Author: Dan

Our first overseas travel in 2022 was really an opportunity to see Expo 2020 in Dubai before it closed at the end of March. This was a chance for Dan to return after about 20 years and for Marcia, Doug and Melanie to see Dubai for the first time.

In the 1950’s the main industry in Dubai was pearl diving and it’s population was about 30,000. Today it is a city of 2.8 million, about 90% of whom are expats. It is a very modern city that can brag about it’s excesses.

We stayed a the Sheraton Hotel at the Mall which is 2.5 million sf and has an indoor ski slope. We rode the metro a lot, to the Expo, the waterfront, the old city, etc. The Expo had representation from 192 countries plus three theme exhibit along with performance stages, restaurants, etc. The highlight for us was to have Senior badges that allowed us to cut the 2-3 lines at many of the pavilions. Over three days we enjoyed a banquet of experiences presented by countries large and small. Heartwarming was the Ukrainian pavillion covered on the interior with post it notes from visitors from around the world.

In between our trips to Expo, we explored the waterfront, the old city with it’s souqs and even got to the 147th floor of the 160 story Burj Khalifa. After five days it was time to move on the Egypt.

We arrived in Cairo the evening before Ramadan, the traffic was heavy as the whole country made last minute preparation. This is a city of 9.5 million people that ranges from ancient to very modern. We arrived at Mena House, a magnificent hotel originally built in 1886 at the foot of the Giza pyramids. We took in the light show on the sphinx and pyramids our first night. The next day our guide showed us the sights on the west bank of the Nile. In addition to going around the pyramids, we even hiked up inside.

While the big three are close together in Giza, the pyramids stretch out for over 40 miles. Looking at the surrounding desert one would wonder how one could feed the labor or even provide fresh water. A little research revealed that at the time they would built about 3,000 BC, this are was a savanna with numerous lakes.

Time to move on again, this time to the Red Sea resort and snorkeling on the reefs. One reason the Red Sea is crystal clear is that most of the coast line in uninhabited desert; therefore, minimal human pollution. We stayed at the Sheraton at Soma Bay, one of a number of upscale resort hotels around this bay. A chance to relax a little, swim and snorkel, and enjoy some Egyptian food and wine.

Our driver picked us up at 9am for the 180 mile ride thru the mountains and desert to Luxor. The afternoon was in the Valley of the Kings where now the burial chambers were underground rather than in pyramids. An amazing complex with hieroglyphics that were astonishingly well preserved. Other valleys for queens, warriors, and laborers who had a chance to dig their tombs on their days off.

We started the next day with a sunrise hot air balloon ride at 5 am, beautiful ride enjoyed by all. On to Karnak Temple built by the great warrior who created one of the largest empires. This entire complex together with Luxor were basically lost to time as centuries of flooding from the Nile buried them in sediment up to 40 feet deep. Great archeological work has now exposed these magnificent sites. The Avenue of Sphinx that stretches about a mile and half between the sites was only opened to the public about six months ago. In the dry season this was a road, in the flood season it was a canal.

We ended the trip with a day back in Cairo and had a chance to visit the Egyptian Museum, a great Mosque and the various souqs on our walk back to the Hotel. That evening we took a 3.5 hr flight back to Dubia and after a 2 hour layover enjoyed a 17.5 hr flight back to Miami.

Portugal Road Trip 2021

Bom Dia (s), good days in Portugal. Leaving from Barcelona, we flew to Porta on the Atlantic Coast in the Northwest. Our first reaction was how clean the city was with no litter, no graffiti, no grime on the buildings, no gum on the white marble streets. This was consistent throughout the country with some minor exceptions in Lisbon.

Our second reaction was that everyone was wearing masks despite the high vaccination rate and the low positive testing. A Covid test was required at our hotel, the self test kits are $3.00 at any pharmacy, we picked up a batch. This is a unified country after many centuries of foreign domination and oppression. “The First Global Village” by Martin Page is a very good read.

Our third reaction was the most everyone we encountered spoke fluent English. Our fourth was that almost every storefront was occupied and that throughout the country we saw both public and private investment.

Beyond those observations, the food was great, the sites amazing and the people gracious. We would highly recommend a visit to anyone.

From Porto, famous for its Port wines, we traveled up the beautiful Duoro valley where the port wine grapes are grown on the terraced hillsides on both sides of the river. If you are in Porto, you can take a train or boat boat up the river or do a combination….highly recommended.

Moving south we passed more vineyards, olive groves, apple and pear orchards, walnut trees….all manor of agriculture, the specific determined topography, soils and micro climates. Traveling on to Marvao, we encountered a walled city on a mountain top. This turned out to be typical along the boarder with Spain, more fortress than cathedrals to see in Portugal.

We continued on to the south coast with a stop for a few days in our favorite city Evora. Just the right size, full of heritage and away from the tourist beach crowd…the water here is about 58 degrees. “its for looking, not swimming” is a local joke.

Largo is typical of the coastal cities with its beaches and tourist accommodations and lack of parking. Unlike the coast of Spain, there are no high-rise building and a scattering of mid rise. A stop at Sagres took us to the propertied location of the famous navigation school reported to have been established by the great Henry the Navigator. Subsequent reading have disabused us of much of this ledgend; however, the nautical knowledge and tools used by the early Portuguese explorers opened the west to an understanding of the scope of the world.

On to Lisbon for a few days exploring its museums, restaurants, shops and even the aquarium. Quite a history, in 1755 there was a tsunami that originated in the Caribbean and was felt as far north as the British Isles and Belin. It struck the Lisbon on November 1, All Saints Day when the entire city was required to be in church. Only 5 of the 65 churches survived the devastation of the wave, it is estimated that more than two thirds of the population perished in the flooding, fires and aftermath of this event. The story goes that the king, Jose I asked his youngest minister what should be done and the future Marquis de Pombal said “Bury the dead. Feed the living. Rebuild the city.” Pombal did just that for the next 22 years virtually single handed and without budget constraints. A remarkable feat to remember as you walk the streets.

Sintra is an amazing little city about 15 miles from Lisbon. Ferdinand II built a palace here in the 19th century and what followed was a series of magnificent residences by those seeking access to the throne. Today the entire city is a World Heritage site. Give this place at least a couple of days.

A quick stop in Nazare, home of the 30 meter waves for surfers…sorry seas were dead calm. On to Coimbra, the university town with one of the oldest universities in Europe. Outside of Coimbia is Conimbriga, a major Roman city lost to the ravages of peasants, barbarians and time. A reminder of the fragility of our current situation.

Returning to Barcelona, we reflected on our decision of make our residence in Spain as opposed to Portugal. While we loved Portugal, we have to admit we also like the larger cities in particular Barcelona that is three times the size of the largest city in Portugal. We were also extremely fortunate to visit during Covid and the absence of tourists. No hotel reservations required, no waiting in line, no crowed restaurants….perfecto!

Off to Alaska once again. We have boated in South East Alaska a number of times including the summers of 2015 and 2016 on True East and now twice on a chartered 42′ Nordic Tug from Auke Bay Charters in 2020 and now 2021.

While these are familiar waters, there is an endless choice of bay and inlets to visit, the weather is never the same and the wildlife makes different choices each season of each year as to their whereabouts. Net result is that each trip is a new adventure.

Marcia’s brother Mike and his partner Cheryl arrived a day in advance and did a great job of provisioning the boat before we even go there. As a result we were off the dock quickly and headed west in Icy Straight to Swanson Harbor where we spent our first night at anchor. From there we headed south down Chatham Straight to Tenakee Harbor where we docked for the night and enjoyed a long walk along this village. Continuing down Chatham we arrived at Baranof Warm Springs that is one of our favorite stops. The waterfall, the bath house fed by the hot springs, the walk to the lake and the natural hot spring next to the river.

At Baranof we spent two days waiting for a break in the weather before heading down Peril Straight on route to Sitka. Our first night we anchored at Appleton Bay and on our second we anchored at Baby Bear Bay. Planning to make Sturgis Narrows at slack tide, Dan decided to follow the only other boat in the bay as it was departing. Good thing as we discovered dead batteries and Dave and Marilyn on Misty One had jumper cables. Thru the Narrows and on to Sitka. There we met up with our old friends on m/y Discovery for a nice visit. Mike and Cheryl spend a day with us at Goddard Hot Springs before they left us in Sitka. We then had a couple of days to get the boat fixed and reprovision.

Marcia’s brother Ed and sister Jeanie then joined us for the trip back to Juneau. We returned up thru Sturgis Narrows with an overnight at Baby Bear, then headed out Peril Straight for a return visit to Baranof Warm Springs. Once again we enjoyed the springs and got to enjoy a young bear swimming across the bay. Once again we spent an extra day here waiting for some weather to pass. We then proceeded east thru Fredrick’s Sound and into Snug Harbor in Gambia Bay. To our amazement, this was a day without whales.

Next stop was Tracy Arm north up Steven’s Passage. On arrival we where treated to a pod of humpbacks and a coupe of whales breaching for all to see. The trip up Tracy Arm and back is a full day with ever changing ice conditions. This year it was relatively clear up to the face of the north arm. What a disappointment to find the face of the glacier has receded several hundred feet from even last year and looked grim. The south arm had a lot of floating ice and looked it’s magnificent self.

With one more stop at Taku Harbor where the remains of a major cannery are still visible. It was then back to Auke Bay at the north end of Juneau where Steve treated us to dungeness crab and halibut before send us off the airport in the early morning hours.

Bahamas 2021

We enjoyed three different trips to the Bahamas during the opening months on 2021. The first thing to note is the very impressive system developed and implemented for visitors to the Bahamas during the Covid 19 epidemic. The system is called a Bahamas Health Visa and the application is on-line. Fill in your personal info, upload a copy of your passport and then get a Covid test 3-5 days before your departure. Upload the lab report with your test results and fill in you travel plans…flights, dates and location you are staying in the Bahamas and pay $60 for health insurance. Next day you get a Travel Visa that you present at the airport, at customs on arrival, at your hotel, etc. You then get a daily email to check on your health, after 5 days on island you are required to get a rapid test with the results automatically uploaded to the government.

Our first visit was to our favorite, Harbour Island, where we joined Graham and Beatriz for a few day staying at the Coral Sands hotel. A snorkel tour to the Devil’s Backbone with Jeff Fox was a highlight of this trip. Not that the great meals, good drinks and beach walks were not wonderful.

Our second visit was to Long Island where we rented a house, Osprey Nest, with Wes and Alexis and Graham and Beatriz. Over the course of a week we drove from one end of the island to the other, about 80 miles visiting various resorts and enjoying a lunches out.

The caretakers of our rented house were Charles and Theresa who where also our caterers, auto mechanics, shoppers and captains of our tour boat. Good time had by all at a new place for us in the Bahamas.

Trip number three was our delayed sailing trip in the Exumas from 2020. We chartered a 45′ sailing catamaran with four guest cabins from the Moorings in Palm Cay, Nassau. For this two week trip, our plan was to have three couples for our guests the first week and cruise down to Georgetown and then drop them off and pick up three new couples for the cruised back up thru the Exumas to Palm Cay.

Arriving the night before departure Wes and Alexis stayed with us at the Breezes which Doug and Melanie stayed in town and Jess and Sam stayed at the airport. Amazingly, provisioning started at 8:30, we were on the boat at 10am and off the dock by 11 am headed for Highborne Cay. While we had great sailors aboard, we did not have the wind in our favor as they clock a full circle the first week. Hopping down thru the islands our friends got to know each other and explore the beauty of the Exuma islands.

Peter and Diane served as the advance team in Georgetown and did great preparations for our arrival. The boat was fueled, reprovisioned, laundry washed and dried and the boat cleaned all in a few hours. Here Tony and Julie, and Kristi and Gigi joined us the for the return trip. After a wonderful lunch for all 14 of us on Stocking Island, we were off again and stopped first at Larry’s Island…..so named for our cab driver in Nassau. While we made a number of the same stops at our favorite places…Thunderball Cay, the aquarium, blowhole, etc. we took much more of an outside route on the way north.

Marcia and I could not help but laugh when we removed the trash from the boat returning to Palm Cay. After the first week, the recycles were primarily wine and beer bottles. After the second week, it was mostly soft drink cans. Either way, great friends together for a couple of great weeks.

Running the boat from Cape Cod down to Charleston would take a couple of weeks with the with shorter days and colder weather, this is a trip we have done a number of times and decided to avoid it this fall. That’s what they make trucks for, to carry boats. Having left the boat in Wareham almost a week ahead of the original plan, we came up with a plan B. This would take us on about a ten day road trip to visit friends, return to favorite places and visit a few new places. First stop was Providence, RI to have dinner with Tony and Julie and John and Amy. While there, we visited the Providence Mall just to see what post Covid might be like. Hard to see how many of these retailers and the malls will ever be the same. On to another visit with Dan’s brother Dave and his wife Ba in Westerly and another Covid test before setting out. Overnight at the nephews ‘shack’ on the beach.

Longwood gardens in Pennsylvania was our next destination. We had heard about this garden from Alessandro, our Italian gardener friend. Wow, what a magnificent place. This is duPont alley with the Winterthur Museum, Nemours Estate and Hagley Museum.

On route to Pittsburg we stayed at a charming B&B in Kennett and had a visit at Frank L Wright’s Kentuck Knob. A wonderful dinner with Dan’s classmate Jim DeAngelis and Beatrice at their home in Pittsburg. Then on to Falling Waters. While the house was closed, we hiked the ground and peaked in the windows. Ohiopyle State park provided us time for another great hike.

Next stop was a visit with Marcia’s dear friends Jennifer and Joe and their wonderful boys in the Virginia countryside. Down the Skyline Parkway to Roanoke. Black Dog Salvage was listed as the top attraction, what a dump. The museum of transportation and the Star were far superior. Then on to the Ashville with a visit to the Biltmore and the many art galleries.

From Ashville, we tried the Blue Ridge Parkway but were overcome by the fog. What a disappointment, we last drove the Parkway in our GMC motorhome and enjoyed all the views. A stop at Columbia for an overnight on route to Charleston. We stayed at the charming Rutledge House in the historic area and walked King Street several times. Unfortunately, King Street was badly damaged during the protest marches in March and has not recovered. The road trip over, we were back on True Green to finish our cruise home.

Click on the picture to see the album of this trip