The next morning we are headed up the Thames River to our final port of call – Greenwich.
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About 15 miles east of central London we pass through the “Barrier” which was constructed starting in 1974 to control flooding of London which has been a problem since Roman times. Storm surges can raise the water level about 11′ and flood about 45 square miles of the London area. There have been 221 flood defence closures since it was completed. We pass under a gondola for transport over the river. And pass the O2 Arena which was originally constructed at the Millennium Dome back around 2000 and then remodeled to be this big event venue. Madonna played there last year for instance. Comments from our local communitarians report that the original tab on public funds was not popular. We turned our ship around at about this point and backed up the river about a half a mile to our Greenwich “anchorage” spot which was a few miles down from the Tower of London etc. And do our final tour of Greenwich. Starting with a look at the Cutty Sark – a fast tea clipper in its day but now a shoreside attraction. Here’s a statue of Walter Raleigh whose illustrious career includes credit for establishing Jamestown and Virginia. He was a favorite of Queen Elizabeth but ticked her off when he married one of the gals on her staff without her permission so spent much of his final years as a “resident” of the Tower of London” Needs no introduction. Also needs no introduction We visit many buildings designed by Christopher Wren, some of which started out as a hospital and retirement place for sailors. Current use for some are for Trinity Music College. This frieze depicts the dead body of Nelson being received by Britannia (presumably into heaven?) after his death at Trafalgar. A look back at the city from Greenwich. And a look up at the Royal Observatory which played a major role in the history of astronomy and navigation and is the location that establishes the Prime Meridian – zero longitude. The next morning we head to Heathrow and get a tour through London with a peak at the Tower of London, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, etc. Our trip home was smooth sailing as Viking had us going first class which was very nice. -
We’re into the final stretch with two stops in England before we head to the airport for return to Seattle. First stop is the Port of Dover with a side trip to Canterbury.
Here are the white cliffs looking north from the ship. 
And cliffs looking south. 
And from our bus on our way out of town. 
Here’s a view looking across the English Channel from the fields above town. The white cliffs in France can be seen on the other side. 
And here is Dover Castle. Founded in the 11th century and described as the “Key to England” due to its defensive significance throughout history. Not quite as big as Windsor Castle so almost the biggest castle in England. Lots of history here with additions to the castle over the centuries. Always a military fortress and never a residence. We just did a drive by. 
Our excursion for the day was a tour of Canterbury which is about a 30 minute bus ride away from Dover. Our tour guide filled us in history – including the “Murder in the Cathedral” of Thomas Becket in 1170 at the instigation of King Henry II, along with aftermath of that event. After parking the bus, we had a nice 15 minute stroll into town. 
We eventually get a peak at the cathedral spires. Forefront building is a priory that was part of the church property that Henry VIII confiscated when he split away from the Pope at the Catholics in 1535 or so. 
We go by the Marlowe Theater and this statue commemorating him. He was a contemporary and friend of Shakespeare who was also a playwright. Born in Canterbury and died at age 29 with differing sensational accounts of his death in 1593. 
We make it to High Street with lots of folks and shops. Here’s a look back at one of the gates through the medieval wall that once surrounded the cuty. 
Here’s a statue of Geoffrey Chaucer – best known for The Canterbury Tales. He’s been called the “father of English literature”. Died in 1400. Buried in Westminster Abbey. 
We pass by lots of neat old historic buildings along High Street. 
And eventually get to one of the gates to the Cathedral Yard. 
Which was very impressive from the outside. Much of the exterior is covered up for refurbishing. We opted to not buy tickets for the interior tour and instead cruised around the local streets for our free time. -
Cherbourg, Normandy
We made two ports of call in France – Cherbourg in the Normandy region and Honfleur in Calvados region.
Cherbourg is the port at the north of the Cotentin peninsula at the west end of the Normandy beaches of D-Day fame. Our excursion took us to visit the small town of Saint-Mere-Eglise (just in from the Utah Beach area) and to Utah Beach. 
One paratrooper, John Steele, got hung up on the steeple and became well known. They have a chute and dummy hanging there now for show-and-tell’ 
He faked being dead for awhile but the Germans figured that out and took him prisoner, but he managed to escape a day or two later and got back into action with his unit. 
The stained glass windows got a remake after the D-Day action. Here’s Mother Mary with a couple of paratroopers. 
Here is the old City Hall a block or so west of the Church that housed the German headquarters from 1940 until they had to leave after D-Day. 
Saint-Mere-Eglise is a pleasant little town and soon to be very crowded with the 60th anniversary of the D-Day invasion. 
It was nice to see quite a few American flags in town and at the beach. 
And then we go to the Utah Beach – about 10 miles away. 
Ted Roosevelt Jr was a general that came ashore here at Utah Beach. He was The only general that was part of the landings on June 6. He made some great decisions and led many troops to the right places and won a Medal of Honor for his action that day. Omar Bradley said it was the most heroic action that he was aware of in WW2. Unfortunately Ted Jr died of a heart attack a month later – age 55. Buried here in Normandy. 
Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about D-Day history having made a career out of it. He had a strong French accent and spoke quickly so we missed some of his wisdom. 
HONFLEUR. Honfleur is at the mouth of the River Seine – so downstream of Paris. Just upstream from our docking location is a cable-stayed bridge over the river that was the world-longest cable-stayed bridge until about 20 years ago when Korea exceeded it. 
We started our day with a walk to town and a self-guided tour and coffee and croissant break. 
Honfleur was the central location for the start of impressionist art. About eight of the famous impressionists made pictures here. 
Our afternoon tour included lots of history to add to a pleasant visit. This old warehouse was built to store salt that was needed to preserve all the fish caught locally before they had refrigeration. The roof framing was built by ship-builders who knew how to build ships but not so good at conventional roof framing. 
Samuel Champlain left from here on his way to discover the St Lawrence and found Quebec. 
Saint Catherine Church is the oldest wood-frame church in France dating back to 15th century. For some reason they had the bell tower separate from the main church. 
Here are some pics around town – all very enjoyable. 
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A Coruna
Our one port of call in Spain was in A Coruna in the northwest corner of Spain. The region is called Galicia and they speak Galician (Spanish being a second language). Coruna is not far from Santiago de Compostela – the alleged burial site of the remains of the apostle St James, and destination for many “pilgrims” who walk there from wherever they live.
Here’s how the town looks from the ship. Our tour was a walk from the ship to the old part of town which is off to the right of this pic. 
It happened to be cool and rainy for our tour. 
We find more narrow pedestrian-only streets. That’s Marty with the pink poncho! 
Many of the old buildings had high-end remodels over the years. 
Here’s a restored 12th-century church. 
And one other restored 12th-century church with a nativity scene over the front door including the three wise men. 
Here is City Hall on Maria Pita Square. 
A statue of Maria Pita graces the square. She was famous for inspiring the local defenders from the attacking “English Armada” of 1589, the year following the defeat of the Spanish Armada. She apparently killed an English Captain, presumably Francis Drake’s brother and led the charge to force the retreat of the English.
Here’s a poor-light photo of the statue of Maria with a dead soldier at her feet.
Our tour guide highly touted the local beer, Estrella Galicia, so we had to try one at our snack break. 
Here I am with Alabama Rex at our snack break. 
And back on board for our final sea day as we move from Spain to France we have a farewell and “thank you” get-together for our bridge group. The white-shirt fellow is George, our fearless bridge instructor and leader for four months along with his wife, Anne. Rami in the blue tee shirt had a heart attack in Morocco but quickly got a new stent to fix him up and is back on board. 
We know all of these folks and lots of their particulars. Good fun. -
We finally made it to Europe and made two stops in Portugal – Lisbon and Porto.
Lisbon
Lisbon is a few miles up the Rio Tejo from the Atlantic. Arrival had us go by the landmark medieval fortified Belem Tower and the under a big suspension bridge.
Lisbon is a few miles up the Rio Tejo from the Atlantic. Arrival had us go by the landmark medieval fortified Belem Tower and the under a big suspension bridge. 
Our ship was docked right next to the old part of Lisbon. Marty and I spent the first afternoon exploring on our own through the Alfama and Baixa neighborhoods. Alfama is on a hill with streets laid out by the Visigoths 1000 or more years ago. 
At the top of the hill there is a big castle – Castelo de Sao Jorge. We had a look from outside but didn’t wait in the long line to go inside. Here’s the entry gate. 
And here are the towers of a nearby church that we also declined to go inside (entry fee) 
We then drop down to the Baixa neighborhood and start with a big square. Here’s a statue of one of the Portuguese kings. 
We pass by many sidewalk restaurants on the pedestrian-only streets as we head toward the river. 
And find another big square down by the river with lots of showing statues etc. 
The next day we’re off on an excursion starting with a drive through Lisbon on our way to the nearby city of Belem. Here’s that medieval fortified Tower of Belem again. 
And then we visit the Jeronimos Monastery. Late Gothic vintage. Still being used to host important state events. Lots of visitors lined up to make a visit. 
Here’s a nice sunset from the World Cafe on our ship as we head north for our visit to Porto. 
PORTO. A bit north of Lisbon and a few miles up the Douro river is the city of Porto. 
Our drive from the port where we were docked to the city of Porto took us along a nice beach with surfers and this art piece made from fishing nets. 
We make it to town. Here is a fountain with Gryffins below. Our tour guide tells us that JK Rowling conceived of the Harry Potter idea here in Porto when she was married to a local guy (soon to be divorced after one daughter arrived). The Gryffins led to Gryffindor. 
Baroque Style Cathedral 
Here’s another that reportedly has many tons of gold leaf on the interior. The Portuguese were flush with gold from their new world and Asia trading empire. 
Here’s a statue of a famous couple – she being naked in this scene. He being a famous local author. They were imprisoned for a year for being adulterers. They were released when the old guy that she had been forced to marry died. 
We head down to the river. 
The city of Gaia is on the other side of the Douro. 
Lots of high bridges cross the river. 
This one was built in the 1890’s and was designed by Eiffel. 
Lots of shops and housing along the river. 
Porto and the Douro river valley are the source of Port wine. These boats are the traditional boats with barrels to transport the Port down the river. 
Check out the rudder, tiller, and helmsman’s platform on this rig! 
Quite a crowd along the river with lots of folks lined up for an afternoon cruise up the river. 
Here’s our entry and exit point from the riverside scene. -
Agadir
We made three stops in Morocco – Agadir, Casablanca, and Tangier. All very interesting. The first stop, Agadir, has a population of about a million. They had a big earthquake in 1960 that wrecked the city and killed about a third of the population. So the main city was rebuilt.
Here’s the Wall of Remembrance for the earthquake victims. 
One building that survived the earthquake was the big fortress up on the hill above the town. We rode up a gondola to the fortress, aka the Kasbah. 
We said “No thanks” to the camel ride option 
Nice views of the town and beach from the Kasbah 
Here’s a nice mosque in town. Morocco is 99% Muslim but seem to be very open to the handful of others in the country. And the Muslims here are relaxed about face and head coverings although most women had a head covering. 
We visited a nice garden 
Signage in Agadir includes three languages – Arabic, Tachelhit, and French. Tachelhit is a Berber language with roots in Greek and Hebrew and is spoken by more than half of the Moroccans. The Moroccan population has about 60% Berber heritage. 
Wall construction in the garden was interesting – made from small pieces of granite. 
The other mosque that we visited in town had an impressive front door. 
Our guide (you can call me “Stevie Wonder”) had a story about door knocker functions relative to male vs female visitors. He had us all singing “I just called to say I love you” for the end of the bus ride back to the ship. 
CASABLANCA. The next stop was Casablanca, population about 4.3 million – the 3rd biggest port in Africa after the big ones in Egypt and South Africa. Our city tour had us go by Rick’s Cafe which was just outside the port. They played a clip from the movie in our warm-up talk about Casablanca. 
And then we’re off to the Hassan II Mosque, finished in 1993 with an estimated cost of $600 million. The tallest minaret in the world – high as a 60 story building. 
Room for 25,000 worshippers inside plus another 80,000 outside in the square! 
And then we visit a “cathedral” that the French managed to get built before they more or less left the country. Notre Dame de Lourdes 
With nice stained glass windows 
And then off to the royal palace. I guess the King has a palace in all of the big cities. Here’s the front door of one of them. 
Our guide had a pleasant surprise to discover one of her cousins, who she didn’t recognize at first, was one of the palace guards. Worth a big hug. 
There are some very stylish doors in town. 
TANGIER 
Early in our tour of the city we get a look back at our ship with the Rock of Gibraltar in the background. 
We cruised through various neighborhoods in town en route to the west side of the city where we took at look at the lighthouse at Cape Spartel – the point where ships turn south to get around Africa after coming out of the Mediterranean. 
And said a quick hello to some camels as we headed to our next attraction. 
Next up is a visit to the Hercules Cave. Apparently this cave has been occupied by folks for many centuries. They would chip out circular stones from the limestone to use for grinding grain etc. 
And then we head back to Tangier and visit St Andrews Church which is notable for serving all religions under one roof. 
The altar has Muslim, Christian, Hindu and Jewish elements. 
And now we enter “The Kasba” – the fortress on the hill 
Lot’s of narrow streets, small shops, restaurants, street vendors, and handsome entry doors. 
Tea and cookie break in this restaurant with view roof deck and fancy ceilings. 
We make a stop at a shop selling Moroccan rugs and lots of antique Moroccan handicrafts. We got inspired to buy a nice antique vase which will be shipped to Suncadia for us to find a good landing spot. 
We exit down at the lower level. Our guide was hoping our tour would get over in time for him to make the afternoon prayers that the muezzins were calling for. -
We had one day of touring on Tenerife which is one of the Canary Islands of Spain. The ship docked at Sant Cruz de Tenerife. The islands are volcanic and formed as the plates moved over a hot spot such as the Hawaiian Islands and The Indian Ocean islands we visited last month.
The Tenerife Opera House, reminiscent of Sydney 
Our tour had us drive up to the Teide National Park and visit Mt Teide which is over 12,000′ high. After getting out of town, we drove through pine forests and above the clouds and had views like being in an airplane. 
One of the other canary Islands is in the distance in this view, and town below 
We made a stop at a Visitor Center and Botanical Garden. 
Stretched our legs in some moonscape-like terrain. 
And eventually arrived at the main Visitor Center and viewing spot. 
The 12,000′ Teide peak is in the distance. We’re standing at about 6,000′. 
And back on board, we need to say good-bye to our two room stewards who have been cleaning our room twice a day since we arrived 3.5 months ago. They are going home after Morocco. Edwin is from Honduras. Galhi is from Indonesia. -
After seven sea days we arrived at the westernmost point of Africa – Dakar, Senegal. Big city with population of about 4.3 million. 95% Muslim. Green in the southern portion and savannah-like in the north.
Our shore excursion started with a packed ferry boat ride out to Isle de Goree which is a World UNESCO site due to its history as a shipping port for slaves. 
The big story at Goree is the slave trade action with the House of Slaves being restored and open for visitors like us. Slaves in chains were packed into rooms on the ground floor. Families were separated as their destinations were most often different. The keepers and handlers has nice quarters upstairs. The young gals were made available to the guards and if they got pregnant could avoid the trip to the Americas, which apparently was a preferred pathway for them.
Here’s a view of the upper and lower levels.
A room for the juveniles. 
And the “Door of No Return” which was the last look at the African homeland for the slaves being shipped out. 
Our guide gave us a very moving account of the history of slaves being shipped out of Africa, families separated, many deaths and concentration camp conditions for more than 300 years. 
The quarters upstairs for the keepers looked very nice. 
Here’s a view of the House of Slaves from the sea with the “Door of No Return” to the waiting ship. 
We also toured the town. Lots of narrow streets. 
Baobab tree – 
We watched him make this piece in about 5 minutes. 
Here are some of his wares for sale. 
We walked across town to tour the Natural History Museum which was housed in the old fort. 
Here’s a view from the fort of Dakar and our ship at the dock. 
And a cute gal on the upper deck 
A statue out front 
Lunch break included this fellow playing a 22-string “Koru”. 
And then we’re off for a bus tour of Dakar. Here is a big mosque. Interesting to note that the Senegalese do not feel the need to wear the normal Muslim headgear. 
And our final stop was for a look at the African Renaissance Monument. Very Big, and 198 steps in the heat to get a close look! 
And now we’re off to the Canary Islands with a stop for touring at Tenerife. -
After one sea day from Cape Town we arrived at Walvis Bay in Namibia – a country with the big Namib Desert, lots of high sand dunes, and not that many people – about 3 million.
Our excursion was great fun with the first stop to look at the pink flamingos – many thousands of them! 
These Lesser Flamingos are pink due to their diet of algae. Namibia also has Greater Flamingos which are bigger (about 4′ tall) and white because they do not eat the algae. 
Next up was a drive in our Land Rover to the top of a sand dune and a demo with a magnet showing us that there is a lot of magnetite (iron oxide) in the sand which allows the dunes to get really big! The drive was a bit hair-raising with some serious tilting to the right and spinning wheels going up and then a steep pitch off a cornice to come down. 
Next was a stop to show us and discuss the big salt works operation. They have many hectares of drying beds, lots of sun, not much rain, and a quiet end of the bay that is protected by a sand spit that extends about 10 miles north. Salt is a big export for Namibia for use around the world. Then we drive several miles up the sand spit/peninsula. 
And get into the kayaks 
To spend some time with the local Cape Fur Seals who have a permanent home on the peninsula! Many thousands of them! And curious juveniles that had the potential to jump on board our kayak which was a bit disconcerting. 
The local light house provides high-priced accommodations for those interested. But before booking you should know that the seal population has quite an aroma! 
The return trip across the bay to the main shore included a visit from the “Namibian Air Force” as our captain described them. 
Which are Great White Pelicans and apparently have a close relationship with our water taxi that happens to keep a bucket of mullet available for visitors! They start on the roof and probe the boss for some handouts from above. 
And then proceed into the cockpit to make friends with the cruise guests. 
And then this fellow came aboard for some handouts! 
And seemed to know his favorite spot. 
And reminded me of a dog looking for snacks while I’m doing the dishes -
Richard’s Bay is up north in the Kwazulu Natal (province). Our safari was to a game reserve about 1.5 hours north of the port. Our tour guide en route described the Zulu culture that we were driving through. Many of the homes had a circular out-building that was for their communion with their ancestors who were disinclined to “commune” with the living in the rectangular rooms in the main residences. Also much info was shared about the negotiations for a bride that start with a price of 11 cows and then proceed from there with much back and forth.
Our first stop in South Africa was Richard’s Bay where we went on our first safari. Our safari guide is a Zulu, nice guy, well informed. 
We cruise in a rig like this. 
Here are some of the characters we saw that day. 
This reserve only has three elephants – all females. The males are “too destructive” to the plants! 
Rhinos travel as family groups – Mom, Dad, and the young-un. 
Water buffalo like the mud hole. 
Wart hogs also stick together. 
Zebras were also hanging around the mud hole. 
Nice lodge and lunch break. 
PORT ELIZABETH. Then we head down the coast to Port Elizabeth and went for another safari adventure. Here we had the Xhosa tribal group who are “clickers” with their language. Our guide on the bus was a Xhosa and entertained us with his ability to fold clicks into his speech – very impressive! 
The Pumba Private Game Reserve was our destination for that day. We started with a hippo show – about 12 of them hanging in the pond with lots of big mouth shows etc. 
The impalas were numerous. 
Lots of zebras 
And a bigger elephant population – about 17 – including several males. This little one is about 6 or 7 months old. 
And here we have about 12 giraffe that have their eyes on a pair of lionesses that were nearby. When one of the lions started walking in their direction they all moved quickly away. 
The lionesses decided to leave the scene and gave a friends a close-up look. 
The giraffe were glad to see them go. 
Here are some other characters keeping an eye on things. 
They threw a dinner and dance party on the ship as we headed down to Cape Town. 
CAPE TOWN. We rounded the Cape with gale force winds and then were delayed by about four hours getting into port as it was closed due to the high winds. Here’s the view from our holding pattern. Table Mountain is hiding in the clouds and we still have not seen it. 
Due to the delay, our tour down to the Cape of Good Hope was cancelled and we were lined up for a tour of Cape Town instead. Here’s a statue of Mandela at the balcony that he spoke from just after his release from prison in 1990 after 27 years of imprisonment. 
And this is the church that Desmond Tutu preached from. 
Parliament Building. 
We strolled through the “Company’s Garden”, the oldest garden in South Africa, which was established by the Dutch East India Company in the 1650’s, originally intended to be a vegetable garden for passing ships.
Here’s an impressive tree in the Garden.
Cecil Rhodes has a statue in the Garden. Our black tour guide pointed out that as a colonizer, he is not very popular with the black folks. 
I’m not sure what the significance of this guy and the horse is. 
Next up was a drive through the Bo-Kaap neighborhood, formally known as the Malay Quarter. It is a former racially segregated area. Starting in 1763, the owner of the block of land built rental housing for his slaves which were mostly imported from Malaysia, Indonesia, and other parts of Africa. The area is about 60% Muslim. Colorful homes, and many signs supporting the Palestinians. 
Our tour ended with a stop at a local nightclub with glass of champagne and great live African music. 
Evening entertainment back on board …
Charlie and Marty’s World Cruise 