scubacruiserx2

Happy Easter , the Lord has risen ! And Pat came home on Friday . A Good Friday indeed . Last night's launch of a Space X Falcon at Cape Canaveral 150 miles away from our front road . I'm surprised that we would deploy a Russian satellite . Second stage separation And the capsule jellyfish

The Pena National Palace https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pena_Palace Sintra National Palace https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sintra_National_Palace Sintra

And then was time to leave the beautiful cliffs and head for the hills . We went inland and higher in elevation , into some woods making some short stops on the way spotting these pretty flowers but deadly flowers . They are Foxglove from which the heart drug Digitalis is made . We then stopped at the Seteais Palace where they were having a wedding . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seteais_Palace It was just finishing as we arrived and time for photos . Pena National Palace in the Distance

Happy Good Friday . Today is the the day that " We all, like sheep, have gone astray , We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. " And " For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. "

After a day of cluster type headaches I had to take my bride of 46 years to the hospital for a possible stroke protocol yesterday morning. She also had severe abdominal pain . The CAT scan was negative and she got a room about 2300 and we are awaiting the results of the late night MRI . Her blood pressure and pulse were both very high when I left her last night . She had trouble with bright lights and stomach pain with nothing to eat or drink all day . This is one cruise that we hope to get off soon . We hope and pray that she and I will be better soon and back on CC , hopefully today .

Much of the vegetation on this cape is low-lying and adapted to saltwater and windy conditions. Once home to a variety of plant life, Cabo da Roca has been overrun with the invasive plant species Carpobrotus edulis. This creeping, mat-forming plant, a member of the Aizoaceae succulent family, was introduced as ground cover by local residents several decades ago, but now covers much of the arable land on Cabo da Roca. Wikipedia Beautiful , but deadly like the cliffs .

Norris , We have been to Alaska twice . The first from Seattle in Spring with a visit there and the second from Vancouver in the Fall as the first leg of a 6 week trip to Fort Lauderdale . The first was on the Eurodam in our first Neptune suite . The last was on the Nieuw Amsterdam all 6 weeks in an aft corner Neptune Suite . They are both on Signature Class ships , our favorite because of the Tamarind . You are on the Vista Class and can find a lot of information including photos of your room here : https://halfacts.com/vista-class/ On our last night before entering Vancouver in October of 2022 we saw a White Rainbow ( Fog Bow ) behind our balcony . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fog_bow Our last visit to Ketchikan was photographed and shown our Fire and Ice review here on posts # 65 -78 . However , our first trip included the Inside Passage including the Johnstone Strait , Seymour Narrows and the Campbell River where we sighted Real and false Killer Whales . It is best seen on our Eurodam to Alaska : We came , we saw , we photographed on posts # 412 - 440 . Victoria followed next with a great guide . We would recommend a couple of days before and after in Seattle unless you plan on doing a B2B with the 27 day South Pacific cruise on your ship . We would also recommend the Chihuly Gardens and lunch on the Space Needle for a killer view and a great lunch and dessert .

Monument announcing Cabo da Roca as the westernmost point of continental Europe . Photo from Wikipedia

The lighthouse has been here since 1772 - 4 years before the independence of the USA . These photos are a very high quality and I would encourage you to double click on them on especially the last one on the largest screen that you can .

The next couple of stops were our favorite in Portugal .The first one was a surfing beach . DW took this photo of a young lady waxing up before going out . I enjoyed many years surfing but - wetsuits Brrr . I'm from Florida . Cabo da Roca is the western most point of Portugal and the continental Europe . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabo_da_Roca It is breathtakingly beautiful to see and photograph . Our guide warned us about getting too close to the edge of the 300' sheer cliffs . The previous year , a couple and their children were photographing the cliff and using a selfie stick to get that perfect selfie . The couple back closer to the ledge watching the phone and not the ledge . They backed over the ledge in front of their 3 horrified children leaving them as orphans . People are drawn here like lemmings . Note the person seated on the edge of the ledge on the promontory . Please double click on the photos to enlarge .

The fishing town of Cascais was next and is home to some of the most expensive real estate in Portugal . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cascais Our van is parked behind the bus . Photo of King Peter I with an Irish pub behind him from Wikipedia To shoot a panorama I had to take 4 overlapping photos and let the computer to stich them together . Click on photos to enlarge them .

The next stop was a pretty area near the beach Boca do Inferno - Hell's Mouth arch I don't know why these photos are coming out so small from Photobucket . Please click twice on them to enlarge them .

Our next stop was the Belem Tower https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belém_Tower

Praca do Comercio Victory arch Got Coke ?

Moving back to see the whole monastery I first saw the horse and carriage lady . I asked if I could take a photo of her . What a beautiful smile ! We wished that we had time for the carriage ride but we had to meet our group .

We did stick our heads out . But I used to work on a Bell 412 as a Flight Medic and it was the whole body sometimes wearing SCUBA gear during an air deployment .

Our favorite way to see the Na Pali coast and the Waimea Grand Canyon was a doors off helicopter . And our favorite way to see the NCL POA was from the beach at Duke's Canoe Club .

The monastery line The Church Iglesia de Santa Maria de Belen

We explored more of Lisbon with friends that we met on CC and the aid of a local guide . This allowed us to see and do more with other kindred spirits . We started at the cruise port and our first stop was the Monument of the Discoveries . We were given an hour to explore . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monument_of_the_Discoveries We met back here and our guide brought us Pasteis de Belem We first walked to the Monument to the Discoveries where we recognized Vasco de Gamma , Ferdinand Magellan the first man to circumnavigate the World and Prince Henry the navigator who led the Age of Discovery at the head of the monument holding a Caravel, a fast , light ship that he invented that allowed the discovery of the new world . The light at our back The light in our face The Compass Rose and the Monastery in the distance The compass rose and mappa mundi, a gift from the Union of South Africa created from beige, black and red limestone. Jerónimos Monastery is in the background. From Wikipedia The monastery line was too long so we went into the Church The lady begging in front of the church we gave some money and asked for a photo , but she wouldn't smile .

We are currently and for the past week have been victimized by multiple attempts of identity theft . We just got another attempt to open a bank account in our name . Also on the home front a pregnant female racoon has chewed 2 holes in the roof and is trying to nest in our attic . The trapper has set the trap so that we can humanely remove the racoon to a better place for us and them . It is raining for the next 2 days here and he advised us to leave the holes open until it is trapped . We don't like rain coming thru our roof and we hope and pray for a peaceful and reasonably priced solution for these 2 issues . We hope that if you pray , please remember us in your prayers . Thank you and love to all . Pat and Joe .

We just scratched the surface of Lisbon and Portugal and we feel that we would be remiss to just show our first visit to this great city It is the second oldest capital in Europe but one of the oldest cities in the world . It's also the the most western point of continental Europe . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisbon Sailing in The large statue of Christ the King We were not alone A two lip ship

What we didn't realize was it was a 5 mile ( 8Km ) walk . So when we arrived at our refreshment place we needed a pick me up . This was a staged photo . Pat in the take out line . If you go inside you can see them baking and we sat down to an Expresso and a couple of the delicious custard tarts . They also sold them by the box so we took some to give to the cabin attendants and some for an afternoon treat on the balcony overlooking Lisbon . https://pasteisdebelem.pt/en/

Unlike the Azores , the day before entering Lisbon was dry , sunny and cool exciting us more for our first visit to a large city on this trip . Entering Lisbon on the Tagus River we first passed the Torre de Belem Followed by the Monument of the Discoveries Soon passing under the Ponte 25 de April Bridge ( Lisbon's version of the Golden Gate ) Tying up in the port our plan was simple ( in our simple minds ) . Take a waiting cab up to the Castelo de San Jorge and walk down thru the Alfama to the water . From there we would walk follow the water back to Belem and view on land what we had seen on the water . São Jorge Castle Photo from Wikipedia

We did stop at a very pretty lake but we're not sure which one . And they were mooving the cows from pasture to pasture down the road The pretty town of Ribeira Grande https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ribeira_Grande,_Azores Leaving the Azores in our wake and headed for Lisbon

We made it to the island of São Miguel Island and the port of Ponta Delgada on a rainy day . At the port was the Solstice , the 6 year younger sister of the Connie and the first of the Solstice Class . We met our guide Carlo of Amazing Tours and he and they were . We headed out toward Furnas . The waterfall in the distance was pretty impressive and with the steam coming from the hidden volcanic vents , it reminded us of a Jurassic Park . You can see it here in the video clip : We went to a volcanic area with boiling water and mud and there are holes where they place pots of meats and vegetables and it slow cooks a stew over hours .