FALLING ILL WHEN YOU LEAST EXPECT IT

I was sick so I could only admire the Icelandic fishing town Isofjordur from the deck

The most unfortunate thing is to get sick when you are traveling. In our sixteen years of travels, I remember three occasions when that happened to my husband and me.

 A Two-Week Cruise that Was Disrupted

 The first was during the Enrichment Voyage cruise, the two weeks when adults are allowed to join Semester at Sea, the program that enables college students to earn credits on board a cruise ship to get global experiences required for their degrees. Whenever we were at sea, the college professors held courses on politics, economics, and geography of the next country we were to visit.

 Before embarking in Sweden, we had just finished a tour of Norway, Finland, and Russia. After a port call in Copenhagen, the cruise ship proceeded to Reykjavik, Iceland. En route to the small fishing town of Isofjodur in western Iceland, we developed chills, fever, colds, and cough. By then, the small clinic on the ship had become as busy as the buffet stations. Some virus was going around. My husband braved a walking tour of the town but, feeling worse, I stayed on the ship, taking photos from the deck. It was good I was well enough to join the excursion at Akureyri in northern Iceland.  

 A Disney Vacation that Didn't Happen

 On the first week of December 2011, we parked our RV in Orlando, Florida, seven miles from Disney World. Finally, at 63, I was going to the theme park for the first time! The next morning, right after breakfast, Bill felt severe chest pains. We hurried to the Urgent Care Center right outside the Resort. They quickly told us to go to the Heart of Florida Hospital, about fifteen minutes away. The surgeon immediately performed an angioplasty, inserting three stents into two of Bill’s arteries, one 100% blocked, the other, 75%.

 Would you believe I had to endure a TV show about preparing for a funeral while in the waiting room? Later, I had to go back and forth between the hospital and the campground when I hardly knew how to drive. I did not know anyone at the Park. Without a support system, within a week, hives broke out all over my body. My dream Disney World vacation turned into a horror story.

 The Consequences of Long Drives

 In 2013 we made a long road trip to visit our children in Idaho, Alberta, Washington, and Colorado. To be more comfortable we opted to take the car and left the RV in storage in Mesa, Arizona. The first stop was Boise, then Calgary. From there to Seattle, my husband drove twelve hours straight. Not even two days later, we left for a nineteen-hour drive to Denver.

 That’s where a painful knot behind my husband’s left knee progressed to his whole left leg, from the hip to his foot, feeling numbness, tightness, and pain. At the nearest hospital, they found several blood clots on that leg. He was given injections to break them down and tablets to thin out his blood. It took a week before the doctors allowed him to drive back home. Again, I had a flare-up of hives. They must be caused by stress. After this incident, we set six hours as our maximum driving time in a day, with a good stop after the first three hours.

 Falling ill during travel is inconvenient at best; it can be tragic at worst. We were lucky that both cardiovascular problems happened in American urban centers. Just imagine how terrifying and costly it would have been if we had been elsewhere where Medicare was not available, the healthcare system was not good enough, and we didn’t know anybody who could help us.

With health issues becoming more serious as we age, there are several things we must do if we want to continue traveling. Our travels should be safe, convenient, and comfortable. We must also keep our insurance up-to-date and comprehensive. But the most important thing is to keep ourselves as healthy as possible, ready to face the rigors of life on the road.

 

 

 

Choosing Planes, Ships, Trains, Buses or Automobiles

Our six-week European Swing was designed around my daughter’s wedding in Scotland’s Guthrie Castle. It was indeed memorable. But it was also highly educational. It gave us a great view of the differences among the different modes of transportation.

The first two weeks were in Scandinavia and Russia through a combination of airplanes and a ferry (from Finland to Russia) to transfer from one country to another. We used public transportation in Oslo, Helsinki, and Stockholm. In St. Petersburg, we were on a bus excursion from the ferry. We found that car rentals and fuel were sky-high.

The next two weeks were spent on an MV Explorer cruise through Denmark, Scotland, Iceland, Ireland, and England. We embarked in Stockholm, Sweden, did city walking tours in Copenhagen, Denmark, Lerwich, Scotland, Isofjordur, Iceland, and Belfast, Northern Ireland, and took bus excursions for Rekjavik and Akureyri, Iceland.

The last two weeks were in the UK. We disembarked in Southampton, England. It was a Sunday and car rental companies were closed during the season because their entire fleet would have been rented out for the weekend to be returned only on the following Monday.  So besides car rentals, we used trains (and other modes) for road trips across the UK.

First, when it was just my husband and I, we walked the towns and used trains from Southampton to Brighton, Brighton to Canterbury, and Canterbury to Gatwick. That’s the airport where we picked up my daughter and her two daughters.

The five of us then rented a Renault Captur, big enough to carry us and five bags. In two days, we covered Stonehenge, Salisbury, and Bath from our hotel  in Warminster. Then we toured the Cotswolds and southwestern Wales from an Airbnb in Cheltenham for the next two days. On the last day, we visited Windsor Castle from Heathrow Lodge.

Third, after my daughter’s wedding, we joined our BFFs and partners using trains, buses, a private car, cabs, and the tube, whatever was appropriate and available, touring London, Liverpool, and Edinburgh. 

Here is what we learned. Cruise ships can be the least expensive mode, especially if you get a highly discounted one like we did through Groupon. Organized excursions, however, can dramatically raise the cost. Use them when necessary and explore by yourselves, whenever possible. The biggest drawback, however, is you get the least sense of a place and people with just 8 hours at port. But if you are a foodie, you can get the best variety and quantity of food on a cruise ship. There is also a ready like-minded community to travel with. Finally, there is no need to pack or unpack!

Planes, trains, cabs, and buses are less convenient, having to haul luggage through different means of transfers, especially on windy, damp, and cold days. But these road trips can give you the best sense of place and people because you can stay as long as you want. The longer you stay, the cheaper the lodging becomes.

Even if you must drive, a road trip by car may be even more cost-effective (car rentals become cheaper the longer the period), as long as parking fees and the cost of fuel aren’t exorbitant. But maybe not in the UK since driving is on the wrong side of the road, the back roads are very narrow, and the speed limits are higher than those in the US. It can sometimes be quite scary!

We concluded that a road trip gives you the best sense of place and people. We always prefer to travel by car but if fuel and parking costs are not reasonable or driving conditions are unfamiliar, then trains, buses, and planes are the next best. We will reserve cruise ships only as an exception. One such exception is short ferries from one country to another. But when in town, walk around and use public transportation!  

            

TRAVEL AWAITS: 11 Reasons This Unique “Semester at Sea” Program Is The Best Way To Experience Iceland

This article originally appeared in Travel Awaits on June 30, 2022.

In 1926 a historic ship, the first of the “University of Seven Seas,” sailed from New Jersey and visited 90 ports in seven and a half months. As explained by its then Dean: ‘This is not a mere sightseeing tour but a college year of educational travel…to train students to think in world terms…’ Later, it was called the “World Campus Afloat.” Today it is “Semester at Sea.”

For the last 59 years, the Institute of Shipboard Education has been conducting this world study program. Luckily for my husband and me, they opened it to non-students; it was called the Enrichment Voyage, available in 2 or 4-week segments. It has since been renamed the Lifelong Learning Program with a minimum of 30 days with three to five days at a port, not just one. Here’s why we absolutely loved this best way to experience Iceland, and actually, the world.

IT WAS NOT EXPENSIVE

Groupon junkie that I was, we stumbled upon the ad that offered an interior cabin and all-inclusive amenities for just $1,399 per week for two. The first week included Copenhagen and three ports in Iceland after embarking in Stockholm. On the second week, it was to three ports in the UK, disembarking in Southampton.   

THE FACILITIES WERE ENTIRELY ADEQUATE

MV Explorer was the name of our ship and we didn’t know it was going to be its last voyage. Although not as luxurious as the cruise ships we know, it was entirely adequate for its 700 passengers. We had ten classrooms, one large seminar/showroom, another large seminar/ballroom, a piano bar, two dining rooms (one for buffet and another with waiter service), a pool and poolside bar, three viewing decks, a wellness center including a gym, spa, sauna, and massage rooms, a library, a computer lab, a good-sized store, and a medical clinic. Even if WIFI facilities were limited, it was also adequate for emails and seminar materials.

THE CREW WAS WORLD-CLASS

A former Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization once said that Filipino seamen were the “unsung heroes” of an “unsung industry.” The Philippines has more than 500,000 manning vessels around the world. In fact, 70% of our 218 crew was Filipino and two of the five on the Captain’s senior management team—the Purser and the Executive Chef—were Filipinos, as well as one of the ship’s doctors and all the nurses.  I felt well cared for and at home. I beamed ear-to-ear every time I heard one complimented by fellow passengers.

IT WAS A COMPLETE ICELANDIC EXPERIENCE

It took two days at sea before we reached Reykjavik from Copenhagen. Lying between the North Atlantic and the Arctic Oceans, Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe—325,000 people in an area of 40,000 square miles of sand and lava fields, mountains and glaciers, and glacial rivers flowing to the sea. Its climate is wonderfully temperate despite being just outside the Arctic Circle because the Gulf Stream warms it. Our cruise took us to Reykjavik in the south, Ísafjörður to the west, and Akureyri in the north.

WE GOT TO SEE A LOT OF REYKJAVIK

The excursion we chose took us first to Þingvellir National Park, a continuously evolving volcanic area, and Haukadalur, included in the Golden Circle, where geysers and other geothermal features have developed on a rhyolitic dome. Then we proceeded to Þingvallavatn, the largest natural lake in Iceland. The tour also gave us the chance to take a dip at the famous Blue Lagoon, a geothermal spa in Grindavík. It formed in 1976 from the wastewater of a geothermal plant, healing powers were discovered in 1981, and the separate public bathing facility was opened in 1992. Our tour ended with photo-ops of the Viking World, the Sun Voyager, the Harpa, the Perlan, and Hallgrímskirkja.  

WE REACHED THE SMALL FISHING VILLAGE OF ISAFJORDUR

We could never have reached Ísafjörður if we were not on a cruise. I will never forget my time on deck when we arrived; sunlight was peeking off the hill that lords over the sleepy town, inviting all of us to walk off the ship and be amazed. The village is on a spit of sand on Iceland’s western coast where the waters of two fjords meet. Fishing is the main industry and the small town has one of the largest fisheries in Iceland. Despite a small population of 2,600 and isolation from the rest of the country, it has an urban atmosphere with a school of music, a hospital, a cultural center with a library and showrooms, and a distance learning center for the 7,000 residents of the entire Westfjords area.

WE REACHED THE NORTHERN CAPITAL OF ICELAND, AKUREYRI.

From there we proceeded to northern Iceland and its second-largest urban area and northern capital Akureyri. With a population of about 18,000, it’s also an important port and fishing center. The bus tour took us to one of the country’s most spectacular waterfalls, the Goðafoss, “Waterfall of the Gods.” Located in the Mývatn district of North-Central Iceland, the Skjálfandafljót River falls from a height of 12 meters over a width of 30 meters. Then back in the city, we had to climb 55 steps to reach the Cathedral of Akureyri up on a hill. It has a large 3200-pipe organ and a ship suspended from the ceiling, [art of an old Nordic tradition to protect loved ones at sea. Later we enjoyed simply walking down the main street and meeting statuary folkloric “trolls.”

THE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS AT SEA WERE FANTASTIC

It was like being back at school but in splendid classrooms. They were always filled to capacity; students go to regular classes; the older adults chose what they wanted to do. Before reaching Iceland, we spent the two days in seminars learning about the Vikings, the origins of the country and its people, and the current economy and development. The seminar leaders were those who also taught the students and usually had PhDs in their fields of expertise. Workshops, on the other hand, are about arts and crafts: writing, book club, dance, yoga, tai chi, etc. Those who did not want these offerings were free to organize their own games.  

THE SPECIAL SIGHTINGS WERE REALLY SPECIAL

The crew was also very good at notifying us about special sightings. Right at the beginning, we had a spectacular introduction to the 16-km-long Oresund Bridge between Stockholm and Copenhagen. And for the first time, I got to see offshore wind farms like the Middelgrunden with 20 turbines three and a half kilometers off Copenhagen (now closed). There were also many birds and whales. But I loved most the island of Surtsey just before we reached Iceland. Formed in a volcanic eruption 426 ft below sea level in November 1963 and continuing for seven months afterward, it is now just half its peak size of one square mile because of wind and wave erosion.  

There was a noticeable difference among the seas we sailed. The Baltic Sea, Denmark Strait, Irish Sea, and the English Channel quietly defined the countries they surrounded.  The North, Norwegian, and North Atlantic Seas are much bigger and often rougher seas. Around Iceland we experienced two to four-meter swells, giving some of us a level of seasickness. And those huge seas are a large source of the world’s petroleum. A highlight for me was seeing a huge oil rig and platform, a lone industrial structure thrust in the middle of the big, blue sea.

WE HAD ENGAGING SPECIAL ACTIVITIES

There were special activities like the tour of the Bridge (the navigation center of the ship) and demonstrations of the intricate maneuvering for each docking and leaving of a port.  And just like on the regular cruises, I loved dressing up for the Captain’s Dinner. We enjoyed “Two’s Company,” a Variety Show by a Scot and I laughed long, loud, and often at a comedy show about Icelandic history. There was even a Magic Act, an Irish duo, and a “New Year in June Party.”

But the best one was when we all gathered in the Gazers’ Lounge with large floor-to-ceiling windows to celebrate crossing the Arctic Circle after leaving Akureyri. At precisely the right time, the Captain announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, look to the left of you.”  We all looked. Then he said, “Look to the right of you.”  We all looked. Finally, he said, “There is really nothing.” And the room erupted into shrieks and laughter. Soon we all drank and danced the night away!

IT IS AN INSPIRATION FOR ANOTHER RETIREMENT LIFESTYLE

The cruise left me even more captivated by Iceland. But more importantly, it led me to one of the six spectacular retirement lifestyles I wrote about. It is one where, even as we get older, we can continue to call on many ports around the world in style, comfort, and convenience while learning about the places and people we visit every day of the year.

We were so pleased with what we had just experienced that my husband and I gladly signed a petition to find a new sponsor and academic partner to continue both the Semester at Sea and the Lifelong Learning Programs. And thankfully, they did; and I predict, they will continue to do. 

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Beyond Banff: 12 Other Amazing Places in the Canadian Rockies

Top 10 Reasons for Quality of Life in Scandinavia

Nobel Museum in Stockholm

Scandinavian trolls...in Norway

Bill and I got a taste of life in Scandinavia for almost a month in May and June this year. It is comprised of Norway, Denmark and Sweden and can also include Iceland and Finland. In previous blog posts, I cited the interesting sights of each country. This post is about what I found common, shared, and loved in the region. First are the folkloric trolls, supernatural beings in Norse mythology, which we found everywhere. Second, I went gaga over the rows and tows of tulips in all colors, as well as wild lupines of Iceland that covered the geologic island masterpiece. What a fascinating place!

lovely tulips abound in Scandinavia

At a lecture of the Enrichment Voyage we attended, the professor flashed two comparative lists of country indicators, quality of life, democracy, gender gap, happiness and over all human development, leaving the headings blank. When asked where we would choose to live, majority of us (Americans) raised our hands for the country on the left, only to find out that was Norway! The other, sadly, was the US. It would have been quite revealing had a third country been included, the Philippines!

That the Euro is stronger than the US dollar should have already been a hint to us. And so number three is that, year after year, Scandinavia has continually scored the highest marks in all categories, garnering the top 4 or 5 usually. No wonder the Nobel awards are given by Oslo and Stockholm, two cities who best know how to live well. We had visited both centers.

offshore wind turbines in Copenhagen

light and heavy flushes

Fourth, the region’s success is due in part to its wealth in natural resources. Oil, forest and aquatic resources abound. Wood is used extensively and seafood is a hallmark of Scandinavian cuisine. Wind turbines are quite a sight to see off the coasts of Copenhagen, and the North Sea abounds with oil rigs.  Fifth, efficiency in energy use is a primordial principle. Commodes have two flushes, one for light, another heavy. Bicycles are as common as small (and dreamy like my Mini Cooper!!!) compact cars. And public transport systems are excellent and enviable. We always had a choice of trams, buses, trains, or subway systems to go from one place to another. Thus Scandinavia’s carbon footprint is lower than the US.

third largest restored Viking ship is in Norway

street sign in Helsinki

Sixth, Its success can also be attributed to homogeneity. The vast majority of Scandinavians are descended from Germanic tribes in what is now northern Germany, who spoke a Germanic language that evolved into Old Norse. The Vikings sprang from Norse culture and their influence is seen heavily throughout the region. In fact, Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish are related languages, considered mutually intelligible with one another, although Danish is considered much closer to Norwegian. Finnish is entirely unrelated to the Scandinavian languages, yet Swedish is required as a language in Finnish schools. All street signs in Finland have their counterparts in Swedish. And everyone we met spoke English in Sweden; it is required at all school levels.

color in Helsinki International Airport

HTL check-in

Seventh, I was even more impressed that Scandinavian products are imbued with excellence in design and innovation. Arabia, not at all pertaining to the Middle East, is a design district in Helsinki, the Design Capital of the World, where elegant products are tops in both form and function. Almost everyone that is starting a home in America must have come across IKEA, a Swedish icon in home furnishings. Soon that may also be true of HTL. It is the hotel we stayed in Sweden where the nonsense is taken out of hotels. There are no closets, just cute hangers everywhere, self check-in and and other innovations. Whether it is fences and roofs of old, modern minimalist furniture, exquisite tableware, or even airports that come alive with color, I was very impressed with everything Scandinavian.

my favorite shrimp open-faced sandwich
and Bill's salmon sandwich in Oslo

hamburger place in Iceland

Eighth, for people who care that the table is graced with well-designed tableware, it is no wonder that Scandinavian cuisine, built around seafood as already mentioned above, is also excellent. The shrimp open-faced sandwich I had at a Norwegian café was unforgettably so good! So were the many versions of salmon Bill ordered. Swedish meatballs and German sausages are now mainstays of kitchens around the world.  However food there is very expensive. As a result, McDonalds outlets have long lines and many other examples of American fast food are to be found everywhere. But not as common as Middle Eastern pizzas! Yes, they are having a wave of immigration from those countries/

a beach sauna in Helsinki

the Blue Lagoon in Reykjavik

Ninth, the climate was not as cold as I thought it would be, despite being in the high latitudes and many northern places even touching the Arctic Circle. Summers go as high as low 70s Fahrenheit while winters are mild in coastal regions (20-30s) due to the warming effect of the Gulf Stream. In Helsinki and Stockholm beaches are dotted with small sauna cottages that are separated from the main homes. A common practice is to have a sauna, plunge into the cold water, then return to the saunas again! In Iceland, the Blue Lagoon is the prime hot medicinal bath and tourist attraction. But Open Air Museums are top attractions in each of the major cities even though they are unusable for almost half of the year.

Amalienborg in Copenhagen

Oresund Bridge

Tenth, architecture and engineering are fascinating in the region. Except for Iceland, each country has great medieval castles, just like every country in the rest of Europe. The big engineering feat is, of course, the spectacular 5-mile Oresund Bridge which we saw from the deck of MV Explorer. It connects Stockholm to an artificial island after which a 2.5–mile tunnel connects it to Copenhagen, the largest combined road and rail bridge in Europe. It also seems there is a silent competition to have the most prominent, most awe-inspiring Opera House among Scandinavian countries. 

Reykjavik Opera House

Congratulations are certainly in order to all Scandinavians for a great example of good life! But I still would not live there! The United States is friendlier to tropical me!

Our Lifestyle Adventures: Getting More Captivated by Iceland

Our Party at the Arctic Circle

Reykjavik in summer

I have long wanted to visit Iceland, especially Reykjavik, the northernmost capital of the world. She captivated the world when over a period of six days In 2010 volcanic eruptions caused enormous disruption to air travel across western and northern Europe.  About 20 countries closed their airspace to commercial jet traffic, affecting about 10 million travelers.

lupina all over Iceland after winter

Coexisting ice and geothermal landscapes make a mysterious combination that has captured my imagination even before this seismic activity. We took the “Iron and Ice” segment of the MV Explorer’s Enrichment Voyage because of Iceland for me, Denmark for Bill, and also because it would take us from Scandinavia to the UK for the wedding of April and Clint.

island of Surtsey

It took two days at sea before we reached Iceland from the Shetland Islands. We attended all the sessions about what to expect in the three ports we will visit, about the Vikings and origins of the country and its people, and its current economy and development. But, even before reaching Reykjavik, we encountered the island of Surtsey off its southern coast formed in a volcanic eruption which began 426 ft below sea level in November 1963, continuing for seven months after. Now the island is half its maximum size of one square mile because of wind and wave erosion.

Iceland is a Nordic country between the North Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean. A population of 325,671 occupies an area of 40,000 square miles, the most sparsely populated country in Europe. It is volcanically and geologically active, consisting mainly of a plateau of sand and lava fields, mountains and glaciers, with many glacial rivers flowing to the sea. I learned that the Gulf Stream warms it so that its climate is temperate despite being just outside the Arctic Circle.

largest natural lake

We took a bus tour in Reykjavik that took us first to Þingvellir, a continually evolving volcanic area and to Þingvallavatn, the largest natural lake in Iceland. Haukadalur is the third tourist attraction in the Golden Circle where geysers and other geothermal features have developed on a rhyolitic dome.  There are also more than 40 other little hot springs, mud pots and fumaroles nearby. But it does not compare to Yosemite in America, the largest and densest area of geothermal activity in the world.

you would really want to dive into it

geothermal springs

Our next stop was the Blue Lagoon, a geothermal spa in a lava field in Grindavík. One of the most visited attractions of Iceland, the Lagoon started to form in 1976 from the waste water of the geothermal power plant that had just been built there. In 1981people started flocking to it after they discovered its healing powers for psoriasis. In 1992 the Blue Lagoon Company opened a public bathing facility, separate from the section used by people who sought its healing powers. It is truly blue! 

Viking Museum

The final swing of the tour was a brief stop at the Viking Museum, a glimpse of the Sun Voyager, a sculpture that is both a dreamboat and an ode to the sun, the Harpa, a very new concert hall and conference centre, and the Pearl with five immense hot water tanks topped with a domed revolving restaurant. It was too bad that the Hallgrímskirkja was not part of the tour and we were so tired that we couldn’t walk to it. It is the largest church in Iceland (Lutheran) and is of outstanding architecture, visible from any part of the city. There was a lot more to see but we simply did not have the time or the energy.

Sun Voyager

the town of Isofjordur, viewed from the ship

The next day our cruise ship docked at Ísafjörður, meaning ices' fjord, a town in northwest Iceland. With a population of about 2,600, the small town is located on a spit of sand, or eyri, in the Skutulsfjörður fjord which meets the waters of the larger Isafjarðardjúp fjord. The town is connected by road and a recent 3.4 mile road tunnel to Bolungarvík to the northwest and to the small town of Súðavík to the east. Completed in 1996, the tunnel also leads to the small towns of Flateyri and Suðureyri, and to the western parts of the Westfjords. Ísafjörður also has an airport with regular flights to Reykjavík.

view of the town, on foot

I had developed a slight fever so I stayed on the ship while Bill walked the town and took pictures for me. Fishing has been the main industry and the small town has one of the largest fisheries in Iceland. Despite its size, small population, and historical isolation from the rest of the country, the town has a rather urban atmosphere with a school of music, a hospital, a cultural center with a library and showrooms and a distance learning center for the 7,000 residents of the Westfjords area. Later in the day, Bill briefly took pictures of me from the viewing deck with the town as a background. The scenes were postcard pretty and not because of me, I concede.

Godafoss, Waterfall of the Gods

The following day I was feeling better and we joined a bus tour at Akureyri, the third Icelandic port we visited.  Iceland's second largest urban area after Reykjavík, Akureyri is nicknamed the Capital of North Iceland. It is an important port and fishing centre, with a population of 17,754. The area where Akureyri is located was settled in the 9th century and was the site of Allied units during World War II.

another scene as the bus gradually took us to the Falls

The tour bus gradually took us away from the town and gave us so many picturesque scenes of it, our docked cruise ship, and the countryside. We were taken to the The Goðafoss, waterfall of the gods, one of the most spectacular waterfalls in Iceland. It is located in the Mývatn district of North-Central Iceland where the water of the river Skjálfandafljót falls from a height of 12 meters over a width of 30 meters. It is said that in the year 999 or 1000, upon returning from the Alþingi (one of the oldest extant Parliaments in the world circa built 930 AD), the Lawspeaker Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði Þorgeir threw his statues of the Norse gods into the waterfall, the story preserved in Ari Þorgilsson's Íslendingabók. Thus Christianity became Iceland’s official religion.

Church of Akureyri

A window in the Cathedral of Akureyri (Akureyrarkirkja) illustrates this story. And that was our next stop. It is a prominent Lutheran church towering above the city on a hill right in the middle of the city centre. Bill and I counted about 55 steps to reach the top. The church has a notably large 3200-pipe organ, a unique interpretation of the crucifixion and a suspended ship hanging from the ceiling which reflects an old Nordic tradition of giving offerings for the protection of loved ones at sea.

folkloric trolls in downtown Akureyri

We then wandered around town for more pictures, including one with folkloric trolls and the beautiful visitor center. The views from the dock and the ship were equally astonishing.  

view of the town from the ship's deck

After the ship set sail, we had a grandly wild party celebrating our crossing of the Arctic Circle. At precisely the time, the Captain announced at the Gazers Lounge, ’Ladies and gentlemen, look to the left of you.’  We all looked. Then he said, ‘Look to the right of you.’  We all looked. Finally he said, ‘There is really nothing.’ And we all laughed, drank, and danced. We may not have seen boundless expanses of ice for it was summer.  But Iceland is certainly another kind of land and I became even more captivated.

Our Lifestyle Adventures: Sailing on an Enrichment Voyage!

70% of the crew was Filipino!

Bill in front of our home for 2 weeks
 June 1-15 2014, the MVExplorer

In 1926 the first ship sailed from New Jersey for 7.5 months to 90 ports. Its mission was echoed by the Dean: ‘This is not a mere sightseeing tour but a college year of educational travel…to train students to think in world terms…’ It was called the University of Seven Seas; later it came to be called  the World Campus Afloat. For the last 51 years the Institute of Shipboard Education has been conducting their successor, Semester at Sea. Its fourth sponsor's, the University of Virginia, tour of duty ends in 2016. The search is on for its 5^th!  

MV Explorer docked at Akureyri, Iceland

For non-students, the Institute has Enrichment Voyages in 2 or 4-week segments. The progran is actually being dropped, leaving the Lifelong Learning Program in conjunction with Semester at Sea, as the only option available for us. Instead of 15 days, it will be a minimum of 30 days with the added advantage of 3-5 days at a port, not just 1!

at the completion of our voyage in Southampton, England

We have just completed Segment 2 of the last Enrichment Voyage covering Denmark, Scotland, Iceland, Ireland, and England from June 1 to 15, in 7 ports. We found this on Groupon for an unbelievable price of $1,399 per person!  We embarked in Stockholm, Sweden and disembarked at Southampton, England. I will write about each of the ports we visited later but, for now, let me describe the entire cruise that is so different from any other cruise I have known.

Bill, attending a seminar

While at sea, visits to ports are complemented by classes, seminars, and workshops. Students have classes (a few universities and colleges had special programs on our voyage) while lifelong learners such as Bill and I choose from either seminars or workshops. Seminars are political, economic, historical, geographical, art and architectural discussions of the ports or the region they belong to and seminar leaders hold PhDs in their fields of expertise. Those who we
re most engaging were our favorites!

at the Ship's Medical Clinic

 The workshops, on the other hand, are arts and crafts, writing, book club, dance, yoga, tai chi, etc, sessions. Those who did not want any of these organized their own bridge, mahjong, or other sessions. There were about 700 voyagers in our group and the seminar venues were always almost full to capacity. The workshops had pretty good crowds, too, and the other games were going on!.

at one of three viewing decks of MV Explorer

Tour of the Bridge

The ship’s facilities, although not as luxurious as regular passenger cruise ships, are enough to fill one’s needs for the time of the cruise, whether 2 weeks or a semester. They include 10 classrooms, 1 large seminar/show room, another large seminar/ballroom, a piano bar, 2 dining rooms (1 buffet and 1 with waiter service), a pool and poolside bar, 3 viewing decks, a wellness center that includes a gym, spa, sauna, and massage rooms, a library, a computer lab, a cruise ship store and a medical clinic. Wifi facilities were very limited and slow though. All we could do were email and download public folders of the sessions. We had an allowance of one hour of internet use!

an oil rig in the North Sea

my yellow hat for the New Year in June Party!

Special activities were a Tour of the Bridge (the navigation center of the ship) and viewing of special things we pass by such as the long bridge between Stockholm and Copenhagen, huge oil rigs that dot the North Sea, Surtsey, the volcanic island that made headlines in 1962 when it just appeared, offshore wind turbines, birds and whales, and the Aurora Borealis. The maneuvering at each docking and leaving of a port was a marvel to watch, too. There were also special nights: a Captain’s Dinner when we had to be in semi-formal attire, Two’s Company, a Variety Show by a Scot, a Comedy Show about Icelandic history, and a Party the Captain threw as we passed the Arctic Circle, a Crew Talent Show, a Passenger Talent Show, a Magic Act, an Irish duo, and a ‘New Year in June’ Party.

offshore wind turbines

@ the captain's Reception and Dinner

There was a noticeable difference among the seas we sailed. The Baltic Sea, Denmark Strait, Irish Sea, and English Channel are quiet seas that confined themselves to countries that surrounded them.  The North Sea, south Norwegian Sea and North Atlantic are much bigger and rougher seas. Around Iceland were 2-4 meter swells so the MV Explorer swayed a bit more, giving us some level of seasickness. Those huge seas are a large source of the world’s petroleum. 

Tom and Marivic, Bill and me at dinner

Purser's Office

Out of the 700 passengers, five were Filipinas. Marivic and I are married (to Tom and Bill) while the other three are 2 sisters and a friend:  Lily and Cora and Carmen. What thrilled me the most, though, is that 70% of the 218 crew is Filipino! As a matter of fact, 2 of the 5 on the Captain’s senior management team are Filipinos, the Purser Lito Untivero and the Executive Chef Danilo Yatco! The Ship Doctor, Jocelyn Franco, and Ship Nurses, Jocelyn Reyes and Cristina Tablizo, are also Filipinas. (They had two other doctors for passengers on the cruise.)  It is just too bad they had no Filipino entertainers. But half the Crew Talent Show was provided by Filipinos! One Filipina represented us in the Passenger Talent Show. If I had not contracted a cold the week before, there would have been 2 representatives!

2 of 5 in the senior management team is Filipino!

Bill and I signed a petition for the continuation of the Enrichment Voyages Program. After being seasick for a night, I don’t think we will like being at sea for a month though. Perhaps we will confine ourselves to shorter cruises around the Caribbean or Mediterranean. But this particular Enrichment Voyage was a definite Experience!