I am struck by the irony that, on the eve of, arguably, the most controversial presidential election in the history of the United States that is being closely followed all over the world, we are watching the results from our suite on Nautica, in the Gulf of the Suez Canal, one of the most volatile…
Continue reading →We are off again. Check out my Journeys page to find our latest itinerary as we will be cruising back-to-back segments from Rome to Dubai and Dubai to Cape Town for two months, from October 21, 2016 to December 21, 2016. These are mostly places we have never visited and, if we don’t go now,…
Continue reading →Many international flights seem to leave later in the day, which only causes a problem when it’s necessary to check out of a hotel early, and then figure out what to do all with all your luggage in tow until departure time. Our last day in Cape Town, we figured this out ahead and hired…
Continue reading →“Let’s meet in Cape Town!”, we promised, with a wink, when we saw Andy and Tammy before this cruise began. We live in the same hometown, and met when they were the Cruise Director and Assistant Cruise Director on our long Insignia voyage. While we’ve been on Marina, they were back on Insignia, and our…
Continue reading →If you mention Africa, no doubt most will think of its iconic wildlife. It’s why most people come to the continent, in pursuit of sighting the Big Five. The term Big Five goes back to the time of big game hunters and refers to the five most difficult, dangerous, and also the most popular trophy…
Continue reading →South African wine has a history dating back to the mid-1600’s. Later decimated by phylloxera, the end of apartheid sparked a new wave of interest and innovation in the vineyards of the Cape, but for much of the 20th century, it received little attention on the world stage. Now, access to international markets has unleashed…
Continue reading →“This is a pretty and singular town; it lies at the foot of an enormous wall, which reaches into the clouds, and makes a most imposing barrier. Cape Town is a grand inn, on the great highway to the east.” ~Charles Darwin, in a letter to his sister, Catherine, 1836 There was a collective sigh…
Continue reading →If you could travel to anywhere on your own continent, which place would you most like to see? Interestingly, for many Africans we asked throughout our trip, their answer to that question was…Namibia. It seems to hold a special fascination for the people of that mainland. Popular for eco-tourism, Namibia, I found out, has a…
Continue reading →When you think of the most expensive cities in the world for expats, the usual suspects that come to mind are places like Hong Kong, Singapore, Zurich. Certainly not Luanda. Yet, this capital city of Angola trumps them all. For years, the city drew attention for its bloody civil war that racked the country from…
Continue reading →It seemed like the thing to do in São Tomé and Principé was to get out of town, since most of the ship’s tours were bird watching, coffee plantations, waterfalls. That’s usually a clue. And justly so, as it is said to be enhanced with a wealth of natural attractions including palm-fringed beaches, emerald rainforests,…
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