“Sea”ing Rotterdam

Thursday the 15th we were at sea making our way to Rotterdam.  The weather was around 57 degrees and a chance of rain forecast so even onboard we dress in long pants and sweat  shirts or sweaters.  Sea days give us a day to sleep in a little, clean up our cabin and do laundry.  It’s also a time to read that good book you brought onboard finding some quiet nook on the ship.  We like to relax on the loungers by the pool on the Lido or sometimes even just hang out in our room since we have a balcony.  We don’t seem to tire of looking for sealife whether it be whales or birds.  

There were a few lectures and port talks today; the EXC talk today was on Cobh (pronounced Cove) and Cork.  The lecture was on The Shipwrecks of the North Atlantic; a rather sober topic.  

I try to also find some time to work on the blog finding that I forget so much in just a day if I don’t write things down.  I try to tell myself that it’s because I have so many other things to enjoy doing!  Ha ha

Entertainment this evening was a group from England called TheRunaround Kids.  They called them the UK’s finest vintage music outfit and we thoroughly enjoyed them as did most of the audience giving them an enthusiastic round of applause at the end of their performance.  They were very talented, had some pretty funny jokes and knew how to capture an audience and hang on to them.  They want many great songs of the 50’s and 60’s.  Typically after the show we head for our room and check out the movies playing on the tv.  But we also needed to get things ready for our day in Rotterdam so we lay out our clothes and get the backpack ready too.  We know it will be another cold day which means gloves, scarves, and layering.  

We docked at 7 am right in the center of the city of Rotterdam.  This is the original home of Holland America and the original old Rotterdam ship is here at another mooring location.  The ship is now a floating hotel, a restaurant and an museum; you can take tours of her or enjoy wandering through her on a tour.  They say she was full of asbestos so after she was purchased to be located her the company that bought her realized it would cost as much to remove the asbestos as it did to buy her!!

Today we are on a private type tour.  Basically we hooked up with another couple from California and purchase online tickets to the Kinderdijk, another UNESCO World Heritage Site famous for its 18th century windmills.  The tickets included our transportation to and from the windmills and entrance into the windmills themselves.  We wern’t quite sure how long it would take us to walk to the water taxi so we got off much earlier than we had planned.  The walk was no more than 15 minutes to the water taxi and then about 30 minutes by water, having to change at one location to get to the windmills sooner.  Our only mistake was that we hadn’t purchased any Euro’s and the water taxi we switched over to wouldn’t take anything but Euros!  Fortuantely our friends loaned us a few and we were able to continue on to the site.  By getting up early and off the ship by 7:30 we avoided the mass of people that were coming as we were leaving!  

When we got back to town we decided to walk up through the city center and take in what we could before we reboarded the ship.  The day turned out to be more sunny than cloudy and we really never had rain.  

Rotterdam was a debarkation point for about 200 people and an embarkation for about that many coming aboard; this required another muster drill with the new passengers so all aboard was 4:00.  We really would have enjoyed one more day here in this lovely modern city.  

A little history on Rotterdam;  it was founded in the 13th century and became a town in 1340 with 640,000 inhabitants.  In 1940 the city center was destroyed by Nazi German Air Force.  After the Second World War the city was reconstructed.  It is now famous for it’s daring architecture .  The river flowing through it is called Nieuwe Maas, a branch of the Rhine.  Rotterdam is the most important Harbour for Germany.  Most districts of Rotterdam are located below sea level.  Heavy dikes defend the city against the river and the sea.  Things to see in Rotterdam include The Hague; this City is the seat of the Dutch government, parliament and the residences of King Alexander; Delft which is a short train ride away where you can discover picturesque canals and row houses captured by the fainter Johannesburg Vermeer in his famous “View of Delft”.  If you fancy tasty cheese you can find your hearts content in Gouda.  Gouda is also a city where you can see the Gouda pipes and the stained glass windows of St Jan’s Church.  

Amsterdam is the Large’s port in Europe and one of the busiest ports in the world.  The city has a population of 1.3 million and lives up to the famous adage, “Amsterdam to party, Den Haag to live, Rotterdam to work”.The unique Cube Houses are here designed by Piet Blom. Each house is a cube that rests on a hexagon shaped pylon at a 45 degree angle.  The Euromast is also here which is 607 feet tall.  

The Eurasia Bridge also called  The Swan is here; we walked across it to get to the water taxi.   It is 800 meters long and opened in 1996.  

Across the Erasmus Bridge to get to our water taxi.

Our water taxi is in view!

This way to the Windmills!

Get a photo shot where with your kids in the giant shoe!

One of the many beautiful windmills that have been restored and or are being restored.

The dikes keep the water out of the fields. 

We enter the museum of the windmills.

A shoe rack for your wooden shoes; you don’t wear them in the house!

We met this man on the walk ; he said we could take his photo but only if we didn’t spread it around!  Ha ha. He had a legal permit to hunt the overabundance of geese and ducks.  He looked like something out of the past...

The windmills were very small inside and didn’t offer much other than sleeping, eating and maybe a small living space. 

Sleeping area for the family; to the right inside the bunk is a small cradle for the baby!

Garden area for the master of the windmill and his family.

In the city; statue shows buckets of paint or tar all over turned...could not find any information nearby about this statue.

A gal we met onboard got some Leftsa and prepared it for several of us to taste along with one of our dining room staff!  Yummy!

Rain, Rain Go Away and Stay All Day!!

This Wednesday we sailed into the lovely town of Bergen.  The forecast was 57 and partly cloudy.  Our day was to start porting at 8 with all aboard at 4:30.  So many of us talked about the fact that our day here was short with so much to see!  Our plans made over 9 months ago were to take a Fjord cruise at 10:00.  It was a three hour cruise and we each bought our tickets online so we were ready to go; no queuing up in the ticket line for us.  Knowing what we know about seats and people we were off the ship early and quickly made our way through rain drops to the docking station for the tour boat.  It was fortunate that we did this because when we got there 30 minutes early a line had already formed and fortunate for us we were near the start of it.  We wore our insulated water proof coats and took gloves and scarves.  

Bergen is located on Norway’s southwest coast and is the country’s largest port and second largest city.  It is in the center of the seven mountains and is a vision of lush green landscape surrounded by water from the North Sea.  During the early 12th century we leaned that it rose to prominence for it’s dried cod trade.  The old wharf section is a UNESCO World Heritage site and features Hanseatic commercial buildings as well as stone cellars dating back to the 15th century. 

Once this city was ravaged with pirate attacks, fires, disease and invasions has revived itself into a bustling modern powerhouse thanks to its thriving port.   A castle, Bergenhus Festning is locates at the center entrance to the harbor.  Though restored there are some elements that are over 700 years old including a dungeon, royal hall and defensive tower.  The Fish Market is a unique local experience.  And if the sun is shining you can get a panoramic view of the city from the Mount Florence Funicular.  

The Fjord cruise was wonderful.  The way up boasted of quaint homes along the shore, lots of swans and gulls, brilliant green surroundings and interesting little villages.  There was some narration from the captain but for some reason we couldn’t hear much more than mumbling.  Folks were in and out taking photos; there was a little snack bar on the boat with hot coffee, hot chocolate and tea and the usual bagged or wrapped treats.  We always have something in our backpack like a protein bar, nuts, an apple and our own water jugs but something hot was tempting.  The way back the rain really began to come down in sheets.  We knew what our afternoon would now entail....no funicular or much shopping because we had a long walk back to the ship. 

We did swing into the fish market which was fun!  Literally hundreds of folks were there; many eating, some purchasing, some doing what I did; take photos!  We stayed long enough to avoid the heavy rain; then we snuck into a few little stores just perusing the local crafts never knowing what one might find.  I could Dan was done with avoiding puddles and dodging into covered areas so we book hooded up and took off the the ship.  A Viking Sea going ship was in port too so with all the other tourists it was more moving between slow walkers and gawkers!  

We were glad to get back to the ship and take a hot shower hanging up our clothes to dry.  We were back by 2:00 and had time to clean up and join a gang of friends at the Crows Nest for the departure out of Bergen.  The narration by the EXC Host Jessica was broadcast on outside decks, in staterooms and in the Crow’s Nest.  

Here are some of the points of information we learned from various speakers about Norway and Bergen;

4th highest income of Norway in Bergen; they have pure water and oil reserves along with Plenty of natural gas; The 2nd happiest people live in Norway; Most Vikings were from Norway; Vikings were craftsmen, skilled warriors and the best story tellers; they were also farmers.  In 1066 they began to declinefor Vikings; they were good at boat construction and home construction wlong with wood carving.  Often the Viking Themes were of dragons and animals.  

Norway is rich with accomplishments in art and music with well known Edvarg Grieg a famous pianist known for the music “Hall of Mountain King “ based on Norwegian folk music.  And who could forget Edvard Munch and his famous art work,  “The Scream” with a psychological theme to it.  Many say it was about his feelings rather than anyone else.  

Bunad is the name of  the Norwegian costume which represents family, home and geographic areas they came from.  They are very ornate and detailed. 

Cross country skiing along with alpine and downhill skiing is the rage here.  Norway wins the most Olympic medals in winter sports over any other countr.

A way of exploration, nature and appreciating nature is their way of thinking.  Hiking, alpine climbing, and high altitude orienteering are interests of most Norwegians.  In late May to late July the sun never fully sets; Late November to late January it never fully rises.

Norway is a land of glaciers in the northern region.  There are over 2000 glaciers and lakes full of beautiful blue waters due to high levels of oxygen.  Beautiful fjords  finger through the country with there being approximately 1200 of them.  

Thee Northern Lights or aurora borealis are apparent during dark skies and cloud free nights mostly seen in September through April .  There are over 17,000 bridges in Norway with one of the longest suspension bridges in the world.  There are also over 1000 tunnels and lots of road construction  happening continually.  Wildlife and polar bears outnumber humans in northern areas .

The country is full of rich areas for whales and summer feeding along with moose, elk and reindeer.   

Unique agricultural customs are found here with great protections in place.  Modest farms and healthy environments dot the extensive coastline.  Norway is the 2nd biggest seafood exporter in the world. 

The Heart of Bergen is famous for it’s seafood along with brown cheese or caramelized goat cheese. A typical meal for a family here is the hotdog  at least every three days!  Many of them are made of Reindeer sausage.

The Norwegian cinnamon roll is called the Skillingsbolle and said to be a tasty treat.  The are many myths and legends in Norway not to be made fun of.   Trolls are everywhere living on rocks, mountains, caves, forests and can play tricks on people! There is a documentary called “Troll Hunter” which they encouraged us to see sometime.  Norwegians dried fish and lived off this for hundreds of years.  

Bergen is called the Horseshoe harbor.  Living in Norway is expensive.

You will see rows of colorful homes looking like a story book theme within this unesco world heritage site with cobblestone streets.  Bergen has the only Leprosy museum in the world.  The Leprosy Hospital closed in 1946. The museum pays respect to thousands of personal traumas and tragedies.  There is also a ship building museum.

Take the tram or funicular. 1050 ft takes 8 minutes about $15.  There were 22 churches which burned in 1992 ish and rebuilt. Burned by Norwegian political arsonists. 

No Uber here but many taxis.

One dollar is 8.88 kronar 

And as we experienced, Norway has over 200 days of rain or snow per year!  

Colorful row businesses along the walk to the cruise in the U shaped harbor.



We quay up for this Fjord ship cruise.  

Lovely small clusters of homes along the way.

Rocky shores along lush green landscapes.

We noted the unusual rock and the color streaking. 

Couldn’t resist these reflection photos. 

Clouds make them so interesting and the clouds became darker as we ventured in.  

At the end of the fjord or at least the end for us.

Waterfalls along the way we’re numerous.

Our cruise ship got so close that folkscould touch the walls!

Can you imagine living here with just boat transportation to get you in or out?

The famous fish market during a downpour but nothing new to Norwegians!!

All kinds of food items for sale here. 

People everywhere not stopped by the rain. 

Reindeer for sale here!!

See the giant live crab!!!

Remember there are trolls and fairies everywhere!

Lots of outdoor cafes by the eateries but today they were empty with the rain.

Bryggen is the Norwegian spelling. 

Heading out that night through the long harbor and all the shipping docks. 

Move Ahead!!

Two days at sea and we are all still talking about weather, cold breezes and rain!  Our weather was between 42 - 52 degrees.  Lots of folks were  still braving the outside decks walking in what looked like arctic snow suits; hats, hoods, gloves and heavy coats!  As I write this blog I’m having a little trouble remembering what we did do for sure on these two days but I do know that we spent about 45 minutes at the gym each day.  Typically Dan is up early and goes up to the lido with an insulated bag and two insulated coffee cups.  He has already filled the cups with hot water from our tap to ensure we have a hot drink!  Then he gets me hot water for tea and him a coffee sometimes diluted with a little hot water because it is so strong here!.  Often he grabs a few glasses of ice so we can stick that in our little refrigerator for later or a piece of fruit.  I can tell you that we STILL have not used the elevator one time on the ship which makes us both even more encouraged to keep using the stairs!  When he quietly sneaks back into the room so as not to wake me he has his coffee and then usually quickly ends of up the bathroom taking in his morening reading and sitting on that throne for at least 30 minutes!  That’s another good reason for me to just stay sleeping :). When we have an early morning tour he is up at least two hours before hand so it makes for a long day but that bathroom routine is pretty important!  

We look over the daily program typically the night before checking off what we would like to see or do. The EXC talks were on Images of Iceland, Norway in a Nutshell and discover Bergen, and more about the Icelandic Sagas.  Our favorite speaker has been the EXC travel host Jessica, who is from Australia.  She has a great sense of humor and her presentations are always fast paced but also interesting.  

Here are some of the highlights of Norway...

Norway

4th highest income

Pure water  and oil reserves, natural gas is plentiful; 

2nd happiest people

Most Vikings were from Norway

Vikings were craftsmen skilled warriors best story tellers farmers 

After the year 1066 the reign of the Vikings began to decline

Boat construction and home construction showed their. Amazing skill for wood carving

Viking Themes were of dragons and animals 

Norway is rich in accomplishments, art and music

Edvarg Grieg music. Hall of Mountain King based on Norwegian folk music is from Norway and very renowned 

Edvard Munch. The famous artist of  “The Scream” with psychological theme is from Norway 

Bunad is the name of the Norwegian costume which represents family home and geographic areas of  Norway

Cross country skiing along with alpine and downhill skiing is very popular and Norway  wins most Olympic medals in winter sports 

A way of exploration, nature and appreciating nature is their way of thinking. 

Late May to late July sun never fully sets

Late Nov to late January never fully rises

Land of glaciers in northern region.  Lack of oxygen causes the blue color.  Over 2000 glaciers

Beautiful fjords with approximately 1200 in Norway

Northern lights aurora borealis dark skies and cloud free mostly seen in September through April 

17,000 bridges in Norway

One of the longest suspension bridges.  Over 1000 tunnels and lots of road construction 

Wildlife including polar bears outnumber humans in northern areas

Rich areas for whales summer feeding along with moose elk and reindeer.   

Unique agricultural customs. Modest farms healthy environments extensive coastline.  2nd biggest seafood export

Heart of Bergen for seafood

Brown cheese caramelized goat cheese

Typical meal hotdog  every three days 

Reindeer sausage  

Norwegian cinnamon roll Skillingsbolle

Trolls are everywhere living on rocks mountains caves; forests can play tricks on people 

Documentary called Troll Hunter which everyone should watch; 

Norwegians dried fish 

Horseshoe harbor

Rows of colorful homes; story book theme Unesco world heritage sites cobblestone streets 

Not inexpensive  in Norway

Leprosy museum 

Hospital closed in 1946. Respects thousands of personal traumas and tragedies

Ship building museums

Take the tram or funicular. 1050 ft takes 8 minutes about $15. Go first in morning

Troll park at top with restaurants 

In port with two other smaller cruise ships.  

Fan top stave church 11-13 th century to introduce Christianity to Norwegians

 22 churches were burned in 1992 ish and rebuilt. Burned by Norwegian political arsonists

No Uber here but many taxis

One dollar is 8.88 kronar 

Over 200 days of rain or snow per year

We usually skip lunch or just have a little fruit or some vegetables.  In the afternoon we hung out around the pool area with some friends.  They introduced us to a game called  Triominoes and we have had a fun time playing that or Hand and Foot.  The pool area has the retractable roof so it is very light and if the weather permits the roof will open.  These days it has been closed.  But it is a great place to connect with folks we know.  It also happens that it was my birthday so I had a little note from Dan when I woke up and later in the day the ship delivered a cute decorated chocolate cup cake with a small card.  We both admired that cupcake for a day or two and then decided we weren’t going to waste calories on it and tossed it!  One thing about desserts on this ship....they rarely prove to be something we enjoy.  They always look good but don’t seem to measure up to something that tastes good.

That night after enjoying diner in the Lido with some friends we went to the show which was Ronald Moray, a magician and comedian. He was ok.  Magicians have never really been my thing.  We then headed over to the BBKing All Star show at 8:15 and LOVED that again.  By 8:30 we were in our room and settling in to a little TV before we hit the hay and enjoyed the gentle rocking of the ship over some rolling waves.   We were reminded to set our clocks AHEAD one hour!

The next morning we slept in till about 830 which is late for us.  The weather warmed up a bit on this Tuesday to around 53 degrees.  I worked on my blog for a few hours in the morning and then by 11 we headed up to the gym.  It’s a great time to go to the gym because most folks are long gone being early risers and the other folks don’t come in till around 2 or 3!  As we work out we keep our eyes open for whales , dolphins or unusual birds.  

There were two talks again today; one in the morning and one in the afternoon; The Vikings as Explorers and Traders and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.  Our EXC talk today was on Rotterdam again by Jessica.  The main stage area is packed when she speaks as everyone really enjoys her so if you are going to go listen to her talk you need to be there at least 30 minutes prior to her talk.  We were there 40 minutes before and took a book to read.  

Sailing in will be backwards!  Too tight to turn around in.  Netherlands is below sea level 22 ft! 280 miles of coastline.  5.5% is from tourism.  Dutch is official language.  Much of the land is below sea level or just barely above it.  Last major flood was in 1953 when the dike broke.  Took 30 years to build the infrastructure to support dry land and block the sea with giant gates that are pulled together when needed to keep the ocean water from coming into the river. 

Rotterdam is Europe’s busiest port.  HollandAmerica first had its offices here.  They are over 150 years old; their offices are now in Seattle, WA.  There old building in Rotterdam is now a hotel and the first Rotterdam Ship is now permanently docked here as a floating hotel; you can take a tour of it or enjoy lunch or dinner in their dining rooms.  It was a huge expense to refurbish her because she was loaded with asbestos which had to be removed and taken care of; it cost more to renovate her than what they paid for her!

We enjoyed dinner with friends by a large window enjoying the ocean and the waves and talking about our upcoming shore excursions and cruises we might want to take down the road.  The entertainment was a flute player, Jonathan Johnston.  We heard he was fantastic but we opted to watch a movie in our stateroom and prepare for our excursion the next day in Bergen, Norway.  

And ONCE AGAIN we turned the clocks forward another HOUR which means less sleep for the old folks!  Ha ha

they came from. Very ornate

Cross country skiing along with alpine and downhill.  Wins most Olympic medals in winter sports 

A way of exploration nature and appreciating nature is their thinking. 

Hiking, alpine climbing, high altitude 

Late May to late July sun never fully sets

Late nov to late January never fully rises

Land of glaciers in northern region.  Lake of oxygen causes the blue color.  Over 2000 glaciers

Beautiful fjords with approximately 1200

Northern lights aurora borealis dark skies and cloud free mostly seen in September through April 

17,000 bridges in Norway

One of the longest suspension bridges.  Over 1000 tunnels and lots of road construction 

Wildlife polar bears outnumber humans in northern areas

Rich areas for whales summer feeding along with moose elk and reindeer.   

Unique agricultural customs. Modest farms healthy environments extensive coastline.  2nd biggest seafood export

Heart of Bergen for seafood

Brown cheese caramelized goat cheese

Typical meal hotdog  every three days 

Reindeer sausage  

Norwegian cinnamon roll Skillingsbolle

Trolls are everywhere living on rocks mountains caves forests can play tricks on people 

Documentary called Troll Hunter

Norwegians dried fish 

Horseshoe harbor

Rows of colorful homes story book theme unesco world heritage sites cobblestone streets 

Not inexpensive  in Norway

Leprosy museum 

Hospital closed in 1946. Respects thousands of personal traumas and tragedies

Ship building museums

Take the tram or funicular. 1050 ft takes 8 minutes about $15. Go first in morning

Troll park at top with restaurants 

In port with two other smaller cruise ships.  

Fan top stave church 11-13 th century to introduce Christianity to Norwegians

 22 churches were burned in 1992 ish and rebuilt. Burned by Norwegian political arsonists

Import 8-4:30

Hop on hop off bus 13 stops

No Uber here but many taxis

Maps at pier

Tourist site by Starbucks and Macdonalds plus Wi-Fi

M

One dollar is 8.88 kronar 

Over 200 days of rain or snow per year

Midnight to 4 am!

Weather continues to be the topic for the passengers and the captain.  The forecast for our next port, Akureyri, Iceland is 39 degrees and rain.....ugh!  We docked at 8 and were to be all aboard at 4:30 sailing out at 5 pm.  The captain provided a letter to all  passengers saying that expected heavy weather on our route to Bergen, Norway would require us to leave earlier than planned thus allowing us more comfortable sailing.  He hoped to avoid the worst of the incoming weather system.  So....we watched the clouds get darker and the rain get heavier as we boarded our mini bus with 18 other passengers on a private tour.  We were to see three beautiful water falls and also a local farm and museum.  Well we were very crowded in the van with many older disabled passengers who refused to trade or switch seats periodically allowing for those in the back row who couldn’t see or sit comfortably to have a break.  The weather was so cold, windy and rainy that I only got out at one stop.  At one point we were going to offload a couple to another mini van with our same company but the passengers in the other van protested not wanting to  share any of their seats!  So one or two couples tried to switch back and forth.  The trip was long, uncomfortable and we virtually couldn’t see much through foggy wet muddy windows.  The driver had a heavy accent and his microphone kept slipping down his neck as he drove.  After asking a few times for him to turn it up we all  gave up.  

When we got to the farm he told us you had to pay to go into it which housed the museum.  We could use bathrooms without charge but if we went any further we  had to pay.  Because only one couple wanted to pay the group decided to go back to the ship!  This probably would have been the best stop and if we had done this in place of a distant remote waterfall over rocky uneven dirt roads more folks would have had the desire to go in.  

This port has been nicknamed the capital of North Iceland, and was originally settled around the 9th century.  It wasn’t a city until 1562.  Today it is a booming port town with their economy largely based on fishing.  

There are a variety of hiking trails within the city limits and also a botanical garden founded in 1912!  They say it has nearly every plant found in Iceland with around 450 plants and 7,000 foreign plants!  

It. Boasts of several museums in town. Included the Akureyri Museum dedicated to the preservation and study of culturalistory sites.  There is also. A Motorcycle museum. Covering the history of them in Iceland over the last century..   

After our tour we hurriedly boarded the ship sopping wt from top to bottom..  After a hot shower and some dry clean clothes we headed up the pool deck area where we usually find a few folks to chat with or we head for a lounger and a book..  Around 5:30 we headed to dinner at a table for 6 where we met up with some friends..  We looked at the upcoming program for entertainment and saw that there was nothing interesting with no Mainstage entertainers..  They instead where showig the film “The Secret Life. Of Walter Mitty”! We chose to enjoy some of the blues from the BBKing band for an hour and then off to bed.   

By the time we got to our cabin we had rough seas and understood why nothing on stage had been scheduled..  That night was the worst night I have had at sea in all my cruising.  I got little sleep and kept thinking about the location on my life jacket!  

In the morning the captain reported that until 4 am we had 63 MPH winds and 23 foot waves !

The first falls...

The second falls...

The last set of falls

Photos tell so much!

Here are more photos to go with Figur Island...

Mariner Museum in the bay...

What you actually are looking at are thousands of dried fish laying out in the village put there by the women!  Fish were the main stay of their diets and their greatest source of income sold to fish buyers.

A photo of the depth of the snow around a wench that pulled the loaded fishing boats from the shoreline up on the bank to keep them and the catch safe.  The most dangerous time for fishing boats was coming into shore.  The men had to keep the wench clear of snow. 

Look at the size of this polar bear shot in 1963 in the village close to where we visited.

Dan hooded up and covered up for rain, snow or sleet!  

Docking at Figur Island...

Looking at the main buildings from the dock and the shoreline.

This is the nesting grounds for puffins and eider ducks well protected from any predators including people.

This is Eider down; a very precious commodity and one that provides a good income.

These buildings house the owners and provide the area to collect, clean and package the eider down.

The only windmill in Iceland!  It’s small but has been preserved and they are working on making it still usable.

The black stakes you see in the grass were nests of the Puffins.

You can see the mowed path we were to stay on.  Dan had the pack with even more rain protection for us should we need it. I wish I could show you the force of the wind that was hitting us.  The clouds are getting blacker as we go. 

And this is the storm that is coming as we approach the eating area and warmth!

The dining area that was a reprieve from the cold and had tasty treats for us!

Heading back to the tender area.  Don’t let the blue sky fool you!  It got bad very quickly and the waves crashed against our vessel causing several folks to be sea sick and us to be 1/2 hour late getting back to the ship.