We visited DisneySea Tokyo and had a blast. It was our third time to this park. Even though we are not able to understand many of the characters as they speak Japanese, the magic is the same.
The park opens at 9AM and they say to get there early. We chose to arrive at 9AM and there were hoards in front of us, but as we entered, there were hoards behind us. Everyone was, for the most part, polite except one person on the subway.
As we left the subway to head to Disney, a short man started aggressively pushing Meg and trying to get in front of her. I was behind her and oblivious to this at first. Once I noticed him shoving to get in front, I put my arm between him and Meg. He turned toward me and, as the Friendly Giant would say “look up, way up”. Then, for some reason only he will know, he tried to push in front of me. Another one of his not-so-good ideas. I pushed my arm out and he disappeared behind us. Meg thanked me for that. There are idiots everywhere.
Soaring Fantastic Flight – We’ve Seen Almost All of the Sights!
Once inside the park, we headed toward Soaring Fantastic Flight. As we arrived, it was a 150-minute wait. So we decided to pay the premium and get fast access for ¥2,000 each. The ride, in which you strapped into a chair that “flies”, took us over many of the world’s most famous landmarks. Taj Mahal, Sydney Opera house, the plains of the Serengeti, Mad King Ludwig’s Castle in Barvaria, Canadian glaciers and polar bears, The Great Wall of China, Tokyo and ended by landing at Disney. Along the way there were wind gusts and smells. It was really well done and lasted about five minutes.
Rapunzel and her partner in a boat
From there, we headed over to Rapunzel’s castle. We saw her in the top of the castle, singing but she was not letting down her hair! Again, we chose to fork out for a quick access but this ride left us underwhelmed. Then we waited, like common folk, for 100-minutes to ride the Peter Pan ride. This was by far the best Disney ride either of us has ever been on.
Peter Pan – a Classic in 3-D
Outside the Never Land Ride
You board a “boat” and, wearing 3-D glasses, are immersed in the novel, Peter Pan. Peter fights Hook in a dueling sword battle (spoiler alert Peter wins). Tinker Bell spreads pixie dust you can almost feel. The Lost boys are “found” and in the end, all the children return home to London where Nana is waiting for them. You get to see 3-D London at the end of the Industrial Revolution, Never Land with its mountains and crystal-clear water. Of course, in the end Hook is chased by the croc! We liked this so much, we lined up again for 70-minutes later in the day.
Breaking for a light snack, we were back at it, heading to the Tower or Terror. Poor Harrison Hightower III, disappeared in this New York building after discovering a scared relic from some jungle. In the pre-ride, there is Harrison talking with the relic by his side. Lightning strikes and Harrison changes, shrinks and then disappears. The relic smiles and with a bang it too disappears. To make it entertaining, there was spectacular lighting and sound.
Of course, the idea was for us to find Harrison, so we followed his footsteps and got into the elevator where he was last seen. Strapped in, we were whisked to the top, but not without some blackouts, huge drops and shakes. At the top, there was an open window where we could see outside Tokyo before we plunged again into darkness. Alas, we did not find Harrison, but we had some good laughs.
The Quiet Rides Were very Noltsalgic
With many long lines, we started to aim for shorter lines. Sinbad’s adventure was a cross between “It’s a Small World” and Pirates of the Caribbean, but with an Arabian twist. Aquatopia had us in open air saucers that travelled around a water park. Captain Nemo’s 20,000 Leagues under the Sea was a take on the 1954 movie. In our submarine we saw numerous deep-sea creatures. Of note, this ride was shut down in 1994 in the US so this may be the only place to see it.
Poor Harrison…he didn’t know the Idol would be his end….
It was nearing the end of our day and as we headed out, Meg noticed a sign on the Raging Spirits roller coaster. The line was estimated to be 90-minutes, but there was a single rider lane. In this lane, you basically wait until they have one empty seat and then you go. You don’t ride with your party, but with strangers. We decided to try it and it took 22-minutes to get us both through. For the record, this was Cam’s first 360-degree loop roller coaster. It was short but a blast.
Meg strapped in for a 360 loop
We left upbeat and happy. While the Indiana Jones ride was closed for maintenance, there was scaffolding everywhere, it was still a good day. The closure of the Indy ride obviously meant there were more people not in that line and in the other lines. Disney does a good job of handling lines and staff are always smiling. One thing we noticed from our last visits is the costumes. We were in the very small minority of people not wearing Disney hats, ears or full out costumes.
We Are Planning Our Next Trip to Disney!
On our next visit, one thing we will do differently is to buy our tickets closer to the day. Of course you need to watch they don’t sell out, but that will ensure we know what rides are closed. Also, the weather plays a big factor and if you can go when it is lightly raining, the lines are a lot shorter. Being from the west coast of British Columbia, rain is a fact of life and we know we will not melt.
Thanks for reading. Have you ever been to Disney, either as a child, an adult or a parent with kids in tow? Feel free to share any Disney tips you may have.
A Quote From Disney…It Rings True in Every Sense
“The things that make me different are the things that make me.” – Piglet from Winnie the Pooh
We arrived alongside at 7AM and it looked as if we were a long way from downtown. Shuttles had been arranged and were first come, first serve until 8AM, after which time you would need a ticket. Let’s face it, most people on vacation want to sleep in. However….at 7:15AM the Captain came on the loudspeaker and dropped a bombshell.
A weather map of the typhoon with 160 km/hr winds
Super cyclone Halong, off the coast of Japan, was tracking towards Tokyo. Its projected path would be right along the ship’s route to get to Yokohama. The Ship’s Officers, in consultation with Royal Caribbean’s (RCL) head office, made the decision to extend the cruise by two days. This would let the storm pass and make it safer for the ship. There is a full write up at Cruise Hive
These two sea days would bring the ship into Yokohama on Saturday, October 11th, vs the planned arrival of Thursday October 9th. RCL would cover some change fees for flights and offered to extend beverage packages for a price (no freebies here!). Unfortunately, we had tickets for Expo 2025 in Osaka on Friday October 10th. The tickets are not changeable. Our travel from Yokohama to Osaka for the 9th and additional tickets for Osaka to Kagoshima on Kyushu Island on the 11th were also non-refundable.
We considered what to do and decided to leave the ship in Hakodate. We made a hotel reservation for one night in Hakodate, booked Shinkansen tickets to Yokohama for the next day and found a hotel for one night in Yokohama. Had it not been for Expo, we likely would have opted to stay on the ship. There were many people who had flights home the day we were scheduled to arrive as well as other plans. In all, around 500 people, out of 3,900, departed early.
Of course, most passengers stayed on including 100’s who were doing a back-to-back cruises ending in Singapore. That next cruise will now be two days shorter as the next cruise will obviously not start until this cruise arrives. It must be a huge logistical challenge for the ship. We had noted they were running low on fresh fruit and veggies as the cruise carried on. Portions were getting smaller every day – with some strange substitutions for ingredients they’d run out of.
Making our Escape from the Ship
Leaving the ship was easy, although time consuming. Our hotel, the Toyku-Stay Hakodate, had an onsen and was well located. The bed was comfortable and although the room was small, it was functional. We wandered around town for a few hours in the afternoon once all the cruise ship passengers had left and it was very peaceful. Dinner was a quiet meal followed by the onsen which was spectacular.
It was on the 18th floor and there was an open-air portion, providing a sweeping view of the ocean complete with a full moon shining down. It was a great way to relax before heading to bed.
Day 1 of Interruption or Day one of our land based tour?
Once we got up and updated our families on the changes, we headed over to the train station to catch the train to Yokohama. The first part was on a local train and then a transfer to Shin-Hakodate, where the Shinkansen (bullet train) left from. Being Japan, we expected all the trains to be on time, but one was about five minutes late – shocking. It also meant we needed to move quickly, not run but not dawdle at the next station, which was Omiya, to catch our third of four trains.
Checking into the Hyatt
Sunset in Yokohama – not a stormy sky line…
We arrived at our hotel at 4:30PM, it had been a seven hour day, but it did not seem as long as flying would have been. Our hotel tonight was the Hyatt in Yokohama, there was a shortage of hotel rooms in Yokohama as up to 4,000 cruise passengers for the next cruise needed extra rooms on short notice! We were very glad to come to this brand tonight, a large room with very comfortable beds.
The hotel is only 200 metres from the water, so a sunset stroll helped us shake off the time spent sitting on the train. The sky was a lovely colour, there were very few clouds and the water was calm. Unless I had seen a weather map, I would not have believed there was a typhoon out there.
Having Local Knowledge is Helpful
There is no way we would have tried to pull this off if we had not been to Japan before. Understanding the trains, the culture et al was the key to us having the confidence to leave our cruise ship on our own and make this work. The bulk of the credit for making it work is my bride of almost 38 years. She pulled pretty much everything together and did a great job. I had a key role too, it all went on my credit card!
Thanks for reading, feel free to share any trip interruption you may have had. We’d love to hear about what happened and how you got around it.
Remember, attitude is the difference between adventure and ordeal!
Most people tend to focus on ‘events’ that are highlights to them. In reality, there is something that happens between the weddings, funerals, feature vacations, concerts and other ‘cool’ things. It is called ‘the rest of your life’.
This July we’ve done things that, while not spectacular on their own, are still amazing. Each event showcases just how special Victoria, Vancouver Island, British Columbia and Canada are.
The Yukon!
We spent a week up north, exploring the wilds of Canada. Big spaces and big places. There’s a full write up on our trip in a previous post.
Oak Bay Farmers Market
A lot of people will gravitate towards a farmers’ market. We are squarely in that group. During the summer months, the City of Oak Bay shuts down Oak Bay Ave for about four blocks on the second Wednesday of each month. A farmers’ market is held, but it is really a ‘local vendors’ market. Many of those selling are the same merchants at other local markets, but there are some who are unique to this one.
You can find Charcuterie boards like this at the market!
The usual selection of offerings is available. Bakery goods, fresh veggies, arts and crafts as well as food and drinks. A number of restaurants set up ‘meals to go’ as well as small samples of their specialties. There are also food trucks which, for some reason unknown to me, have huge lines of people waiting to get their ‘not so fast-food’ – fast-food fix. Then there are drinks.
Along with some coffee and tea merchants, there are multiple distilleries, cideries, breweries and liquor stores offering samples of adult drinks. On our first visit to the market, about half way through, we both cut ourselves off due to the number of samples we had. Our next visit we were much more strategic.
We were glad to sample the breweries wares. All were local and, despite both of us being so passionate about craft beer, we were left underwhelmed by most of the selections. That’s not to say they were not good; they were just not to our likings. In the end, the tried-and-true winner was Spinnakers, one of Canada’s oldest craft breweries. I’ve been going there since 1983 and the ESB, which is an original from the day it opened, is still my favourite.
Baseball
The boys of summer and the crack of the bat. Victoria has an “A” level ball team, the Harbour Cats. We decided to take in an evening game on a sunny night. The play, while obviously not at the major league level, was a good diversion from everyday life. One added bonus of the game we went to, the Snowbirds were doing a mini show over Victoria and we could see them as they flew by. Watching their precision flying, with the wings as close as 2 meters to each other, never gets old. The ball game was a bit of a downer, the ’Cats lost 13 – 4, although we saw a couple of home runs, a double play and some diving catches.
Owls in the park
The park close to our house has many old trees. In the park, in spring and early summer, there are families of owls. We’ve seen two parents and this year, there were three owlets. On most nights we headed over to the park, with many other people to watch the owlets. As they quickly grew, from fluff balls to little owls, they gained confidence. However there was learning and supervision taking place.
Two of the owlets in Ross Bay Cemetery.
One evening, a Coopers Hawk swooped in and took a run at an owlet. In the wild, it’s every bird for themselves. The owlet took off and out of nowhere an adult owl dove down towards the Coopers Hawk. The hawk immediately broke off the attack and took off. The parents, whom we had not seen, were obviously watching.
As the owlets grew, they were also learning to hunt. One night, we saw an owlet dive down and attack a pine cone. He missed on his swoop down and landed on the ground about one foot away from the pine cone. Being “cool”, he hopped on over to the pine cone and jumped on it. He was so cute as he looked proudly at the non moving pine cone he had caught.
The Lieutenant Governors House
Government House is the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia and the ceremonial home of all British Columbians. The Lieutenant Governor, or ‘LG’ for short, is the King’s representative in British Columbia. They are appointed by the Government of the day, normally for a five-year term. I met the last LG, Janet Austin, when she attended HMCS MALAHAT for my change of Command.
We took a tour of Government House this summer. It is an impressive building, steeped in history. There are many pictures of those who have stayed here. Queen Elizabeth and other members of the Royal Family have visited and stayed.
There is a lot of art, with an emphasis on Indigenous artwork. The stained-glass window, as you head up to the second floor is amazing.
Concerts on the lawn
One of the many concerts we saw in July
Courtesy of the LG. Every summer, at Government House, they host a few free concerts on the lawn. There is a permanent bandstand there and two groups will play. The night we went, The Ravens opened up for the Sutcliffs. The Ravens were a folk-y type group who had one song in particular that resonated with me. I have not been able to find the lyrics online, however the theme mentioned our heroes. The hero’s they referenced were Canadian heroes. In particular they noted
‘we found our heroes on the Plains of Abraham,
marching in as we freed the Netherlands
and in the deserts of Afghanistan”
They then mentioned the ‘Patricia’s’, which referenced Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry or the PPCLI. That is the Regiment our youngest serves in. To me, it was a moving song.
The Arts
When we relocated to Victoria, one of reasons was to take advantage of the arts. There are so many small theater companies in town, it is hard to keep track. In July we saw two plays.
The first was by the Victoria Shakespeare company. Each summer they do one of the Bard’s plays at an open-air venue. This year it was on the lawn of Craigdarroch Castle and the play was Romeo and Juliett. I can’t say I am all that keen on tweaking his plays. They’ve survived for centuries. The number of quotes Western society uses in everyday language that come from him is likely only second to the Bible. So why mess with something that works so well?
This summer’s version featured an almost all female cast, even Romeo was a female. She was by far the best actor among the Troope. While we were not enamoured with the Director’s version, it was only a 15-minute walk from our home. Spoiler alert – they both die at the end of the play.
A new take on Jane Austen
The second play we saw was Yes and Yesteryear. This was not actually a play but an improv on Jane Austin. As improv goes, no one knows what will happen when they start and every performance is different.
Yes and Yesteryear’s cast in period costume from Jane Austen’s day.
This play was held at Carr house, the home that Emily Carr grew up in. It is located in James Bay, a district in Victoria, about a 10-minute drive from our home. On the front lawn of Carr house, were about 50 chairs. We were treated to a cucumber sandwich, naturally the crusts were cut off. A glass of refreshing lemonade was provided to wash it down. The Troope was hilarious. They were dressed in period costume from Ms. Austin’s day. Prim and proper were their manners. Societal class was important.
To kick it off, the Front of House asked the audience for a letter, any letter. “F” was tossed out. Then two words were sought out which started with “F” that would have been used in Jane Austin’s day. Fidelity and Flirtatious were the words. The Troope then worked out a Fidelity club to avoid being Flirtatious. At times, some of the actors “set-up” others, much to the delight of the audience. We were howling at times.
Observatory
The Dominion Observatory is located in Saanich, the community next to Victoria and about 25 minutes from our home. Every so often they open the observatory up to the public and you can see what the big telescope sees. There are also members of the Victoria Astronomical Society there with their own personal telescopes pointed at the moon, Mars and other celestial objects.
To provide even more insight to the cosmos, there is a mini planetarium and the volunteers put on shows about the heavens. We headed up there one evening to see great city views (the observatory is obviously up high) and learn about the stars. As it was early July, we were limited in what we could see as sunset was almost 9:30 PM. We hope to go back in the fall or winter when the nights are longer.
Painting
Some rooms in our home, well, all the rooms actually, need to be painted. We had the outside done last year and it was time for the inside. Focusing on the kitchen and bathroom, two coats of primer and two coats of paint turned both rooms into bright and airy.
Yoga in the park
Yoga in the park, with an ocean background. Very Zen!
The ocean is your studio! The City of Oak Bay puts on free yoga in the park weekly during the summer. The event is packed, likely 250+ people, all on mats following a fairly easy hatha themed yoga class. Willows beach park overlooks Cadboro Bay and you can see all sorts of marine activity. Just remember to get there a bit early and place your mat out of the sun, or wear sunscreen.
British Columbia is blessed with so much nature and beauty. Vancouver Island is one of the gems in BC. It’s been a few years since we were camping, but we decided it was time to get back to nature.
Camping
A few days before we headed out, we assembled the various things we needed to take to be successful campers. We headed out to Englishman River Falls Provincial Park. We had camped here once before, in 1993 with a one-year-old in our old tent trailer.
The drive took a lot longer than we thought it would. Leaving at 11:00, with a short lunch stop at the top of the Malahat drive and a quick dash into Costco, we arrived at 3PM. It took 45 minutes to set up our campground. Pitching the tent, making the beds and squaring things off. After a quick break to re-group, we explored the area, scouting out hikes for the next few days.
During our time at Englishman River Falls, we hiked both the upper and lower falls at Englishman River. We headed over to the Errington Market on Saturday morning for the weekly farmer’s market. The baked goods that were being offered were no match to our will power. Or maybe that was ‘won’t’ power 😉 I caved in and bought some s’mores cookies. They were awesome. I did show enough will power to only eat one and save one for desert that night. Meg bought a delicious scone.
More markets
Venturing into Coombs, we spent some time at the Goats on the Roof market. Getting some of the fresh veggies for the next few days as well as some artesian cheeses to go with the breads we had.
On another day we headed to Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park and walked around the trails there. The campground at this park seemed much more inviting than Englishman River Falls. The services were the same, but the feel was a lot nicer.
Camping turns into Glamping!
After three days camping, we headed out for our reward. Breaking camp, we headed to Parksville where we checked into an ocean front resort for a day. We really had not slept well during the previous three nights. There was a lot of noise from other campers as well as cold evenings. The resort was welcomed for a warm night, clean showers and comfortable bed.
Walking the low tide beach at Parksville is always a treat. On our way back to the resort, we managed to find some ripe blackberries and filled a small container. They made an outstanding breakfast treat!
We headed over to Rathtrevor Provincial Park for our next three nights of camping. This campground was more in line with what we expected from a Provincial Park. It also helped that the weather was warmer. We learned from our last time setting up camp and were able to be fully set up in under 40 minutes. It was a short walk to the beach and, over the next three days, we spent a lot of time at the beach.
Desert at the beach
A special treat for the beach (or any time) – so Canadian!
One special treat we found was maple cream liquor. Meg noticed it at the liquor store and we asked about it. The staff told us it was very good. They described it as a Canadian version of the famous Irish cream liquor that so many people know. Sipping on this at the beach, at sunset, left us wondering what else could make life better?
During our time at the beach, there were sunrises, sunsets and simply sitting in a chair watching the tide come in or go out. It is a great place to read a book (or type your blog!).
July came to an end with us spending our last night camping at Rathtrevor Provincial Park. Some great meals, and being with nature our some of our happy places.
And, the rest of our lives…
All of the above were what we feel were our highlights from July. We haven’t mentioned our day-to-day living. Regular walks along the Victoria breakwater. Multiple gym classes. Trip planning – a lot of time is going into planning for the fall adventure. House hunting: we’ve been to more than 30 open houses. Our Realtor has shown us another 10 or so. Pouring over listing is time consuming.
July has been a good month.
August is shaping up to be another good month. While there are no big trips planned yet, there will be day trips, bike adventures, paddle boarding and other activities to keep us amused, young and engaged.
Thanks for reading, feel free to share any things you did in July to make your time special. We’d love to hear about what you did and get some ideas for future activities.
This summer, we headed to the Yukon for the first time. Our cousin, Arthur, had visited us twice when we made a cruise ship stop in Skagway. Each time he drove for 1 ½ hours each way and showed us the sights on both sides of the border. It was time we visited him.
After deciding to head up to the Yukon, our next decision was how to get there. It’s not exactly close. It would be about 30 hours driving time including the ferry. A flight would take about 2 ½ hours. As we were looking at our options, Air North, the flag carrier of the Yukon, had a special. We could fly directly from Victoria to Whitehorse for a great price – sold!
A bit of a hiccup with our rental car…
When we arrived at Whitehorse airport and picked up our rental car it turned out to cost a lot more than we were expecting. There was VERY SMALL print that said the quoted rate was in US dollars. How is that possible? This is a Canadian company, operating in a Canadian airport. There weren’t really many options at 7:30 PM the night before the July 1st stat holiday so we took it. The other fine print also had us getting only 200km/day (note:Canadian kilometers, not US miles); 1,200 km in total. Ouch.
It was a short drive to Arthur’s – the town is not very big by our standards. He was expecting us with Traeger wings and cold beverages.
July 1st – Canada Day
The rickety suspension bridge – it’s a lot of fun to cross!
The next morning, July 1st, we were treated to a scrumptious breakfast of eggs, fresh rye bread and the most delicious back bacon I have ever had. It was homemade on his smoker, and I am hopeful to get the recipe. Once we were done eating, we headed out to explore the sites.
Starting with Miles Canyon, a geological wonder where the Yukon River flows through high basalt walls. The river flows so fast in the canyon, it does not freeze in winter, even at -30C! The suspension bridge that joins the two sides is similar to the ones you would see in the movies. It “swings” a bit and is a bit rickety, making the experience all the more enjoyable. The trails are well groomed and we travelled up and down a few of them.
Heading into town, we saw many more sites and learned about the history of the town. Arthur’s been there since 1988, long before tourism et al, and has seen a lot of changes. There was an air of festivity in the town and families were taking advantage of the Canada Day activities. After lunch we headed back to his place and explored his 3 ½ acre property. That evening we had a great steak barbeque with all the fixings. Meeting two of his four children was great, they were keen to help out with dinner.
July 2nd – Off to Dawson City
Robert Service’s cabin – he wrote some of his poems in this house
Dawson City – gateway to the gold fields. Gold was discovered in 1896. It was actually discovered well before then by the Indigenous people, but they had no use for it.
The drive to Dawson City was 535 km on a paved road – other than a few sections that were under construction. It took just over six hours and had amazing scenery. Making a few stops for snacks and to admire the views, while reading historical markers, broke up the long drive. Our hotel was the Holland America Dawson City Hotel, and it was a great hotel. The front façade was done up in the gold rush style. There were wooden boardwalks in front of it, and all buildings. Our room, on the second floor, was quite nice with a mini fridge and kettle.
Gerties wing at our hotel in Dawson – the rooms are modern. The outside is made to look like the gold rush days
Once we were settled in, we went out to explore and learn about the gold rush. In 1896, Skookum Joe and his partners found gold and they gathered up a lot of it. They had struck it rich. The gold was taken down to San Francisco. Of course, word of ‘gold’ sparked a stampede and by 1898 the population of Dawson City grew from 250 to 40,000. It was the largest town north of San Francisco. The newspapers of the day reported you could just walk down the street and pick up gold nuggets, no mining was needed. There’s a sucker born every minute.
Some of the challenges of the Yukon
Panning for gold was hard work that could only be done with one hand. The other hand was busy swatting mosquitos. Tents were pitched all through the city and up the hill. Dysentery, typhoid and other nasty things were prevalent. It wasn’t all sunshine.
Then you had the weather. The town was isolated for eight months of the year. The river froze up, the snow came and it was dark for 24 hours. Of course it was light for 24 hours in the summer. Very few people made it rich. While the first shipment of gold was heading down to San Francisco, the locals were staking claims to the rivers around the initial find. By the time the outside hopefuls arrived, there were no more claims to be had. Those who came up ended up working for merchants. The entrepreneurial opened up shops with the vocational skills they brought with them such as blacksmithing, baking, etc.
Panning for gold – unfortunately we did not strike it rich.
At the end of the gold rush, it is estimated only about 20 people actually made it rich. Some of the most successful, other than the few who had good claims, were those who mined miner’s pockets. Every miner needed supplies. If you could get the goods to Dawson City, you could sell them for whatever you wanted. Wages were $10/day for general labourers but it cost $10/day to live up there. General stores loaded up goods in the short season from May – August and then sold them for the next eight months. The North West Mounted Police, forerunner to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, kept law and order. It is said there was not a single robbery during the gold rush.
July 3rd – Dawson City
Having learned a bit about the gold rush, we wanted to learn more. The Parks Canada office ran a number of tours and we decided to visit Dredge #4 on the Bonanza River, 15 km out of town. Driving to the Dredge, we stopped at ‘Discovery Claim’ to read about some of the history of mining and the early explorers, including Skookum Jim. He was a real person.
At the end of the walking loop, it was certainly time to go to the Dredge as the mosquitos were terrible. Although we had bug spray, the fact we left it in our hotel room meant it would still be available for next time . At the Dredge, we spent just over an hour learning how this barge, and others like it, travelled up the rivers. It was electrically powered and designed to get the gold that was buried in the river. Sadly, it was not done in a way that left the land unscathed nor workers in good health. Huge barges would scoop out tons of dirt that would be put through a sieve. Rocks were discarded and the sand was filtered. Gold, being heavy, fell to the bottom. It was this process, known as ‘placer mining’, that extracted the gold.
Gold mining on a commercial scale
The rocks and other debris were left behind in a trail that altered the rivers, choking out fish and animals. Today you can still see the tailings left behind. While they were not chemically treated, the topography was altered. As the gold production fell, it of course, became economically unviable and the barges were abandoned, right where they did their last shift. All over the Yukon, machinery is left to rust in place. It is simply not worth it to haul it out of the backcountry.
Having learned about the process of mining gold, we decided to give panning for gold a try. The visitor centre lends out gold pans and there is a claim, on the river, that is owned by the Territory. They allow anyone who wants to try their hand at gold mining a chance to try it. A local mine regularly dumps fresh tailings that might have some gold in it. After an hour, Meg had found three gold flecks. I found three less than she did. Fortunately, we have other jobs.
We were lucky to see a cow moose with her two calfs in the wild!
Our picnic lunch had a great view, and while we were eating, we could not believe what we saw. A cow moose with two calves. Moose are almost mythical beings – very few people have actually seen them. We stared at them and then thought to get pictures and videos. While we are hopeful for the cute calves, odds are not on their side. Bears, foxes and others find them delicious – and we did see a wolf nearby! It’s a tough world out there. That’s why cows have two calves, normally every second year.
Touring the town and restored buildings
Back in town, we took a Parks Canada walking tour that provided access to a number of historical buildings otherwise inaccessible. The bank, the saloon, the brothel, newspaper office and post office have all been done up in period or are being restored.
The midnight sun – this picture was taken in Dawson City at 11PM
For a tourist town, there were a number of eateries and dinner at the Triple J was great. This was followed by a drive up to the midnight dome. Back in 1900-something, a group of locals decided to see the 24-hour sun from the highest point, Dome Mountain. One thing they did not factor in: they are south of the Arctic Circle. You have to be north of 66 to see the sun “not” go down on Jun 21st. In Dawson City, the sun drops for a short time. When we were there, sunset was 00:45 and sunrise was 03:30. It never got dark, but blackout curtains in the hotel made it seem like night.
July 4th – back to Whitehorse.
Heading back to Whitehorse, we retraced our drive, hitting a few different historical sites, one of which was Montague Roadhouse. Back in the day, you could travel by sternwheeler on the Yukon River between Whitehorse and Dawson City. During the winter, travel had to be over land by horse and sled. It took 7 – 8 days and was cold. Roadhouses were about every 25 miles and there you either bunked down for the night, or changed horses. If it was below -35C, they would not travel. Each Roadhouse had a large potbelly stove where one could warm up, mittens could be dried out and gossip exchanged. Once we were back in Whitehorse, we were treated to Arthur’s ribs, basted in his homemade sauce. Another magnificent feast.
July 5th – exploring the outdoors and Whitehorse
The gold find that sparked the Klondike gold rush.
Living in the Yukon is not for the faint of heart. Those who stick it out are outdoorsy and nature loving. Many are hunters who explore the sites in various ways, including on quad vehicles. We headed out with Arthur to explore above the tree line on his quads. Ummmmm…what? Passing through abandoned mine fields, old claims, dried up creeks and river beds, we climbed and climbed. There were times I struggled controlling the quad and Meg, as the passenger, hung on for dear life. Eventually arriving at the tree line, we realized the bouncy ride up was worth it. We saw Whitehorse, Lake Labarge and countless mountain tops from where we were. The view was great and we were the only ones up there. Riding down was a lot easier than riding up.
July 6th – heading home
Our time in the Yukon was coming to an end. Another hike, and farewells took us to the airport where we boarded our Air North flight back to Victoria. This was our first trip to the Yukon, we both hope it will not be our last. The great vastness of the land, the warmth of the people, the history and the culture make it unique. It is an exceptional part of Canada, one that every Canadian should visit.
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We were off again on April 1st, and that was no April Fool’s joke! A ferry ride from Vancouver Island to Vancouver and an overnight stay with my Mom before hopping a flight across the pond to Heathrow. The revised timings of our flights was a bit harrowing.
Arriving at YVR Airport on Time but the Connection is late…
The SkyTrain took us to Vancouver’s airport in good time and we settled into the lounge to relax before our first flight. A message informed us our Vancouver to Calgary flight was delayed by 25 minutes due to the crew coming in late from another flight. This would make the connection time only 48 minutes. Speaking with WestJet ground staff, they informed me there were 18 other passengers heading to Heathrow on our flight. The timing was tight, but doable.
Starting off our trip on a BC Ferry
As is often the case, things did not go to plan and the incoming crew arrived even later than planned, but not too late. As we landed, the “welcome to Calgary” announcement on the plane included the Heathrow bound plane was boarding and passengers were to immediately to go to the gate. Naturally, the gate was on the other side of the airport, at least 15 minutes away.
Neither of us wanted to do an OJ Simpson run through the airport, so we briskly walked. It turned out we were the last two people to board the aircraft and as we approached the gate, we heard a “Absolute final call for Miller, party of two, the gates are now closing”. I’m not sure how serious they were as we had to wait on the jetway to board the aircraft as many other people were in front of us, likely those on our connecting flight. We both chose to use the facilities in the airport. They are much nicer in the airport vs the plane, just trust me on that one.
Our Seat Companion – a Parent with a Baby…
On the plane, we walked down the aisle. Our two empty seats in a row of three awaited us. We had selected a middle and window so we were beside each other for the overnight flight. Seated in the aisle seat of our row was the one passenger no one wants next to them. A parent with a babe in arms. I thought, eight hours in the air, overnight with a baby next to me, how much sleep would I get?
Settling in, the flight crew began closing overhead bins and then a crew member came up to the parent and said they had a whole row toward the back of the aircraft and offered to move the parent, baby and the spouse who was on the other side of the aisle. What a stroke of luck. I enquired if I could leave the aircraft to buy a lottery ticket but they said no. In the end, we had a row to ourselves and quickly spread out over the now empty middle seat on a fully packed airplane.
Arriving in England (we can read ALL the signs!)
Our flight was uneventful and landed on time. Customs and Immigration were straightforward, our Electronic Arrival Authorization (ETA’s) were in order. At the baggage carousel despite our bags likely being the last to load, they were also almost the last to come off. The Wi-Fi at Heathrow allowed us to look at options to get to Bristol, and coach was the simplest. WestJet uses Terminal 4, and the coaches depart at the Terminal 2/3 coach park. To get between the terminals there is a complementary train that runs frequently, however it was not quite quick enough to get the early coach.
We were faced with the option of a very expensive coach in 15 minutes, or wait for an hour for one that was 60% less. Since we needed lunch and a SIM card, we decided to do both at Heathrow. The savings on bus fare more than offset the cost of lunch and our AirHub ESIM. The bus ride was comfortable and had decent WiFi on the bus. We both managed to sleep a bit during the two-hour ride.
Arrival in Bristol
We are in Bristol, UK!
Arriving in Bristol, we passed by our hotel enroute to the bus station. Our impressions of the town as we drove in, despite the sunshine, was “gritty”. There seemed to be a number of places that could be spruced up and we noticed homeless people about. The 15-minute walk to the hotel took us through Cabot Circus, a major downtown shopping mall. All the usual stores one would see in any North American mall were represented.
Sign for Volunteer Tavern
Sampling beverages.
We had found a restaurant we wanted to try for dinner, unfortunately when we arrived, it was closed with a sign saying they were sold out of food for the day. Luckily, this being England, there were a plethora of Public Houses around. Settling on the ‘Volunteer’, a local pub, we debated which beverage to have. Despite there being a description of all drinks on tap, it was difficult. Samples were offered and, after trying three of the local beers, I settled on an ale and Meg chose a cider. The Volunteer is what we look for when selected a venue. It is not a tourist pub and a bit out of the way. We were certainly the only people with accents. The food was excellent and most tables were having meals and lively conversations.
Given it had been a long day/night with an eight-hour time change, we called it a day.
Day II in Bristol
We were up and off to find breakfast, which we decided to have at St. Nicholas Market. Arriving at 9AM, there were some shops that were just opening and some that were already serving breakfast. Settling on “Crafty Beans”, we ordered an English Breakfast sandwich. It was freshly made, served piping hot and would hold us until lunch.
Our tour guide dressed as an Air Raid Warden, complete with a Brodie Helmet.
Using a new App (GPSMyCity), we started a self-guided walking tour from the market. Having seen a number of the sites on the tour, we headed back to the market to join our 11AM organized excursion of Bristol and the Air Raid Shelter. This tour, close to two hours, took us through some of the early history of the area, battles and figures that shaped the area. Then the highlight, the Air Raid Shelter. The tour guide was a one man show in this regard. He is fighting to have it declared a historic site and has spent countless hours sprucing it up.
A Glimpse of the Blitz
Ration Books, used until 1954
Air Raid First Aid Kit
Heading down the many stairs, we learned what it was like during the Blitz. From queueing for a spot at the shelter, as not everyone could get in, to how long the bombings took place. Learning about incendiary bombs as well as percussion bombs and how the population took it all in stride. Along the walls were numerous period posters, including the classic “Keep Calm and Carry On”. I cannot imagine the terror of being bombed night after night. Bristol was the 6th hardest hit city during the war. There is an aircraft factory in the region and the other side bombed the cities around it to weaken morale.
An interesting add on to the tour was the rock and roll section. A number of historic bands played at the Corn Market Hall in Bristol including the Rolling Stones, the WHO, Muddy Waters and others. It was quite the place in the 60’s. A bit of humour is that there is now a rock and fossil store where the stage used to be. I wonder how Mick Jagger feels about that?
Based on a recommendation of our guide, we lunched at the Market and then headed out on our own walking tour. The GPSMycity App allows you to create your own walks and incorporates GPS so you are less likely to get lost. On our tour we saw a famous Banksey piece of street art – Well Hung Lover.
Dinner was a picnic in the park overlooking the river at sunset.
Travelling to our Football Match
The walk to the train station was easy, as was boarding our train. We tried “Split Train” ticketing and it worked well, saving us a considerable amount of money. What it entailed was buying three tickets to get from A to B. We did not need to change trains, simply seats. There is a whole science behind it and certain apps will do this for a fee. It is 100% legal and based on dynamic pricing of seats on certain legs of the journey.
The Game is on!
Arriving at the Birmingham airport, we picked up our rental car and headed to our hotel. Arriving at 11:30, we did not think we could check in, but owner said it was not a problem. We dropped our suitcases and then headed for a snack before walking to The Hawthorns to see West Bromwich Albion play. Kick Off was 12:30, vs the normal 3 PM, so it was a bit tight to get through the crowds. This time our seats were two rows off the pitch at what would be the blue line in a hockey rink. This close to the field, we could not only see the expressions on the players faces, but also hear what they were saying when they were near us. Of course, when they were on the other side of the field, we were not as fortunate.
The Other Side Scores 🙁
The view from our seats – two rows off the pitch
Around the 30-minute mark of the first half, Sunderland was awarded a free kick right in front of us. A right footed kick, that had the perfect spin, managed to get in under the top right corner to give them the lead. As it turned out, that was the only goal of the game as the Baggies could not find the back of the net, despite playing well. That 1 – nil score made me feel jinxed. I’ve been to three games at the Hawthorns and have yet to a West Brom goal.
When the game ended, we headed back to the hotel for a rest and a dinner out.
The Midlands – Day IV
Being a Sunday, not everything was open, however with a car, our options were more than they may have been otherwise. Scouring a map and reading about various places, Bridgnorth is the place we settled on to explore. A pleasant 45-minute drive took us to another market town that was bustling on a brilliantly sunny day. It turns out there was a classic tractor show and shine and many local enthusiasts were out to look at these historic machines. Not really being our thing, we headed to the castle and gardens.
The Classic Steam Engine we Rode in.
While there, we saw a steam engine chugging along at the local station and decided to take a look. The train is used most weekends and we were able to have a ride in the engine. This coal-fired engine, dating from 1930, was certainly interesting. Fully restored to its past glory, it rattled and rumbled along, making hissing noises as steam escaped after driving pistons up and down. Since this was England, they had no issues with shovelling coal into the fire box of the train while we were in the cab driving along the tracks. There were only four of us in the cab, the driver, fireman, Meg and I (it was quite a tight fit!) The fireman opened the furnace and shovelled in coal to keep the fire hot. You certainly knew when the furnace door was opened.
Heading back, a quiet dinner and evening walk concluded our day.
Midlands Day V – Black Country Living Museum
One of the things we had hoped to do this trip was to see the Black Country Living Museum (BCLM). It is a period museum with numerous buildings set in various times from 1850 – 1960. You know you are getting older when you see things in a museum that your parents had in your home. The staff, or guides, are also dressed for the time they are representing. Everything was really well done. There were restaurants serving different foods and at least two pubs serving adult beverages. We could not have asked for a better day weather wise, full sun and +16C with no wind. Enthralled with the museum, we ended up spending six hours there.
The town as it may have looked in the 1940’s
Our highlight exhibit was the mine. Early in the morning we had visited the “shaft” where there were piles of coal. The coal would have been hauled up from the bottom of the mine where it would be sorted. BCLM has done a recreation of a surface mine, but that still goes down 30’. Groups of 25 take part in the tour and hard hats are required. The clearance is only 1.3 Meters in some places so there was lots of ducking under beams. Inside the mine were mannequins who explained the various roles and methods of mining the coal.
The Dangers of Coal Mining
It was dirty work and dangerous. Tunnelling took place which had miners dig out under the coal seam using supports to keep the coal from collapsing. Then, when the time was right, the supports were removed and the large overhang of coal came down. Unfortunately, sometimes the supports failed and miners were crushed. The tunnelling enabled larger pieces of coal to be mined which were more valuable than small pieces.
A functioning longboat that was used to haul coal. It was also used in the hit show ‘Peaky Blinders’
The Midlands were the heart of the Industrial Revolution. Conditions were terrible and average life span, according to one guide, was 17 ½. The air was foul with coal dust. It was said the area was black by day and red by night. The black would be the coal dust blocking out the sun. At night, the red was from the fires that everyone had going. Coal was used to run machines, heat homes, cook, fire blacksmith shops and more. As coal, iron-ore and limestone were all readily available, everything was done in this area. In addition to being called the Midlands, the area is often referred to as the Black County.
As we finished our tour, we gave thanks for the world we live in today and for those who forged the society of yesteryear to make the advancements now taken for granted.
Midlands Day VI – Travel to Morocco – A New Adventure for Us
Today was a travel day to Morrocco, with an afternoon flight. As the airport was an hour away and our need to be there by 12:30, we were limited as to our options of what we could do. In the end we settled on a hike at a nearby National Nature Reserve, Wren’s Nest. It was in this area that limestone was mined from open quarries and underground mines back in the day. There is nothing left of the mining operations, just a nice walk. There are a lot of fossils about, however we did not search for any.
Arriving at the airport, this was our first every EasyJet flight. The instructions indicated bag drop would open at 13:30 for our 15:30 flight. They also said get to the airport at least two hours before the flight. Arriving at 12:30, three hours before our flight, there was nothing we could do until 13:30. EasyJet is a discount carrier and there are no staff until the appointed time. So, we waited in line with a number of other people to tag our bags and head through security. It was a jovial atmosphere as most of the people were going on holiday (vacation to North Americans).
We boarded our flight and concluded this trip to England. Our plans, although not fixed, have us returning soon, if for nothing else but to hopefully see West Bromwich Albion actually score a goal. COYB – Come On You Baggies!
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This was our first time to Puerto Chapais, which is very close to the Guatemalan border. Rumours swirled around the ship of how dangerous it was due to the cartels and drug running. One passenger told us the MARSEC level, which identifies the port security level, had been raised to Level IV. Well, for starters, the highest MARSEC level is III. I politely nodded and managed to say nothing (out loud anyway). The normal MARSEC level is I. In all my time in the Navy, with very few exceptions, MARSEC I is the only level I’ve seen. While I don’t discount intelligence, I will certainly discount unintelligence.
A beautiful Stained Glass Window in Tapachula
The tours offered by the ship didn’t seem to visit many places and the cruise ship advised there were limited transport options to Tapachula, the nearest town. Puerto Chapais literally had nothing other than a welcome centre and stevedore equipment for container ships. We had been told it was difficult to get a shuttle into town due to the limited number of seats. We thought we were fortunate to get a seat on the shuttle for $10 return. It turned out there were lots of seats. The drive in was about an hour and as we headed into town, the bus passed banana and mango plantations, haciendas and shanty areas. Once in town, we explored a Mexican town that is neither used to nor set up for tourists.
A “Real” Mexican town
This was a great experience and the first time, in all of our times in Mexico, we were able to see a “real” Mexican town. There were stores of all types, selling everything. Numerous street food stalls, clothing stores, hardware, cell phones, you name it. People going about their daily business. Colectivos picking up and dropping off people, parents herding little ones along, children in school uniforms going to school. And us, taking it all in.
The local museum was open and we wandered through. It would not rival a Smithsonian and there were basically no signs in English. There were a number of neat artifacts. Lunch was empanadas, made right before our eyes, in a hole in the wall restaurant. When I say “hole in the wall”, it was literally a hole in the wall! Those empanadas were so good! It was a bit tricky to order as no English was spoken. Not a single word. In the end, I held out my money, and said “dos” or two. The grandma who was running the operation, took twenty pesos and prepared two “pollo” or chicken empanadas, covered in a salad and cheese. Eating these on a park bench with a drink made me feel like a local and filled me up.
Doing some more exploring and snacking, the time came for the return journey to the ship. On our next visit, we might consider visiting the Aztec ruins which, we heard from other passengers, were being restored and, although not the best ruins, were still interesting.
Huatulco, Mexico
This was our first visit to Huatulco, our fall stop here had been cancelled due to a storm. The area is marketed as having nine bays and beaches at every bay. We headed ashore with no plan. The first few offered tours were not appealing and somehow, we ended up in a dive shop. We were offered a snorkel tour for $300, then $200. It was a private tour and would take us to five bays with snorkeling at each if we wanted as well as beach time. It would have us back at 3PM and, after checking out another tour operator, we booked it.
Snorkelling in Clear Blue Water
We had our own boat, snorkel gear and headed out. Unfortunately, our captain could not speak English. We managed to communicate and he pointed out a number of interesting things. The snorkel stops were wonderful and the fish we saw were colourful. The beaches were vast with very few other people on them. There was a strong current/undertow, so you should be able to swim well, fins certainly helped. After about 3 ½ hours we had had enough and returned to the ship. On our way back, the captain abruptly stopped the boat and pointed to a sea turtle. This magnificent creature was simply swimming in the ocean, going about his (or her) business. The captain stopped the boat and explained he was not allowed to follow the turtle. We floated along and the turtle kept going on its way, eventually diving down out of sight.
In our boat between dives. The beaches are amazing.
Once back in town, we took a taxi into downtown for lunch, Mexican street food is so much better than ship’s food, even though the latter is free. Our tour guide had recommended a taco stand in town and it did not disappoint. We then wandered around, taking in the sights and headed back to the ship. It turns out there were only two other passengers after us to return to the ship so we certainly maximized our time in Huatulco.
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
We returned, again to Puerto Vallarta, or PV. This was our third visit in the past six-months. We weren’t sure what to do given the limited time we had during our cruise ship stop. One thing we noticed was the cooler weather. It was about 5C cooler with no humidity which was a welcome relief from the intense heat of Costa Rica and Panama.
We spent our first half hour ashore “running the gauntlet” of time shares, souvenir shops, taxi touts and more. The cruise ship terminal is structured so you have to pass each stall. The easy exits are for crew only, passengers are politely pointed to the maze of hawkers. Once outside, we headed for a local grocery store called Chedraui. This is a full-size grocery store and it seemed better to shop here at a local store versus the Walmart. Most people head to the Walmart as it is right across the road from the terminal, however you have to cross 10 lanes of traffic. That takes a fair amount of time and, once on the other side, you have the massive parking lot to traverse. Chedraui had everything we wanted including a tour organizer that offered better prices than in town.
Travel like a local on a local bus
We then headed into town on the local bus for 20 Pesos. Arriving at the south end of town, we wandered aimlessly, remembering the Romantic Zone is just too touristy for us. Eventually we arrived at a taco place we like and had a lunch of street tacos. Lunch perked us up, however, there was still nothing we wanted to do.
The one thing that appealed to us, which we have not done before, was to take a tour to San Sebastian. Unfortunately, this tour only ran three days a week on Mon, Wed and Fri. and we arrived on a Saturday. The tour also leaves at 9AM and is about 8 hours long with 90 minutes of travel each way. Arriving back at 5PM would have had us miss the cruise ship. For our next cruise ship visit to PV, if we remember, we will try and see if we can arrange a tour that works with our cruise ship.
International Wine Tasting On Board
International Wine Tasting – a great way to spend a day at sea!
Once onboard the ship, we settled in for our two sea days as we approached LA. On our last sea day, we signed up for a wine tasting. It was the best one we have ever experienced on a cruise ship. There were six countries represented, with a red and white from each country. The capacity was limited to 30 people and you wandered from station to station trying the wines as you wished. The pours were “honest” and in the span of an hour, we think we each had the equivalent of a full bottle of wine. When we tried a wine we did not like, we simply dumped it in the dumping bin.
Grey rainy skies and cool temperatures greeted us when we arrived in LA. Our plan had been to store our luggage and wander Long Beach, but that is a thing for sunnier days. In the end, we simply headed to the airport and returned home.
Two cruises, totalling 23 days was in the books. We were refreshed and ready for our next adventure.
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As our first cruise ended, we took our time leaving the MSC Seaside. Once ashore, we hung around the Miami cruise terminal, taking advantage of the wi-fi. When we were ready to leave, we headed to to the Fort Lauderdale cruise terminal. Enrolee, we stopped at Total Wine to pick up some Prosecco for our 16-day Panama Canal cruise. Boarding of the Coral Princess was delayed as it was reported to have an outbreak of Norovirus and additional cleaning/sanitization measures were in effect. Great.
Once onboard, we noticed a change from the MSC Seaside. The Coral Princess was showing her age. Most of the newer ships have a “bigger is better” attitude, with grand foyers, high ceilings and warmer colours. The ship was functional and we were certainly going to enjoy ourselves for the next 16 days.
The buffet was no longer ‘serve-yourself’ due to the health scare. Staff would serve you. They were at the buffet entrances to make sure everyone washed their hands. There were regular announcements encouraging people to use their own bathrooms and follow hygiene protocol.
Are Elevators Really that Hard to Use?
Then we had the challenges with the elevators. I honestly wonder if any of the passengers have actually used elevators before this cruise. From asking if the lift is going up or down. Hmmm, let’s see, you pushed the up (or down) button, the arrow in front of the elevator indicates up or down – use your visual cues people. You do need to think a bit on the lifts as not all of them go to all floors.
An example is the mid-ship elevators, which only go down to deck 7. This means, if you want to eat in one of the restaurants on deck 5, you either have to take the stairs down the remaining two floors, or take the forward or aft elevators and walk back. Of course, if you are mobility challenged, you need to take the lift all the way to your destination. However, if you a physically able, you could walk two flights of stairs.
It seems the thought of walking two flights of stairs was the equivalent of high treason for some people. At one point, a couple was arguing about getting on the elevator as it did not go to the fifth floor. How would they get from the seventh to fifth floor? They were saying “this is a terrible ship, and so confusing”. I was in the elevator with the door open and waiting for them and then…the doors closed. I’m not sure how long they argued for after that. The fact I pushed the “door close” button may have had something to do with the door closing, just saying.
Starting off with Sea Days
The first two days were sea days. The routine was a bit different on this ship. For starters, being in our early 60’s, we brought the average down. Yup, we were some of the young’uns onboard. Last week, on MSC, we did not notice a single wheelchair, scooter or mobility aid. This week, there were many scooters et al. It is inspiring to see people, who have trouble covering distances, still travelling and seeing the world. We hope to be doing trips like this when we are much older. So, with a large number of older guests, most seemed to like to sleep in and we didn’t really notice anyone around until close to 9 AM. Thus we had our choice of lounge chairs, breakfast buffet seating spots, etc.
For dinner, we managed to snag a 7:20 dining time, which for us, is ideal. There was an overwhelming demand for the 5PM dining time, likely due to the overall age of the passengers and their nationality. Of the almost 1,800 guests, 1,100 were from the US, close to 300 from Canada with various European countries and Mexico making up the balance. Our table was in the rear of the main dining room (MDR) and by a window. Since we were eating just after sunset, the window was not really a great bonus.
Back to Aruba
Our first port of call was Aruba and we took the public bus, called the “AruBus” to Arashi beach, where we met up with some new friends from Oregon. Hanging out in a public beach hut for shade, we snorkeled, read, chilled and sampled some Mojitos. All with the brilliant Aruban sunshine and Caribbean ocean as our backdrop. Tickets for the AruBus can be had at the main station, $5 US for a return trip pass, or $15 for an all-day pass. Be aware the ticket sales only go from 6 AM – 1:30 PM. You can always pay cash onboard, although it costs a bit more. The driver will make change, but change is given in local currency. All times and prices current as of March 2025.
One of the nice things about Princess is the laundromats on board. It’s no secret, having your laundry done in a hotel is very expensive. The cost to do it on a cruise ship is equally expensive. On a 16-day cruise, you’ll likely need to do laundry, unless you take all the clothes you own. There are washing machines on passenger decks and it makes it easy to keep up with your laundry for minimal costs.
Transiting through the Panama Canal
After Aruba, we sailed to the Panama Canal and carried on with our transit. The toll for our cruise ship was just over $330,000 USD. That was included in the cruise ship fare, the Captain did not need to “pass the hat” to gather money for our passage. The rate is a combination of the vessels weight as well as the number of passengers onboard, which for this calculation, includes crew.
Our transit took us through the historic locks and the overall transit is nothing short of impressive. It is even more remarkable when you learn the locks have been operating the same way since 1912, with the same construction. Of course, there are much older locks in various parts of the world still operating. In Canada, the Rideau Canal was completed in 1832. Its aim was to avoid the Great Lakes after the War of 1812 between British North America and the United States . It makes you wonder. Transiting through the locks, there is very little clearance on either side of the ship.
How the Locks Work
Sunset at the Panama Canal – note all the boats at anchor, waiting for their turn
The lock is then flooded, or drained, depending on if the ship is going up or down. The gates are then opened and away you go to the next lock. In all, there are six locks, three up and three down, rising/falling a height of 85’ in each directions. That number can vary slightly depending on tides. The overall transit takes around 10 hours and makes for an incredibly scenic day.
Once the last lock has been exited and the ship has cleared the Bridge of the Americas, the Captain took the vessel alongside Fuerte Amador, Panama, the closest berthing point for Panama City. Although the ship was alongside, no passengers were allowed to leave until the next morning.
Panama City – Another Capital City Visited
There were a number of tours in and around Panama, however we decided to head out on our own. The hope was to get a tour of the old city. There were a number of touts offering every type of tour imaginable. We settled on a walking tour of the Mercado, Old City and a drive by the new town. The temperature was forecast at +32C with an extreme UV and humidity warning that made extended time outside seem like not the best idea.
On our drive into town, we passed some “areas” that seemed a bit suspect. When asked about the safety of the neighbourhood, our guide said he would walk around where we were in the daytime, but not the night time. There were two police officers on most street corners and it turns out they will discourage non-locals from wandering off the main street. Our guide lived about 20-minutes from the area we were in and told us his area was a lot safer.
Fresh Local Fruit from the Jungles of Panama
A local vendor selling us some bananas. Her selection of fruit was amazing!
Arriving at the mercado, we could see it was truly local and our guide was correct, there were no tourists there. The bounty of fresh fruit was amazing. Snacking on bananas and drinking fresh juice was so much better than the cruise ship breakfast, and healthier too! There is a lot of history in the town and it is continually developing. We learned that banking is now overtaking the canal as the main industry, although the canal is critical for bringing in hard currency. While Panama has its own currency, the US dollar is the currency of all transactions.
The architecture of Old Panama City was very colonial, likely from the French influence when they tried to build the canal in the late 1800’s. After our tour, we headed to the Biosphere Museum and learned about the evolutionary history of Panama.
As it was hot and humid, we took an Uber back to the ship and with that, our time in Panama City concluded.
Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Puntarenas is one of the few Pacific side stops in Costa Rica for cruise ships. There’s really not a lot to do in the town. It is a small isthmus with a main road that leads to the mainland. Previously, we took a driving tour that left us uninspired. On this trip, as we left the pier, we met the touts who offered us various tours as we headed to the TI centre. Our goal was a tour of the Island San Lucas, which showed nice beaches and hiking trails. It turns out San Lucas was a former penal colony, similar to Alcatraz. There are tours sometimes, but nothing on the day we were in town. The TI made a number of phone calls and a private tour could be arranged for a cost of $300 US. We were not really that interested and left the TI without a plan.
Back on the street, the touts sensed we had nothing to do. If we wanted to do a local tour, we would have been given a good deal. The tour started at $65, then to $50. At no point did we even try to negotiate. When we continued walking away, the “owner” came and offered us the tour for $40, but only if we agreed not to tell anyone as this was “too low”. We hemmed and hawed for a bit, but remembering our tour last time, we politely declined. Our new plan was to head to the ferry and see where that would take us.
Making Our Own Tour
It was a 20-minute walk to the end of the isthmus where the ferry terminal was located. There, we bought senior’s tickets for the 10AM ferry to the other side. There appeared to be nice beaches there, at least according to our online maps. One hour and 20-minutes later the ferry docked on the other side. There wasn’t much at the ferry landing, but we knew there was a gas station with a convenience store only 500 meters away. At the store, we picked up some drinks and snacks and headed to a beach. There wasn’t much life around and we could not be sure of where we were going, this was certainly not a tourist area. Heading down a dirt road the “Perla Negra”, or Black Pearl, restaurant came into site.
Our deserted beach – no one but us!
Although no one was in the bar when we walked through, it was certainly gimmicky and geared for tourists. Exiting the other side of the bar were open fields and chairs that lead to another road. Carrying on downhill, we came across a smaller dirt road that eventually led us to a beautiful beach. It was a cove that had soft sand, palm trees, shade and only one person other than us. Unsure if there were crocodiles in the water, we spoke with the lone occupant, who was from Quebec City. He had been swimming and was just about to leave on his motorcycle. We then had the postcard perfect beach to ourselves. Wow.
Our Private Beach
We spent the next three hours there and the time flew by. Between swimming in warm water, listening to the sounds of birds calling, fish jumping and staring up at an incredible blue sky, it was amazing. And we were the only ones there. Shifting our towels twice to follow the shade of our palm trees, we were shocked how quickly our alarm went to catch the ferry back. The ferry ride and walk back to the ship were uneventful. There was free wi-fi at the port and we caught up on emails. As the ship sailed away that evening, we decided, should we find ourselves back in this port, we would do that same thing again.
Thanks for reading, we’ll post part II of The Panama Canal shortly. Please feel free to leave any comments, or reach out by email at the link at the top of the website.
We started our two cruises by heading to the airport, taking a connector flight from Victoria to Vancouver. We had a four-hour layover, so after clearing US Customs, we found the lounge and started our vacation
Do Not Try This At Home
This is the first time we have taken a red-eye flight to a cruise. If all goes to plan, we would get to Fort Lauderdale at 8:30 AM, head to the cruise ship terminal and then be on our cruise. If there is a delay, then we have to make our own way to the next port of call. So, we strongly suggest you do not try this at home! It’s really not the best plan; too much can go wrong. Weather delays, lost luggage, airport closures, and 100 other things. It does happen that people miss their ship and have to get to the next port of call, but it is a challenge.
In the end, it went like clockwork and we were at the ship by 10:30. So, if we are saying “don’t do this at home”, why did we do it? Well, it all comes down to dollars and cents. Simply put, a flight the day before was about five times as much. We rolled the dice and came out on top. If we had not, one night hotel, some meals and a flight to Nassau, would have been less than the additional cost of flying a day earlier. But, we can’t stress enough…do not try this at home!
Heading to a New Ship
Once in Fort Lauderdale, we arranged for an Uber and headed to the ship. The drive was uneventful and we both slept for most of it. Boarding the ship was very smooth. Meg had pre-registered us and all they needed was a scan of our passport as well as a photo. The camera they use was an automated one, similar to the many Border Services use at the airport. We were on the ship at 11:00 and headed to the buffet – a true veteran cruiser move.
For those of you who have cruised, going to a new class of ship can be interesting. This voyage combined a new cruise line and obviously a new ship. There were many of the same things, but also some things were completely different, with a very European flair.
Two of the most notable differences were the buffet and main pool located on the lower level of the ship on deck 8, as opposed to being on the top decks. This was very foreign to us and took some getting used to.
New Elevators – a Challenge for Some People
The other major difference was the elevators or lifts. When you press the call button for the elevators, you select the floor you want before you get on. Then the nice machine will tell you which elevator will be going to that floor and it also indicates how long it will be until the elevator arrives. When you enter the elevator, you do not press any buttons. Being trained to press the button when you get in is ingrained. It took a few days not to want to press the button when we got into the elevator. The display indicates what floor you are on and what floor(s) the lift will be stopping on. This also took a bit of getting used to, but after a few days, we absolutely loved it.
This system has dramatically reduced the number of elevator-challenged people from getting on and saying “is this elevator going up (or down)”. Maybe this is not the case, perhaps all of the 5,000 passengers on board are gifted in the use of elevators…nah, who are we kidding.
In all seriousness, the system seems to work well. The announcements are in multiple languages, English is first.
Setting Sail
The cruise departed as scheduled, after everyone had checked in for the safety drill. Dinner that night, and in fact most meals, were better than recent offerings from either Princess or Celebrity. The activities were pretty much the same: trivia, exercise classes such as line dancing, pool sports, etc. The Captain’s address offered some free adult beverages.
One thing we did not like was our dining time, which was assigned to us for 5:30PM. Now this did not mean we ate at 5:30. By the time you get settled and your order is taken, you don’t start eating until 6:10. Your main entrée arrives around 6:30ish. When we asked if we could change to the 7:45 time, the Maitre’d told us there were some 200 people on the waiting list for late dining.
MSC is an Italian line, with a heavy Mediterranean influence. Given so many of the passengers are European, it is not surprising that later dining is preferred.
It’s Better in the Bahamas
We did not start with a sea day, instead we visited Nassau, Bahamas for our first full day. We did not book any excursions and simply walked off the ship to explore. Meg had done some research and found a number of places to check out. Starting with the ‘Queens Staircase’, a series of 66 stairs that were carved out of limestone in the early years of Queen Victoria’s reign. It is a very popular tourist attraction, however we were fortunate to get there during a lull with no other people around. The hoards were only 100 meters behind us, so we took our pictures quickly and carried on.
Meg climbing the Queens Staircase
Official Marker
From the Fort, we wandered around town and explored, trying a local adult beverage on a public beach. We really didn’t find a lot to see or do, and the guidebooks don’t list a ton of things. One thing they do mention, and we did, was the John Wadding Distillery. Being on the Islands, rum is the specialty. A quick seven-minute tour, which really didn’t cover a lot, takes you into the sample room where you could purchase tasters of different aged rums or other drinks.
A Historical British Fort
The stairs take you towards Fort Fincastle, which had a $3 admission. Once inside the Fort, we joined a tour that explained so much about both the fort and community. The way the fort was designed and how things were carved out of limestone allowed for ventilation of the magazine. It was the original air-conditioning and highly effective. The view from the top of the fort was the best you could get in the Bahamas, which makes sense as it is on the highest point.
Not being big rum drinkers, we departed and wandered about. Nassau has a definitive British feel. The King is still the Head of State, similar to Canada. Everyone we met was very pleasant and we left thinking it was a nice place.
Cozumel, Mexico
Our next port was Cozumel, Mexico. We like Mexico. As we wandered ashore, with nothing planned or booked, we met some Touts and settled on a 2-hour snorkel tour on the reef. Cozumel has the second largest reef in the world, after the Great Barrier Reef. The tour was in a glass boat, not just a glass bottom boat, but a completely clear fiberglass/acrylic boat. This allowed for wonderful viewing of the ocean floor as we headed out to the reef.
Once we got to the dive point, we all headed out into the water and looked at fish and coral. The current carried us along and after 30-minutes, we were sheparded back into the boat to return to land. To be honest, the fish viewing was not the best we had ever seen.
Heading to our dive site on a glass boat.
Once back on shore, we wandered around the town and headed to the Mercado where we created our own food tour, based on suggestions we read. The food was fresh, reasonably priced and excellent, what more could you ask for?
As we headed back to the ship, we stopped in for some tequila tasting. Now I (Cam) do not like or drink coffee. Imagine my surprise when I tasted coffee tequila. It was incredibly smooth, to the point of being dangerously good in that it was so easy to drink. Our tasting place was on the main drag and, the prices were, in our opinion, very inflated. We decided to pass on buying any and will look for this product in other stores, just to see if we can get it fairly priced.
Belize
We then had a sea day before arriving at Belize. Our plan was to take a tour of the caves, which we would do by floating on an inner tube. We met a few touts, all of them offering the “best” price. In the end we settled on a tour and headed out. A one-hour drive took us to a touristy trap place where we got tubes, helmets and a briefing. A 20-minute up-hill walk took us to the starting point and we entered the water where we boarded our tubes and floated down the river.
Happy times in Belize 🙂
The caves were truly inspiring. The stalagmites and formations were interesting and after about five-minutes of drifting down the river, it was pitch black, except for our headlamps. Our guide had us turn off our lights and we could not see anything. Our tour was about an hour in the caves and when we exited, we carried on down the river in daylight for another 30-minutes. We were back to the ship in good time for departure.
MSC’s Private Island
As we sailed overnight, we headed to MSC’s private island. We were a bit worried about it, thinking it may be similar to Icy Point Strait, which is totally manufactured. Everything has been built on the Island, from the 5,000 planted palm trees to the shrubs. Normally there are places to eat on the island, which are included in your cruise, however on the day we were there, all food venues were closed.
I am very happy under a palm tree!
We managed to find two lounge chairs and some shade. Setting up our home for the day, we looked out at the ocean and, between swim breaks, read our books. While there was no food on the island, all the bars were open, however the queues were horrendous, so we passed. While the island was certainly not the highlight of our MSC cruise, the colours of the water, along with the soft sand beaches, made a for a postcard perfect picture.
Winding down
As we left the private island, we returned to Miami. Our impressions of MSC were so favourable we booked another cruise for the spring of 2026. We will head to Europe, MSC’s playground, to visit the Baltics.
Thanks for reading, please feel free to leave comments or reach out be email on the links below.
Crossing a bridge from Spain into France, we did not have to clear customs. We were coming over land within the European Union. Leaving our commuter train, we walked 200 metres to the Henday train station. Our Henday Spain to Bordeaux France train was showing on time, departing in one-hour. We found a park bench and had our picnic lunch in the November noon time sun.
The French train left right on time and we arrived in Bordeaux as scheduled. From the train station we took the local tram and then walked five-minutes to our new apartment. After checking-in, we visited the local market and picked up some supplies for the next few days.
Moroccan food in France…why not?
As we were wandering, we passed a Moroccan restaurant which sounded appetizing for dinner. At our apartment, we checked it out. Despite having good reviews and scores, the last two reviews commented on seeing a mouse. Fortunately, there was another Moroccan restaurant nearby that actually had better reviews. This was a place that you did not leave hungry.
The restaurant was a prix-fixe. Your only choice was the main course. The options were many. Just about every tagine you could imagine, from lamb to kofta, to veggie. Once you chose your main, you could go up to the appetizer table. There were at least 30 appies. Salads, hummus, olives, breads, and so much more. One trip to this appie bar was not enough for either of us. The waiter watched as we, along with everyone else, made multiple trips to the salad bar. Once it appeared we were done with salads, our main courses came.
There were delicious and filling. For me, there’s something about slow cooked tagines, with dried fruit, nuts, spices, herbs and meat that is irresistible. Finishing our mains, we headed to the desert table. Oh my. There were at least 40 different deserts as well as cut up fresh fruit. How could you try all of them? I settled on a number of them as well as baklava. We certainly left full and satisfied.
Saturday November 9, 2024
We started with an early morning walk around Bordeaux. Not much was open at 9AM. Even most coffee shops were closed. We had the place almost to ourselves. In the afternoon, we took a wine tasting excursion to Saint Emillion.
Over looking the wine region of St. Emillion.
Ahhhh, wine in France. It is almost a religion. In fact, during the Middle Ages, we learned Abbey’s had to welcome pilgrims with wine. Maybe that makes up for the lack of plumbing We headed out on our tour and drove the hour to St. Emillion. There, we had tour of the town and then some time on our own. It seemed logical to do a tasting on our own which we did.
Then the tour took us to an estate where we toured the facilities and learned about their process. Then…you guessed it…we did a wine tasting on the estate. We sampled two of their house made wines.
This tour was really well done. It was put on by the Bordeaux tourist centre. As a half day tour (13:30 – 18:30) it was great time wise and you really didn’t need much more. Returning home, we picked up some take-away food and ate a relaxing meal in our apartment.
Sunday November 10, 2024
Enjoying wine, overlooking Bordeaux. Enjoying is the key!
Fresh off our wine tour, we decided to learn more about this delightful drink. We headed over to the Cite du Vin centre. It is advertised as a place where you can “Embark on an interactive and sensory experience”. They were accurate on that. We spent over four hours there (the suggested time is one hour). There were displays on grapes, the wine regions of France as well as other wine areas. They highlighted food and wine pairing. Displays on the history of wine, from the Pharos to the Middle Ages to today. The audio guide was in various languages, so we understood everything. At the end you travelled up to the eighth floor where you had a tasting of a wine of your choice enjoyed with a panoramic view of the historic city of Bordeaux and the river.
Dinner that night was a local restaurant that we found online, despite being the off-season, reservations were essential. As we arrived, we noticed the sign out front said ‘complete’ (full in English). We had a scrumptious three course meal that left us very full. Walking back to our apartment, under a ¼ moon, we were certainly enjoying our time in Bordeaux.
Monday November 11, 2024
We marked today with reflection of what November 11th means. About half of the business were closed today. Bordeaux, like all of France was occupied during the war. After liberation, things started to return to normal, including the production of wine.
We then headed to the river to take a scenic cruise along the Garonne River. Being France, the cruise came with a glass of wine, which was most welcome on a cool windy day. Sailing down river towards the Atlantic Ocean, we learned about the buildings, ships and history of the city. The view from the water was quite different than the shore and we enjoyed our tour.
We spent the rest of the day getting ready for our travel to Tours, about two hours away by train.
Tuesday November 12, 2024
We went for a walk in the morning and then we returned to our apartment. The host arrived at 11 and we talked for about 10 minutes and then headed to the train. After the five-minute walk to the tram station, we saw a tram pull up, which was good timing. The tram took us to the train station and, after struggling with ramps, underground passages et al, found our coach. We did not pay to reserve seats, so in the morning, we were assigned seats in a quad group. While we both had windows, we were facing each other. That meant one of us faced backwards.
As I was tired, Meg took the view seat and I ended up falling asleep during a podcast
Friday November 15, 2024
The Loire Valley is known for its Chateaus’. There are too many to visit without being “Chateau-ed out”. Reading about the choices, we decided to visit Charmeanu first. It is the quasi essential French Chateau. It’s on the river, has the classic arches you see in post cards, large grounds and of course, history.
Chateau Amboise, a classic view.
We had looked at buying tickets online as there was notations on some websites they sell out some times. There are blocks of 70 tickets for sale, every 15-minute has a block. The first block, for 9:45 had 66 tickets left. There were 70 tickets for each block after that until 14:30 when there were only 65 tickets. Considering the time of year, we didn’t see the need to pre book.
As we arrived, we walked down the main street leading to the Chateau and there was not a sole in sight. This made for excellent pictures. Given that there would likely be more people later in the day, we raced through the Chateau to get pictures without others in the background. As we finished our first pass of the Chateau, a tour bus pulled up and there were a few more people about.
Every Chateau has an in-depth history
Taking an in-depth look, we discovered and learned a lot. This Chateau, which is on the river, played a essential role during WWII. The river was the line of demarcation between Vichy and Free France. The Resistance used the Grand Hall of Chateau, which was an enclosed bridge that crossed the river, as a way of moving equipment across. Of course, this had risks and some were caught.
The bridge that was used for banquets in the 1700’s and to assist the Resistance during the war
During Great War, the Chateau’s owner, at his own cost, converted the Grand Hall to a hospital. There, the injured were treated and convalesced. By the end of the war, some 2,600 soldiers had been treated there.
There were a number of paintings and tapestries. Most of these were originals and, surprisingly, they were, for the most part, not behind glass. Some of the tapestries had seen better days, however being 300 – 800 years old, that is understandable. Tapestries were mobile art back in the day. When the Royal court moved, the tapestries moved with them. They would then be hung up on the wall of the temporary lodging, be it a Chateau or other suitable place. Then, when the group moved on, they were taken down, packed in cabinets, and moved to the next location.
The Chateau also had vines in various places. This is France of course and that means wine. Today there is still a small winery on the grounds. As any good winery would have it, they offered tastings. The tasting were done in the cave, which has been storing wine since the 1600’s. All three of the selections, rose, white and red were wonderful.
Saturday November 16, 2024
Today was a planned down day. Laundry, walking, talking and taking it easy were the aims of today. Window shopping as well as visiting stores to take in the local scene. A long walk along the river gave us the view of the Loire that great.
Sunday November 17, 2024
Our plan for today was to visit Amboise Chateau, the local chateau. This residence is not actually on the water, it’s a bit up from the river. The elevated height gives it a commanding view of the river in both directions. All the better for collecting tolls back in the day. Remember, there are only two things that are certain in life, taxes being one of them. As we bought our tickets, we asked the clerk how busy the Chateau was. He told us that he had only sold six other tickets that morning.
As we entered the Chateau, the ‘Keep’ or entry room, had a roaring fire going. This was very welcome as it was an unseasonably cold day with clouds. The Chateau was very well done, and although it was the smallest of the three grounds we visited in the Lorie valley, it was charming. All of the rooms we visited were done up in period. There was furniture and displays. We were provided with an iPad that allowed you to virtually see the room as it was in either the 1500’s or 1800’s, depending on which room.
Technology meets history with interactive iPads.
Once inside the room, with the iPad activated, there were characters who provided further information on the meaning of the room. Back in the day, the Chateau owner held meetings, banquets, et al. Of course, no one wanted to be outdone, so the banquets were grand affairs.
On the exterior terraces, we were fortunate enough to get a burst of sun for some pictures. In the distance we noted an open-air market, which we thought would be a good place for lunch. Heading down the equivalent of about five or six flights of stairs, we were back into the city.
Meg with the Chateau Amboise in the background
Once outside, we headed home for to warm up and then off to the market. Similar to other markets in France, this one ended at 13:00, which was the time we arrived. There were still some merchants selling, but most were packing up. Despite this, we managed to get some treats and vin-a-chaud to warm us up.
For dinner, we disagreed on where to eat. In the end we decided to have a tagine as it was still cold. Regrettably, despite the restaurant’s positive reviews, this was likely the worst meal we had. Not only in France, but on our entire trip. Bland chicken with about 40 olives and one small piece of potato. We skipped desert and headed home, knowing you can’t always hit a home run.
Monday November 18, 2024
I headed out at 8 AM to find some baked goods for our breakfast. Similar to the restaurants, most bakeries were closed on Monday. I passed one that was open, however, based on reviews, I had been trying to avoid it. After walking around the small town for 20-minutes, I gave up and went to the poorly rated one.
For the record, this bakery was rated 2.4/5 on Google, which is pretty low. Reading the comments, most people said the food and pastries were good, but the service was horrible. The reviews were 100% accurate. I would call the middle-aged lady who was working there “Grumpy-puss”. She was so dour. I purchased our pain-au-raisins and bolted.
We headed off for Chateau Chambord, the largest chateau in the region. The drive was about 55-minutes on pleasant rural French roads, with very little traffic. Similar to other Chateaus’, we pretty much had the place to ourselves. While there were people around, most times, if you waited a minute or so, you could have the room to yourself.
We spent 3 ½ hours touring the Chateau. There were a number of highlights. The double helix staircase in the centre of the chateau was interesting. To truly see it work, Meg went up one set of stairs and I went up the other. There were windows every few steps and we waved at each other as we climbed up the levels.
Art is alway appreciated in France
Another highlight was two paintings by Botticelli. Now I do not profess to be an expert on art, nor do I know “who’s who” in the art world. That said, both paintings were of the Virgin Mary holding a young Jesus, who was reaching out to a young John the Baptist. They didn’t do it for me, however I can say I’ve seen them.
We returned to Amboise, where we warmed up our pizza we had bought the night before. Since most places were closed on Monday, we ordered a takeaway pie night before. The pizza warmed up was amazing. We could only imagine how heavenly it would have been had we eaten it fresh. It was one of the best thin crust pizzas’ I’ve ever eaten.
Fortunately, we ordered a large pizza, and that, along with fresh baguette with cheese, was a great dinner that evening. I don’t think I needed to mention the French wine… And that, was our time in Amboise. A delightful town, however heavily geared towards tourists.
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Travelling by bus from Pamplona to Bilboa, we had to change buses in San Sebastian. The bus terminal there is total chaos, but in an organized way. Buses pull in and passengers get off. Within 15 minutes, a new load of passengers gets on and the bus takes off. As we travelled along the highway, I managed to get some work done and Meg looked out the window.
Arriving in Bilboa, we walked the 10 minutes to our hotel and were happy with the room assignment. A large room with two large bay windows overlooking a park and the theater. Exploring on foot, we wandered along the river to the Guggenheim Museum and found “The Spider”. For those who are unaware, there are a number of huge spider statues throughout the world. Some are permanent and some are rotating. We’ve seen three of the permanent ones. Ottawa, Tokyo and now Bilboa. There is one in Doha, Qatar, that we somehow missed when we were there in January. I guess it’s a reason to go back.
Bilboa from there top of the town
Needing a break from restaurants, crowds and noise, we ordered take-away for dinner and ate in our room. Having the window open with warm air flowing in was delightful. We listened to the music from the park and the general happiness of the warm night. It was certainly not gourmet, but it was just what we needed.
Sunday November 3rd, 2024
Bilboa was a hold out during the Civil war and some of the fighting took place on “the hill”. There is a funicular up the hill and we decided to get to it early. Going up at 8:30, we were the only people in our car. No one got in the way of our selfies! Once at the top, we saw Bilboa from above and watched the city come to life as the sun creeped over the mountains.
After exploring the mountain top, we returned down and found a pastry shop for breakfast. Then we wandered the town and enjoyed the overall atmosphere.
Later in the day, towards sunset, we returned to the funicular and headed back up the mountain to see it during golden hour. It was neat to see the sun fade and all the lights come on.
Monday November 4, 2024
An empty square in San Sebastián at 4 PM – travelling off season has benefits!
We left Bilboa and headed to the famous San Sebastian. While the bus ride was only an hour, we enjoyed travelling along the coast line, seeing numerous villages. Once in San Sebastian, we settled into our apartment and headed out to explore.
We were only a two-minute walk to the boardwalk and beach where we could see the Bay of Biscay, green trees covering the local hills and wonderful architecture.
Tuesday November 5, 2024
Our first full day in San Sebastian and we had lucked out with the weather. The high was forecast at 24C, 7C above normal and not a cloud in the sky. We did a walking tour to learn what about the area and history. This was one of the best walking tours we have ever taken.
Discussions about the Spanish Royal family, the history of the Basques, the Civil war were all intriguing. The Basques have a distinct identity. Not Spanish and not French. They are Basques -and proud of it. During the years of Franco, the culture was repressed and speaking the Basque language was an automatic execution. Things have improved since then.
The Basques have always been excellent sailors. They also know their way around the kitchen, as is evidenced by the great restaurants and pinchos you find on every corner.
When our tour was over, we found some recommended pinchos, away from the tourist area. Then, I headed to the beach for a swim. The water was “refreshing”, but in a good way. It is pretty impressive to be swimming in the Atlantic Ocean on Nov 5th in northern Spain. While the water was not as warm as I might have liked, I certainly was not the only one swimming.
Wednesday November 6, 2024
We were up early today and after taking pictures of the high tide, headed out on a hike. Urgull
San Sebastián at sunrise – empty beach in early Nov, but still warm enough to swim!
Hill was the highest point and main fortification of San Sebastian back in the 1500’s. There are still cannons, and old walls on the mountain. Climbing up, we got amazing views of the harbour and two of the beaches.
Later in the afternoon, we headed out on another pincho run. This time to a cider house. Basque cider is unique. It’s not carbonated, so they have developed a trick. The bartender took our glasses and held them about 6’ from a huge barrel of cider. Then he opened a small spigot and let the cider come flying out into the glass. Hitting the glass, the cider “foamed” up, giving it a hint of bubbles. The glasses are not filled very high, necessitating frequent visits to the bar where gossip is exchanged. It works for them.
Thursday November 7, 2024
We ventured to Getaria today. It’s a small town, about an hour from San Sebastián. There are local buses that run on a regular schedule between all the cities in the Basque area. We tried to use our Bilbao transit card, but it would not work, despite the web page saying it would.
When we arrived, we headed into the town and were impressed by the huge church. Then we explored the town, which didn’t really have much to it. Deciding to get a better view, we hiked up the local hill where we saw great views. In the distance we could see some of San Sebastian’s buildings as well as the Atlantic Ocean.
Returning down the hill, we stopped for a pastry on the main street and watched life go by. The locals certainly have their routines. Since we did not bring our swimsuits, we were not able to take advantage of the beach and we headed back to San Sebastián.
Friday November 8, 2024
A Spanish cork tree.
This was our last morning in San Sebastián and I headed out for an early morning walk to the palace and gardens. The city was just waking up and there were the customary lines at coffee and pastry shops. The promenade was busy with early morning walkers and joggers and I found the beach almost totally deserted.
Walking along the beach, I made my way to the gardens. As it was November, there were not really any flowers, mostly grassy lawns with bare earth patches where flowers likely are in season. There were a number of signs about the palace, the Royal Family et al. The building is now a city asset and used for the film festival in September, as well as other official events.
On to France!
We made our way to the local train station and then took a commuter train from San Sebastián to Hendaye France. It was a 35-minute train ride and once we arrived, we found the French train station, only 200 metres away. Our Henday – Bordeaux train was showing on time, departing in one-hour. We found a park bench and had our picnic lunch in the noon time sun.
Our thoughts on Spain, this time…
Several people had told us not to judge Spain based only on Barcelona – which we don’t particularly care for. (Much as Canada shouldn’t be judged based only on Toronto). We are so glad that we took their advice and explored a different area. We would love to return to the Basque country, but there are also so many other areas of Spain to explore. The bucket list only seems to grow!
Thanks for reading. We’ll post about France shortly.
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