Charms of the Mekong

We have embarked on a trip to Vietnam and Cambodia with AmaWaterways.  The adventure starts in Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon) and ends in Hanoi with a Mekong River cruise into Cambodia in between. 

We're now in Saigon after leaving Los Angeles on Wednesday night and arriving here Friday morning.  The flights, with a change of plane in Hong Kong, were smooth and we seemed to be well rested on Friday.  We arranged for visas on arrival and it went quite smoothly and fast.  The airport was very quiet inside but when we stepped outside there was a throng of mostly young people waiting.  The mam who met us explained that a Korean pop group was arriving and the fans were there to greet them. As we waited for our ride, the band came out and the screaming started.  Apparently Korean culture is big here.

The ride to the hotel reintroduced us to the chaos of Saigon traffic.  Motor bikes everywhere. After cleaning up, we went for a nice Vietnamese lunch and for a couple of walks around the city.

Today, Saturday, we arranged for a tour that included a trip to the Ben Tranh Market and a cooking class where we prepared and ate 3 courses. Our guide and instructor, Chef Ly, was adorable and a great teacher.  Wonderful!

Tomorrow the AmaWaterways part of the trip begins.

Homeward Bound

We are in the airport lounge in Barcelona waiting for our flight home.  If you have been following the blog, you know that we have had another wonderful experience (or, should I say, many wonderful experiences) since we left Long Beach.  But, after five plus weeks, it is time to go home and see the grand-kids in California and to get ready to go to Emma's high school graduation.  There's a lot to look forward to back home.

But first, let's recap the end of our journey.  After leaving the Canary Islands, we had a day at sea on our way to Tangier.  It was probably the roughest day we had in the 26 days of cruising but still nothing Linda could not deal with!  For our third time in Tangier we decided to take a ship's excursion to Tetouan.  This allowed us to see more of the Moroccan landscape.  As we traveled through Tangier the views quickly changed from big city to little farming scenes.  Lots of shepherds herding their goats.  The mountainous countryside was very pretty.  Arriving in Tetouan, we were disappointed to see that it bore no resemblance to Tatooine of Star Wars fame.  It is actually quite a large city of 700,000 people.  Our first stop was at an art school but we did not get to see the students working since it was the May Day holiday.  It was interesting nonetheless since we could see the beautiful woodworking, ceramics, art, etc. that they produced.  We were then guided through the Medina which was also fairly quiet due to the holiday.  Linda did have the opportunity to don Berber dress in the market.  Our final stop was for refreshments (mint tea and cookies) at a house that has been converted to a restaurant and wedding venue.  These houses look like nothing from the outside but are amazing once you enter.

Our next day was a mostly relaxing day at sea on the sunny, calm Mediterranean.  We also had a cool view of the moon and Venus(?).  OK, I have to be honest, this pic was from 2 days ago but it just seems like a fitting shot for the last night.

We then spent another day and night in Barcelona, walking around the city and the Riviera sailed away as we watched from the roof of the hotel.

Of course, for us, no visit to Barcelona is complete with out a tapas dinner at Sensi.  It was delicious as usual.  Over dinner we decided that, if we could arrange for a last meal, it would be at Sensi with a menu of Cava, Tuna Tatare, Duck Parmentier, Truffle Ravioli and a Chocolate Fondant for desert.

Towards the end of the meal we also got a bit emotional talking about how excited we were about going to Phoenix for Emma's graduation - the commencement of her journey to Stanford.  We thought about the little Emma we share so many memories with and are so proud of the fabulous young woman she has become.

We love you Emma!

Canary Island Connoisseurs

The main reason we booked this cruise was to visit the Canary Islands, the only ports on the itinerary that we hadn't been to.  And it was well worth it.  All 3 islands that we stopped at were unique and beautiful in their own ways.

Our first port was Santa Cruz de La Palma on Friday.  We had a long day in port so we rented a car and explored the island on our own.  Our friends Wolfgang and Manuela had suggested a few possible routes to take and we chose to tour the northern part of the island.  La Palma is a beautiful island and our drive took us by lovely vistas and lush vegetation.

After driving around the north part of the island, we decided to return to Santa Cruz by cutting across the island and driving up to the volcano.  Before we did that we drove down to the village of Santo Domingo and a lunch stop.  We found a little cafe where we had tapas, papas fritas, and coffee (no wine since I was driving) for the whopping price of 12.10 Euro!  The Canaries are so amazingly affordable.  The drive up to the volcano over a winding road was fun and, of course, we found vineyards right along the road.  The Taburiente is a major site for telescopes and we were able to drive past many of them before making our way to the peak at Roque de los Muchachos.

It was another day in paradise!

Saturday saw our return to Tenerife and our friends Manuela and Wolfgang.  The entry to the port of Tenerife proved to be quite a challenge for the captain as the wind was quite strong.  After attempting to go in and then going back out, we finally made it in.  But, as we found out later, it involved quite an incident.  Tenerife has a big business in refurbishing oil platforms.  On one side of the port there are 2 oil drilling platforms that are docked side by side blocking part of the entry.  Apparently they have been like that for 3 years.  A tug boat was assisting us as we entered and trying to keep us away from those platforms but a strong gust pushed the Riviera into one of the platforms.  This resulted in some damage to the ship and one of the boutiques!  It also caused some damage to one of the life boats, but, fortunately, it was cosmetic.  If the life boat had sustained real damage it would have been a real problem as they can't sail without a full complement of life boats.  Anyway, we wound up being a bit late getting in and at a different docking location.  However, when we walked off the ship, there were Manuela and Wolfgang to greet us and it was off for another great day.  The weather was fantastic - warm and sunny.

Our first stop was the market in Santa Cruz de Tenerife followed by the now traditional churros and coffee.

After walking around La Laguna we went for lunch at a churrascaria near their house.  The restaurant overlooks a vineyard, of course and the wine and meat were delicious but too much!  

After lunch we went back to their house for a bit of relaxation and for a bit of planning future travels together.  As a result, Manuela and Wolfgang decided to join us on another cruise that we had already booked!  It was such a nice day and sad to say goodbye but it is good to know that we'll be seeing them in California in September.

When we returned to the ship, we indulged in new concept they have started on Riviera.  On some evenings they use the La Reserve restaurant for Wine and Tapas.  They bring on local wines and have tapas such as Serrano ham that they carve right there.  It makes for a great atmosphere and was perfect for us since we had such a big lunch and did not want much dinner.  Check out the photo of the executive chef cutting the ham.  He is not holding the knife the proper way as we were taught in our knife skills class.  And, incidentally, a day before this pic he cut his thumb (the one you can't see) right down to the bone.  

Sunday was our final Canary Island port - Arrecife, Lanzarote.  We took a ship's excursion to the volcano, Timanfaya, (these are all volcanic islands) and then for some wine tasting.  Lanzarote is very different from the other islands.  It is very dry and very volcanic in nature.  Not much vegetation.  All of the buildings on the island must be painted white which makes for stark contrasts.  On the volcano it was very windy.  They demonstrated the heat that was still present in the rocks even though it is not currently active.  We were also driven around the caldera which was starkly beautiful.

After the volcano we drove along the coast and then to the wine tasting.  The way they grow grapes here is unique, to say the least.  The vines are grown in pits that are dug in the volcanic soil and surrounded by stone walls.  Unbelievably, there is no irrigation - the volcanic rocks absorb moisture during the day and then release the moisture at night.  The resulting white wine, a Malvasia, is crisp and full of minerals - fabulous.  And, believe it or not with the low yield they get, only 8 Euro a bottle!

Now it is farewell to the Canary Islands.  We definitely hope to return and recommend the islands to all!

Cadiz, Spain; Lisbon and Funchal, Portugal

Monday, April 23rd we were in Cadiz, Spain.  Many people use Cadiz as a gateway to Seville but it is a long bus or train ride so we decided to do what we did the last time we were here and the thing we like to do best - walk around town.  We started by exploring the old fortress.  

The day was so sunny and warm that we ran back to the ship to shed our warmer clothes before walking across the city to the Roman Amphitheater.  Is there anywhere in Europe where the Roman's did not build an amphitheater?  

We then continued along the seaside until we came to a spot for tapas and sangria, of course.  

After that we had to visit the Botanical Garden so I could take the required photo of Linda with the cacti.  Then one more garden stop to replicate a photo from 2010.  

By the time we returned to the ship, the pedometer said we had walked about 9 miles - a great day.

Tuesday, we were in Lisbon and again chose to do our favorite thing - walk!  We were docked right below the Alfama which is a wonderful neighborhood on a hill with old tiled buildings.  After a bit of a climb we came to a coffee spot overlooking the river.  Linda had her, now favorite, cortado, and a pastel de nata - a delicious little custard pastry that is popular in Lisbon.

Walking around Alfama we admired the tiled buildings and we also found that on some streets they had posted pictures of the older residents who lived there.  How charming!

We finished our day by walking down to the main square, Praca do Comercio, by the river to indulge in some lunch and some shopping.  

Yes, I said shopping.  Normally we don't shop but today I bought a cork baseball cap and a pair of Portuguese shoes.  Victor Conceciao, one of the Oceania GM's, told us that Portuguese shoes are the best in the world so I could not resist giving them a try.  It was another wonderful long day of walking.

After a day at sea, we were in Funchal on Thursday.  This was probably our fourth visit to Funchal.  This time we decided to visit the Botanical Garden (surprise, surprise).  This involved trips on 2 cable cars to get there.  The garden was nice though we were a bit early for most of the spring flowers.

After coming back down, we walked through the market in Funchal with a stop for a cortado and pastry, of course.  They are celebrating their 600th anniversary in Funchal so the city was lively and colorfully decorated.

Back on board Riviera, we participated in a knife skills class.  It was very informative and now we know the proper way to hold and use knives.  For most of the class we were still docked and only one of the students cut himself.  I am now ready to slice, dice, and julienne!

Then it was off to three ports in the Canary Islands - the topic of my next blog entry.