Dan and Sue's World Cruise

 Wednesday, 23 April, 2025 Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain Mount Teide on Tenerife The Canary Islands are located just 62 miles from the African country of Morrocco, but they are an “autonomous community” of Spain.   Even though Spain is over 600 miles away.   Tenerife is the largest and most populous island and has a population of just under 1 million, nearly half of all the Canaries.   Tenerife hosts more than seven million tourists each year, making it by far the most visited island in the archipelago .   Because of it temperate climate, it is a popular destination for Europeans.   As expected, Spanish is the official language, but English as well as German are commonly understood. Teide National Park, located in the center of the island, is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and our destination for today.   It contains Mount Teide which has the highest elevation in Spain as well as all the islands in the Atlantic Ocean.   It also has the dist...

  Our "Queen" from the ferry to take us to Goree Island  Easter Sunday, 20 April 2025, Dakar, Senegal, Africa Our German friends and we signed up for the excursion to Goree Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.   We met for breakfast before mustering in at the Royal Court Theater for our scheduled 9AM departure.   Being it was Easter Sunday; the chefs outdid themselves with a display of chocolate eggs and bunnies at the intersection connecting the port and starboard dining areas at the Artisans' Foodhall-Buffet. They also served Hot Cross buns in honor of Easter.   I took the opportunity to make a short video.  Video:  Easter display Goree is a small island, covering only about 70 acres and fully walk-able from end to end.    Our plan was to stay on our tour initially, then break off and try and find the several geocaches throughout the island, including an Adventure Lab, which would take us to all the places of interest anyway, a bonus m...

 17 April 2025 Equator, west of Gabon, Africa, Atlantic Ocean King Neptune Roman God of the Sea The first time we crossed the equator, way back on February 15th, Sue opted out of taking part in the ceremony, thinking it would be too strenuous.  After watching it, it seemed more fun than strenuous so this time, Sue signed up.  I told her you are not really a Shellback until you've gone through the initiation. More about Line-crossing ceremony and its history can be found  here. The captain said he would hold the ceremony just as we were crossing the equator, which turned out to be 9:30 at night.  And, as luck would have it, it was indeed a beautiful evening, perfect for the upcoming activities.  Sue put on her bathing suit and shift before heading up to the Pavilion Pool area on the 9th deck at 9PM, the time she was told to gather with the other Pollywogs.  I stayed at pool level because I had her change of clothes and wanted to be close by.  That ...