Category: Holland America Cruise Line

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About My Travels Australia Holland America Cruise Line

Adelaide

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Cruising in the Great Australian Bight off the coast of Southern Australia to our next port of call, Adelaide.

Adelaide;
A great city with lots of green parks and a enjoyable climate. We had two wonderful days here. One day we had a car and drove to Hahndorf, Bridgewater, the McClearn Wine district and ended the evening with a trip to Granite Island to see the Fairy Penguins come in from the sea.

Handorf is Australia’s oldest surviving German settlement in the heart of the Adelaide Hills. This picturesque German village is just twenty minutes out of Adelaide and settled in 1839 by Lutherans fleeing religious persecution in Prussia. We had great fun strolling the streets, and admiring the many special articles for sale.

Bridgewater is a pleasant village nestled in the Adelaide Hills with beautiful scenery and a huge water wheel that was used as a flour mill.

Rolling hills with green fields of grape vines made for an enjoyable drive while visiting a few vineyards in the area.

The Fairy or Blue Penguins (Eudyptula minor) as they are often called, are the smallest penguins in the World. There is a colony on the Granite Island near Adeliade, and we visited the island in the evening to see the penguins come in from the sea to their nests in the nearby rocks. They come in at dusk to try to escape the sea lions and other predators who would kill them.

The second day we drove around the historic areas of Adelaide and North Adelaide, then turned in the car and walked the streets! All along a main street there are wonderful museums. The Governors House was open, and that happens only twice a year so we were honored and toured his house and gardens. We had a special treat at one of the venders on the grounds, Homemade Ice cream made with Native Plant flavoring. UmUm

We visited the South Australia Museum and what a great Museum it is. We could have spent much more time there, but we moved on to the Art Museum. We tried to focus on the Australian Art primarily the Aboriginal Art. We had learned some about this expressive art and quite like some of them. After the Art Museum we walked to the Botanical Gardens. A beautiful area in the city with of course a large variety of plants and bird life. Just watching the ducks and other birds was fun, and it was good to sit down for a bit. All birds seem to be different here in Australia, pelicans are a beautiful white and black, the magpie are also a beautiful white and black. I have seen no sparrows, the most common birds appear to be the cockatoos, galahs and the parrot types To the natives they are pests! One tree in the Botanical Gardens was full of the parrots and we stayed there for some time trying to get the perfect picture. These little parrots are so colorful and were very busy flying from one blossom to the next all in the same tree.

Walking down the street called Rundle Mall a piece of art caught our attention entitled “A Day Out” by Marguerite Derricourt. It includes four bronze pigs who look completely at home on the street; one of them is even rummaging in a trash can!
The artwork was commissioned as part of an upgrade to Rundle Mall in 1999. A public competition led to each of the pigs being named. Horatio is the sitting pig, Oliver is the one rooting in the trash and the other two are called Augusta and Truffles. They are quite cute, and I used a picture of them for a Birthday Card for a friend who collects pigs.

Beautiful art work was also noted on some walls of buildings around town, we did not find out the history behind those amazing pictures.

An interesting building nearing completion we called the pineapple building; later we found out it is The South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute.

The ship was to leave Adelaide at 11:30 the second day, but we were tired so came “home” to the ship on the 6:15 train. We had kangaroo and crocodile on the dinner menu. and they tasted great! Kangaroo is the best meat, as it is low in fat. The crocodile was served in a curry.

www.australia.com/explore/cities/adelaide.aspx
https://www.adelaidesightseeing.com.au/must-see-and-do-adelaide-and-s…
www.southaustralia.com

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About My Travels Australia Holland America Cruise Line

Yanchep National Park

Yanchep National Park

The Port for Perth is Fremantle; Lots of interesting things to see in the both Fremantle and Perth as reported in the previous
Post. Perth has a very interesting Bell tower, and a beautiful Park on a hill. Our favorite place to visit was nearby
Yanchep National Park.

Yanchep National Park is home to western grey kangaroos which can be seen in abundance early and late in the day. At other times they shelter from the sun so you might be lucky enough to see them resting in shady areas. – See more at: http://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/yanchep#sthash.XwLVgABD.dpuf

Stroll along the 240-metre koala boardwalk to view one of Australia’s favorite native animals in a natural environment and learn more about these fascinating creatures. – See more at: http://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/yanchep#sthash.XwLVgABD.dpuf

More than 400 caves have been recorded in the park, and there are many ways you can enjoy them. Crystal Cave, Adventure Caving, Cabaret Cave each offer contrasting experiences. – See more at: http://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/yanchep#sthash.XwLVgABD.dpuf
We visited Crystal Cave.
The flies were a constant presence in our faces and the fly netting masks were a great buy!


http://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/yanchep
http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Australia_and_Oceania/Australia/State_of_Western_Australia/Yanchep-1867496/Things_To_Do-Yanchep-TG-C-1.html
http://www.about-australia.com/attractions/yanchep-national-park-crystal-cave/

http://www.dpaw.wa.gov.au/
http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/animals/TheAustralianMagpie.htm
http://www.anbg.gov.au/banksia/

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Bell Tower and Sunset
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About My Travels Holland America Cruise Line

Komodo Island Indonesia

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Komodo slideshow

Komodo Island

Next stop on the Circumnavigation of Australia was a stop on Komodo Island.— Yes Komodo is in Indonesia, but it is very near Australia, and in ancient times was probably connected! We toured the Island again, yes we toured it in February but it was great to tour it again. This time we added snorkeling on a pink sand beach. Enjoy the slide show, and to see more Komodo Dragon pictures in the Post of March 16 2013.

Komodo Dragons on Komodo Island Indonesia

https://fordsfotos.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Komodo-slideshow.pdf

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About My Travels Australia Holland America Cruise Line Photography

Australian preview

Australia Circumnavigation

Christmas-on-Manly

In the next few months I plan to blog about my recent trip to Australia.Please check back often for information and photos of that beautiful and amazing country “Down Under!

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About My Travels Google Map Holland America Cruise Line

Travels located on Google Map

Travels–Google Map update
World Traveler–So much to see–so little time!


View My Travels in a larger map

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baby-Crocodille Blue-Heron- Common-Basilisk Lizard- Mangrove Crab Crocodille Crocodille Crocodille
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About Me Holland America Cruise Line

Dubai and the Burj Khalifa

Dubai and the Burj Khalifa

What a city!
A lot could be said about Dubai, but it probably has all been said before. I want to focus on some of the buildings that one can see in Dubai. The first one of course will be the Tallest building in the World–the Burj Khalifa. It is an amazing building to view and to go into. The high-speed elevator will zip one to the 124th floor in less than one minute.

I feature a few pictures of the Bruj Khalifa with different views, day and night, and from the ground and from the 124th floor.

For an amazing picture from the 124th floor look at-Joe McNally’s Instagram photo http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/20/joe-mcnally-burj-khalifa-skyscraper-photo-picture_n_2917817.html–The picture I wish I had taken when I was there!

Burj Facts
1. Burj Khalifa is located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

2. It’s 828 metres tall (2,717 feet).

3. The exact height was not revealed until final stages of the construction.

4. It was officially opened on Jan 4, 2010.

5. It was previously known as Burj Dubai.

6. Burj means Tower in Arabic language.

7. It’s renamed after Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of UAE and ruler of Abu Dhabi.

World records

8. Tallest building – previously Taiwan’s Taipei 101 (509m).

9. Tallest free-standing structure – previously Canada’s CN Tower (555m).

10. Tallest man-made structure – previously USA’s KVLY-TV Mast (629m).

11. Tallest man-made structure ever – previously Poland’s Warsaw Radio Mast (647m).

12. Building with most floors (160) – previously USA’s World Trade Center (110).

13. Highest elevator installation.

14. Highest outdoor observation deck (~440m)

15. Highest mosque at 158th floor.

16. Highest (insert here) which requires another long list to be completed ;p

17. Fastest elevators at speed of 64km/h, or 18m/s.

18. It would take just a minute to reach from ground level to top floor.

Architecture facts

19. Burj Dubai has more than 162 floors.

20. It has 49 office floors.

21. It houses 1044 residential apartments.

22. It has a floor area of 334,000 square metres.

23. There’s 57 lifts in the tower.

24. There’s 28,261 of glass-panels on the exterior of the tower.

25. Its top spire can be seen from 95km afar.

26. The architecture features a triple-lobed footprint, an abstraction of the Hymenocallis flower.

27. The Y-shaped floor plan aims to maximize views of the Gulf.

28. Over 1,000 pieces of art from prominent Middle Eastern and international artists will adorn the tower and the surrounding Emaar Boulevard.

Environmental facts

29. The tower’s peak electricity demand is estimated at 50MVA, equivalent to roughly 500,000 100-watt light bulbs.

30. It’s expected to use an average of 946,000 litres of water each day.

31. During peak cooling conditions, the tower will require around 12,500 tons of cooling, equivalent to the cooling capacity of about 10,000 tons of melting ice.

Construction facts

32. Construction began in September 2004.

33. The tower’s architect and engineer is Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (Chicago).

34. The main constructor is Emaar Properties, a joint venture by Korea’s Samsung C&T, Belgium’s Besix and UAE’s Arabtec.

35. The construction project manager is Turner Construction Company.

36. Bill Baker is the chief structural engineer.

37. Adrian Smith is consulting design partner.

38. It took some 22 million man-hours to be completed.

39. On downside, foreign construction workers were pay as little as $4 per day.

40. Over 45,000 cubic-metres of concrete, weighing more than 110,000 tonnes, were used.

41. Concrete used was enough to lay a 2,065km-long pavement; and equivalent to the weight of 100,000 elephants.

42. Total weight of aluminium used is equivalent to that of five A380 aircraft.

43. Total length of stainless steel bull nose fins used is equal to 293 times the height of France’s Eiffel Tower.

44. The foundations were dug to depths of 50m.

Financial figures

45. Total cost estimated at US$1.5 billion.

46. The price for the offices spaces reached as high as US$4,000 per sq ft.

47. Residential spaces as high as US$3,500 per sq ft.

48. The building is part of the a 490-acre flagship development called Downtown Burj Khalifa.

Random stuff

49. Burj Khalifa is about twice the height of Empire State Building (443m).

50. It’s taller than Hong Kong’s Victoria Peak (552m).

51. It’s the first world’s tallest structure in history to include residential space.

52. It will feature the world’s first Armani Hotel, which occupies 15 of the lower 39 floors.

53. The exterior temperature at the top of will be 6°C cooler than its base (some say 10°C).

54. Jan 4, its opening date, was the birthday of Sir Isaac Newton.

55. Around 12,000 people are expected to live and work in the tower when it’s fully occupied.

56. The tower’s official website is www.burjkhalifa.ae.

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Pagoda in the Mountain w Pagoda in the Mountain w Pagoda in the Mountain Sunset in Venice Church at Sunset plus ship Mykonis Windmills at Sunset
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About My Travels Holland America Cruise Line

Cruising in Greece

Cruising in Greece
Beautiful Sunset at a port in Greece


Ship docked at Agios Nikolaos (Crete) Greece

There are so many amazing sites to see in Greece, here are a few sites visited on a recent trip.
Sunset at Katakolon, Ancient Olympia, and Ancient Corinth;

Katakolon is a seaside town in western Ilia in the municipality of Pyrgos. The town center is within a gulf overlooking the Ionian Sea. Katakolon is the gateway to Olympia (Greek: Ολυμπία Olympía), a sanctuary of ancient Greece in Elis, known for having been the site of the Olympic Games in classical times, the most famous games in history. The Olympic Games were held every four years, dating back to 776 BC. In 394 AD, emperor Theodosius I abolished them as they were then considered reminiscent of paganism. The first Olympic Games were in honor of Zeus. If one visits the large area that was Ancient Olympia, in the Spring, the trees are in bloom, if one visits in the Fall small pink flowers are sprinkled around the grounds.

Corinth, or Korinth (Greek: Κόρινθος, Kórinthos) was a city-state (polis) on the Isthmus of Corinth, the narrow stretch of land that joins the Peloponnesus to the mainland of Greece, roughly halfway between Athens and Sparta. Neolithic pottery suggests that the site of Corinth was occupied from at least as early as 6500BC, and continually occupied into the Early Bronze Age, and it has been suggested, the settlement acted as a center of trade. Skip ahead to the Romans in Corinth; Under the Romans, Corinth was rebuilt as a major city in Southern Greece or Achaia. It had a large mixed population of Romans, Greeks, and Jews.
Corinth is mentioned many times in the New Testament, largely in connection with Paul the apostle’s mission there. When the apostle Paul first visited the city (AD 51 or 52), Gallio, the brother of Seneca, was proconsul. Paul resided here for eighteen months

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About My Travels Cruise Photography Holland America Cruise Line

Panama Canal

Our next stop in our trip around South America was through the Panama Canal. One of the Locks is Gatun Locks built in 1915.

Panama Canal Gatun Lock

Frigate birds- Did you know they can stay aloft for more than a week?

Many Buzzards flew around the Locks, mostly black headed.

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About Me Grand Cayman Holland America Cruise Line

Georgetown Grand Cayman

Georgetown is the capital of Grand Cayman, the largest of the Cayman Islands, and known for its spectacular diving and snorkeling. The area is also know for exceptional clarity and color of the sea due to the fact that there are no natural rivers or freshwater draining into the ocean around the sea. We made a stop there on the way to the Panama Canal before heading down the West coast of South America. We did two one tank dives, and enjoyed our time in the water. Attached are some photos from under and over the water! Not the best underwater pictures, but perhaps you can get an idea of some of the beautiful fish and coral that takes me underwater every chance I get.
Click on the Welcome photo to see the gallery.


In 2004 over 80% of the buildings were either damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Ivan- the worst to hit the island in 86 years. However, because tourism accounts for the majority of the island’s economy, most business were quick to repair and re-open. Georgetown is home to to the Cayman’s financial industry and the town boasts over 600 banks! Points of interest for visitors include the turtle farm, and Stingray City, but the relaxed atmosphere and beautiful waters give Grand Cayman special allure.

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About My Travels Adobe Lightroom 4 Holland America Cruise Line NAPP

Google Maps and Lightroom 4

More fun with Google maps showing the sites we visited on a recent trip around South America, including the Antarctic, the Falklands, and a trip up the Amazon. I hope to share this wonderful journey with you on my website with pictures and storys. Our ship was the Princendam of the Holland America Cruise Line.

The new Adobe Lightroom 4 will automatically place all my GPS labeled photos on a map including how many pictures were taken at each Geo-location! Check out the NAPP website, or Adobe to learn about this great update to Lightroom.

This map was made with Lightroom 3 showing additions since the original map I posted on December 3, 2011. I plan to add at least one photo to so you could see what we saw at each pin.


View South America 2012 in a larger map

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Chile Holland America Cruise Line Patagonia

Patagonia and Penguins

Magellanic-Penguin


Click on the penguins to see the gallery.
Have you ever been to the end of the Americas?– check out Punta Arenas Chile.
Punta Arenas Chile is located in Northern Patagonia, it is the Southernmost city in the World, and a very interesting city to visit on the way to Antarctica. Magellan penguins can also be seen nearby in Otway Sound.
The penguins are native to the Strait of Magellan in the cool climate of southern Chile, and each spring hundreds of Magellanic Penguins come home to their birth place to breed. Nests are built in earthen burrows and usually two eggs are laid. Incubation lasts 39–42 days, a task which the parents share in 10-15 day shifts. The chicks are cared for by both parents for 29 days and are fed every two to three days. Normally, both are raised through adulthood, though occasionally only one chick is raised.

Magellanic Penguins mate with the same partner year after year. The male reclaims his burrow from the previous year and waits to reconnect with his female partner. The females are able to recognize their mates through their call alone. They are able to make quite a racket when they want to!

Millions of these penguins still live on the coasts of Argentina and Chile, but the species is classified as a “threatened species”, primarily due to the vulnerability of large breeding colonies to oil spills, which kill 20,000 adults and 22,000 juveniles every year off the coast of Argentina. (Wikipedia)

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Holland America Cruise Line Travel Photography Travels

Travel

HAL, Travel Photography,

HAL, Travel Photography,“All the pathos and irony of leaving one’s youth behind is thus implicit in every joyous moment of travel: one knows that the first joy can never be recovered, and the wise traveler learns not to repeat successes but tries new places all the time.” Paul Fussell

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Ice & Snow?

Prinsedam Holland America Line
Prinsedam Holland America Line

Prinsedam Holland America Line

Are you tired of the ice and snow? Think of a cruise to a warm place!

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About My Travels Cruise Photography Hawaii Hilo Holland America Cruise Line

Scenes that caught my fancy!

Rotterdam ship bell–Each HAL ship seems to have a bell, some times it is just hard to find it!

One doesn’t see phone booths very often anymore,
These caught my attention in Hilo,
and they are also “prettier” than most!

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About My Travels Cruise Photography Hawaii Hilo Holland America Cruise Line

Off the Beaten Path in Hilo

On a recent Cruise on Holland America Line we traveled from San Diego to Hilo Hawaii– our first siting of land! The trip map is featured on the first picture in the gallery


The coastal town of Hilo is the largest settlement on the island of Hawaii and overlooks Hilo Bay. Mauna Loa, considered an active volcano, and Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano, are located nearby. Hilo’s location on the eastern side of the island makes it the wettest city in the United States and one of the wettest cities in the world with an average yearly rainfall of 127.77 inches. Some areas of Hilo have been known to receive more than 200 inches of rainfall!

The Wailuku River rushes through old lava rocks and lava tubes creating a “boiling” effect. The Kaumana Caves are reached by climbing down an almost vertical staircase. These caves were formed by the 1881 eruption of Mauna Loa.

A trek through white sand lagoons filled with a mixture of salt water and artesian well water from below the surface and surrounded by unique lava formations, leads one to a beautiful sheltered lagoon in which to swim.

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