The Living Journey

I wouldn’t let myself believe this trip was actually happening until we got all the way here.
Four airports, an actual port, and various assorted taxis and ferries later we were on the Ship, cruising through the Mediterranean on our way to Portofino.

We anchored near the village of Kwatisore and close to several bagans, fishing platforms built around a boat. Fishermen live on the platforms and fish for about six weeks at a stretch. Because there is no refrigeration, they keep the captured fish alive in nets under the bagan while locals in boats come by and to purchase some of the catch every day.

After the crowds and history of Bangkok and Ayutthaya, Ko Kut was a complete change. We anchored off this tiny island and ferried people to the pier near a white sand beach.

The crew had set up a buffet lunch and brought out the kayaks and Hobie Cats.

We woke up with the Ship tucked into Boger Bay on the southeast side of Ellesmere Island. We were very close to the beach and there were lots of polar bears around. As a matter of fact, we had to cancel both the kayaking and hiking expeditions because we had 10 plus bears roaming around the area.

We spent several days at sea sailing from Dakar to Ascension Island. I did a lot of reading, spent some time talking to people I hadn’t seen in a while, caught up on the blog, and even participated in an escape room event the Ship put together.

Right after breakfast, I took a trip out to Lake Retba. We drove through the countryside and through busy outlying suburban areas with lots of traffic and bustle. There were horse carts and trucks fighting over road space, roadside stalls selling fruit and housewares,

Kirkwall from the Ship’s anchorage
 
We arrived in Kirkwall, Scotland and went on a tour of the local archeological sites. The Orkney Islands have been inhabited for a very long time. We visited Skara Brae, a remarkably well preserved Neolithic village that was first inhabited over 5000 years ago.

Overnight we sailed out to even more remote parts of the Shetland Islands. We started our day with an expedition briefing and cocktail where we were introduced to the Expedition Team. After lunch, we went for a Zodiac cruise along the rugged shoreline of Papa Stour Island.

We arrived in Malta on Saturday morning, docking in Valletta. Malta has an interesting history, given its strategic location. The first settlements date back to over 5000 BC, and over the course of its history has been ruled by the Phoenicians,

Cruising the Canadian Fjords
 
We spent two days cruising through the Canadian fjords on the west edge of British Columbia as we made our way up to Alaska. We passed hundreds of miles of pristine waterfront, but we didn’t pass much civilization,

We arrived in Tarragona in late July. On our first day in town, our daughter headed out to a local amusement park with friends, while we went and explored the town. There are quite a few Roman ruins and we did a quick tour of most of the major ones.

After two days at sea, travelling from London to the Atlantic side of Brittany in France, we arrived in Belle Ile, France. Belle Ile is a small island with a few small towns and a ferry line connection to the mainland.