last day at sea

correction: when I posted last we were 1000 miles from NY. Now we're just22 hours away. Calm seas again.

Transatlantic Crossing

Now 3885 nautical miles from Southampton and only 665 from NYC. Closing days of trip being spent comfortably aboard QM 2 in spite of at least one night of rough seas. Enjoying “old” friends from the Queen Victoria - the captain had a party for the 240 of us continuing on to NY from England (there were 750 on the QV portion of the world cruise). Not spending as much time in the gym/spa here but enjoying the opportunity to play golf on a simulator. Tomorrow I’ll be playing the Maui Kapalua Village and Bay courses! Also spending time going over the close-to-final copy of Dear Coach. Then, of course, it will be time to pack for one more time. Looking forward to seeing friends at home.

Queen Mary 2

On the Queen Mary 2, about half way across the Atlantic (1500 miles traveled, 1700 to go). Have a few QV friends sharing this crossing, and we’ve already managed to get together. Some things about the QM2 are great - like the teak decks, and some things suffer in comparison to the QV - like the Spa. Believe it or not, I prefer the QV spa to the Canyon Ranch Spa here. The gym and trainers aren’t as good as the QV and the beauty spa is outrageously expensive. More later.

Meanwhile, we were enjoying a sunny, reasonably calm trip until last night when the waves picked up to “rough.” Still relatively smooth trip. Before we got past Cornwall, England, they had to evacuate an ill passenger and did so via helicopter. Aside from that the trip has been uneventful. I did win a golf tournament (70 yard shot on the golf simulator), which bodes well for my summer fun. Warm enough to sit out on my deck for a while yesterday. I’m traveling POSH - an expression that comes from long ago trips from England to India, when the desired cabin assignments (for shade) were “port side out, starboard home.” I think that would apply for a transatlantic trip from England to America because the port side is the sunny side on the way west and starboard has the sun on the way back.

Seems like a very short trip - only Monday evening to Sunday morning - hardly time to get to know the ship, but I’m doing my best and walking miles! Will be ready to dig in to politics and marketing Dear Coach on Monday morning.

bye

last post from Queen Victoria - 1 minute 25 seconds remaining on my account. Packed, luggage out for transfer to Queen Mary 2. Will leave QV tomorrow morning. What a wonderful voyage!

heading home

The skies are grey and Queen Victoria is returning home to England. Hard to comprehend leaving this ship, which has been such a home to me. I never tired of seeing the sea or had too much day or too much night. Never had enough time to know all the interesting passengers and crew.

Found real friends. Changed my life through serious exercise, thanks to a great personal trainer and excellent spa staff. Been educated and entertained and, of course, fed.

People find things to complain about, but I have few. There is one thing that could be better, i.e., the spa menu, but that’s minor. I think with pleasure of all I have seen and people I’ve met in countries around the world, and I can honestly say the trip was well worth while. I now understand why a world cruise is special.

on the way home

Barcelona - whimsical, vibrant, and beautiful city. From the walk along Las Rambla, eyeing the food in the Mercat Boqueria, and of course being enchanted by the Gaudi buildings, it is a fantastic place. A thunderstorm punctuated an otherwise perfect Spring day. Fortunately I had already visited Gaudi’s Parc Guell! Bit wistful as I reboarded Queen Victoria, knowing that this was our last port of call.

Thinking about our ports and the things I did: the most -

pure fun - riding the elephant bareback
awesome buildings - Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia
awesome natural site - Rabaul’s active volcano
educational - Panama Canal; Guatemala macadamia nut farm
strangest - Mumbai temples
prettiest harbor - Cabo San Lucas; Manly (Sydney_
inspiring - Ephesus
surprising - Petra
emotional - Saipan, El Alamein, Hawaii military bases
charming city - Christchurch, Civitavecchia, Hobart
best food - Phuket
most like home - North Island of New Zealand
attractive countryside - New Zealand, Tasmania
most international - Singapore
richest - Dubai
poorest - Mumbai
best coffee - Athens
cleanest - Singapore
dirtiest - Mumbai; Phuket
enchanting - the sea
hottest - Tonga
roughest sea - Mediterranean between Greece & Italy
Other memorable places: Suez Canal, Robert Louis Stevenson’s home on Samoa, Sydney harbor, Glover Garden in Nagasaki, Topaki Palace in Istanbul, tea ceremony in Busan, Shanghai towers and the Maglev train, Hong Kong shopping, Vasco da Gama’s church in Cochin
least favorite port - Puerta Vallerta
what we just missed - eruption in sea near Tonga, typhoon in Cairns, volcano eruption in Japan, demonstrations in Mumbai, Bangkok (twice) and Pattaya (Thailand) as well as in Athens and Istanbul, fire in Australia, hijackings in the Gulf of Aden, sand storm in Dubai, disputes between North and South Korea including rocket launch.

Civitavecchia and beyond

Day 94 - just passed between Corsica and Sardinia on way to last port of call - Barcelona. Thoroughly enjoyed the port town of Civitavecchia - photos are posted!

Around the world we’ve heard concerns about the economy and hopes for Obama’s success. I hear at home people are fighting against that with tea parties, et al. Isn’t it obvious that we have a global crisis and need to pull together?

I shall miss the world perspective gained from talking with people and from the media available around the world. Whether it’s storms, riots, piracy, or unemployment, there is much NOT covered in US media. Isolated by vast oceans we further isolate ourselves.

Greece

Back to Piraeus where I set sail with friends over 30 years ago. That time a 72-foot ketch, this time the gigantic Queen Victoria. [Photos are posted on http://gallery.me.com/herrlk.] Visiting the Acropolis is different now - much more elaborate tourist paths, etc, and more protective and restorative work being done on the Parthenon. Still an awesome site.

Now just two weeks from return to NYC - will have been 107 days on the sea, over 40,000 nautical miles, and so many experiences. Ancient and modern wonders, rich and poor, major cities and small villages, elephants and flying fish. New friends and old memories. Holy sites and sites of war.

Mykonos

Cool but charming day in Mykonos - seems different from when I was here before (in the 70s) - more buildings on the hills, fancier shops - but the same winding paths and beautiful doors&windows on bright white buildings. Shopkeeper told me she thinks Obama is wonderful and a "giving" person. Everywhere we go people are watching the US and hoping that Obama will succeed. Frustrating to catch FOX now and then and hear the Obama/Biden bashing from Rove and his right-wing friends. [Mykonos photos are up.]

Istanbul

Beautiful Istanbul on a spring day - didn’t have nearly enough time here but did visit the Topkapi Palace, Blue Mosque, and Hagia Sophia as well as the bazaar! An excellent guide - Nesli - provided a running commentary on history and culture that made the trip special. Cunard tours are generally better than average - and if they are late, the ship waits. [We were late getting into the port because we had to wait for a US Navy ship to leave. Don’t know if it was related to Obama’s visit, the hijacked/hostage captain, or was just coincidence.] Obama’s visit apparently went over well. You’ll see an interesting impersonator photo on the gallery. FYI: Istanbul photos are already posted on the gallery. How did I get the three sunset photos? Queen Victoria was pulling out of the harbor just at sunset so I could catch the sun move across the city sky!

Turkey - Kusadasi and Ephesus

Tour of Ephesus proved to be one of the best - from the alleged home of the Virgin Mary in the hills to the excavated ruins of the various Ephesian cities and the Basilica of St. John on the Ayauluk Hill . Stood in the ampitheater where Paul preached to the Ephesians and walked through the ruins of the Library of Celsus (third largest in the world in its time). And, Kusadasi is a beautiful port/resort city. Only had the morning to see all of this - deserves another visit. Weather fantastic, seas clear and blue. Farms with cotton, artichokes, figs, etc.

EGYPT

Suez Canal photos now posted on gallery. Full day transit - 101 miles in balmy weather.

Alexandria - Opted to visit the site of the famous WWII battle at El Alamein between Montgomery and Rommel. Not much to see but desert though we visited a museum and the major war memorial plus the Italian and German memorials. Fascinating drive west of Alexandria along the Mediterranean coast, where there are thousands of “new city” resorts. Quite a contrast to the city of Alexandria. Tough choice - El Alamein or a quick look at the Pyramids; I chose the battleground in deference to my new book about WW II, though the letter writers were involved not in this battle but in the battle for Tunisia further west in North Africa. Maybe I'll come back to see the Pyramids someday.

Jordan

Photos posted on gallery! Petra lived up to its reputation as a wonder of the world - Nabataeans created this ancient city in a fortress of sandstone rocks somewhere between 86BC and 40AD - scholars are still learning about their world. Drove by the Wadi Rum area - though faster than T.E. Lawrence did.

Update on cruise: this segment has 818 UK, 398 US, 174 Aussies, 86 Canadians, 71 Germans, 25 from Spain, and the rest of the 1714 from 27 other countries.

Received my luggage tags for the transfer to the Queen Mary 2 in England on April 20th - a reminder that we are on the way home. Still lots to see - Suez Canal tomorrow!

Thanks to Ali for explanation of the "red" in Red Sea!

the Red Sea

Blue skies, mid-70s, and breezy in the Red Sea approaching the Jordanian port of Petra. Why is it called the "red" sea? It's as blue as any other. So wide (119 miles in some places) you can't see either the Eqyptian or Saudi Arabian coast from where we are. Noticed patrols at sea and on the ship while we went by Somalia, but no misadventure.