DanRN’s Adventures

The second half of our back-to-back cruise on the Celebrity Equinox was an itinerary of travel to ports in Portugal, southern Spain, and Morocco. We opted to stay onboard when the ship stopped in Barcelona, since we have been to this city twice before…and because we know from experience that the disembarkation/re-embarkation process can be quite chaotic. But it was also a day we could kick back and enjoy the ship as there were only 15 or so other sets of passengers, mostly co

Italy has become one of my favourite countries to visit, along with Spain and Portugal. So combining them as destinations with a cruise that links them together is the ultimate experience - the ports of call, interspersed with sea days, is a great way to balance exploration with relaxation. Plus, having a “floating hotel” means unpacking and repacking once, which is quite convenient…as is the built-in housekeeping and meals. This particular vacation was planned in coordinatio

Tangiers is such a stark contrast to Casablanca - cleaner and more beautiful with much better preserved old city centre. I was expecting Casablanca to be a favourite site and, maybe, that was just the romanticism from the movies, The city of Tangiers is not as spread along the coast line and the port not as big, but then the population is relatively small at about 1.3 million people. The topography is different with higher ridges fairly close to the water so, unlike Casablanc

Casablanca! Sorry…I had to. Here we are in the storied port of Academy Award fame, but in a different time. A densely populated and sprawling city, Casablanca runs a fair length of the coast line and has a very busy working port. Our arrival was welcomed by a spectacular sunrise to the east and, from the grand Hassan II mosque to our west, the morning call to prayer by the muezzin. This was not the first call to prayer we have heard, but our first in an Arabic nation - the la

If one came to these islands for the birds they would be sorely disappointed. Apparently, the name may be derived from the Latin term Canariae Insulae - Island of the Dogs. And it may not have actually been dogs, but sea lions. Far better to come here for the sun, temperate climates, low rain fall, volcanic sights, abundance of sea food, and Spanish colonial charm. The weather here has been incredibly nice; not too hot and a little breezy, so comfortable for long walks or jus

The next phase of our vacation currently underway features our floating hotel, the Celebrity Infinity, as we cruise from Barcelona to the Canary Islands. Cruising has become a favourite way of travelling, unwinding, and relaxing whilst seeing different places. The beauty is the hotel room goes with you - unpacking and repacking is only required once. Our choice of the Infinity was both it being a ship we had not been on before and having an itinerary that was completely diffe

GA Days 28 & 29 (I think…and cruise days 12 & 13) - clearly I am losing track of time but do know that the days of this cruise are numbered! It really is incredible how fast this phase of my journey has gone and the number of kilometers covered. Yesterday was the last full day at sea and, while I spent a number of hours editing a manuscript, attending to administrative things, and other “fun” work stuff I did manage to take a wee break to read some more and just relax. The ab

Let the games begin! GA Days 26 & 27 (cruise days 10 & 11) - the last two days went by in a blur, as is the first part of my grand adventure. New Years Day was a full day at sea that began and ended as sunny as one could imagine - perhaps foreshadowing the year to come? I guess we shall see… January 1, 2024, began with bright sunshine, sparkling ocean waters matched by sparkling mimosas to start the morning, and quite a change in calmness and temperature to the high seas. It

GA Day 25 (cruise day #9) - When writing my last few blogs and reflecting on where I have ended up with this incredible journey, I was thinking about the Dr. Seuss book I had been given by Silvia Wilson, associate dean at Douglas College, when I graduated with my masters degree. In retrospect, it was quite a prophetic gesture given all that has happened since 2005 - onwards to my PhD in Montreal (and Ottawa), work (Kingston, Antigonish, Saint John, and Winnipeg), and travels

I never imagined such an adventure as this growing up or, indeed, even in my adulthood until this past year. Here I am at the southern most city in the world and, tomorrow, the southern most point of the Americas…if the weather permits. After a hugely abysmal career move in 2020 that coincided with the COVID pandemic and then some health issues (not least of which was the emergency back surgery January 2022) I finally realize an opportunity of a lifetime. Such a long way from

GA Day 23 (cruise day 7) - we are edging closer to the bottom of the world but, first, a stop in Punta Arenas (Spanish for "sandy point") on the Magellan Strait. This scenic and strategic place was first explored by Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese naval officer who was financed by the Spanish crown to seek an alternative trade route to the West Indies. Punta Arenas is a fairly small port and, as we were beaten here by the Viking Jupiter, had to tender in rather than dock at

GA Days 21 & 22 (cruise days 5 & 6) - two more full sea days and, given what one would think of the "South Pacific", it was surprisingly cool out - I think the high was 12C or so and pretty breezy. All the while the days are getting longer and longer as we head further south. We crossed through the 45th parallel, so about the same latitude as Montreal, but as it is now officially Summer here we don't have snow except on the distant mountain tops. Mind you, it seems that Montr

GA Day 20 (cruise day 4) - After two days at sea we find ourselves in Puerto Montt on Boxing Day 2023. Aside from the dust-up in the dining room Christmas Eve, it really has been smooth sailing with little choppiness on the waves and a constant cool stiff breeze from the south. I wonder what it must have been like for the early sailors and tall ships that made the journey through these waters. Managing the sails and tacking with the winds in order to go in the right direction

Days 18 & 19 of GA (second cruise days 2 & 3) - When I boarded the Celebrity Eclipse in Los Angeles, there were already early signs of the holiday season throughout the ship. There was a menorah in the foyer and the usual Christmas trappings throughout the ship adding a touch of the holiday season for travelers and crew alike. For this second leg of my journey there was a slightly different vibe onboard with many people beginning their official holiday break and vacation as f

Day 18 Grand Adventure - I am not sure exactly what day count it is and such is the challenge managing one's calendar and schedule at sea 🙈 We docked in Valparaiso, Chile, and Jean is hiding somewhere on one of the hills ahead of the ship. It was cool at 15C with relatively no breeze and a damp foggy shroud hugging the surrounding hills. Once again we ended up moored at a container ship quay and the chaotic disembarkation process began. For half the ports of call on the fir

Days 15 & 16 (cruise days 14 & 15) - I cannot believe how fast these past two weeks have flow by. I have crossed the equator, gone from winter to summer, and changed time zones six times. The last two consecutive day were at sea through which I mainly worked but also took a bit of time for me. As there are no ports of call or anything of interest to report on the work front I thought I would introduce you to the Eclipse. This is my third time on the Eclipse, the first being a

Day 15 (cruise day 14) - I think this will be the shortest of my blogs so far, which is kind of fitting since the hop from Lima to here was the shortest leg of our cruise. And, because I had a full slate of meetings (5 in all 😳), I would not be getting off the ship this time but be fielding the video calls from my stateroom. And I must say beaming in from an exotic location is a double-edged sword - fun from the perspective that I just can do it (technology, flexibility, and

Days 12-14 (cruise days 11-13) - Another full day at sea and then a two night stay in Callao, the main port for Lima. As usual, I did a work day on the day at sea (a Sunday) to free up time to shuttle in to Lima. We docked fairly early morning in Callao and I must say it was not the most esthetically pleasing places to park for the next two days - we were literally right under two behemoth container booms on a busy working pier. Adjacent to us was the naval base so we were in

Days 9-11 (cruise days 8-10) - We had two full sea days before arriving at Manta, Ecuador. During this time I mainly kept to structured days of work, exercise, and a bit of relaxation. One thing I do appreciate about my job is flexibility of work time and space - much work can be done remote. Technology does have its benefits and facilitates flexibility, but many of us work way more hours and sacrifice balance because of it. To this point in my trip I had opted to keep social

Day 8 (cruise day 7) - The journey out of Huatulco was the first time we encountered some heavy seas; until now it had been smooth sailing. As we sailed out of Huatulco the captain informed everyone that we would be sailing across a bay that notoriously had high winds and choppy seas, predicting gusts of wind up to 60 km/hr. In Winnipeg and on both Canadian coasts this is usually regarded as a stiff breeze. However, on the open waters with no shelter it is a bit more exciting