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Geocaching

Antarctica Pt 2 DEC 29 2024

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As we continued around the islands and fjords of Antarctica, we were blessed with great weather other than occasional fog and low visibility. Unlike anything we had ever seen, we continued to be in awe of the majestic beauty.

Gentoo Penguin Colony

For two days we had snow and we were visited by a snow penguin.

One day we stopped near Palmer Research Station operated by the United States Antarctic Program. They do marine and biology research focused on seabirds and plankton. We watched as two zodiacs brought research scientists over for presentations on their work. Can you see all the ice in the water?

They had lunch and dinner on the ship and they mentioned how they especially enjoyed the fresh fruits and vegetables. I believe they were gifted with several boxes of fruits and vegetables to take back to their station.

We had heard so much about Drake Passage and Cape Horn. They have a notorious history for rough water, fierce winds and dangerous waves. We had already crossed Drake Passage once on the cruise with no problem. Now we were about to be tested again as we cruise Drake Passage for a second time as we cruise to Cape Horn, located on the small Hornos Island.

We cruised completely around Hornos Island. The reputation of Cape Horn is notorious as it is known as “the graveyard of ships”. There have been many shipwrecks here with more than 10,000 lives lost, making it the largest underwater cemetery in the world. After the opening of the Panama Canal, the number of ships navigating around the Horn was significantly reduced.

The day dawned with beautiful clear skies, no wind and calm seas. Unbelievable! The Captain said it is very rare to see this kind of weather here. Normally this area has 278 days of rainfall a year. We saw a sailboat close to shore and the cruise director commented it was crazy for a sailboat to be in these waters.

This area is part of Chile’s Tierra del Fuego archipelago. We could see the lighthouse, also called the “Lighthouse at the End of the World” high on the hill. Operational since 1991, it is manned by Chilean navy personnel. Currently a family of four lives there with their cat. They came outside and waved at us and the captain sounded the ship’s horn in return. Impossible to get a picture of them that far away without a high powered lens. A meteorological station is also kept there. Next to the lighthouse is a small chapel.

On the hill was the Cape Horn Monument also called the Albatross Monument.

The name comes from the two metal halves which when viewed from a certain angle, looks like an albatross in flight. It was built to withstand the 120 mph winds which blow at times. The memorial was built in 1992 and is dedicated to the memory of the men from every nation who died around Cape Horn. One interesting tidbit, during the 1978 Beagle Conflict between Chile and Argentina, Chile covered the island with landmines. In 2006 a project was started to remove the mines but there are still many unaccounted for.

Only members of the Chilean navy can serve as the Cape Horn lighthouse keeper. The keeper must be married in order to have companionship which is considered necessary due to the extreme isolation. The assignment is for twelve months however the family can request an extension. The current family just completed their second rotation and has requested a third. Supplies are restocked every 60 days but this can be delayed due to weather. Attempts to grow food in a greenhouse failed due to harsh conditions.

Sadly, we have completed our exploration of the Antarctic Peninsula.

Next up: on to one last port in Argentina then Chile

 

Falkland Islands DEC 22 2024

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As the captain predicted, we had gale force winds and rough weather as we approached Puerto Madryn, Argentina. Rather than abort the port, the captain decided to wait offshore to see if the weather improved. The captain said he couldn’t dock if the winds were greater than 30 knots and our winds that day were 50. Also this port has no tug boats available to help ships dock. After waiting several hours, the ship was able to dock. By this time most people had missed their scheduled excursions and chose to stay onboard. WIth the strong winds and cold temperatures, we chose to stay on the ship.

After a second day at sea, our next port was a big one, the Falkland Islands. The Islands is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean. The capital is Stanley. The Falklands have an internal self governance but the United Kingdom is responsible for their defense and foreign affairs.

The Falkland Islands was uninhabited until 1764. Since then it has been ruled by French, British, Spanish and Argentine settlements, until the British took over in 1833. Argentina still claims the Islands. In 1982, Argentina invaded the island and they battled for two months before the English restored order. Still today, Argentina still believes the Falkland Islands belong to them and is a source of tension and hard feelings between the two countries. We were told not to wear anything with Argentina on it and be sure not to even wear the colors of the Argentina flag. To say it is a sore subject for the Argentine people is an understatement. Bill left his Buenos Aires, Argentina hat on the ship!!

The morning of our visit dawned with bright blue skies and calm seas. We were extremely lucky since the captain said only 50% of ships are able to anchor here. Just the day before, two ships were unable to stop because of poor weather.

This is a tender port so we had to get a tender boat ticket and wait for our number to be called. It was a 20+ minute ride to shore which wasn’t bad since the water was calm.

The capital,Stanley, is remote with a population of 2,500 people and 1,000,000 penguins!

We didn’t have an excursion booked here so we got on their new Hop On Hop Off bus, just started this year.

Totem Pole of Direction

Cross of Sacrifice

It is not a large island and they didn’t have a lot of stops, but our main interest was Gypsy Cove to see Magellanic penguins. Located four miles from Stanley, it is part of a National Wildlife Reserve.
Avian flu is a real concern here and has claimed the lives of some of the penguins, so as a precaution we had to walk over a disinfectant pad before entering the Reserve.

There are park officials located all along the paths to keep over eager tourists from getting too close to the penguins. Obviously the penguins were used to people since they seemed indifferent to our presence. Simply amazing to see them this close!

Other sights on the island included the Lady Elizabeth, a 1879 shipwreck.

The Christ Church Cathedral (1890) is the southernmost Anglican cathedral in the world.

The Whalebone Arch made from the jaws of two blue whales, was erected in 1933 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of British rule in the Falkland Islands.

We stopped at the 1982 Memorial Wood, a small forest of trees dedicated to the British forces who served and died during the 1982 Falklands War, and found a geocache.

A great day in the Falkland Islands!

Cape Pembroke Lighthouse

Next up: Antarctica

Boston, Mass AUG 24 2024

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We arrived back in Boston and our cruise was over. Before departing the ship, every passenger had to have a face to face meeting with U.S. Immigration officials in the main dining room. Everything appeared to be well organized with everyone having a designated meeting time. Things quickly dissolved into mass chaos. Not through the fault of Holland America, but because impatient passengers got in line before their appointed time, clogging the hallways. When we went downstairs at our time, the line was unbelievable long (almost the length of the ship). Holland America crew had to pull people out of line if it wasn’t their scheduled time. Such a shame people can’t follow the rules. This led to long delays and concerned those who had to get to the airport for a morning flight. Our designated time was 8:15 and it was 9:15 before we met the Immigration officials. 

Fortunately our flight was late in the afternoon. Our travel agent had arranged a tour of Boston for the morning. Our bus waited because everyone was having the same problem. Our tour was supposed to begin at 9:00 and it was 10:30 before we departed. 

We thought we were getting a two and a half hour bus tour of Boston. It turned out to be a great tour of four hours with several stops.

Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum

Bill and I were last in Boston in 2016 but we saw several new things.

George Washington Statue

John F Kennedy Statue

Massachusetts State House

Our first stop was Trinity Church, an Episcopal church founded in 1733. It was a beautiful sunny day and it was really cool to see the church’s reflection in the John Hancock Tower across the street.

Nearby was the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel, a historic hotel and Boston landmark. Every U.S. President since William Howard Taft has visited the hotel, as well as royalty from around the world.

Even years since the show ended, people still want to visit the place “where everyone knows your name”.

Below Here is the Cheers’ Bar

At the Boston Public Garden we saw the “Make Way for Ducklings” sculptures by Nancy Schon. This recreates the duck family from the children’s book by the same name written by Robert McCloskey. In thirty years of teaching, I can’t count how many times I read this book to school children.

We walked uphill to the Old North Church, built in 1723, and the oldest standing church building in Boston.

Famous worshippers were Queen Elizabeth II and Charles Wesley (John Wesley brother).

This is the church famous during Paul Revere’s midnight ride in April, 1775 when two lanterns were hung in the church’s steeple. Revere and other riders saw this and rode to warn the citizens the British were coming by sea. We were able to visit the inside which we didn’t do in 2016.

Our tour finished at Quincy Market, a huge historic food mart. Built between 1824 and 1826, it is one of the largest market complexes in the United States. We had time to eat lunch there but it was unbelievably chaotic and busy.

The bus dropped us off at the airport at 2:30 for our 6:15 flight. After a hectic, rushed morning, it was good to have plenty of time to check in, drop off our bags and relax before our flight. 

We had an uneventful flight home. Great cruise. Good to be home. Thanks for following along!!

Canada Ports, Aug 20 2024

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Our final three ports were in Canada. The first was St Anthony in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. A picturesque town of 2,200, it is in the northern area of the Great Northern Peninsula. It has a steadily reclining population. French explorer Jacques Cartier came across the St Anthony settlement in 1534.

As the captain predicted, we were not able to sail to our second port, St John’s, because of Hurricane Ernesto. The latest path had it making a direct hit in that area. Our alternative port was Corner Brook on the west coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. You may remember we visited this port on July 24th. Located in the Gulf of St Lawrence, it provided us with shelter from the storm. Some questioned the captain as to why we couldn’t have gone to a new port. As he patiently explained, we needed a port with shelter from the storm and also a port with an available berth on short notice. So, Corner Brook it was. Bill had really looked forward to visiting St John’s. We had an excursion booked there to go to Signal Hill National Historic Site, where on December 12, 1901, Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless transmission. As an amateur radio enthusiast, Bill is a huge Marconi fan. Bill was disappointed but took it in stride. You have to accept the things you cannot change and move forward. Hopefully we will get here someday.

One night was cake night with dozens of cakes to choose from.

Our last port in Canada, and the last of the cruise, was in Halifax, Nova Scotia pop 519,000. It is the capital and most populous city in Nova Scotia.

We decided to explore on our own rather than take an excursion. We were thrilled to see warm temperatures in the upper seventies. At the pier is an immigration museum. After WW2, nearly 187,000 people fled from Europe to Canada, most between 1947 and 1952.  They moved to various places throughout Canada. This pier has been compared to our Ellis Island.   We found a geocache here.

We continued uphill, passing the Government House, the residence of the Canadian monarch and the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia.

We saw this murial which depicts the writer on the floor composing.

After a steady climb we reached St Mary’s Basilica, a Gothic Roman Catholic cathedral built in 1899.  It has the tallest granite spire in North America. A very friendly guide welcomed us inside.

We slowly made our way back to the ship on this beautiful day in Canada.

Moon Rising

We had one last sea day before reaching Boston. The Cruise Director began the day by playing “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” over the sound system and invited us all to go to the Lido pool to see all the animals that escaped from the zoo overnight. At the pool were hundreds of towel animals created by the Housekeeping staff. They are so creative! While we were there, many of the Housekeeping staff paraded through the area, including Wulan, one of our room stewards. Everyone applauded them.  They work so hard and do such a great job. We really appreciate them.

Amazing Sunset

Next up: Our cruise ends with a day in Boston

PC Sound and Qaqortoq, Greenland AUG 16 2024

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We had two sea days between Iceland and Greenland. On the second day we sailed through Prince Christian Sound. Three weeks ago we sailed the Sound going from west to east. Now we passed through again going east to west. If we thought it would look the same and be nothing new, we would be very wrong!!! It was a spectacularly beautiful day with bright blue sunny skies, but cold. We passed so many waterfalls, glaciers and even bigger icebergs than before. We don’t know where all these huge icebergs came from. They were not here three weeks ago.

As we reached the middle of the Sound we passed a remote, isolated village called Aappilattorq. Although inhabited since the 19th century, only around 100 people live here. There is a school, church, general store, general repair shop and a fire station. The village is accessible only by helicopter or boat.

Once again we had two Danish ice pilots onboard the ship to help with navigation through the ice fields.

By the evening the winds really picked up as we left the shelter of the Sound. We went around Cape Farewell which is the southernmost point of Greenland, and entered the open waters of the North Atlantic Ocean. Gale force winds were hitting the ship from the side causing the ship to list at least once. We watched as our salt shaker slide across the table and heard dishes crashing to the floor as the waiters struggled to catch sliding plates and dishes.

The captain’s evening announcement was interesting. He said the winds were making large whitecaps and it was hard to distinguish between whitecaps and icebergs. He also said for the first time in his career, he was having to worry about ice and hurricanes at the same time. Hurricane Ernesto was growing in the Atlantic and was scheduled to hit St John’s, Newfoundland on the same day we are to arrive. He said there was a slim chance we would be able to go to St John’s and the home office was looking at alternative ports.

Our last port in Greenland on this cruise was Qaqortoq. We feel very blessed we have been able to make all these Greenland ports. A few weeks ago other cruise ships doing our itinerary had these Greenland ports canceled because of ice blocking the harbors.

We anchored in the harbor when the sunset.

The BIG DIPPER and some Northern Lights

Qaqortoq, pop 3,050, is the largest town in southern Greenland. The area dates back to Viking settlements, but the town was founded in 1775 by Danish and Norwegian colonists.

We had a somewhat unusual, but delightful, excursion here. It was a cold 38° with a feel like of 33° as we took a tender boat to shore. We were met by a young, local girl who spoke perfect English. She said English is taught in the schools in Greenland but she perfected her English by watching the Disney Channel! She walked our group of thirteen up three pretty steep hills to a house where we were scheduled to have a home visit with a Qaqortoq resident.

Our hostess was a lovely 76 year old resident who had coffee and homemade cakes ready for us. She showed us around her home and then we sat at two tables and had refreshments. Her husband is in an nearby eldercare facility and she has three grown daughters, five grandsons and a great granddaughter. She did not speak English but our guide was a perfect interpreter.

After chatting for awhile, she then brought out a native costume of the Inuit culture and explained how it was made. She had handmade them. She does a lot of embroidery and handiwork and that was evident around her home.

We loved visiting her home. The kitchen was small with a flat top stove, a small, dorm size fridge and a dishwasher. Perhaps it is so cold in Greenland, large refrigerators are not really needed.

We walked back down the steep hills and spent a little time looking around the small town. The Church of The Savior, built in 1832, was closed. We also found a geocache.

This Picture Was Used To Claim I Found The Geocache

A wonderful, unique and unforgettable experience in Qaqortoq!

Next up : St Anthony, Newfoundland, Canada

Djupivogur & Reykjavik, Iceland Aug 12 2024

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Leaving Ireland, as we head back to Boston we will visit additional ports in Iceland, Greenland and Canada. We will also enjoy turning the clocks back several times as we head towards home.

Our next stop was Djupivogur, Iceland August 12. It is a small fishing village on Iceland’s east coast, pop 509.  The day was cold and overcast as we took the tender boat over to the town.

One of Iceland’s oldest commercial buildings, dating back to 1790, is located here. At one time it was a slaughterhouse and warehouse. Today it is a cafe and museum. We saw very few people and no vehicles. We found a geocache and since it was very cold, we returned to the warmth of the ship.

Displayed In The Museum

Our final Iceland stop was Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, population 140,000, August 13/14. It is the largest city in Iceland and the world’s northernmost capital city. The first permanent settlement in Iceland is believed to be here, founded by a Norse explorer in 874 A.D.

Seal of Iceland

The famous world chess championship in 1972 between Bobby Fisher and Boris Spassky was here. In 1986 it was the site of the 1986 Summit between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbechev.

The Church Stands Tall

The city graciously offered free shuttle buses from the port to the center of town. There were two ships in port today so the bus was pretty crowded. The bus let us off at the Harpa Concert Hall which opened in 2011.  The building has an interesting colored glass facade which represents the basalt landscape of Iceland.

We found a geocache nearby and then walked down to the Sun Voyager, a steel sculpture resembling a Viking ship.  The sculptor hoped to show the promise of undiscovered territory while also signifying hope, progress and freedom.  We also found a geocache here!

We continued walking, uphill towards the main shopping area of town. Rainbow Street has a variety of brightly colored houses, shops, cafes, restaurants and galleries. We did a little shopping here for a couple souvenirs.

Our last stop was the Hallgrimskirkja Church, the largest church in Iceland.  Sitting on a hilltop, at 244 feet it is one of the tallest structures in the country. Construction began in 1945 and was completed in 1986.

In front of church is a statue of Leif Ericson (970 – 1020) is regarded as the first European to land in North America nearly 500 years before Christopher Columbus.

It is a Lutheran parish church and is visible throughout the city. It was designed to resemble the rocks, mountains and landscape of Iceland. It originally was not supposed to be that tall but the Church of Iceland wanted it to be taller than the Catholic Church of Iceland. There was an observation tower but with two ships in port there was a very long line so we skipped it.

After walking uphill to the church, it was nice to walk downhill to the shuttle stop. We took the bus back and enjoyed the rest of the day on the ship.

Our time in Iceland has come to an end for this cruise.
Next up: 2 days at sea and once again sailing Prince Christian Sound

Red Bay, Canada July 25 2024

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Our next port in Canada was the tiny fishing village of Red Bay in the province of Labrador.  Named for the red granite prevalent in the area, it is the most northeastern point in North America. With a population of 142, the number of cruise ship passengers far exceeded the number of residents.

We saw very few people and a handful of vehicles. Between 1530 and the 17th century, it was a major whaling area. The whale stations in Red Bay were eventually abandoned. In 2021, the local school was closed due to no enrollment.

It was a beautiful, chilly day with temperatures in the 60’s and a 15 mph wind. The 15 minute tender boat ride was smooth going over but very rocky returning.

We walked around, soaking in the gorgeous views.

We found a couple geocaches and visited the local church.

We have really enjoyed our three ports in Canada. We will visit three more on our way back to Boston.

Next up: Greenland, though our stop is questionable due to thick ice in the harbor. So stay tuned!

Belfast, Northern Ireland Aug 10 2024

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Our last port in Ireland was Belfast, Northern Ireland. Unlike the Republic of Ireland which is an independent country using the Euro, Belfast is part of the United Kingdom and uses the British Pound. Here we saw pictures of King Charles and his late mother, Queen Elizabeth. I really don’t want to get into a lengthy explanation of why there are two Irelands, but I know there was nearly thirty years of conflict and violence that the Belfast people refer to as “The Troubles”.  Northern Ireland takes up about 17% of the entire island of Ireland.

Belfast, pop 348,000, is the capital city and largest city in Northern Ireland. The city provided a shuttle from the port into the city for $20 a person round trip. When we got to the city we purchased two Hop On, Hop Off Bus tickets. We did Cork and Dublin on our own and it was just too much walking with over six miles each day.

Queen’s University Belfast

Presbyterian Church House Bell Tower

Belfast is the birthplace of The Titanic and there is a large Titanic Experience Building/Museum in Belfast. Those in Belfast like to say that when the Titanic left the shipyard in Belfast it was perfectly fine.

Another popular landmark is the Albert Memorial Clock. One of the most well known landmarks in Belfast it was completed in 1869 and named for Queen Victoria’s husband.

The Grand Opera House was built in 1895.

City Hall was constructed between 1898 and 1906.  We stopped there to find a geocache and take pictures.

In the distance we heard chanting and shouting and we quickly found ourselves amid a large group of protestors. It was amazing how quickly this all happened. Early this morning the captain announceded that protests were scheduled in Belfast and to be careful. He followed it up with a letter in everyone’s cabin mailboxes before we left the ship explaining what might happen and advised us not to engage the protesters and to immediately leave the area. Unfortunately between looking for the geocache and the large crowd, Bill and I became separated. We knew we needed to leave the area and after a few frightening minutes we were able to use our cell phones to get to the same location.

The protesters held anti racism signs, open border signs and Palestinian flags and cease fire signs. The protesters were peaceful but we didn’t know if things would change quickly. Our Hop On bus pickup point had been quickly moved around the corner to a safer location and we were able to take the bus out of the area.

Bill had been wanting a lunch of fish and chips since we got to Ireland. He finally had his lunch today in Belfast at Hell Cat Maggie’s.

The bus took us into the area of Belfast where the “The Troubles” time is remembered in numerous murals.

Still in place are peace gates which were the dividing line between unionist and nationalist areas. Open during the day, they are often closed at night. Walls separating the two areas are visible as well.

There are also international murals that are changed frequently to signify issues worldwide.

Between the Protestant and the Catholic neighborhoods were tall walls. The bus narration said that rocks were still thrown over the tall walls.

We really enjoyed our time in Cork, Dublin and Belfast. We feel like we didn’t have enough time in any of the cities and look forward to returning one day.

The next day was a sea day. The seas were rough and we were busy with pictures, blogs and attending a geocaching get together. Eighteen geocachers on the ship met for the first time and shared geocaching stories.

That evening the ship had a costume party. One of the winners was a man with a Travis Kelce football jersey and the woman was dressed up like Taylor Swift. There was music, dancing and appetizers.

Next up: Djupivogur, Iceland

Dublin, Ireland AUG 9 2024

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Our second port in Ireland was Dun Laoghaire (pronounced Dun Leery). It was from here we would catch a train to Dublin. Normally there is about a 15 to 20 minute tender boat ride to make the 1.5 nautical mile ride to shore. However today it was very windy and the ride was very rough. They announced that due to the rough waters, the trip was taking thirty minutes and it was taking longer to load and unload passenges.

This delayed people getting to shore which shortened our time in Dublin. Remember I said the Irish seemed persnickety in the port of Cobb. Well that carried over into today. For the first time we know of, the port required every tender boat to be led back and forth by an Irish pilot boat to be sure none of the tender boats were speeding! Really?? Also our captain wanted our time in Dublin to be to 10:30 P.M. to give passengers more time to enjoy Dublin. The port authorities said no, they didn’t want any tender boats running after dark, so the  departure time was switched to 8:30. I don’t remember any other country having such persnickety rules, not even China!

After the rough tender boat ride and a pleasant train ride, we arrived in Dublin, pop 545,000. Dublin is the capital of the Republic of Ireland and the largest city. Once again we used public buses to get around the city.

Our first stop was Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, the National Cathedral of the Church of Ireland and the largest church in Ireland. It was founded in 1191 as a Roman Catholic cathedral. In 1537 it became an Anglican church.

The church was beautiful and we were thrilled to see a choir performing. They sang the entire time we were there. We don’t know if they were a visiting group or the church choir practicing.

We walked to Dublin Castle which was a bit of a disappointment. Not as grand as we expected.  Located at the highest point in Dublin, it was built on the site of a Viking settlement and has served for more than 700 years as the headquarters of British administration in Ireland.

Courtyard of Dublin Castle

Chapel Royal and Round Record Tower

The city was bustling with the streets very crowded.

We took the train back to the ship and boarded the tender boat back to the ship.

The water was much rougher and the crew had a hard time getting the boat close enough to the ship for us to get off. Everytime they tried to get close, the waves would slam our small boat against the platform. It took quite awhile to get us all safely off the boat as the huge swells made for dangerous footing and allignment. There were two crew members on the boat and two crew members on the ship platform to assist the passengers. When it is your turn you have to totally trust them, and when they say “jump” you jump and trust the crew on the platform will catch you. There were some seasoned cruisers on the boat and they said they had never gotten off a tender boat with such rough waters and deep swells. Trust the crew, take a deep breath and jump.

Next up: Belfast, Northern Ireland UK

Cork, Ireland Aug 8 2024

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We had a sea day between Rotterdam and Ireland. The seas became very rough as we exited the The North Sea and entered the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Ireland. 

Bill and I really looked forward to visiting Ireland for the first time. Ireland is made up of the Republic of Ireland which takes up 83% of the island, and the Republic of Northern Ireland. The Republic of Ireland is an independent country and uses the euro for its currency. The Republic of Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom and uses the English pound currency. Our first two stops are in the Republic of Ireland and our last stop will be in Northern Ireland.

Our first stop was at the port of Cobh (pronounced Cove) , Ireland. Cobh is famous for being the final port of call for the Titanic before it later hit an iceberg and sank. Cobh was also the departure point for over 2.5 million immigrants between 1848 and 1950. Bill and I feel certain we had ancestors among those immigrants.

Before leaving the ship, all 2,000 + passengers and crew had to have a face to face meeting with immigration officials to have our passports inspected and stamped. As expected that took quite a bit of time. Once that was done we were free to leave the ship.  The town officials were a bit persnickety here.  Evidently they were not happy that the town could hear the ship’s public address system and they complained. The ship was having to use the public address system more than usual because they were calling groups of passengers to meet with the immigration officials. They couldn’t have over 2,000 people at one time since they only sent four officials. The sound went on for several hours and since the pier was so close to the town, townspeople complained. The captain had to promise not to make any more announcements the rest of the day. So instead of his usual departure announcement, he had to wait until we were far enough away from the pier so as not to be heard.

The train station was conveniently located steps from the pier. Bill and I took the train from Cobh into Cork, pop 224,000.  It is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland.

Our first destination was Saint Fin Barre’s Cathedral. It is a Gothic Revival architecture built in the 19th century. An Anglican church, it was built on the site where Fin Barre established a 7th century monastery.  It has over 1,100 carvings, unique stained glass windows, marbled walls, frescoes, wood carvings, brass, fittings, floor mosaics and cathedral organ.

Next we walked to the Elizabeth  Fort, one of the oldest parts of Cork. It was built around 1626 in the shape of a star. Through the years, as well as once being a fort, it also served as a female convict prison, a fever hospital, constabulary barracks and home of the Irish police. There were some nice views of Cork from the top.

We took a quick walk through the English Market, a covered food market in operation since 1788 and one of the oldest municipal markets in the world. Let’s just say, everything you can imagine in a food market is available here.

Unfortunately we ran out of time and we had to catch the train back to the ship.

At sail away we saw some of the multi colored houses that make up Cobh.

Next up: Dublin, Ireland