RTW 2024 Carefree Travel

  Today, we visited the Azores, another set of islands in the Atlantic Ocean. They’re a group of nine volcanic islands about 850 miles west of Portugal, set in a 2-5-2 formation. To prove we’re truly heading home, they are about 1200 miles southeast of Newfoundland. We actually have to travel east-south-east to reach Bermuda, our next port of call. Allison went shopping and I took a walking tour of downtown Ponta Delgada - the unofficial capital and largest city. Considering they’re literally stuck in the middle of nowhere, the islands are impressive. Most have at least 3000 ft peaks and Pico Island maxes out at 7700 feet - the highest point in Portugal. When measured from the sea floor, the mountains in the Azores are some of the largest on Earth. The volcanoes are still active, averaging one event every 30 years. The large major blowup was 1957, so we’re overdue. Fortunately, nothing happened during our visit, although everywhere you look, there are cinder cones and volcanic remn...

  We’re back! The first stop on our Westward transatlantic crossing is Funchal, on the island of Madeira. Regular readers may remember that we were here on Day 134. This is a small but well-populated island about 300 miles off the coast of Morocco. It was uninhabited until discovered by the Portuguese in 1419 and is now a proud part of that country. You can read all about its history in that post. Our first visit here was centered around a large World Cruise party, so this time around, we decided to see the island and maybe do some shopping. First thing in the morning, we visited Cabo Girão. These are the tallest sea cliffs in Europe, measuring almost 2000 feet in height. Since you asked, the tallest cliffs in the world are on the northern coast of Molokai in the Hawaiian Islands, reaching 4,000 feet. You’ll see the view is quite impressive. Even more impressive was Allison standing on the glass skywalk with nothing else between her and the ocean below. You can look straight down ...

  Today marks the beginning of the final segment of our global voyage, as we sail from Lisbon to New York with a few more island stops along the way. That's about 3,500 miles remaining. We decided to explore Lisbon via the Hop On Hop Off Bus and throw in a bit of shopping. That gave us an overview of the city. Portugal is very politically active right now. There are banners, temporary stands, and rallies everywhere, which spoilt the view in a few areas, so I’ve included a couple of photos from our 2019 visit as well. First.. a micro-history to help you win Jeopardy. This area has been inhabited for 400,000 years (!), tracing all the way back to our homo heidelbergensis ancestors. There is quite a rich archeological history. Fast forward a bit; the Romans were here for several centuries and divided the area into two - Lusitania (as in the old cruise liner torpedoed by the Germans in 1915) and Gallaceia (hence the Gauls). After the fall of Rome, the Visigoths settled in, followed b...

Yesterday we spent a delightful day in the hinterlands of Portimao, right in the middle of the Algarve region located in the southwest corner of Portugal. Our tour featured storks, moonshine, honey, cork trees, local coffee, and pastries .. all finished with an amazing view of the southern and western coastlines of Portugal from 2500 feet up.  Most visitors to this country tend to start in Lisbon and then go north towards Porto, so being in the far south was a different and fun experience. The Algarve, much like the North Carolina Outer Banks, is known for wild horses, but we didn't get to see any of them.  I’ll do a brief history of Portugal as part of our Lisbon visit tomorrow, so here’s the scoop on this part of the world. Humans have been here since the Neolithic (New Stone Age) Period, and there’s evidence that the Celts settled here 400 years ago. Modern-day Portimao is centered around the Arade River, which provided natural shelter to the Phoenician, Roman, and Greek fl...

Today, we spent a delightful day on the island of Madeira. We had our third World Cruise Party and then walked through the town of Funchal. A lot is happening on a Saturday, made easier because the harbor is right at the end of town, making everything very walkable.  Madeira is an island about 300 miles west of Morocco and a couple of hundred miles north of the Canary Islands. You probably know it for its wine. 🍷 Geologically, it’s part of Africa, yet culturally and politically, it’s 100% European and a full Portuguese Region. Like all the other islands out this way, it was created through violent volcanic activity. The island was originally uninhabited, but the Portuguese discovered and settled it in 1419 and 1420. It was the first piece of land “colonized” by the European powers as they began the expansion and land grabs in the 15th and 16th centuries. However, there is strong documentary evidence that the Romans knew about it and that the Vikings had a temporary settlement betw...