Mediterranean Cruise --47 Days -- 21 October thru 08 December 2017

29 November 2017 –– Funchal, Madeira, Portugal As we arrived in port early this morning still before sunrise, wwe saw wet streets and evidence of drizzle and overcast skies.  BUMMER!!  As we needed sun or at least dry weather to do the most important event of this cruise – the toboggan down the streets of Funchal! The plan was to take the cable car (teleferico in their Portuguese) and come down the mountain on the toboggan.  As we left the ship there were some small signs of clearing in the sky, and as we strolled down the long walk to the cable car, we couldn’t believe that the sun was shining brightly!! The views from the cable car really gave a good picture of the city of Funchal that is built on these steep hillside.  As we arrived at the top it was only a short walk to the toboggan run.  WE MADE IT!!! The ride down was something to remember for a long, long, time, and what a memorable way to...

27 November 2017 –– Casablanca, Morocco We arrived in port early this morning still before sunrise, and couldn’t believe the amount of commercial ship traffic and loading/unloading transpiring!  It is a major port for all goods into and out of North Africa, and it reflects it. At first glance Casablanca reminded us so much of Sao Luis, Brasil – crowded streets, crazy drivers, lots of pedestrians, old buildings that had been gorgeous in their day, and lots of restoration and construction. Our first point of interest was Mohammed V place that seemed to have more pigeons than people.  Across the street was a post office, but as we came to expect had a beautiful mosaic around the main door way. Next was the highlight of the whole tour – the Hassan II Mosque.  It was constructed from 1987 to 1993 for about US$1 Billion and used all materials from Morocco except for the chandeliers (Murano glass from Italy) and the sound system (from Sony...

26 November 2017 –– Cadiz, Spain We arrived in port early this morning before the sun even rose and after breakfast, got off the ship and started walking on our own.  We started in a beautiful tree-lined plaza and the Information Booth opened as we got there and we picked up some maps.  One of them was a DIY.  The city had painted 4 colored lines that led to 4 different walks and each had historical markers at the points of interest.  Something very unique! The skies were overcast and we even felt a drop of rain or two, but the skies cleared and gave us a beautiful warm, sunny day. We had a 10:30am walking tour scheduled and we met our tour guide, Pablo, who is a native of Cadiz, and he was excellent, filling us with the history and folklore of the city and showing us all the sights! We saw the old cathedral that used to be a mosque;  the new cathedral that was built over a period of 113 years, by 3 different architects, usin...