2005

2005 WORLD ADVENTURES

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This year we traveled to a plethora of the most exciting, astonishing and remarkable destinations on the planet. . . Egypt; Greece; Croatia; Albania; Norway; the North Pole; Iceland; the Yucatan; Bermuda; Grand Cayman; Cape Canaveral; and the Virgin Islands. We even made a stop at the tiny Volcanic Island of Ian Mayen where fewer people have visited than have climbed Mount Everest! Len’s lifelong desire to see the sole surviving Wonder of the Ancient Worlds, the Great Pyramid of Khufu, was finally realized; and, Sharon’s dream of climbing the ancient Maya Pyramid at Chichen Itza became a reality. We meandered in and out of Norway’s northern and western coasts, home to some of the world’s most beautiful Fjords. Sharon joined a hardy band of fellow explorers from the ship on an overland adventure through the middle of Iceland that she is still talking about, calling it the land of ice and fire, and to see her pictures, she isn’t kidding!

EGYPT

The pyramids of Egypt are without question one of the world’s most famous icons. Their inscrutable mystery has captured our imagination since childhood. Consequently, to at long last see them in person was an experience that will be forever etched in our memories. No site on earth is more laden with a sense of other worldly phenomenon. Nothing will ever compare to our climb up the steep narrow passage of the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops), or the excitement we felt as we entered its ancient burial chamber and drew our first breath of tomb-filled air! Our decent into the burial tomb of King Tutankhamen - Egypt’s most famous boy pharaoh - left us in awe, as did standing beside the gigantic statue of Rameses II. From the monumental Valley of the Kings to the colossal Temple of Hatshepsut - Egypt’s only known female pharaoh, we were dwarfed by scale and humbled by grandeur. The Temple of Karnak in Luxor was amazingly magical and deeply moving: we can personally confirm that the mysterious drawing power of Egypt’s famous archeological sites has not lessened over the centuries, instead, like the famous Sphinx, it has only deepened.

Embarked: April 29th 2005
Debarked: May 5th 2005

Sharm el Sheik (Egypt)
Suez Canal (Transit)
Port Said (Egypt)
Limassol (Cyprus)

GREECE AND CROATIA ISLANDS

Cyprus is enchanting . . . the people are welcoming and its countryside of steep green hills dotted by vineyards and olive farms is picturesque. From Limassol, Len, son Scott and his wife Maureen, and Sharon headed out with a local guide to soak up both sun and history - who knew that the north of Cyprus had been occupied by Turks for years? Greece is so imbued with mythology that history and mythology merge. In Rhodes we climbed the ancient Acropolis of Lindos to visit the Temple of Athena Lindia, and then explored the remains of a Roman Temple where we came across vestiges of an ancient Goddess-worshiping culture: a semicircle stone altar dating back to the 2nd Century BC. In Heraklion, Crete we traveled to the Minoan Palace of Knossos - a site inhabited since 6000 BC. Here, one of the most famous Goddess statuettes in the world was unearthed - the little bare-breasted “Snake Goddess”. Sharon was in her element the next day at the Archeology Museum where she saw this unique find along with hundreds of other tiny Goddess figures from the Neolithic period forward. The World was the first cruise ship to stop in the country of Albania - hmmm, okay so maybe next time we won’t get stuck on a very narrow, very steep one-lane mountain road encountering bus loads of people vying to pass. Croatia is beautiful: hundreds of islands and inlets and unspoiled beaches still largely unspoiled by tourism. . . it was heavenly.

Embarked: May 6th 2005
Debarked: May 30th 2005

CC Rhodes (Greece)
Symi (Greece)
Ayios Nikolaos, Crete (Greece)
Iraklion, Crete (Greece)

NORWAY

Norway’s west coast is astonishing - the stunning glacier-carved valleys stretch from the coasts far inland for miles. They are truly nature’s masterpiece. In Aslasund we were boarded by hordes of fierce-faced Viking-clad locals thrilled to pay their regards to Dag, a local town kid turned skipper, who just happens to be Captain of the World Ship! In Alta we viewed ancient rock-art carvings of people, bears, reindeer, fish, boats & weapons that dated from 6000 BC to 500BD. From the fishing village of Henningsvaer we drove out to Gimsey for a game of golf then stayed for a first-class-view of the Midnight Sun - stunning! Our travels took us from Svolvaer in the Lofoten Islands, around the North Cape.

Embarked: August 6th 2005
Debarked: August 30th 2005

Lerwick, Shetland Islands (Scotland)
Hellesylt (Norway)
Geiranger (Norway)
Aalesund (Norway)
Trondheim (Norway)
Reine, Lofoton Islands (Norway)

THE NORTH POLE

Our ship sailed to the edge of the Arctic Cap, - 83 N Latitude 15.30 Longitude - where we were captivated by thousands of seals frolicking amongst the ice floes. In Spitsbergen we set off with our expedition teams and Polar Bear guards armed with rifles, to explore first hand the raw untamed landscape of the North Pole. We boarded Zodiacs and drifted in a silent sea of icebergs awestruck by the immensity. We trekked up steep mountain slopes over glaciers and had an Arctic picnic on Mushamna one cold windy afternoon. Huddling around a fire we indulged in brandy and gourmet treats provided by our ship’s chef and crew, and waited anxiously as our tenders braved the encroaching storm and rough sea in order to rescue us back to the ship. We signed our names to the log in the (almost) famous “Texas Bar” - a tiny wood cabin stocked with a cot, a wood-stove, and a few provisions for stranded explorers. In Virgohamna we stood on the site where the Swedish expedition team of Andree, Fraenkel and Strinkberg took off in a balloon in their failed attempt to reach the North Pole in 1897. Their remains weren’t found until 1930. The history of the North Pole is filled with such heroics: expeditions doomed to perish in the vast expanse of ice and snow. We’re happy to have been there and to have heard their stories - it was amazing.

Embarked: August 24th 2005
Debarked: August 30th 2005

Hornsund, Spitsbergen (Arctic)
Bjornoya (Bear Island) (Arctic)
Hornsund, Spitsbergen (Arctic)
Liefdefjorden Spitsbergen (Arctic)
Mushamna Spitsbergen (Arctic)
Moffen, Spitsbergen (Arctic)
Cruise by Iskanten (Polar Ice Cap)
Virgohamna Spitsbergen (Arctic)
Sarstangen Spitsbergen (Arctic)
Ny-Alesund Spitsbergen (Arctic)
Longyearbyen Spitsbergen (Arctic)

ICELAND

Iceland? Imagine driving on the moon’s surface - the Apollo astronauts actually trained here for their lunar landing - then, factor in hissing & smoking molten lava pots, geysers that shoot wildly 160 feet into the sky, the world’s largest and most spectacular waterfalls, blistering hot-springs, snow-capped mountains, wind-swept barren plaines, the Aurora Borealis; and, fourteen hearty adventurers in a five-car caravan equipped with film, cameras, maps, guidebooks, snacks and, oh yeah, walkie-talkies: bouncing over bone-jarring dirt roads right through the inhospitable middle of this tiny country that lies just 25 miles south of the Arctic Circle; and, you will have a really good idea about my travels in Iceland! We drove from the port of Odderarbryggja, Akureyrarhofn to Godafoss Falls, “waterfall of the gods”, to Myvtn Lake, to Dettifoss falls, to Asyrgi, to Husavik, to Hveraveilirto, to Pingvellier (that’s the crack in the earth where two tectonic plates are moving apart) and ended our fun-filled trek in Reykjavik - the only place we visited that I can actually pronounce! I can’t wait to go again! It was an exciting venture that must be revisited: the next time with Len!

Embarked: August 31st 2005
Debarked: September 10th 2005

Longyearbyen Sptisbergen
Cruising Isfjorden & Tempelfjorden
Akureyri (Iceland)
Grundarfjordur (Iceland)
Reykjavik (Iceland)

NEW YORK TO SAN JUAN

It’s impossible to visit New York without hearing Frank Sinatra’s velvet voice crooning in your inner ear “These vagabond shoes are longing to stray and make a brand new start of it - New York New York” - we started to hum it as we cruised past the Statue of Liberty into the New York Harbor at 4 am! There’s a hustle and bustle of excitement in New York that is absolutely unique. We saw plays on Broadway, enjoyed the view from the Empire State Building, took a photo of “the naked cowboy” in Times Square and mournfully paid homage to the lost souls at ground zero. A heartrending experience. While in Cape Canaveral we participated in a unique and thrilling Space Adventure that was the experience of a lifetime - Zero Gravity. It was unbelievably fun, exhilarating, and just plain awesome! There is no way of adequately describing the sense of freedom that accompanies the experience of complete weightlessness. That first mind-boggling sensation of spontaneously defying gravity and being literally suspended in space without any notion what-so-ever of “up” or “down” - is breathtaking, and quite simply leaves you wanting more! Sharon was in for lots more fun when joined on the ship by her best friend, Joanne Kerr - they discovered “Dark & Stormies” in Bermuda and “Po Boys” in S. Carolina.

Embarked: October 23rd 2005
Debarked: November 18th 2005

Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts (USA)
Newport, Rhode Island (USA)
New York (USA)
Hamilton (Bermuda)
Charleston, South Carolina (USA)
Cape Canaveral, Florida (USA)

FAMILY CHRISTMAS CARIBBEAN CRUISE

There were thirteen of us celebrating the Christmas season on board the ship in the Caribbean this year - What fun! Our group was comprised of Len’s four sons: Scott (wife Maureen, and children Taylor 10, Dylan 8); Mike (with his three children, Marisa 20, Nick 18, and Erika 13); Dave (with his son Chase 8); Jeff, a bachelor; and, Sharon. The kids kept room service hopping! We met up in San Juan Puerto Rico and spent several very busy days touring the city; then set off for the British Virgin Islands where we swam, snorkeled, scuba dived, fished, windsurfed, shopped for bargains; and, celebrated Len’s birthday! On board the ship we sunned by the pool, indulged in special ship banquets, did a little gambling, took banana boat rides, had our pictures taken with Santa, enjoyed a mouth-watering Christmas morning feast prepared by the ship’s chef in our apartment; and, opened presents. . . the timely gifts of walkie-talkies for Chase and Dylan helped us keep our adventurous group of travelers in touch with one another both on, and off the ship! It was a very special time.

Embarked: December 2nd 2005
Debarked: January 2nd 2006

Key West, Florida (USA)
Progreso (Mexico)
Georgetown, Grand Cayman
La Romana (Dominican Republic)
San Juan (Puerto Rico)
Gustavia (St. Barthelemy)
Virgin Gorda (British Virgin Islands)
Marigot (St. Martin)
San Juan (Puerto Rico)