Category - General

Monday we were planning to visit Portimao, Portugal but the tides and wind kept us out of the harbor area and we had a sea day. We were looking forward to visiting this bustling fishing village but it was not to be so we enjoyed our sea day. It was very relaxing and went by all too quickly.

We docked at the Port of Cadiz early this morning about 6:30 a.m. Cadiz is a big seaport and is the capital of Cadiz Province Spain. This city was one of the few in Spain able to withstand a siege by Napoleon. The city was originally named Gadir by the Phoenicians in 1100 BC when it was their trading post, later controlled by the Carthaginians and then by the Romans.

The old central quarter of Cadiz is famous for its picturesque charm. We walked thru the center of the city. Rode a bus around the outside of the city. When we finished our touring we walked back across the city to the port. Carol shopped in several of the stores. I enjoyed the sight seeing and ambiance of this beautiful Spanish port city.

We sailed out of the Port of Cadiz at 5:30 p.m. Carol took pictures and I just stood a watched as we sailed away towards tomorrow’s destination Almeria, Spain.

What is significantly notable about today is that we are completing two weeks of our cruise today. This has been and continues to be a great experience. The luxury in traveling by ship to sightsee is remarkable. This is so much fun! Also, the time passes so fast.

Tonight we enjoyed walking on the promenade deck after dinner. Chatting and walking for forty-five minutes seemed like no time at all. This cruise is a special experience. Carol and I are both enjoying every aspect of it.

At the moment as I write we are passing the North African landscape and entering the Straights of Gibraltar. The map says we are close to Morocco. The Captain said we will pass Gibraltar about midnight, three hours from now.

What a day. Thank you for your prayers. We are faithfully remembering you. Blessings Clay.

I was intrigued about crossing the Atlantic Ocean by ship. I had read about people crossing the Atlantic. Some enjoyed it very much and others absolutely hated the experience. Carol and I decided that we would try it. I think it has turned out for us to be a very good experience. We have enjoyed the people we have met on the ship. The staff of the Prinsendam have gone out of their way to make our trip enjoyable.

Our cabin is small but very functional. We have a king size bed and it is really comfortable. The rocking motion of the ship seems to add to the relaxation of a good nights sleep. Our bathroom is a one at a time bathroom. The shower is superb. Folks spent time making sure that the cabin was comfortable and we are enjoying it.

We have developed a schedule during the week that we are happy with. We have a simple breakfast in our cabin, lunch in the Lido Restaurant which is the casual restaurant, and then dinner with friends in the main dining room. I like the freedom we have for meals at breakfast and lunch and we both enjoy a more structured meal at dinner time. The food is fabulous and we have both been careful how much and what we eat.

Yesterday when we docked in Lisbon, we realized that we had indeed crossed the Atlantic. The seas were mild to moderate all the way across. In talking with some of the staff they said we had one of the smoothest crossings they had experienced. We have thoroughly enjoyed our Atlantic crossing.

Amazingly we haven’t felt like time was dragging. The time change three different times was at noon so those three days were shortened. Then the night after we left the Azores the time changed at 2 a.m. I think we still have to lose one more hour by the time we get to Rome but that is nine days from now so we still have quite a bit of sailing left.

I’ve read several good books on my Kindle. Each day Carol and I both have used the gym for exercising. I’ve kept up my 10,000 steps per day program. That was tough at first but after a few days the routine was set and I found it much easier to maintain. The movement of the ship has become part of our own movements. When we were off the ship in Lisbon I found myself still rocking. That was odd being on solid ground.

We befriended two couples on the ship and have had dinner with them each evening. After the first two nights we were able to get table 304 and have had dinner at that table and with that group of waiters since then. The don’t give you a reservation if you choose the at leisure dining but the the head steward sent us reservations today and has reserved that table for us.

Ken and Jan Sorenson from Boulder, Colorado; and Paul and Carolyn Cooper of Corfino, Italy are the two couples we dine with. Both couples are retired. Paul and Carolyn are expats who live part of the year in Italy and part of the year in the U.S. Both couples are world travelers and we have enjoyed getting to know them and hear about their travel experiences. Paul and Carolyn travel each Spring from the US to Italy and in the fall from Italy to the US by ship. They have found it to be an inexpensive way for them to carry all their stuff back and forth.

I think the only negative about our trip is being out of touch with Jimmy and Retia. We are praying for their continued healing and are already looking forward to seeing them when we get back home. Enough about us. Blessings on you and your family. Sincerely Clay.

Lisbon, a city on seven hills, is a beautiful sight from the river Tagus. When we arrived we cruised under a suspension bridge that looks a lot like the Golden Gate Bridge. We docked in an area of the city called the Alcantara. We went on two discover forays into the city noting the three funiculars that carry one from the foot of the hill to the top, the multicolored houses, and pedestrian streets especially in the Alfama district. This morning we visited the Maritime Museum, Jeronimo’s Monastery and the Belem Tower.

It is difficulty to communicate the beauty of Lisbon in words and it is a beautiful city. The population in the city is 600,000, down from 1,000,000 just a few years ago. The population including the surrounding suburbs is an additional 1,000,000 making the population for the area 1.6 million.

We departed the city about 5:30 p.m. and sailed out to the Atlantic to head towards Portimao, Portugal. We will dock there at 8:00 a.m.

We will arrive at the Lisbon docks tomorrow about noon. We anticipate the beauty of Lisbon and with some degree of excitement are looking forward to our first sight of Lisbon.

The cruise continues to be excellent. I think we have enjoyed every bit of the journey. We continue to be grateful for the calm seas knowing that the Atlantic can at times be unruly. Our trip has seemed like it was long but it does not compare with those old seafaring ships that traveled at best 8 knots per hour and took many weeks to cross from Europe to the U.S.

Tomorrow Lisbon.

I read about Vasco da Gama in school
His explorations and wandering
Fanned a flame of travel in my soul
Tomorrow we will arrive and dock on the Tagus
Lisbon will be our home for two days

We’ve come by ship
A much easier trek than the Phoenicians had
The Atlantic has been very kind to us
The sea was moderate
We enjoyed every meal

A city of medieval facades and art-nouveau buildings
Scattered across seven hills
Mosaic sidewalks, museums and modern shops
Lisbon’s low skyline gives it a manageable feel
Shortly we will walk the city and know it for real

Crossing the Atlantic by ship is a unique experience. It isn’t something I would want to do often but it has been enjoyable. One of the great blessings of this journey has been calm seas. I am grateful for that. The people on the Prinsendam have all been nice to travel with. The food of course is outstanding.

We joined our tour group for sightseeing on Ponta Delgada at 12:30 p.m. today. We visited a pineapple plantation, Ribeira Grande and Fire Lake. Relaxing and fun.

They are cranking up the ship and we are already on our way. Short stop. Lisbon on Saturday.

I read Jason’s blog on Jimmy’s visit to see Retia at West Jeff. The pictures brought tears of joy to our eyes. We are praying for Retia’s continued recovery.

Our trip across the Atlantic has been a relaxing experience. Watching the Ocean from our room is calming. So far the weather has been outstanding. The sea has been moderate most of the way.

We will reach the Azores tomorrow and will spend the afternoon there then late in the day up anchor and sail towards Lisbon.

We have quietly eaten our way across the Atlantic. It seems we have a meal very often. I have worked very hard at not eating too much.

The Lord is good and we are grateful for this opportunity to travel.

No man’s land in the middle of the sea
Mountain ranges five thousand feet below
Extending downward fifteen thousand feet
At the midpoint in the Atlantic
Newfoundland is closer than Europe

No man’s land in the middle of the sea
You can listen to the silence
It seems to be nothing but is vaster than any desert
The sea it is filled with activity
Just because I don’t know what it is doesn’t mean it isn’t important

No man’s land in the middle of the sea
Controlled by God
A part of His creation
That has a direct affect on mankind’s existence
It operates without our approval and is out of our control

Man’s land is where we live
Thinking that what we see and do is exclusive
The truth is it isn’t because we are human
Humanity has a way of excluding everything including God
Which has exactly no impact on God-its impact is on the man

am discovering that when you are crossing the Atlantic time quickly slips away. We began four days ago and it seemed we had all the time in the world. Today I suddenly realized that our time was passing me bye.

We will be at Ponte Delgada (Azores) on Thursday, the third day from now. I had so many things that I was going to do and I’ve done only a few of them. It is easier to relax than I thought. Our ship is in constant activity mode. It is just like being in a small town, except that it is constantly moving.

The biggest obstacle is the fact that we seem to be eating every few hours. It is extremely difficult to maintain one’s discipline when food is chasing you all day long.

The cruise continues to be excellent. Blessings to you and yours. Please keep us in your prayers.
Clay

Sunday all day. Carol and I had a devotional time in our room. We also rested more today than the previous two if that is possible. The ocean for the most part today has been smooth with very little wave action. We are cruising toward the halfway point at 3:30 p.m. tomorrow.

The meals are extremely well planned by Holland America and we have enjoyed each one. One of the good things we discovered before on an Alaska cruise is that the portions are not huge and you don’t wind up getting stuffed.

Today was the second day in a row that we have pushed our clocks ahead at noon. That takes a little out of the day but again it seems to have been planned that way to cause the least amount of interruption with our body’s clock.

The wind is kicking up. It’s 11:30 p.m. here and we are having a bit of a squall. High winds and waves. The good thing is that it is bed time.

Thank you for you prayers.