Sunday, May 26, 2013

20 May 2013 - From Sea to Sky to - Victoria

Boobies floating on the updrafts of the ship and keeping a sharp eye open for flying fish. The fish fly away from the bow wave of the ship, and the boobies dive bomb right after them for a fresh meal at sea.
Hovering above the bow wave, a Boobie makes eye contact with people on the walk around deck
Last port, and ship's crew take the opportunity to clean, oil, polish and paint one of the tenders
Present day tenders are a little more comfortable than these old ones...
From Fort Lauderdale through the Panama Canal (bottom right) and up the Central American Coast towards Baja California and San Diego
Honoring 'Ancient Mariners', meaning all guests who have travelled a certain number of days on Holland America Ships. Here, with the Captain and the Hotel Manager,  is The Queen of them all: Dolly, who has lived and enjoyed more than 6000 (six thousand) days aboard various Holland America ships. She owns the ships - she says.
Dolly is 'way up there' in age, but a lively as can be. Here she is wearing a custom made arm sling with Holland America logo and her name 'Dolly' embroidered on it; apparently she fell somewhere and broke her arm. It does not hold her back. She walks off a ship's dock in Mumbai, for instance, and the local traffic policemen greet her by name.
Getting up there....off Eugene, Oregon, on the way to Juan de Fuca Strait
The sad moment - Good Bye to the Crew, who line up on stage with some of their 'work' symbols. Here the cabin stewards with some of their towel animals. Others wave brooms, champagne bottles, cleaning buckets, kitchen utensils, laundry baskets, dinner chimes....whatever. When they break out singing
Love in any language, Straight from the heart
the whole audience breaks out the Kleenexes.
Cool Pacific North West - the back pool is deserted.

Cloud layers and snow capped mountains - the Olympic range in Washington, along the Juan de Fuca Strait

Welcome to Canada - the Victoria pilot boat arrives alongside MS Amsterdam
Around Ogden Point in Victoria - and home...
Marker Buoys lined up ashore at Victoria's Coast Guard building.

Flower artistry on MS Amsterdam

Large arrangement in the Atrium
Welcome to the Crow's Nest bar
Front Office - twigs, test tubes and blossoms
Front Office desk - dried twigs garlands and fresh flowers
At the Pinnacle Grill - bean pods and Calla
Exploration Cafe and Internet - moose antlers and orchids in test tubes
Detail of moose antlers
Pink, white and green...
White and peach coloured flowers
This is NOT the flower arranger, but the hairdo is similar - Roman Bust in a stairwell on MS Amsterdam
Moss covered twigs making a bed for berries and blooms
Dried twig garland and lilies with red tropical blooms
Walking around the MS Amsterdam from libraries to bars, from quiet rooms to Internet cafe, from Atrium to restaurants - everywhere one would find the most imaginative creations of flower arrangements. A young man, with dreadlocks neatly tied into a hefty bun, assisted by his wife was the artist behind these feasts for the eye.
One would never guess, that dried leaves, test tubes, moss covered little twigs and even moose antlers could ever be so pleasingly employed as a backdrop, prop up and frame for flowers. One would roam the ship, just to find a new surprise and inspiration for one's imagination.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Back in British Columbia

Back in the land of sensible shoes and turtleneck sweaters, even in summer. Missing tango with my lovely teachers Paula y Orlando

Sunday, May 19, 2013

17 May 2013 Avalon, Catalina Island, California

Street Sign in downtown Avalon, Catalina Island
View from one of Catalina's hills
Cactus in bloom
Avalon Bay with 'Casino' at far right
One of the Wrigley family mansions
Wrigley Memorial and Botanical Gardens
Hill sides in bloom
Busy Bee of Catalina
Avalon Tuna Club, the oldest fishing club in USA
Tiled wall on sea side promenade
Art Deco mural in the entrance of the Casino
Palm trees surrounding the Casino
As they say: Life's a Beach
Road Side plants...
Shopping street in Avalon
Boats at buoys in Avalon Harbour
Catalina Island, a relatively unknown little gem, twenty miles away from bustling metropolis of Los Angeles. Landing in Avalon Harbour (Avalon being the main village on the mountainous island) feels like stepping back in time.
Not quite back to about 7000 years ago, when the Island was already inhabited by a medley of immigrants slowly making their way from Asia down the western shores of the North and South American continent.
Not even back to Colonial times, when in 1542 a Spanish Galleon landed Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo here. This haughty personage ignored the local population and just claimed the new found little paradise for Spain, naming it San Salvador (name of his ship). He only stayed a day, and no other European set foot on the Island until 1602, when Sebastian Viscaino landed on the eve of St. Catherine's fest. He renamed the Island Santa Catalina, the Spanish version of Catherine.
His visit had fatal consequences for the indigenous population, who was wiped out in a very short time by diseases imported by the Spaniards.
One steps back in time to the late 19th century, around 1880, when Californians first discovered this leisure paradise. 1887 saw George Shatto established Avalon. 1889 the oldest fishing club sprang up as the Avalon Tuna Club - still there.
The big jump into fame happened, when chewing gum millionaire William Wrigley bought the whole island. He developed it as a 'Great Gatsby' like resort. Art Deco and Art Nouveau style architecture sprang up, of which the most famous is the 'Casino' which never saw a slot machine or a gambling table, but functioned as a venue for lavish balls attended by flappers and swells - almost in all 12 stories of the round somewhat Moorish looking building. Opulent murals by Gabriel Beckman cover the walls. A charming promenade with tiled fountains, walls, benches and dotted with lofty palm trees lines the shore.
The most famous Big Bands of the times played here. In the ornate movie theatre below the ball room floors, the latest 'talkies' rolled over the silver screen, the first movie theatre built specifically for movies with sound. During the 'silent' Hollywood period, Catalina provided a romantic back drop for 135 silent movies. But, even more, around 500  'talkies' used the Eden like environment as their sets: Treasure Island (1919), The Ten Commandments (1923), Ben Hur (1925) just to name a few.
Marilyn Monroe, Humphrey Bogart, and even Winston Churchill, were frequent vacationers. A herd of buffalo came over in 1929 to put a bit of Wild West into one of the movies shot there - their descendants are still vacationing here.
Apart from the heroes of Hollywood, Mr Wrigley welcomed his very own baseball team for spring training on the island: the Chicago Cubs.
Avalon to this day, has hardly any traffic nor a single traffic light, most people get around in golf carts. Houses have retained their small town character, low slung and narrow, surrounded by greenery, nothing that would disturb the quaint early 20th century feel. Wrigley's mansion high up overlooking Avalon Bay is now an elegant Bed and Breakfast.
The harbour is filled with buoys (first come first served for visitors) and yachts swing in the crystal clear waters. Absolutely no discharge allowed...Glass bottomed boats and submersibles glide over kelp beds and a kaleidoscope of colours of underwater life, often called the Galapagos of California.
One may paddle, swim, dive, snorkel, suntan on the sandy beaches or enjoy a sea side meal and drink all along the boardwalk. About 30 ferry crossings a day, supplemented by helicopter and small aircraft shuttles make it an easy destination for Californians to hop over for a day or stay in one of the many vacation rentals, boutique hotels or lavish beach clubs. Permanent population is about 3000 souls (sitting on top of some very highly priced real estate) and summer tourist crowds swell the body count to around 10.000.
Together with  two friends, we hummed along the outskirts of 'town' in a rented golf cart, a rather hair rising experience at times. There are a few paved roads leading into the rugged mountains and hills of Catalina, most of them a series of perilous looking switchbacks without safety rails, but offering splendid views. Although these little vehicles would not ever exceed the speed limit of 15mph - even going downhill - their basic braking system does not inspire total confidence. So we went exploring up and down and back and forth in the environs of Avalon, enjoying fabulous views, cacti and Eucalyptus covered slopes, the wind in our hair, and a comfortable ride instead of a strenuous hike.
Our designated driver, after bravely chauffeuring her happy cargo for the entire rental time, finally was able to breathe a well deserved sigh of relief, when we parked our limousine back at the now empty rental place downtown pretty Avalon..
As the Grand Finale port of this cruise segment it certainly was the perfect port: lovely scenery, laid back atmosphere, good food and drink, and a lively little quaint sea side town to go with it.
Catalina deserves a lengthier visit, as the Island offers lovely remote mountain paths, quite a bit of wild life, a few 'roads' leading inland and along the Island, and a couple of  REALLY small settlements with small harbours, such as Two Harbour (one restaurant for the whole town), Catalina Harbour, and Isthmus Harbour.

Saturday, May 18, 2013

16 May 2013 San Diego, California, USA

Sea Lions in San Diego harbour
Military airfield filled with fighter jets
San Diego Skyline
Soaring bridge between Coronado and San Diego
Floating arsenals of the US Navy
Darth Vader's war ship - the latest fighter of the US Navy
Navy Seals kicking up a wake - machine guns at the ready
San Diego Convention Centre
Retired Aircraft Carrier MIDWAY, now a museum
Bob Hope Memorial
Bronze Bob Hope
San Diego homeless man resting in Midway Park
Back down to earth again, San Diego, first USA port of call. Minute and exacting immigration controls, especially for all non-US passport holders: every 'alien' MUST present himself aboard ship to be personally inspected, before any passenger of any nationality - disembarking or in transit - is allowed to put one foot on the hallowed ground of the USA. Of course, the usual suspects took some chasing down before they were flushed out from their hiding places aboard ship, and within a couple of hours 700 aliens were processed through the system, whereas US Citizens were now free to be inspected AFTER physically stepping into the Land of the Free.
Officials were very friendly, and once ashore there were no further control points.
The first difference from almost any other non US city is, that everything, but everything is not measured in walking distance, but in driving distance. Even being docked in 'downtown' beautiful San Diego, 'downtown' Gas town is a healthy ten or more blocks away. Shod for the first time on this trip in 'hiking' shoes, I struck off to the city centre. Clean, stark, modern, glass enclosed. Wide avenues lined with high rise office towers, one reaches sprawling Horton Plaza, a convoluted shopping complex with several interior courtyards, scores of escalators leading to a number of interlocking levels filled with hundreds of stores. A couple of blocks further into the city centre - the Gaslight district. Well restored and maintained examples of Art Deco and Art Nouveau architecture line the avenues here. There are quite a number of open air restaurants, quaint boutiques and old fashioned street lights.
Fifth Avenue runs right through this charming area, and ends at San Diego Convention centre, where - in a former life - I attended and held forth on various conventions.
The Mariott Hotel, luxury at its best, adjoins the Convention Centre. The most expensive marina in town at the hotel's swimming pool adorned water front is filled with mega yachts and charter companies. One reaches the shore side bike and walking trails which lead to Seaport Village, a low rise shopping complex, and then to the Maritime Museum - retired aircraft carrier 'Midway'.
If one takes a harbour tour with Captain Hornblower, one skirts military airfields sprouting helicopters and fighter jets, military shipyards with all manner of floating war machines, the Navy Seals training grounds, the International Airport, and a few floating docks where barking sea lions take the sun.
After a few hours and a good number of miles of walking about and 'cruising on Captain Hornblower' I headed for a sea food restaurant located under the towering metal sides of carrier's Midway hull, and ordered oysters. Deliciously plump, fresh and tasty. When I asked where these scrumptious pearls of the sea had been harvested, I was told that they are Fanny Bay oysters.
Well, that's just a relatively short drive from my house in Vancouver Island....all this way south to the USA to enjoy a taste of home.