Hello from somewhere halfway between Madeira and Ft. Lauderdale!
Three weeks ago while waiting to board Oosterdam, I had a nice chat with a couple who was also joining. They have done a lot of European river cruises, and the woman commented about how with river cruising you are visiting places of historical significance - something along the lines about where commerce began.
It piqued my interest as I have been thinking about Mediterranean islands and how important they have been for commerce, as well as (or perhaps therefore as) military campaigns. My old favorite Corfu, but also Crete, Rhodes, Malta.
In fact my plan was to visit a special exhibit in Malta that I had bookmarked earlier in the summer, “An Island at the Crossroads.” As the museum hosting the exhibit is across the harbor from the main cruise port, getting there takes a bit more than the uphill climb or elevator to Valletta.
Turns out it was super easy! There are public buses that run to the “Three Cities” across the harbor, but I would go by water. I went early in the day, so I had the upper deck to myself on the way over.
Getting to the Three Cities
Once you exit the cruise terminal, take a right, walking past the taxis, the horse-drawn carriages and the Hop on-Hop off buses.
Cross the street at the entrance to the Barrakka Lift, but keep going towards the right, through the tunnel.
After the tunnel, cross back to the water side of the street.
Here you can catch the ferries (running every 30 minutes or a dgħajsa (little water taxi).
2024 prices: Ferry €2 euro one way, €3.90 roundtrip. Dgħajsa €3 one way.
I had decided I wanted to also visit the Inquisitor’s Palace as it was featuring an exhibit I wanted to see, “FARE CONVITO –The Archaeology of Banqueting in Hospitaller Malta (16th to 18th century).” As I type this, I realize just how specific that is….LOL!
Anyway, Heritage Malta offers various museum/historical combo tickets. These museums with these two exhibits had a combo and for €2 more I could throw in Fort St Angelo. Why not? Super glad I did because the “An Island at the Crossroads” exhibit was nothing like I expected and the other two sites actually provided a better picture of an island at a crossroads.
There is so much more to uncover in Malta; I look forward to returning a few times next summer.
Flash forward to our repositioning cruise from Barcelona to Ft. Lauderdale. For Holland America Line, an Atlantic crossing tends to happen to/from the Summer Med or Northern Europe season, on a world cruise or as part of Voyage of the Vikings. While I did do both directions on Voyage of the Vikings in 2015, for a repositioning such as this, I haven’t done an eastbound crossing since 2016 and a westbound since 2013!
After stops that allow visits to Granada, Seville and other coastal Spanish towns, there’s that final Portuguese stop - usually Funchal, Madeira or one of the Azores.
I’ve always been partial to Madeira. It’s absolutely stunning, and often this time of year, the Christmas decorations are up (we were a little early this year).
I’ve been lucky enough to be on a ship anchored off Madeira for New Years Eve fireworks. And it has been a fun place to dock with sister ships. Crew members memorialize their visits here with a little logo art.
Seven days at sea means all of the usual activities enhanced with traditional activities we don’t usually see on shorter voyages: pool games, bridge instruction, guest lecturers, stitchers meet, Float Your Boat shipbuilding competition etc. I think we have a good old-fashioned ball coming up. As Cruise Director I always enjoyed hosting these kinds of days, as long as the weather was kind. Seasickness is not my friend.
This was from a Hide-in plain-sight scavenger hunt. I volunteered to be a guest in the Spa reception. I was ok with the guests taking awhile to find me. :-)
This year so far we have had three days of great weather - blue skies and small swells. Unfortunately today that seems to be changing. For the salts that enjoy truly exercising their sea legs, the full experience!
Wellness Round Up
Nutrition has been OK. Would like to be eating more vegetables, but at least I have pretty good with portion sizes overall. And hey, rough seas mean I am less hungry.
Movement. In port - great! Lots of walking, a kayak tour. With the swells and the gym being up top and in the front of the ship, where you feel the ship’s motion quite a bit, I’m not so motivated.
Hydration could be better.
Stress is, happy to say, minimal.
Sleep is good overall. A westbound crossing also means five nights of an hour back. So I get my seven hours in and I am up for sunrise even more than usual. This was yesterday morning.
That’s it for now. Bon Voyage & Bon Appétit!
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