Sight Seas

Picturesque Harbors When and Where:            04/2023 – Lisbon, Sintra 76 th Country Visited; 33 rd European Country Visited Interesting Facts: -         There are 250 million Portuguese speakers around the world; most live in Brazil. -         Mainland Europe’s westernmost point is located in Portugal. -         Portugal is a popular place to live for retirees due to the low cost of living. Some days don’t go as planned.   My visit to Portugal was a case in point. The cruise was scheduled to arrive in Lisbon at 10am on April 10.   The night before arrival, Guest Services contacted me and asked me to surrender my passport for inspection in Lisbon.   I was one of a handful of passengers who were offboarding in Lisbon.   My plan was to take an evening flight to Madrid where I would stay for two days, then...

Where Old Meets New in Africa When and Where:            04/2023 – Agadir, Casablanca, Rabat, Tangier, Asilah 75 th Country Visited; 12 th African Country Visited Interesting Facts: -         The highest ski resort in Africa is in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.   -         Morocco was the first country to recognize the United States as a country. -         Although overwhelmingly Muslim, there are thriving Christian and Jewish communities in Morocco.   April has turned out to be a hectic month and I have not been able to keep up with my blog.   Unlike other legs of this journey, now that I am in Europe, we are in port nearly every day.   But I am committed to keeping up with the blog. Simply put, Morocco is an amazing country!   There is a diversity and richness of culture that goes back many cen...

 Spanish Autonomous Territory When and Where:            04/2023 – Santa Cruz (Tenerife), Arrecife (Lanzarote)   Interesting Facts: -         -  Christopher Columbus used the Canary Islands as a stopover on the way to the Americas. -         -  The world’s worst ever aviation disaster happened on Tenarife in 1977 when two 747’s collided on a foggy runway killing 583 people.   Some adventures are less active than others.  Earlier this week, the Zuiderdam visited two of the Canary Islands: Tenerife and Lanzarote.  Unlike most ports of call, I had two chill days with no excursions planned.  Both islands were beautiful and very European-influenced, despite being off the coast of Africa.  On Sunday, I visited Santa Cruz, the largest city on the island of Tenerife.   Santa Cruz is one of two national capitals of The Canary Islands.   As I step...