Cruising with Kath

I’ve shared with you a lot about what I’ve been doing off-ship, but now I want to share with you what’s been going on while we’re at sea. The ship’s staff puts great effort into making a full schedule and listening to passengers’ requests. The photos are some of my favorite places and events on the ship. Choir practice in the Bayou  Café Each morning is a new episode of The Wake Show , where the cruise director and various guests talk about all the fun and wonderful things that are happening that day. Party time at the Explorer's Lounge There are trivia contests, and meetings of like-minded people such as first responders, Rotarians, teachers, train enthusiasts – pretty much anyone who wants to put together a group. Every card or board game you could think of has people meeting somewhere to play. One of the passengers put together an arts-and-crafts session each sea day that was regularly attended by over a hundred people; she did it because she loves sharing her talents and could ...

T he island of La Palma was the last stop on my world cruise, so it was with a bit of sadness that I dragged myself out of bed before the sun to explore.   The locals were out and about watching the strangers walking through their town. The whole island is lousy with bananas - everyone is growing them  Our first stop was a walk through a local village near Los Llanos de Aridane, where our guide told us about the life cycle of the banana plant, and how the local farmers have perfected the process of growing them on the island. Most of the banana farms can be found on the western side of the island. They also grow bird of paradise flowers, oranges, avocados, and grapes.  Fun Fact: The Canary Islands were not named for the canary birds; the birds were named for the island. The Spanish name is Islas Canarias, coming from the Latin word for "dog". The story goes that when the first Europeans arrived on Gran Canaria, they encountered large dogs, or maybe seals which were known ...

The Port of Arrecife The Canary Islands are made up of seven islands: Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Gomera, El Hierro, and La Palma. Our first port of call was in Arrecife (R-a-cee-fa), Lanzarote. The Island of Lanzarote is volcanic in origin and shaped by eruptions in the 18th and 19th centuries. It has an almost lunar appearance (but to me it looks more like Mars, now that we know what Mars looks like.) Rumor has it that some test runs for the Apollo mission were done here to try machinery for the lunar landing. It was also used as the setting for 1970’s Planet of the Apes. Our first stop of the day was at Our Lady of Sorrows Church. The festival of Virgen de los Volcanes began in 1780 when a procession carrying the image of Our Lady of Dolores (Sorrows) miraculously ended a lava flow threatening to reach the village of Tinajo. The cross in the bottom right picture marks the spot where the lava flow stopped.   The next stop was Timanfaya National Park. The ...