sailingdutchy
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Posts posted by sailingdutchy
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1 hour ago, XBGuy said:
There used to be a lot of Russian tourists coming to the Mediterranean countries , specially to Greece I believe the numbers have dropped way down over time which you can see on the large number of stores where they sold fur coats etc that are closed up now . Favourite stores specially to the Russian tourists .
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1 hour ago, Vict0riann said:
Good morning, all. Interesting day - especially as it's wine day!
In honour of Towel Day
Like Tony, we have been to Cyprus, but not Limassol. We docked in Larnaca and took a tour to Nicosia. It is a very interesting area, with the variety of cultures.
I decided to post a "few " of my pictures anyways Ann @VictOriann I had it all prepared until all of a sudden I saw the nice pictures of @Quartzsite Cruiser . ( Only one double lucky enough ) Noticed you were not on our tour that day but some other friends were .
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From our cruise on the “Elegant Explorer “ the wonderful Prinsendam in Oct of 2016 landing in the port of Lanarca .We organized a mini-bus tour with a small Bus Line with a good English speaking guide.The tour included a ride to Nicosia , the capital , walk across the green line through no-mans land into the Turkish- occupied district , visit the Selimiye Mosque the Caravanserai Buyuk Han and the Saint Lazarus church with the Tomb of Saint Lazarus .On our drive to Nicosia
Walking through the Greek portion of the city through the markets .
Getting to the " demarcation line “ to give passport information to the Greek guards
Walk about 20 meters across United Nations controlled no-mans land , no pictures please
Crossing the Attila Line into the Turkish - occupied sector and get checked again
Selimiye Camii ( 1208 - 1326 ) Saint Sophia Cathedral including signs of bullet and bomb damage
Visiting the Buyuk Han Cultural Centre
MMMmmmmmmm.
Back in Greek territory after a short delay the Turkish guards could not find the passport info from one person in our group that they had collected a few hours earlier ………. He was lucky to be able to get across the line again .Arch Bishop Makarios , a Greek Cypriot clergyman and later after becoming an independent nation the first President of Cyprus who played such a large roll during the Greek Turkish Crisis .
In Larnaca
After he rose again by a miracle he left Palestine and became a Bishop on Cyprus for another long period where he died and was buried ............and did not rise again .
We needed a large one it was hot , but they did not have Heineken ……..What is up with that .......?
On our way to Ashdad ( Jerusalem )
Tony 😀-
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Thanks very much Rich , Roy , Jacqui and all other contributors to the Daily , this is so very much appreciated during this Covid time when we are still not able to cruise but who knows they say there is that " light at the ......end.....of .........????"
I thought we had been to Limassol , Cyprus on the Prinsendam in 2016 but double checking my files we were in the port of Larnaca some 40 miles ( 66 km's ) up the coast . I will wait if somebody shows up with some pictures from Limassol otherwise I might show some of mine from the " Elegant Explorer " it was another very exciting day ......... if there are pictures from Limassol I will wait patiently my turn
Tony 😉
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Oh and BTW I love escargots , this was in the Rudi’s Sel de Mer on the Nieuw Statendam , with our good friends Ann and Pat @VictOriann!
And we divide the fish platter with 4 of us as an appetizer
So good , it was good enough for a repeat on the Koningsdam the next year and again with our friends
and we happened to have our same favourite waiter Gabriel , to make it even better !Tony 😀-
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Our visit to Kyoto Part 2After lunch Ken took us to the Ginkaku-Ji Temple a World Cultural Heritage site ( Silver Pavilion ) with some of the most incredible gardens we have see in Japan .
Here a couple of gardeners were sitting on their knees with tweezers taking out very small plants that did not belong in the particular desired moss or ground cover .
Ken took us next to the downtown Gion street area a very old part of this old Imperial City
Young Japanese ladies that dress up for the occasion , there are a lot of kimono for rent locations .
Sorry I misidentified the first site from the other post it should have been the Ninna-Ji Palace and Gardens NOT the Fushimi Inari Shrine because that is where we went next and it is quite different .
The cleansing ceremony explained and shown to do the proper way
After a long but incredible day we arrived back in Osaka to continue our journey
Sorry I am taking so much space today , but it so hard to make a choice out of hundreds of pictures on an incredible day .................... Hope you liked Kyoto a great location to go to from Osaka .Tony 😀😀-
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This was on our cruise with the Volendam in October / November of 2017 .We had a fantastic tour from Osaka , Japan to go for the day to Kyoto with 3 other couples and guided by a retired professor Mr Ken Sakurai a man with incredible knowledge and wonderful humour in a very comfortable Jumbo Taxi with wifi for all !Because of the large number of pictures I might do it in a couple of postsFirst stop was at the Fushimi- Inaru Shrine and viewing the five storied Pagoda
Our next place to visit was the Kinkaku- Ji Temple ( Golden Pavilion ) . An incrediblebeautiful place and gorgeous setting which despite a mild rain we all really enjoyed.
After spending quite a bit of time here it was time to dry up a little and have a wonderful Japanese lunch , I always invite the guide and the driver to join us ,that way we get the best information about the local menus and what to order in the foreign countries for a little bit of extra cost for the group .
To be continued after the break ……..
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Sorry no pictures of Luanda , Angola from me either . Wonder how many cruises land there each year …….On the other hand I have a little bit of a Turtle story which happened to us this week . We live on a larger treed property with a good size natural pond .DW Martha heard something knocking on the wall and went outside to check who or what it was and close to where she thought the knocking took place she saw this turtle , I don’t think it was “Dork “ @VictOriann because this was a snapping turtle . He or she , I did not check carefully under the shield , seemed to be hung up on a wooden wall near the front door . Have a look at the claws …….
Martha tried to entice it with some of our freshly picked lettuce but that did not work, it just would not go for it , no movement whatsoever .So I put on my gardening gloves on and put my hands towards the end of the shield which was about a foot and a half long . The minute I lifted it off the RR ties ................ all of a sudden his head snapped toward the back and I dropped it and it fell on its back ........ I saw its yellow tummy ,……. but within 10 seconds I moved him right side up right near my delicious lettuce .
Still no movement at all , I hoped I had not hurt it or it did not have a concussion but as long as we stood there for a while waiting for it to move it did not even blink an eye . So we went inside and looked through the window but than it was nowhere to be seen , after some scouting we found it “running “ besides the back of the house and into the forest .So this was our excitement for the week , sorry I did not get it’s name nor it's age but from the looks of it it was not a “spring chicken “Tony 😀😀-
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We were in Reykjavik , Iceland for a couple of days with the Eurodam in 2012 on the Voyage of the Vikings cruise .Thank you all for posting a lot of very nice pictures which brought back some great memories . We had this extra day in Reykjavic because we had to skip our stop in the Shetland Islands due to a huge storm we had to go around that and because the days we were there were cold and rainy I went out by myself , did a lot of walking and exploring through Reykjavik went to the beautiful museum and had a real nice day , on the second day I joined a small group tour that I had booked before we left to do the Golden Circle Tour like I see many of you did .I will see if I can post some pictures without duplicating too many .
Statue of Leif Erikson the Norwegian explorer who discovered Iceland on the square in front of the Hallsgrimskirkja Church
View from the tower of the church
The place where the famous chess match took place between Spassky and Fischer ( World Championship during the Cold War )
In this Store / Restaurant there was a trench covered by glass to show the crack between the 2 Tectonic Plates that went right through this place .
A few of my waterfall and nature pictures , I know this is a repeat ....
Time to get back on board we are leaving soon for Greenland !
I would love to see a lot more of Iceland and its beautiful untouched nature ………have to convince DW first ,😀. she loves places with palm trees and there are none on Iceland to be found …….Tony 😀-
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We have been a few times in Valencia and surroundings because my youngest brother lives nearby .The inner court of his home .
Enjoying a nice lunch with my Dutch brother who has a summer home near Valencia and my Spanish Brother who has lived there for 40 some years . It was a long time ago the three have met all together
Enjoying a fantastic original Paella with the familia , cooked outdoors on a wood fire . Fred makes the best ones with either chicken , rabbit or seafood .
Brothers home on the left and to the right is where the ladies meet in the morning doing their laundry at the well . A lot of talking is always going on ............
The village from the tower in the centre where he plays his guitar because of the great acoustics
Lunch : a Set Menu of the day and bring your own bottle of wine . My brother works with a few Bodegas so nothing but the best !
Youngest brother Fred ( Alfredo ) is a great classical Spanish guitar player and composer .
Valencia .The nice old entrance hall of the Valencia train station
The Arena in Valencia
Entrance to the Ceramics Museum . Palacio del Marques de Dos Aguas .
The ceramics museum
The Catedral .
After sundown when the Spanish heat subsides in Valencia ( 38 C ) an nice outdoors dinner
I am also still looking for the cruise pictures when we had another very nice day in Valencia and met up again with the family near the “ City of Arts and Sciences complex “ . Spain has always been one of our favourite destinations .Hope you enjoyed seeing a few personal pictures from in and near Valencia .Tony😀😀-
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August 30, 2019 on the Prinsendam with other CC'rs and quite a few cruise friends like Jacqui and Jose @kazu which whom we had some wonderful tours on this cruise !I will try not to duplicate too many pictures of Porto when we were on a great tour with Pirates of the Cruise Ships
Just one more of the beautiful tile work at the trainstation ......
The well hidden very old Jewish Quarters
The bridge seen from the top near the cloister .
Time for a Port and a snack with "Bear "
Guide Bruno and the ladies .......he was quite the charmer !
Later that evening a wonderful Rudy’s dinner at the Pinnacle to finish another perfect day !
Tony 😀😀-
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First thing First : " Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms and Caretakers " you all deserve many more than one day though ! Have a great day !
Now I am going to look if I can come up with a few different pictures from our day in Porto
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1 hour ago, Dismomx5 said:
Thanks for the information and lists. Dreary day here in SW Ontario. I am so tired of the early spring weather....we should be getting late spring by now. 12ºC is NOT my kind of May weather! Have a blessed day! Prayers for those who need them.
I fully agree can't wait for next Tuesday night when they are forecasting the possible last danger of frost so I can finish planting the gardens ......... That's about the only thing I am so far allowed to do in my spare time .........
Tony 😀
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15 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:
Awesome pics Tony! Most definitely a place on my bucket list
That patrol boat, a British-designed, Chilean-made, 32-meter Protector-class LEP-type coastal patrol vessel, belongs to the Argentinians' neighbors however, the Chileans, and her name is Alacalufe, pennant # LSG-1603, based out of Puerto Williams, Chile which faces the Beagle Channel. The Alacalufe are a Chilean indigenous people who reside in Chilean Patagonia. Check out the national colors in the main mast. The name on the sign above her bridge reads "Vencer o morir," the Chilean battle cry "Win or die". In your pic, she is in dire need of a paint job on her hull 😉
Thank you for correcting me John , me bad !!! I should have looked closer to the mast ......and thanks for your research to let me know the facts .
Tony 😀
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As promised a few pics of Cape Horn from the day after we left Tierra del Fuego and the Beagle Channel .The Captain made a few circles at the place where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans meet .
Just to get an idea of what a storm near Cape Horn can do you might have seen the picture of the Argentinian monument for the Ilas Malvinas ( Falklands ) when it was not damaged yet that @StLouisCruisers has shown earlier .......here the picture from after a storm.
Also to get a little bit of an idea about a real storm go to YouTube and punch in Storm Cape Horn Cruise MS Veendam ( Dec 12 & 13 2010 ) She , The Veendam needed a new nose after that one !Argentinian Navy checking up ....
Leaving Isla Hornos and Cabo de Hornos ( In Dutch : Kaap Hoorn ) a beautiful sunset ……..
These last 3 pictures of the sunset were taken within 10 minutes !
Up to Antarctica what an amazing cruise and what a gorgeous place to visit , one of my all time very favourites !Tony 😀😀-
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We were on the Zaandam to make the Antarctica cruise from Chile to Argentina in 2015 . Because there already have been posted so many nice pictures I will show a few of mine without much commentary and hope they are slightly different
Post office at the " End of the World “
Getting my special stamps cancelled
Is that @Copper10-8 in action ......?
Advertising the Indonesian crew show for that evening
Will show a couple more pictures from the next day around Cape Horn in a few minutes ……......Tony😀-
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1 hour ago, Copper10-8 said:
Your uncle was part of the Greatest Generation! We are forever in debt to that generation who left their home countries to fight across both ponds for freedom! Many of those heroes never returned and lost their lives at a very young age! The Dutch, for one, will never forget and pay tribute to their liberators each year.
I had to look up Delden, thought perhaps it was Den Helder, the navy town which was my dad's birthplace. However, Delden is a municipality in the east of the Netherlands in the province of Overijssel, close to Germany. You learn something new every day 😉
I have to be honest and had to look it up also John . Great to hear your dad was from Den Helder We were there a couple of years ago and really enjoyed the Maritime Museum and have good friends in Koedijk .
For you a couple of pictures of the "Tonijn "
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Besides today being Cinco de Mayo in the Spanish world in the Netherlands today it is Liberation Day . We celebrate our Liberation and the ending of WWII on May 5th 1945 by Canadian and other allied forces , Americans , British and Polish .
The Dutch people , and I as a Canadian immigrant are forever thankful for the great sacrifices these young men and women made to give us back our freedom !
We will never forget !
Tony
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Thank you for another interesting Daily, Rich , Roy , the recipe and the drink ladies and also for the fun pictures of the King Neptune ceremony for the rookies .
We have also had the pleasure of crossing the Equator I believe 3 times once on the Zaandam and a couple times on different cruises on the Volendam . Besides going to witness the King Neptune ceremony and rulings I also did my own experiments in the bathrooom on board ship to see if my Physics teacher was correct , filled my sink and the tub ............
So I checked out if the Coriolis Effect was working in my sink and also the toilet and YES this was the result of my experiments of the before and after the crossing :
The Coriolis force is caused by the earth's rotation. It is responsible for air being pulled to the right (counterclockwise) in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left (clockwise) in the Southern Hemisphere. The Coriolis Effect is the observed curved path of moving objects relative to the surface of the Earth.
Of coarse like any other Science and Physics laws there are a lot of naysayers , I have been told there are still people around believing that the earth is flat but we have not fallen off yet ..............
Have a great day everybody and for the people on the care list our thoughts are with you and hope that everything will get back soon to normal .
Take Care and Stay Safe
Tony 😀
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1 hour ago, kazu said:
That looks like the Algonquin Hotel in St. Andrews, NB. (A very historic hotel with a rich heritage). That means you docked in Saint John. Pity we hadn’t known you back then to meet up 😔
That is a very nice place @kazu and I think Captain Darin Bowland wanted to spend the day at home that's why he took us to St John ! 😀
St John is also a very nice port to sail into !
When I speak of Captain Darin Bowland I have to tell you about the beautiful Renewal of Vows he performed on us for our 50th on the Koningsdam in the Mediterranean in 2019 in front of our oldest daughter and her family . ( Their first cruise ! )
I booked that and it was a total surprise to Martha until we both arrived on board ship and she got a huge bunch of roses when we entered our cabin on day one .
I am not a little guy but you can see the difference . As real Canadians we talked hockey of coarse he said he used to be a goalie , I can see why !
I can really recommend booking a Renewal of Vows if you are celebrating an anniversary ..... or anytime you feel like it . It was a wonderful experience and this time I did not have to promise anything .........!
Tony 😀😀
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We have cruised the Saint Lawrence on the Eurodam in 2009 from Quebec City on a New England “ Colours of the Fall " cruise to Ft Lauderdale
On a tour from Quebec City we visited the Montmorency Falls .
Proud of “our” great Canadian Captain Darin Bowland , from New Brunswick . There still was that nice Welcome Party and the introduction of the main officers in 2009 .
Going down the river we passed the Maasdam in the fog
On our first stop in the Gaspe we were tendered off the ship in glorious sunny weather to visit the Perce Rock and walk the town but suddenly the very dense fog rolled in and because the Eurodam was anchored a ways from port the tenders had a real problem finding the mother ship , they had to get talked in over the radio to get us back on board and all of a sudden at the last moment we finally saw the Eurodam . The tender lasted about half an hour .
Once we hit the Gulf of Saint Lawrence we had some wonderful tours in Newfoundland , Prince Edward Island , Nova Scotia and New Brunswick .
All of the other beautiful pictures are in my “old fashioned photo album “ .Have a great day everybody , Please Take Care and Stay Safe so we can all soon cruise again !Tony-
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Ashdad tour Part 2 .It was quite a warm day and we had already done a lot of walking so after a drive towards the Dead Sea we stopped for a snack and drink before we took a “ dive “ into the sea .Here you can see the sea in the distance
The date palm farms
It is not easy walking into the sea because of all the very uneven seafloor you can't see under the water but once in it was wonderful what an experience .!I have to admit , I am not a swimmer , but I was so happy to float on my back for minutes without doing anything . DW got some very , very salty water in her eyes ( yes she was warned …....) so she went quick to the showers .
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXI am sorry to do this to you but the speedo and bikini pictures I have on file did not make it through the Censor !XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Our Israeli guide , Ital , who had done an awesome job all day did not talk about the settlements we saw in Palestinian territory ......Tony 😄OK Ann @VictOriann you can look now you are safe !-
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We had a fantastic cruise in the Eastern Mediterranean , Greece , Albania , Italy , Cyprus , Israel , Malta , Spain, Portugal and after that all the way back to Ft Lauderdale on the beautiful Prinsendam in Oct / Nov 2016 .
Our good friends Ann @VictOriann , with DH Pat and their DD had organized a wonderful tour to Jerusalem and the Dead Sea from Ashdad. It was a very long but amazing day one we will always remember , towards the end of the day floating in the Dead Sea healed us all .Thank you very much for your beautiful pictures and the descriptions @StLouisCruisers and @Quartzsite Cruiser of coarse we went to a lot of the same places I will try not to duplicate too many pictures .
An amazing day and wonderful tour we saw so much history and religion in just a few hours after that we went to the Dead Sea but I will show some pictures in a separate post . ( they will have to go through the censor board first ! 😄😄 )Tony-
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Rich , thank you very much for your dedication posting the Daily , day in and day out for this long ! Specially at times like this it is such a wonderful place to meet up with old and new cruise friends , seeing the beautiful pictures and reading of all the nice adventures on the BHB !
Hope to meet up with you one day if not on the Rotterdam Premier cruise that we both booked somewhere else to thank you !
Have a great day everybody .Take Care and Stay Safe !
Tony 😄
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The Daily for Wednesday May 26, 2021
in Holland America Line
Posted
Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser thank you very much for your nice pictures of Guam . Hope one of these years I can have a peak at Guam myself I would like to see some of these historical sites but I guess I would have to book a HAL World Cruise or be a trader and go with a different company .............that won't happen , too much Blue and Orange blood in my veins !
Tony 😉