The AmaMagna is the largest by far of the European river cruise boats, with a beam of 71 ft (21 m) and a length of 443 ft (135 m). Most other ships are limited to the European river lock maximum dimensions of 38 ft (11.5 m) wide and 410 feet (124 m). At twice the…
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Sept. 22 – Flying Home
“When we get home, home is still the same, but something in our minds has changed and that changes everything.” -Anonymous
Our trip home went much smoother than our trip over. We got up at 4 AM and left for the airport at 4:30. Luckily the airport is only a mile from our hotel. The hotel arranged for a taxi to pick us up and fixed us a box breakfast for us to take with us. This truly was a wonderful place to stay our last night in Madeira.
Sept. 22 – Flying Home
“When we get home, home is still the same, but something in our minds has changed and that changes everything.” -Anonymous
Our trip home went much smoother than our trip over. We got up at 4 AM and left for the airport at 4:30. Luckily the airport is only a mile from our hotel. The hotel arranged for a taxi to pick us up and fixed us a box breakfast for us to take with us. This truly was a wonderful place to stay our last night in Madeira.
Check in at the airport was smooth, although they seemed to have a lot of security checkpoints. Customs coming in was a breeze. We upgraded again to business class which gave us plenty of room to rest on our seven hour return flight. We arrived in New York at 9 AM and had close to four hours until our flight to Ithaca. Getting through custom and taking the train to the next terminal was a breeze, but going through security took a while. JFK is huge! It felt wonderful to be back on the boat…so glad we flew to NYC.
I was tired and enjoyed my breakfast…I forgot to take a picture. We had a cheese omelet with mushrooms and tomato, fresh fruit and croissants.
We were back in plenty of time to have one last visit with Bob and Loretta before the boating season ends.
Guam to Chile Blog Post 10, first half finished
The video produced by Seabourn of the first half of our voyage is found at:
https://player.vimeo.com/progressive_redirect/playback/1013388327/rendition/1080p/file.mp4?loc=external&signature=dff4d1faa965586a6355356c7ab0d97e40c2020f3b84913240ff…
Guam to Chile Blog Post 10, first half finished
The video produced by Seabourn of the first half of our voyage is found at:
https://player.vimeo.com/progressive_redirect/playback/1013388327/rendition/1080p/file.mp4?loc=external&signature=dff4d1faa965586a6355356c7ab0d97e40c2020f3b84913240ff…
Sept. 21 – Last Day in Madeira
“Traveling allows you to become so many different versions of yourself.” -Anonymous
We moved from our beautiful little bed and breakfast near São Jorge to a nice resort on the east coast near the airport. Our flight leaves at 6:40 (we hope), so we wanted to be close. We’re spending our last evening in Madeira at the Albatroz Beach & Yacht Club. It’s a pretty property sitting on the cliff overlooking the ocean.
Sept. 21 – Last Day in Madeira
“Traveling allows you to become so many different versions of yourself.” -Anonymous
We moved from our beautiful little bed and breakfast near São Jorge to a nice resort on the east coast near the airport. Our flight leaves at 6:40 (we hope), so we wanted to be close. We’re spending our last evening in Madeira at the Albatroz Beach & Yacht Club. It’s a pretty property sitting on the cliff overlooking the ocean.
We had a slow morning enjoying the nice breakfast the inn serves then we packed and headed east. What a contract between today’s scenery and yesterday. The mountains on the north shore are very green and lush. The cliffs on the east coast are very dry and barren. For such a small island Madeira has a very diverse terrain. We stopped at a unique overlook on our way east. It’s called Guindaste Viewpoint. Their glass walkways protrude from the cliffs, offering panoramic views of the coastline. Wonderful views are not in short supply here…everywhere we look there’s some beautiful to see.
Guindaste Viewpoint.
Stan was taking a picture of me…taking a picture of him.
Looking down 85′ to the shoreline.
Looking east from the Guindaste Viewpoint.
Looking east to São Lourenço Point.
The landscape here is so dry. It felt like we had arrived on a different island. Pretty in its own way, but I like it a bit greener.
Looking west from the parking lot.
The Ponta do Ros viewpoint.
Looking south towards Caniçal, Machico and Santa Cruz.
Machico Beach is one of the few sandy beaches of Madeira, with sand imported from North Africa.
Machico is a pretty fishing town with access to the ocean with lots of cafés, shops and ocean tours for the tourist. It offers some of the most spectacular ocean views in Portugal.
We stayed in the Manor House that was built over 100 years ago.
The grounds were beautiful.
The pool.
Great views of the Desert Islands.
There are also two saltwater pools and access to the ocean.
We had a wonderful last dinner at the hotel restaurant. Stan had scabbard fish one more time and I had the octopus risotto.
Sept. 20 – Levada do Caldeirão Verde Hike
“When was the last time you did something for the first time?” ~Anonymous
Today we finally made it to one of Madeira’s levadas. Levadas are man-made aqueducts and irrigation channels that date back to the early colonization of the island in the 15th century. They were built to supply water to sugar cane plantations. Today they are used for walking and are often surrounded by greenery and pass through different types of terrain. Madeira has around 200 levadas, totaling over 1,800 miles of channels that wind through the island’s landscapes. We chose the Levada do Caldeirão Verde which translates to Levada of the Green Cauldron. The green cauldron refers to the waterfall and pool at the end of the hike. Unfortunately we didn’t make it that far. The hike is beautiful and fairly flat since it follows the levada.
Sept. 19 – Porto Moniz, Portugal
“Life is better when it’s more important to know the tide than the time.” –Unknown
After our long day exploring yesterday we decided to spend today relaxing at the natural pools in Porto Moniz. The natural pools in Madeira are amongst the wonders of the island. They were formed over thousands of years when lava from volcanic eruptions solidified when hitting the cold water of the Atlantic Ocean. The natural saltwater pools are one of the most attractive and symbolic spots on the north coast. Since Madeira is essentially the tip of an ancient volcano in the middle of the Atlantic the strong currents and high waves make it unsafe for swimming. The natural pools give visitors and locals alike a great spot to relax after a long day of hiking or sightseeing.
Guam to Chile Blog Post 9
Guam to Chile – Blog Post 9
September 22 – At Sea between Lautoka and Vulaga
September 23 – Vulaga, Lau Group, Fiji
Seabourn Pursuit arrived off the reef entrance to Vulaga Atoll about 0300 and maintained station until sunrise at 0600. The ship moved closer to the reef entrance, zodiacs and submersibles were launched and at 0700 the first trips ashore started, with the expedition team leader and three Fijian guides headed to the village for ceremonial kava and permission to enter the village and cruise the waters of the lagoon. At 0730, Patrick departed on a kayak excursion and at 0800 guests were starting ashore for a wet landing in the lagoon and a roughly one mile walk to the village where there were dances, tours, and opportunities to shop for native handicrafts. Julie participated in that excursion.
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| Reef entrance to Vulaga Lagoon |
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| Rock formation in the lagoon |
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| Coral formations at 100 feet deep |
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| The lagoon has dozens of the mushroom rocks |
Eagle Ray from Submersible
Meanwhile, Patrick was kayaking in the lagoon among the limestone/karst eroded pinnacles which looked like mushrooms in many cases. The lagoon is popular with cruising sailboats, there were five anchored in various places around the lagoon.
At the end of the 2-hour kayak expedition, Patrick was ferried back to the Seabourn Pursuit for another dive outside the reef on one of the submersibles This trip had many more fish visible than in previous excursions, and we were able to identify 21 separate species in the videos and photos The trip was notable for diving to 130 meters and for the relatively rough seas encountered when boarding and disembarking the submersible itself, along with the wet zodiac ride back to the ship.
Julie reported a good visit to the village, with dances, shopping and even a discussion on what life is like on an atoll with only a monthly supply ship carrying mail and staples.
In the afternoon there were two lectures, one on wildlife conservation, and the second on whale conservation.
Seabourn Pursuit departed Vulaga shortly after 1300 and headed for a technical stop in Tonga early on September 24 to drop off the tour guides and the Fijian government officials we carried from Lautoka.
September 24, 2024 – First Time
Lectures today included one on ancient ferns, one on phytoplankton, another on the evolution of the modern naturalist (from shotguns to smart phones), and finally one on the impacts of plastic pollutions in our oceans and current mitigation strategies for that plastic pollution.
Today we cross the International Date Line eastward, so we will set our clocks from GMT+12 to GMT-11, effectively gaining a day. That means we experience September 24 for a second time.
September 24, 2024 – Second Time, At Sea
Lectures today include one on Gaugin’s art and Tahiti, discussions on Longitude and the importance of accurate time measurement for mariners before the advent of GPS, etc, another lecture on the impact of the Challenger Expedition on underwater exploration, and finally, a lecture on the human story, from being hunter/gatherers to AI and what might be next.
September 25, 2024 – At Sea Enroute Papeete
As Seabourn Pursuit continued the voyage to Papeete we had more lectures to fill the day, as well as fun activities. The lectures included one on the geography of French Polynesia, one on Polynesian Sea Turtles and the first of two lectures on HMAV (Her Majesty’s Armed Vessel) Bounty, the mutiny, the relation between Fletcher Christian and Bligh and how one decision led to death and the other to life.
September 26, 2024 – At Sea Enroute Papeete
The final day at sea had the last set of lectures for this segment of the trip. The most interesting lecture was the second part of the Bligh/Christian story following the mutiny, where William Bligh ends up a Vice-Admiral in the Royal Navy, and Fletcher Christian ends up dead. In a few days we will be at Pitcairn Island, where some of the mutineers landed and finally perished. If the weather cooperates, we will get ashore.
September 27, 2024 – Arrive Papeete
