Semi-Live Voyager for 33 nights beginning May 1, 2024

[xpcdoojk]

Valletta Malta pix.  We did the War Time tour of Malta, which included the fort (St Elmo) at the entrance to the port and then the Mosta Dome (3rd largest unsupported dome in the world).  It was the cheapest RCI tour we took $60 a person.  Pretty decent value for a decent tour.  The Mosta Dome during WWII had a bomb from a Stukka bomber go thru the dome, hitting a portrait of Jesus then falling to the floor without exploding with about 300 people in the basilica.  So many beautiful churches.  

 

the food pix is the snack we ate outside of the Mosta Dome before going into the WWII air raid tunnel by the basilica.  

 

 

[xpcdoojk]

Rhodes Greece.  So many beautiful walled cities.  The hillside town and lunch were in Lindos.  Classic greek village with walled acropolis on top of the hill side.  View of the bay full of tourist boats. 

 

This is just a fraction of the pictures we took in Rhodes as it is very pretty.  

[xpcdoojk]

Surfing while leaving Rhodes, again thanks to Dale.  He likes shooting from the back!🤣

[xpcdoojk]

Kusadasi, Turkey, Ephesus, and Sirence Village.  The next on top of the building is a stork nest with babies sticking heads up.

[xpcdoojk]

Santorini, Greece.  

 

 

[xpcdoojk]

Mykonos, Greece.  What looks more like a Greek Island than Mykonos?

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Piraeus, Greece. End of cruise 2 start of cruise 3.  The non surfing cruise.  😞

[xpcdoojk]

Crete, Greece.  Posting these photos of the lake, it is almost impossible to see the lake in the pictures even though it is very much there. Very pretty.

 

 

[xpcdoojk]

Crete looks a lot like Santorini and Mykonos from a climate / green look, but feels completely different as it is not crowded! Pix from the lake the monastery.   

[xpcdoojk]

lunch for OB

 

 

[Tree_skier]

On 5/31/2024 at 9:12 PM, xpcdoojk said:

 I got a text from a former co-worker, that my best friend from my life in business had passed away.  He was 66

So sorry JC. 

[xpcdoojk]

3 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

So sorry JC. 

Thanks funeral and Irish wake Saturday.  I think we are going if we can get someone to watch the dog, it is in KC a few hour drive.  Have never been to an Irish wake, and I am not sure I could drive home after or not imbibe while at.  I hate funerals.  

[xpcdoojk]

Cephalonia, Greece.  I think I love this island.  Our RCI tour went to a cave, after which we had Lemon honey cake.  Then we went to a boat tour in a cave that had a roof collapse. Then we grabbed a slice of pizza and a vegetarian pastry for lunch, again for OB. 

 

 

[xpcdoojk]

It is a completely different color and views on the Ionic sea islands it appears.  I would like to visit next door Ithaca too.  I loved the Odyssey when I was young and all of the mythology. 

 

Fiskardo village and harbor pix.  Loved this little spot.

 

Note the picture of the catamaran sticking out behind a couple of dinghies.  That is the failed parking attempt.  By the time I got where I could film the debacle they had given up and pulled out.  🤣  It is so hard to be a dutiful shooping husband while something actually interesting is happening!

[xpcdoojk]

Mythos Bay.  I need to be on that beach!!!!

[xpcdoojk]

So, that is pretty much all of the pictures that need to tell the story....  

 

If you have questions, shoot away.  If you have comments even better.  

 

It was a great trip.  Although, I do think that 33 days on a cruise ship is a bit wearing.  IE things become a lot less special.  That said, I would happily start again tomorrow.  Especially, if Scotty could beam me on the ship and not make me fly back!

 

jc

[clochette]

7 hours ago, xpcdoojk said:

Ponta Delgado, Azores Portugal pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

what did you do there, a tour or just walked around on your own?  thanks for all of the great pictures

[xpcdoojk]

3 minutes ago, clochette said:

what did you do there, a tour or just walked around on your own?  thanks for all of the great pictures

We just walked off the ship.  Withdrew some euros from an ATM, shopped ate lunch.  We had previously been there and taken a tour.  This time it was a shopping eating thing.  

[xpcdoojk]

I am 99% certain, you can see that church from the ship.  

[Tree_skier]

5 hours ago, xpcdoojk said:

Thanks funeral and Irish wake Saturday.  I think we are going if we can get someone to watch the dog, it is in KC a few hour drive.  Have never been to an Irish wake, and I am not sure I could drive home after or not imbibe while at.  I hate funerals.  

Get a room and experience all that the Irish have to offer.  🙂. 

[xpcdoojk]

I am leaning towards, going to the visitation at 11AM… 3 hour drive.  Maybe the funeral, but not the Wake.  I would like to do the full Irish, but the dog (Rodrhi) has been in a kennel or in a strange environment for over a month, and I hate to do that again to the poor little monster.  I looked at hotels, but there are not a lot of good options since LQ got swallowed by Wyndham, most of the good options after that, are full major hotels with an additional 100 to 200 a night charge for having a monster in your room. Plus I hate funerals.  

[xpcdoojk]

I just noticed a $14 credit on my Amex card from unused OBC.  I had prepaid tips and tours.  I figured I was just going to lose that tiny credit.  

 

JC

[Luckynana]

On 6/5/2024 at 1:36 PM, xpcdoojk said:

Mythos Bay.  I need to be on that beach!!!!

 

Beautiful blue water!  Thank you for taking us along with you, JC!

[mapleleaves]

Perhaps I missed it but what did you do in Santorini ?

[xpcdoojk]

I surfed til about 10AM, we were just past the last tender ticket when we got on the tender.  We got to the line for the cable car which lasted for about an hour, we talked to Dimi (from the sports staff and his wife Chrissy (or something close to that), she is the lovely little ice dancer who comes out at the end with the emperor card and gets tossed about by the dance captain in the show.  Got to the top, wandered thru the familiar little streets on top.  Eventually ended up in a restaurant, where we talked to an Australian couple we met earlier in the cruise in the crown lounge.  Had a 1/2 carafe each of the house white (Krystal) and the house red (me).  We didn’t finish either.  Had a shared salad, some calamari which was fresh, but was under fried to Krystal’s liking.  It was, also, the parts of the calamari which we generally don’t get served anywhere but Santorini.  IE the head and those part, that are not the rings or the tails.  It was a nice restaurant, but it put K off on Calamari the rest of the trip!🤣  After we took the donkey path down because the line at the top was longer than the line to the top.  Since the cars hold 6 people, I can’t remember if there were 5 or 6 going up and down at the same time, but regardless that is max 30 or 36 people per trip.  Each trip takes a few minutes.  We took the donkey path.  I am pretty sure I posted some pix of the donkeys!  We were there until like 10PM.  I am pretty sure we didn’t watch sail away, although I was up for sail in.  😜

 

Went to KC today for the funeral.  After talking to the kids and sobbing the whole time, we gave our friends wife a hug and all I could say was so sad.  We decided we didn’t need to stay for the whole thing.  They were going to their home for the wake, that would have been a mess for us, as we used to stay with them when we would come up for a concert or a plethora of Chiefs games over the years.  He and I went to the Masters for a week in 2010 (the infamous Tiger wreck year).  We went to NASCAR races, Indy car races.  Played a lot of golf, listened to a lot of loud rock and roll music, drank to much together, including one time when we went on a float trip, where I was trashed by midnight and he the professional kept going till way later.  Then the bus ride with a bunch of hung over dudes, where I am thinking I am going to throw up.  Getting to the spring fed river (IE about 60F) and his fat a$$ in the front and me in the back and literally turning over on the first paddle stroke.  Only reason I finished the float trip, as it sobered me up instantly.  

 

So many memories, and the large chapel was full of people I sort of knew and ones I knew about, we bailed quick, as I couldn’t stomach the thought of chatting with these people, as the only people I wanted to chat with were the family and they were carrying a heavy load.  My friend was larger than life, and I missed him so.  

 

JC

Edited June 9 by xpcdoojk