We will be at sea crossing the Atlantic for a over week.
Nice weather for the crossing. WOW! Not something I ever thought I could say. Step One Dance new show is called Move. The show was very good.
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Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands. Our last stop before the ocean crossing to Fort Lauderdale. We got a cab into the city. Our lunch at a cafe was very nice. There was a very old church with some fascinating carvings. We have noticed that if you want American fast food you can get it anywhere. The show tonight on the Mainstage was Cantaré. They were wonderful to listen too again.. They are a quartet of singers who sing in harmony.
We came into a beautiful port with wonderful weather. These islands have a very similar climate to the Caribbean even though we are on the opposite side of the Atlantic and just off the coast of Africa. Another thing, I never really thought I would be able to say. Being a last minute port change, we did not have an excursions planned. Instead, we decided to take a walk around town. There was a mall we walked through too. Tonight's show was a comedian, Bengt Washburn was funny but we are glad that this will be his last performance on the ship.
Time for someone new.
Well, not entirely unexpected but we need this day to make the difference in distance to the Canary Islands. We relaxed and enjoyed bright sunny skies if a bit of a roll in the ocean that kept the ship in motion constantly. So everyone does a drunken sailor walk even if they are completely sober.
Tonight, Shawna and I enjoyed some music at the Rolling Stone Lounge.
As we wake this morning, we have a very pretty sunrise with a ship anchored off shore.
Then we notice an unusual cruise ship. It is a four mast sailing ship.
I think Shawna is thinking about another adventure.
Today, Shawna and I are going on a land adventure. We will be hiking a dangerous trail. The bus will take us inland to a canyon.
Our ride to the start of the trail was interesting. We are in the south of Spain and the weather is a bit warmer than the last few ports.
We stopped along the way for a bathroom and possible snack at a small restaurant. For some reason I found the menus interesting. Behind the restaurant was a hostel.
On our bus ride our guide explained that our hike was described as the most dangerous hike in Europe. Not so much now but our guide was one of those who used to hike this before renovations made it much safer. Still this is something that most people would feel very uncomfortable doing as the platforms are attached directly to the side of a canyon wall. Having a fear of heights or vertigo would make this hike nearly impossible. Nothing but straight up above the platform and straight down below. Most places you can look down through the slats and see the bottom and the river usually over 150 feet or more below.
The hike is now listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is a relatively new construction by UNESCO standards.
The hike starts in a 650 foot long tunnel that only gets you close to the beginning of the canyon. After that there was about a ¼ mile walk to reach the beginning of the State park and hike. We got our last opportunity to use a bathroom. Then we got our helmets which we were required to wear the entire hike. Just the walk to the start of the hike was interesting. Several tunnels. Views of the animals and valleys.
We had great weather. Not perfect but this hike is known for being very hot. Well not today. We had wind and cloudy skies that kept the sun at bay. We reached the entrance of the State park/hike for an introduction by the rangers plus some warnings. We were to be very careful of the wind which is known to blow items out of peoples hands. That we must obey instructions of any rangers on the trail.
The hike is in a canyon. Originally the work in this canyon was for two purposes. A railway and hydro electric system. The walkway was built for workers to maintain those projects.
Over the years the need for the walkway reduced to the point it was no longer maintained. Of course, that did not stop risk takers to sneak in to make the hike. Over several years people died falling from the unstable and sometimes broken original platforms. The government decided that rather than destroy the platform system they built a replacement and safer system.
Well, this looks interesting. This is the canyon we will hike along. If you look above the concrete platform, you can see the edge of the railing and the trail.
The new platform system was opened in 2015. Today you can see the old platforms and often walk over them on the new system. The hike is still highly regulated to LIMIT the risk of death. Yes, Limit!
Cameras at points along the trail allow State rangers to monitor hikers and several are posted at points along the way to manage the hikers.
The trail quickly became interesting. It is a bit unnerving at times. You can see down through the slats all the way to the bottom 100 feet or more below.
Yes, most of the trail is platforms mounted to the side of the canyon.
On the far side of the canyon, the train tracks made their way in and out of tunnels.
At times, the old platforms are directly below the new ones.
At a turn in the canyon, we were diverted to a tunnel. That curve was the most dangerous of the trail because winds funneling through there have been known to knock people over on the platforms. We could see out at points to the old and new trails.
The trail is impressive.
Though a bit scary looking in some areas.
For a short part of the hike, we had a regular trail. Along with that was the original channel that for many years carried water to near by communities.
It was a really fun hike but at 5 miles more tiring than expected. Exciting, that's for sure. Near the end of the canyon, we crossed to the other side.
The walk out of the canyon was pretty strenuous.
Looking back as we came out of the canyon was very impressive.
The most tiring was the last mile which is a wide gravel trail but is a pretty steep walk.
A portion of the 1965 film Von Ryan's Express was filmed using the railroad tracks. The trains run through the canyon several times per day on the opposite side of the canyon from the platforms.
Our bus driver needed to hurry us back but the ride back was a bit unnerving especially as the road through the mountains was barely 2 lanes and on any curve we took up both lanes.
We got back right at all aboard and found out that the rest of the cruise changed. All our remaining ports were removed and we are being diverted to the Canary Islands. The reasons were two fold. One, the weather was going to be bad 30 foot seas and force 5 winds. Two, all of Portugal's port pilots have gone on strike. This means we can not visit ANY port in Portugal. The ships insurance will not allow ships to go in without a pilot (I.E. someone to blame if something gets damaged). The ports won’t allow ships un-piloted for both money paid and to avoid damage in the port. It amazes me on how much insurance companies influence what we can do.
Off to Warmer and much better weather in the Canary Islands. Yea!
Rough seas, weather, and a strike have changed the rest of the cruise ports. Instead of visiting Cartagena, Cadiz, Lisbon, or Madeira we will be having several more sea days and stopping in Spain’s Canary Islands.
We had another cruise ship traveling near us and it shows how bad the seas were.
We are all pretty seasoned cruisers so the rough seas don't bother us at all. It just makes walking a bit challenging.
We will be able to visit Malaga, Spain tomorrow but that will be the last of our planned ports.
Wang Wang drink. 7 liqueurs and slightly sweet with a bit of a kick..
Music at night after dinner. We hear from Rodrigo on the Chapman Stick. A strange musical instrument but a beautiful sound.
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Time for our bus tour of the city.
The bus takes us on quick tour of the city. This includes passing several buildings designed by Antoni Gaudí. Yes, they were all very gaudy and that is where the term comes from Gaudi's designs. It seems that making buildings gaudy caught on.
Part of our tour is to see the ugliest church in the world which is also the longest under construction. La Sagrada Famila has been under construction for almost 100 years. George Orwell said it was “one of the most hideous buildings in the world”. He was right but there are several ugly buildings in Barcelona. Some by Gaudi but not all.
The following are pictures of a church. No really! This was what was allowed to be put on the outside of a church and the inside is supposed to be not any better.
It amazes me that anyone would pay for the construction and it is not even finished. It is disturbingly ugly. In a store near by, we saw a model of the finished church.
After leaving there, we moved to where we would see dancers. The surprise was seeing the number of children dressed up.
The city celebrates All Saint's Day for about 2 weeks. Lots of adults and children dressed up.
Next Flamenco dancers. Not Flamingos dancing which would be interesting but not what we were there to see.
Back to the ship. Along the way, we saw several buildings including a bull fighting ring which is now converted into a shopping center. Bull fighting is no longer allowed.
As we got to port, there were several huge yachts.
I thought I would throw in a few pictures of the fancy food we get on the ship.
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January 2024
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