small ship was the Pacific Princess - The Love Boat .

There were several reasons for the purchase , 4 K is one but my pocket Sony has 4 K and a quieter zoom . The old 6 D is heavy and 9 years old + the mode dial cover and eye piece kept falling off . The mode dial piece I crazy glued but it got stuck in the auto function . The D 90 is lighter , touch screen , 32 .5 mp , shoots sports @ 10 fps , 45 point auto focus and has a joy stick and a better sensor . I know that you have seen our Nieuw Statendam review but you may want to review it again . We really liked the spa and had a Vista suite on that one too . Where and when is the Artic cruise to ? Our next HAL is a family cruise on Thanksgiving this year on the NA .

No worries . 9 of our past cruises have been HAL and 1 Princess and 1 NCL all suites except the Neiuw Statendam . So if you have any HAL questions , fire away . PS got a new Canon to learn the D 90 . Good call on the aft corner suites , our favorite was on the Zuiderdam a sister to the Noordam . The largest covered balcony .

A small walk around the Connie circa 2009 . Deck 10 Solarium Ocean liners special dining Food at Ocean liners Unknown deck greenhouse Deck 4 Grand Foyer Main Dining Room

Welcome to South Florida in the Spring ! Today 91 F = 32.7 C heat before a cool front and some rain Tomorrow 73 F = 22.7 C to 52 F = 11.11 C ( known as French fries in a Volleyball game score ) tomorrow evening .

@Bimmer09 on HAL how can this be ? Congrats on your aft corner and your trips . May we suggest you and Carole take a look at our last reviews as they may help . And we defected from HAL for a half price cruise in January to Antarctica and Patagonia which blew Alaska out of the water with a suite that felt like home on NCL . 2 balconies , 2 baths , 2 dining areas at the HAL for the price of the aft corner on HAL .