My world cruise
5 January - 21 April 2008
with Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines
on the Black Watch.
This is the first leg, from Dover to Lima.
5th to 27th January 2008
Chaplaincies on Fred. Olsen and P&O ships are organised through the Mission to Seafarers in Southampton.
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After the predictably rough crossing of the Bay of Biscay, we
landed in Lisbon. Some folk were anxious to get feet on to dry land,
having been thrown about a bit for the previous few days. I'm getting
used to rough seas, but my cabin was right above the screws so it got a
bit noisy at times.
This is Lisbon city square.
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| The quaint and hilly streets of Lisbon, a city built on five hills. Lisbon is the capital city of Portugal, although this has never been officially ratified. |  |
| Monument to Henry the Navigator, 1394 to 1460. Henry was the
third child of King John 1 of Portugal. He is remembered for beginning
the era of European world discovery, although there is as much
mythology about him as fact. He probably did less voyaging himself than
organising others to do it. Nevertheless, his legacy is that he paved
the way for the great explorers. |  |
| Santa Cruz de Tenerife, with the classic Canaries view of white
buildings and terracotta roofs. The Olsen family have a hotel complex
here, and run an inter-island ferry, the Olsen Express. |  |
| The pretty town of San Cristóbal de La Laguna, half-an-hour out
of Santa Cruz, and until 1723 the island's Capital. The San Fernando
University and the Bishop's Palace are here, and it is the centre of
the island's cultural heritage. |  |
| But like all tourist islands, Tenerife is developing rapidly
and the new roundabout seems to symbolise growth even though at this
moment not all roads lead anywhere! |  |
| St Lucia is a beautiful island, I'm told, but Castries may not be the best introduction. |  |
| Nevertheless, look away from the containers and it's very pretty. |  |
In the middle of Castries is a small park, with an attendant
who was very pleased to welcome us all. "I am very proud of my town. I
look after this park. It is very pretty here. Please do not urinate in
my park."
And then he walked away.
Now, where's the loo? |  |
| The Atlantic coast of Barbados, very good for surfing we're told. |  |
"You just have to try a green coconut!" Well, a coconut is much softer in its young green stage than it is when it matures into a hard brown one. Very sweet, and the white flesh is soft. It is said that you could survive on coconuts alone - they have everything you need.
Surprising that he's still got his fingers, the way he's wielding that
machete! |  |
| Up to this point, I'd been to these places on other cruises.
From here on, everything's new. Curaçao is a Dutch dependency, and the
story goes that a former Governor complained of all the buildings being
white. The glare apparently gave him headaches, so he ordered that
buildings should be painted in pastel colours. Good decision! |  |
The Queen Emma pontoon bridge opening. Normally it's a footbridge across the St Anna Bay
harbour entrance, from Otrobanda to Punda, the two halves of the city. Traffic used to use it, but as it's a wooden structure and every section flexible, traffic now has to travel miles
to the Queen Juliana Bridge inland.
The Hotel Willemstad at the harbour entrance is (I'm told) the only hotel in the world to be insured against collision with a ship! |  |
| The Black Watch, the marketplace and the Queen Juliana Bridge. Such an attractive and clean island! |  |
| The San Blas Islands, of which only 49 of the 378 islands are
inhabited. The Kuna Indians are in most respects independent of the
Panamanian government and the islands are run as an autonomous
province. The island we called at was about 200 yards across, with a
small church, lots of huts and the remains of some concrete structure. |  |
| This was a disturbing visit for me, a feeling shared by some
others, in that I felt very much the voyeur of a very different way of
life. The Kuna gather from their islands at whichever island the cruise
ships visit, to sell their molas (see the next slide) but also to be
photographed. Most speak no English beyond "one dollar" or "two
dollar". We could photograph one of them for $1, two for $2 and so on.
Fascinating, but uncomfortable. |  |
| A Kuna Mola is made from layers of different coloured material,
and the design from picking through the layers to the chosen colour.
Most designs are of fish. Mine is about ten inches square and cost me
$2US. |  |
| The Panama Canal consists of a three-stage lock at each end of a 47-mile lake. The lake was created by damming the Chargres River to flood the land, which is rain forest, to provide sufficient water to enable the locks to be replenished each time they open. Four "mules"
hold the ship in the centre of the canal while the ship moves forward
under its own power. |  |
| A mechanical mule. Nowadays the whole process is computerised, so that the centring of the ship in the lock is precise. Some of the largest ships now being built will be too wide for this canal, so an additional set of locks is being planned. |  |
Alajuela Lake, 47 miles long covering 164 square miles. The
passage across, at a speed of about 10 knots, took about nine hours. At
least one crocodile was spotted, but I was (almost) never at the right
place at the right time to see such things.
For a 90-second trip, go here. |  |
| This was the last port on the first leg of the cruise, Callão,
about five miles from Lima city. About 200 passengers left here to go
up to Machu Picchu and then home, and another 200 having already been
there, joined the ship. |  |
| A study of contrasts. Callão is an industrial area, and this
picture was taken en route to the city of Lima. It was a rather scruffy
area, especially around the port. |  |
| The centre of Lima is like so many other city squares, full of
imposing buildings and traffic. This is the Cathedral, and it's like
many other cathedrals - rather dark and hushed. |  |
But this was a bit of a surprise - an armed guard outside a government building. The machine gun is real!
In December 1996 the Japanese Embassy in Lima was forcibly occupied by the Tupak Amaru Revolutionary Movement during a reception to mark the Emperor's birthday, and hostages were held for four months until the siege was ended in April 1997. So they're understandably a bit twitchy. |  |
| And then there's Miraflores, a tourist mecca on the coast just
a few miles up from Callão, with huge hotels and lots of dollars. |  |
| So that's the end of the first leg of this amazing cruise. If
you've not got eye-strain yet, try the next leg - Lima to Sydney.
Here's the famous bridge (photo taken from the ship!), just to whet
your appetite! |  |
