Dealing with airline issues…More Madeira photos….

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
This little house on the cliff created a picturesque scene in Ribeira Brava.

With all four of our grown kids and their families coming to Hawaii in December for Christmas we’ve been busy booking their flights over the past 45 days with only one ticket remaining to be booked for son in Las Vegas, Nevada, based on his upcoming work schedule. Thus far, we’ve booked three of the families with children.

Already, we’ve been notified that two of the three family’s bookings have been changed by the airlines. The first notification arrived over a month ago, but everything was rescheduled for the same dates, similar times, and layovers. That process was seamless.

The sun began to set, offering brilliant light reflecting on the sea.

Yesterday, we received an email notice that another son’s family of four’s round trip flights had been changed by the airline. However, in this case, we were responsible for calling and staying on the line while all four round trip flights were rescheduled, two flights each way including seat assignments.

This has not been as easy as one may think for a few reasons; one, the hold time was as much as two hours; two, we had to use Skype to call. If we’d had a SIM card or cellphone service, the cost for the calls from outside the US would have been outrageous when we wouldn’t have been able to use the US-only toll-free number. 

Few swimmers at the ocean side public pool when the air was cool.

Using Skype we are able to call any US toll-free numbers by selecting our point of calling is in the US. However, we’re unable to receive a return call unless we’re willing to pay US $60, EU $43.74, a year for a Skype phone number.  

In our sometimes complicated lives situations pop up requiring payments that only add to our monthly expenses. Staying frugal in these areas prevents us from having excess fixed monthly expenses which so easily add up.

The road along the beach in Ribeira Brava, the closest more populated area near where we live in Campanario.

One may ask, “Why don’t you have cellphone service?” We did the math long ago. How about monthly fees plus the cost of international calls adding to over US $4000, EU $2915.88 a year? In over 90% of situations, we encounter Skype does the trick. This isolated case is not worthy of changing our minds.

On occasion, the problem with using Skype is the difficulty of being put on hold for any length of time which may result in a disconnect. Last night, this happened three times, each after spending no less than 30 minutes explaining the entire situation over and over again.

A pretty church in Ribeira Brava.

Realizing that we were calling the US during peak daytime hours which occurred during our evening, we finally gave up hours later, heading to bed frustrated.  If we waited until morning to try again, it would be the middle of the night in the US making the wait time and a disconnect on Skype less likely to occur with reduced traffic.

My night was fitful while feeling anxious to get up and handle this situation. These types of scenarios fall under my “to do” list. Let’s face it, we’ve assigned tasks to those of us who best handles a particularly stressful situation without swearing. That’s me. I only swear when playing Gin. 

A casual restaurant across the street from the restaurant.  We’ll try this spot too.

Tom, on the other hand, does better than I, when paying for products and services when out and about including car rentals, fuel purchases, shopping, and tourist expenses. How much easier life is when one plays to their distinct skills?

Back to the story. 

Last night, when we were frequently disconnected we knew part of the dilemma revolved around the fact that we didn’t have a return phone number for the reps at Expedia.com to call us back in the event of a disconnect, adding to the stress of this situation. 

Old houses at the top of a hill.

With a phone in the house for local calls only and unaware of the number there was nothing we could do last night. I sent Gina an email requesting the house phone’s number if we again ran into disconnection problems in the morning enabling us to receive a callback. 

First thing this morning, we had the phone number in a response email from Gina and again, we attempted to call. After 45 minutes on Skype with one rep from Expedia.com with no disconnection, after all, the tickets were re-booked and we received an email confirmation including satisfactory seat assignments.

The modern roads and shopping areas are a delight to see although driving around these areas is tricky with many one way roads.

Today, we’ll forward to the new ticket confirmation to our son without him ever having to become involved or worry about this laborious process. This was a frustrating situation, to say the least.

The sidewalk along the beach in Ribeira Brava, near Monday night’s restaurant.

Today is laundry and pizza day. I’ve already baked the two large pans of grated cheese-mixed-with-egg crusts with the Portuguese sausage now in the oven. We haven’t had our homemade gluten-free, low carb, grain-free, sugar-free pizza since we lived in South Africa three months ago. 

Two tunnels entering the mountains. It’s amazing how many tunnels there are on the island. Each time we go out, even if nearby, we go through a few.

Tonight is pizza and movie night, an enjoyable event in our household. 

Happy day and evening to all!
_______________________________________________

Photo from one year ago today, May 21, 2013:

At this time, the Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world with 161 floors plus 46 (previously we posted an additional 39 maintenance levels but new information has changed this number). With the upcoming completion of the currently under construction Kingdom Tower at 3,281 feet, 1 kilometer, the Burj Khalifa will pale in comparison at a mere 2,716 feet, or 827 meters. In the upcoming days, we’ll be posting amazing photos that Tom took when he rode the elevator to the observation tower of the Bur Khalifa at 125 stories. For the story of our date of arrival in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, one year ago today, please click here.

Finding our way around the steep mountainous roads of Madeira…Photos of us…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
“Nemo” was headed my way as I leaned into the aquarium inside the restaurant, his cute little mouth, sucking in the shape of an “O.”

Online maps in Madeira, Portugal don’t easily provide directions from our home to where we’d like to go. The paper maps we have, don’t show the smaller streets. Many roads are one way with no seeming way to get back to where we started.

Although the weather was warm, we’ve been cold while attempting to acclimate after the extreme heat we’d experienced in Morocco, South Africa, Kenya. Thus, Tom’s long sleeves. We both had jackets with us which we will again today with it cool and windy.

With a dinner reservation last night and a red spot on Google Maps, showing that the restaurant was on the ocean in Ribeira Brava we figured we could find it. Gina explained there was a parking ramp below the restaurant. After a 15 minute drive from Campanario to Ribeira Brava, we were excited to find the parking ramp with the restaurant above.

Taking this photo of us by the boat reminded us of a similar photo in Hopkins Belize over a year ago.

Parking the car in the ramp after taking a ticket (how modern!) the guard motioned us to the elevator to go two floors up to the restaurant. Meandering out the elevator, we searched for a sign with the name of the restaurant. Alas, it wasn’t the restaurant where we had a reservation.

When we spotted this sign, we knew we found the “wrong” restaurant deciding to stay for dinner anyway.

We looked at one another, shrugging our shoulders, deciding this looked like a great place to dine as we moseyed to the huge chalkboard menu in both English and Portuguese. We decided to stay.

As soon as we perused this boarded menu we knew we’d be staying for dinner, although we weren’t in the restaurant for which we had a reservation.

The day had been perfect at 72F, 22C and the thought of sitting outdoors along the ocean was appealing. I felt like a kid in a candy store with a pocket filled with money, flitting about taking photos, practically squealing with delight over the 6:00 pm sunshine, the sound of the surf, the dogs running about, and the birdcage and aquarium in the restaurant. 

Dining in the interior of the restaurant may be necessary on rainy or windy days. 

Tom had one of those ” _ _ it” eating grins on his face that wouldn’t stop. We sat at a comfortable table for four with a crisp linen tablecloth. 

The restaurant view from the sidewalk. More photos will follow tomorrow with too many to post in one day.

As it turned out, the restaurant, Restaurant and Grill Muralha was listed as #2 on TripAdvisor’s rated dining establishments in Ribeira Brava. What a stroke of luck! The restaurant where we’d intended to dine was listed as #4. We’ll find it next time.

The cozy bar on the interior of the restaurant.

Not only was the menu filled with numerous suitable options for me but also for Tom. We weren’t certain as to spices used in Portuguese cooking, wondering if we’d be disappointed with overwhelming flavors for which we’d soon tire. Alas, we were in luck. Portuguese food is lightly seasoned with spices we found to be not only palatable but familiar, enjoyable over the long haul.

Portugal is known for its fine wine worldwide some of which the restaurant proudly displayed.

Tom ordered a beer while I ordered the usual bottle of bubbly water. The food was beautifully presented, promptly served, and hot, mouth-watering, and delicious. The portions were huge as shown in these photos.  We devoured every morsel on our plates. The service was impeccable, friendly, and English speaking, to our surprise.

A decorative shelf on the interior of the restaurant.

It was so good that we commented that the others may be a hard act to follow. With only nine major restaurants in the area with many smaller café and eateries, we’ll return in the future.

Tom ordered the Mixed Grill which he thoroughly enjoyed.  They had swapped the lamb for more steak. He’d had his fill of lamb in Morocco. Of course, more “chips.”

Our bill plus tip was close to the highest we’ve paid since the onset of our travels, US $62.27, EU $45.47. We didn’t flinch. Able to cook our own meals, most likely we’ll dine out twice a week.  If all of our restaurant meals were of a similar price, we’ll spend approximately US $1200, EU $876 during our time in Madeira, for both homecooked and restaurant meals, an amount we’ve budgeted knowing that prices would be higher on this island than in many other countries we’ve lived thus far. 

This was the most delicious and sizable salmon steak I’ve ever had in a restaurant. 

Based on our research there are only a few restaurants on the island where one could spend more, most of which are in Funchal, a long drive from Campanario. We’ve always preferred to dine within 15 to 20 minutes of home when, here, for example, the mountainous drive is not suitable after Tom after consuming a beer or two. 

My salad and cooked vegetables we fabulous. I know, I shouldn’t eat raw vegetables but we’re hearing the water is fine here, although we continue to consume bottled water. There were no comments in the TripAdvisor reviews indicating anyone became ill after eating at this restaurant.

(Since I haven’t driven a car in 16 months, let alone a stick shift which I do know how to drive, we didn’t add me to the contract leaving Tom as the only driver. In an emergency, I could drive a stick shift if I had to).

This yellow parakeet at the restaurant was checking me out as I attempted to whistle.

After I finish writing today, we’re heading back to the supermarket, the largest in the area, to search for the items we either couldn’t find or forgot to buy in our exhausted state on Friday afternoon. This time, we’ll translate all the items we couldn’t find into Portuguese hopefully aiding in our search for certain items.

While dining, this fluffy dog came by staring at me, hoping for a morsel. The waiter scooted her away. She reminded us of a bigger scruffier version of Jessie of Gucci and Jessie, the two dogs we loved in Kenya.

So far, so good. We love Madeira, the scenery, the house, the food, and the friendly people. A few days ago, we saw Gina’s dad gardening on the steep hill across the street. I yelled out to him, “Olá, como você está?” which translates to “Hello, how are you?” Later, he told Gina, “She speaks Portuguese!” Ha! We shall see!
                                               ______________________________________

Photo from one year ago today, May 20, 2013:

Our last night on Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Sea left us feeling a little sad as the end of the most extraordinary cruise we could ever have imagined.  The Pyramids, The Suez Canal, The Lost City of Petra, and the Treasury where Indiana Jones was filmed, the excitement of The Gulf of Aden and so much more, added to our wealth of growing experiences. For details of that final night as the ship made its way to Dubai where we’d stay in a condo for two weeks, please click here.

Portuguese grocery shopping…Trying to read labels…Making mistakes…Learning as we go…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
This little bird stops by each day for a walk on the railing on the veranda and to show off her catch of the day.

Although some Europeans speak English it doesn’t appear to be the case in Portugal and certainly not in Madeira, a small island that appears to be inhabited by traditional old world citizens and tourists, usually staying in hotels that often accommodate many languages.

For us, living in a neighborhood of local citizens and a few tourists, the language barrier presents a number of issues. How arrogant of us English speaking people from various parts of the world to assume a country’s people would know our language. Why don’t we know their language?

One of the several tunnels we took to get to the grocery store.

Luckily, our delightful landlady Gina speaks a bit of English peppered with a few Portuguese words that make her all the more charming and adorable. On Saturday, Gina stopped in to introduce us to our cleaning lady Judita who doesn’t speak a word of English.

Judita will work for us on Thursdays each week washing floors, windows, changing bedding, cleaning the kitchen and bathrooms which we’ll keep tidy in between her visits. 

The temperature is rarely higher than 77F, 25C in Madeira and yet the parking lot at the supermarket has covered parking which we’ve never seen at a market.

Meeting Judita reminded us of the upcoming challenges in communicating with the local people from whom we seek services or assistance. As always, we’ll figure it out as we did when grocery shopping on Friday afternoon, the day we arrived.

Gina had left a map, making the 15 minute trip to the supermarket relatively easy. As we approached the main door, we noticed that the carts were similar to those in Italy, requiring a coin a Euro $.50, US $.70 to unlock the handle as shown in this photo below.

Tom putting the EU $.50, US $.70 into the slot to release the grocery cart.

At this point, we’d yet to acquire any Euros luckily finding an ATM inside the store. Tom pushed the cart, as usual, while I attempted to read labels. With the handy grocery app on my phone, I easily referenced my shopping list. 

There were several items we couldn’t find; baking soda, baking powder, coconut oil (although we did find unsweetened coconut flour), real cream (for me), Cremora (for Tom), Hydrogen Peroxide (for teeth), avocados, and sour cream.

Since we usually purchase a few packaged items, the label reading is kept to a minimum. Mostly, I check to ensure there are none of the items I can’t eat; sugar, gluten, starch. 

A goat lives next door on a hill with a few other goats which we can hear baaing during the day.  The sounds are music to our years, reminiscent of the goats in our backyard in Kenya.

Needing to fully stock the cupboards with basics such as spices, olive oil, and paper products, we shopped in two batches, per Tom’s suggestion. We loaded the cart to the brim with the non-perishables and checked out. Tom loaded them all into the car, returning with an empty cart ready to tackle the perishables. This is only necessary the first time we shop in a new location when we purchase the most items.

I screwed up on only one purchase, the shampoo, and conditioner, assuring Tom that the one bottle that said “Hydrante” was shampoo and the other saying “Crème” was conditioner. I thought this was a logical translation when, as it turned out, I discovered when washing my hair, that they were both shampoos. Today, we’ll buy a conditioner at the pharmacy. 

A good-sized Gecko stopped by for a visit, an obviously different variety from those we’d seen in Africa. There are few insects here, none of which are a concern, other than the occasional bee or hornet.

The total bill for our two full carts of groceries was US $309.76, EU $225.94, slightly less than we’ve paid for our first load in other countries. I don’t believe the prices were less but we’ve fine-tuned our shopping. Prices seem comparable to Italy although much higher than South Africa.

Overall, the supermarket was satisfactory with a fabulous fresh seafood counter which had a long line preventing us to attempt it in our exhausted state with only three hours of sleep. Also, the deli was filled with gluten-free and nitrate-free meats along with a vast array of cheeses comparable to Italy. 

We love this huge roll of quality paper towels that we purchased for only US $2.74, EU $2 when we grocery shopped.

The produce appeared organic although they don’t label it as such. It’s always easy to detect chemical-free produce when leaves have numerous holes from insects chowing down, an inconsistency in the shape and size of the various items, and a degree of wilting with an occasional spot of mold or slime. 

We’ve learned that this is the reality of chemical-free produce in other countries. In the US, prices are exceedingly high for organic produce when they often dispose of the less attractive items. In other countries, they put most of the harvest out for sale, letting customers pick and choose what they’d like, keeping the cost down. 

This morning’s view from the kitchen window.  Washing dishes is not so bad with a view such as this.

All in all, this is appealing to us. We certainly don’t mind finding worms or bugs in our produce, knowing that pesticides weren’t used. Of course, we wash all of our produce in purified water, placing a few cups of the water in a large bowl and rinsing each piece, changing the water as needed. 

Yesterday, Gina popped in making a reservation for us at a restaurant she recommended located in Ribeira Brava, a 10 to 15-minute drive. She suggested we ask the owner where the health club is located nearby.  Hopefully, we’ll find it.

We’ll never tire of this view which seems to call to us several times a day. I took this photo a few minutes ago as the sky began to clear from the morning’s haze.

She used a phone located in the house that we hadn’t realized was working. As a result, it won’t be necessary for us to purchase a SIM card for our smartphone. She explained that the phone was included in our rent as long as the calls were local. 

We use Skype for long-distance calls which we discovered works well from here after both of my sisters called yesterday for very clear conversations. The WiFi in the house has the strongest signal we’ve had in 19 months, showing five bars. We can both listen to podcasts simultaneously, a rare treat. 

We’ll be back tomorrow with photos from out and about today as we explore the area, find another grocery store, tackle a few of our errands, and dine out for the first time. Ah, life is good.
                                          _____________________________________

Photo from one year ago today, May 19, 2013:
No photo was available on this date.  Lack of photos on certain dates will soon cease as we move further into the year when we soon started using the new camera.

As it turned out, we both became ill aboard the ship from other passengers coughing and sneezing around us all day and night. 

Many cruises result in either a respiratory or intestinal illness. As often as we washed our hands, we’ve since learned a few lessons: Don’t handle spoons or forks in the buffet without a napkin covering our hand which we immediately toss when done filling our plates or by asking the food be placed on our plates by the servers. 

Also, we will not, in the future, use the public restrooms instead, going back to our cabin as needed. We never eat dinner at the buffet, only breakfast. For our upcoming two cruises, we’re contemplating having breakfast in the main dining room instead of the buffet, where the food is served. For details of the story from that date, please click here.

Car rental expense and special story of an amazing rep…More house photos…Pool shot from cruise a year ago…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
This vehicle was almost twice the size of the one we’d booked online. We found that we can fit our luggage into very tiny cars, but this upgrade was an unexpected pleasure. The driveway in front of the house is tiny and on a hill.  There’s no other practical way to park the car than as is shown here.

Arriving at the Alamo window at the Funchal airport in Madeira at approximately 1:30 am, Friday, we waited in line for 10 minutes. Exhausted, we could hardly wait to get through the annoying time-consuming process of renting a car. 

The interior of our rental car, a Renault Clio small SUV. Although there’s a navigation system, it doesn’t work on the island of Madeira.

From past experience, we knew that the language barrier and the big sales pitch for the extra insurance were only going to add to the time required to stand at the desk once it was our turn. 

The beautiful wood floors are continued throughout the house including on the stairway to the second level. The house was designed by Gina’s brother Carlos, who is an architect, the actual owner, and lives next door to us with his family.

The rep spoke broken English which I was able to understand although Tom has trouble with dialects due to his hearing loss. After the rep at Alamo, Nelo Gouveia went through his required spiel, our contract was ready for signature and we were handed the keys.

Our new home, a photo taken by Gina, for highlighting the house in HomeAway.

Suddenly, Nelo looked at our two luggage carts asking, “Is those your bags?” His question came up after we’d chatted with him when he’d asked where we were from and where we were going. 

He practically flipped when he heard we were traveling the world for possibly years to come. He thought it was the greatest adventure he’d ever heard. We giggled over his enthusiasm as tired as we were.

The long upstairs walkway from one end of the house to the other.

When we nodded “yes” that they were in fact our bags, he immediately started shaking his head, “No, no, no!” he said, “This little car,” he pointed to a photo on the wall of the car we were getting, “Will not work for these bags!”

“I give you bigger car, for you nice people. No extra charge!” 

“No extra charge?” I inquired.

“No extra charge,” he reiterated.

This is the master bedroom where we sleep and Tom keeps his clothing. In order not to awaken him when I often awake earlier than he, I use another bedroom and bath for my clothes and for bathing and dressing for the day. This bedroom has an en suite bathroom.

Having to do over all the paperwork for the larger car would take time but we were willing to wait for “no extra charge.” Ten minutes later after it was completed and signed he offered to take Tom to the awaiting car. This was far beyond our expectations. No rep had ever done this in the past. By this time it was 2:15 am. 

He helped us haul our bags to the curb telling me to wait there while he took Tom to get the car. Before he and Tom left to get the car, he approached two nearby police officers telling them to keep an eye out for my safety at 2:15 am alone on the curb of an airport. 

This is the third bedroom with the twin beds.

Five minutes later they drove up, Nelo waving his enthusiastic arms out the window. I couldn’t stop smiling when they drove up in the much larger Renault Clio SUV type vehicle with loads of room. We couldn’t have been more thrilled.

Based on the fact that we now only rent cars for 30 days at a time, later renewing online to maintain the best online price, I asked Nelo how we could get this same car again. He explained that we should again sign up online for the best price, call him and ensure he was at work when we return the car, and he’ll give us the same car for the same price. Whether or not this will all work out is not a certainty. Surely, we’ll try.

This is the another shot of the third bedroom.

The cost for the rental car for 30 days is US $1055.70, EU $758 plus, they hold the additional US $835.62, EU $600 on our credit card, an excess for possible damage. Once we return the car, the excess will be released within a few days for which I always keep checking the credit card we use to ensure it was handled.

Our luggage easily fit into the upgraded car and we were on our way with Gina’s translated directions as to how to find the house. It was tricky, very tricky. Somehow, we persevered in our exhausted state, staying calm through the long 45 minutes. At one point we got off onto the wrong exit, wasting 15 minutes. Finally, we found Campanario and the house, after going through several tunnels. We didn’t fall into bed until 3:30 am. 

Each of the bedrooms has doors opened to a small veranda as shown in the second bedroom where I store my clothes.

Too tired to bring our bags inside, we only brought in the laptop bags, my purse, and the pill bag. I slept in the tee-shirt I wore all day. I didn’t care. Finally, after the third night of sleeping in this house, we both finally feel rested after last night’s full eight hours. 

My huge soaking tub.

Last night’s dinner was fabulous; our coleslaw made with already cut up cabbage to which we added carrots chunks. For ease, we made the breadless sandwiches with nitrate-free meats we’d purchased at the deli in the market. Tonight, we’ll repeat last night’s dinner as we often do; the same dinner, freshly made each night, two nights in a row. Doing so saves time and money.

Tomorrow, we’ll head out for errands and our first dining out experience in Madeira. Gee…it feels so right here.

One of the many tunnels we drove through on the drive from the airport to our house.

By the way, I beat Tom at Gin during our two and a half months in Morocco, for the first time after playing almost every day in four countries. He’d won in Italy, Kenya, and South Africa. With only one country win under my belt, I have a lot of catching up to do. I can’t imagine why he swears at me every time I win a hand!  Otherwise, he never swears at me.
________________________________________________

Photo from one year ago today, May 18, 2013:
There were no photos taken on this date as we sailed through the Gulf of Aden. Instead here is a photo of Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Sea’s pool area posted on May 17, 2013:

The ship’s pool area. At this point in time, we were still using the little Samsung camera, although we had the new Sony which I had yet to learn to use. Soon, you’ll note that our photos improved in quality. We’ll let you know when that transpires as we move through the dates from one year ago. For details of the post without photos on May 18, 2013, please click here.

Contentment in our new home…One year ago today…Adventures at high seas….

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
The view of the Atlantic Ocean from our veranda. (Borrowed photo. Hazy today).
In our last post, I’d planned to tell the rental car story. Not enough for a full post, I’ll include the story in tomorrow’s post with photos of the car, all the fees, and more house photos. 

Where do we begin? We’re living in a beautiful house in the Campanario area of Ribeira Brava, Madeira, Portugal about 30 minutes from the pier and the airport. The house is overlooking the Atlantic ocean with every modern convenience; a microwave, high-speed Internet, a soaking tub (heavenly), a dishwasher, and oh my, a newer front loading washer (our first load is on now).

This is where we’re sitting now as I write this. We covered the glass coffee table with a black throw enabling us to put our feet up with our shoes on.  The sofa and pillows are very comfortable much to our delight.

There’s no clothes dryer, but instead one of those racks we used in Dubai and Italy. I can’t wait to hang the clothes outside on the veranda using colorful clothespins. Ah, how we’ve come to appreciate the simple things in life. 

Still tired today after yesterday’s exhausting unpacking, grocery shopping and totally settling in, today, I’m still a bit sluggish and slow-moving even after sleeping seven hours last night, not quite enough. 

Last night’s dinner wasn’t the feast we’d anticipated when we were too pooped to make anything other than cheese and sautéed onion scrambled eggs topped with Greek yogurt with a side of Portuguese sausage. That’s all we could muster. Tonight will be better.

Our new clothes dryer. At 70F, 21C it was pleasant hanging our first load of wash outdoors. The darks are in the washer now. I left room on the rack for the second load soon to be hung. 

Later in the evening, I had a plate of small bites of some of the finest cheeses Portugal has to offer, reminiscent of the cheeses in Italy. What a treat! Tom had microwave popcorn and this morning donuts with his coffee. (Darn, my guy won’t give up the junk food)! He hasn’t had a donut in a year. 

The view from the floor to ceiling glass windows and doors is breathtaking. Unfortunately, it’s been a bit hazy these past two mornings and I haven’t been able to get any clear shots of the ocean. As soon as it clears, you’ll see them here. 

See Tom’s donuts on the right in our new kitchen. Ugh!

I borrowed the above veranda photo from Gina, who visited this morning and will answer all of our questions via email. We met her a year ago when our ship docked at the pier in Funchal for the day. She picked us up from the pier showing us the island and the house. We adored her, the house, and the island.

Granite countertops, microwave, dishwasher, great gas stove and oven, and views of the mountains and the ocean when washing dishes. Once the haze lifts we’ll include more photos of views from inside the house.

Yesterday’s grocery shopping was a challenge which we’ll explain further in the days to come. Surely, in time, we’ll figure it all out. It’s all about the layout of the store, the unfamiliarity of products, reading labels, and the fact that they don’t carry some items we use. We did find unsweetened coconut flour, but not coconut oil or avocados. We’ll keep looking.

My view into the dining room while sitting on the sofa in the living room.

The bed isn’t as comfortable as the bed at Dar Aicha. It’s a reality we must accept living in other people’s houses. In time, we’ll adapt to the thinner harder mattress. 

The wood-burning fireplace in the living room. Its cool here now and warming up each day I doubt we’ll use it.

Otherwise, the house is comfortable including the leather sofa in the living room with plenty of soft and fluffy throw pillows and a coffee table which we moved closer to the sofa for our feet when lounging. 

The second living room upstairs holds less appeal for us when we love the views on the main floor. There are TVs in each living room with a few English speaking channels, mostly news. That’s fine.

The dining room where we’ll have all of our meals. Tom reset the table this morning after emptying the dishwasher.

Last night we dined at the dining room table; placemats, nice flatware, and plates. For the first time in two and a half months, we watched the show Shark Tank on my laptop while we dined. It was delightful to be back to some of our familiar routines.

We’ve made a list of errands we’ll tackle next week; a trip to a computer store (Tom needs a special screw for his laptop), a store where we can purchase a needle and thread, (Tom ripped his Travel Smith shirt pocket when we were at the airport. With the right color of thread, I can easily sew it).  

Also, we need to find a health food store and a health club for me. It appears all of this may be possible in Madeira. There are numerous shopping malls.

In time, we’ll visit some of the popular tourist spots; the farmer’s market, the shops along the sea, the mountains, mainly revolving around amazing scenery. 

The view from the opposite side of the dining room toward the sea.

The island is breathtaking with us situated at a prime location to enjoy the views. Although not isolated, we are within 30 minutes of anything we’d like to see, restaurants and shopping. The people are friendly and oddly, the communication is not as difficult as I’d thought it might be. The Portuguese language has similarities to Spanish which I understand well enough to manage. 

The problem I experienced at the grocery store yesterday as tired as I was, I kept saying “grazie” (Italian), “merci” (French) and “obrigada” (for thank you, one of few words I know so far in Portuguese) with a little English throw in.  It was confusing when my brain wasn’t working well anyway due to the exhaustion. 

Tom’s view from his spot on the sectional sofa. Once it warms up a little, we’ll surely spend time sitting on these lawn chairs.

It takes time to fully embrace a new country and find our way around especially when Gina told us not to bother to use “navigation.” It doesn’t work well on the island of Madeira as we’ve already observed when Google maps aren’t able to readily pinpoint locations. We’ll figure it out. We always do with Tom’s amazing sense of direction.

Over the upcoming 75 days, we’ll continue to post daily with more house photos (today we’ve included the main floor only) and many photos of our exploration of this lovely island. Stay tuned.
__________________________________________

Photo from one year ago today, May 17, 2013:

As the mercenaries boarded the ship one year ago today carrying the “package” in order to protect us in the event that pirates attempted to board.  Over a period of days, we had several “pirate drills” to prepare passengers in case of an “event.” Last year a movie with Tom Hanks, Captain Philips, was a true story of just such an incident in the Gulf of Aden.  Pirating in this area has continued as recently as January 2014. Many passengers said they wouldn’t have gone on the cruise had they known of the risk. For us, it added to the experience and we felt safe. Miles out at sea, we were surrounded and protected by several military ships escorting us through the dangerous Gulf of Aden.For details of the story, please click here.

Two days ago, on May 15, 2014, the US State Department issued a warning to US citizens and others not to travel to Kenya, mentioning Diani Beach, the area in which we lived for three months, from September 2, 2013 to November 30, 2013. We chose to live in Kenya for the opportunity to go to the Maasai Mara on safari which was number one on my bucket list. 

Thank God, mission accomplished, as the most treasured experience in our travels, along with the next three months we spent living in Marloth Park, South Africa. 

Thursday, we left Africa after living in three countries for almost nine months: Kenya, South Africa, and Morocco. We are grateful for the experiences and for our continued safety during the entire period. When traveling to high-risk countries, one must seriously weigh the benefits and the risks and carefully consider and ensure that security measures will be implemented during the entire visit. 

We are grateful for the opportunities we’ve had and wouldn’t change a thing, even our most recent time in Marrakech, all of which round out our continually growing collection of amazing experiences.

Flying is for the birds…Travel report…Delayed in Lisbon for hours…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
Tom and Samir wheeling our bags to the Marrakech Airport.
Today, we’re posting the story we wrote last night from the airport in Lisbon, Portugal. With Internet issues at the airport we were unable to post it before leaving on the flight to Madeira. We arrived at our amazing new home at 3:00 am, only sleeping a few hours.  Tomorrow, we’ll begin to share details of our new home, new country and the new more modern environment. 
 

Flying is for the birds.  They flap their wings and take off.  But, for us two legged wingless human types, perhaps its just not meant to be easy.

I should speak in defense of airplanes themselves.  Generally, the flying in them is tolerable although a tight squeeze.  It’s the airport procedures, configuration and systems that are sorely lacking in providing us humans with a seamless means of transportation. The Marrakech International Airport is now #1 on our list of the most intolerable transit point in all of our travels to date.  It’s almost impossible to describe.

Mind you, we knew flying was going to be our least desirable mode of transportation in our worldwide travels, preferring to cruise from location to location. At the moment, we rethinking our future plans to revert back to our original intent of using ships as our primary mode of transportation. The challenges include the financial aspect with the increased cost of cruising and the obvious geographical issues.

The 30 hours of travel time from South Africa to Morocco was less stressful than the traveling the supposed six hours of travel time from Marrakech to Madeira which should have been an easy undertaking. 

After a tearful goodbye to Madame Zahra and Oumaima, the walk in the Medina to Mohamed’s awaiting SUV out on the street was better than expected.  A deep cloud cover rolled in allowing us to avoid the scorching heat of the sun.  The drive to the airport was uneventful. 

Upon arrival at the airport, Samir dashed off to get a free cart while Tom loaded the carry on bags onto our wheeling cart.  We headed inside the airport to the TAP check in desk.  That’s when the “fun” began.  The bags.  The overweight bags.  The too many bags.

TAP’s website raved about their liberal baggage policy.  We thought based on our research that there was a two bag allowance for coach.  Both of us verified this.  Alas, not the case. Only one bag is allowed per person.  Now, if they operated as do many other airlines, they’d charge US $25 or $50 for each additional bags.  That blow wouldn’t have hurt much.  But, the MAD 1800, US $220.24, to be paid in cash only threw us for a loop. 
 
Of course, this wasn’t nearly as much as the US $1300 (approximately) we’d paid in Venice, Italy when we had more bags.  In essence, we should be grateful.  Then again, is one more grateful when one gets slugged in the face once instead of three times?  Hardly.

I would more than willingly palmed a US $100 bill into the agent’s hand had he been alone at the desk.  Alas, his cohort sitting inches away, with whom he was constantly conferring with in regard to our dilemma, made it impossible. 

All the fluff and diplomacy wasn’t getting us out of this one.  Although, I must add, he didn’t charge extra for my overweight large bag after I did somewhat of a diplomatic dance.


View of the outskirts of Marrakech.

With had no choice but to go to a special desk to pay the penalty we were told the amount and that only cash is accepted. I could see the stress on Tom’s face.  Suddenly, both of us had to run to the toilette with a bout of intestinal distress.  Gee…why weren’t we more prepared for this?  Why, after all of our travels do we not have a laissez faire attitude of experience and sophistication?  Apparently, we do not.

Returning to the original agent, we showed him the receipt, picked up our boarding passes and headed to the gate.  He told us the airport had only “one gate” for all outbound flights.  OK. We proceeded in the direction he pointed.  Where was the “one gate?”  Checking at an information desk, we received the same “one gate” answer. 

Deciding to sit down and recover from the stress, unsure of where “one gate” was located, we plopped into chairs, each of us taking turns running to the toilette.  Two chatting non-stop toilette attendants blocked the doorway in an attempt to acquire a tip each of the four times I visited the toilette, including once to dump the iced tea from our mugs.  No tip was paid.

We proceeded toward the “one gate” but first had to go through security. Of course, we’d already dumped the iced tea in our mugs but the bottled water we’d just purchased for our parched mouths had to be tossed.   

Then, they didn’t like the small bottles of shampoo and conditioner still in the duffel bag that we hadn’t check after all, due to the cost.  OK, all of this was normal so far.  They didn’t like the tiny bottle of insect repellent.  Tossed that. They didn’t like the metal designer label on the outside of my laptop bag.  Couldn’t toss that. They squawked about all of our power cords.  

Our hearts pounded with both of us easily remembering that our power cords were confiscated in Dubai and taken from our possession on a few cruises. I walked through the scanner without a beep when a female security guard literally grabbed and frisked me, even grabbing me by my Victoria’s Secret bra. 


View of a peninsula on along the coast of Portugal.

Finally, we were on our way to the “one gate.”  Entering a huge area, we quickly observed that their “one gate” theory was a fallacy.  There were no less than eight gates, each of which had two lines.  Their interpretation of “one gate” was that not one of the gates was named or numbered.  Only a small sign indicated an upcoming destination which was impossible to read unless
standing directly in front of it.

As a result, we had to maneuver through crowded lines to find the sign marked Lisbonne (Lisbon). Tom suggested we sit in chair rather than stand in the long line.  I agreed.  To lighten the electrically charged air around us, I asked Tom how many dirhams we had left. Once we’d leave Morocco, they’d be useless to us.  When he handed me the remaining 90 dirhams, chewing gum came to mind.  Surely 90 dirhams, US $11.01 would buy one or two packs of gum.

Nope, five stores later I was still in the gum-free zone.  Finally,  entering a fancy chocolate shop I purchased exactly 12 caramels for the 90 dirhams.  Tom was needing a treat.  A wide smile washed across his face when I handed him the tiny bag.  Oh, would that food soothes us in times of trouble?  I was so badly needing soothing that I could have sucked on my sock for comfort.  Alas, I did not.

As we waited in the long line, it finally began to move outdoors and we noticed passengers were being doled out from the line to walk the tarmac to an awaiting plane.  It wasn’t marked TAP airline.  It was something else.  Of course, thoughts flashed through our minds of boarding the wrong plane.  Grabbing a agent’s attention, I asked three times, “Is this the plane for flight 263 to Lisbon?”  Each time I was reassured that it was.

A short time later we board the incorrectly marked plane via the steep outdoor stairway.  Why do all these airports have the telescopic tubes which they don’t use?  We’ve noticed this at most airports outside the US.


Casablanca, Morocco as shown below Spain is not far from Portugal.

Our load was quite heavy and bulky.  I was carrying the pill bag and my oversized handbag both extremely heavy, stuffed with numerous peripheral items.  Tom had to carry the wheeling cart which he had to break down to board, two laptop bags and the duffel bag, all heavy.

Once onboard, we curiously looked for our seats.  I was 5C, Tom 5A.  They were two seats, next to each other, me on the window, him on the aisle.  What happened to 5B?  It didn’t exist.  Go figure.

The flight was short, only 90 minutes and it too, was uneventful.  We were served Subway type sandwiched and juice.  Having not eaten anything other than a handful of cashews I cared not.  I gave Tom my sandwich.  He nibbled on each one, finishing neither.  I’d have something to eat later in Lisbonne.

Arriving in Lisbonne, all paths led to immigration.  There was no less than 200 passengers in line with one immigration officer in a booth.  We had 60 minutes remaining to make our 8:40 pm flight to Madeira.  It looked hopeless.  After 20 minutes another immigration officer entered a booth and a third managed the line.  For some goofy reason we were grabbed from the line to start the new line for the opening of the second booth.

The next challenge…would we be able to get a 90 day visa for Portugal?  If not, we could easily go to an immigration office on the island after 30 days.  Luckily, as we’ve experienced in most countries so far, except Belize, we are easily given the 90 day stamp.  We’ve been told that getting a 90 day visa is somehow easier to obtain for US citizens.  Why?  We don’t know.


Lisboa as noted on this map is Lisbon.  We’re heading to Funchal on the island of Madeira, a 90 plus minute flight from Lisbon.

Visas in hand, we made our way through the beautiful modern airport where I saw one US store after another, even the above mentioned Victoria’s Secret.  With no time or desire to shop, we made our way to the food court so I could eat something. First, we checked the electronic flight and departure board.

Our flight to Madeira was listed as departing three hours late! No gate was specified. Oh, oh. Here we go!  Finding a trendy restaurant we decided to get comfortable, go online using the free 30 minutes offered by Boingo.  I ordered a delicious grilled chicken salad with little concern of getting sick from the lettuce.  I hadn’t had lettuce in 2.5 months. 

Surprisingly, the time flew by and at 10:00 pm, we headed to the “numbered” gate.  Yeah for numbers! The flight on a newer Airbus was comfortable.  Tom ate two more of the same sandwiches as on the first flight.  We arrived in Madeira at 1:00 am, waited for our luggage and headed to the Alamo counter for our car, arriving to a slow moving line around 1:15 am.

Tomorrow, we’ll share our first wonderful experience in Portugal, at the Alamo counter inside the Madeira airport.  More will follow with many new photos.

Today, after only three hours of sleep for me and four for Tom, we’re both pooped.  We’ve yet to unpack or grocery shop. But, we don’t want to miss out on cooking our first meal in two and a half months, here on the beautiful island of Madeira.
________________________________________

Photo from one year ago today, May 16, 2013:

The Treasury of the Lost City of Petra discovered in the 1800’s.  Here’s our link for details of our day in Petra.

We’re leaving on “The Marrakesh Express,” flight that is!…Goodbye Morocco!…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
.
The day we arrived at Dar Aicha we were amazed to see a lemon tree growing inside the riad. Two lemons were growing. Yesterday, for the first time one of the lemons fell to the floor making a loud thump. I picked it up, bringing it in the kitchen to Madame Zahra. We both chuckled. Perhaps she used it in making our dinner last night.

We’re leaving today to return to Europe, flying at 4:30 pm to Lisbon, Portugal, and then on to the island of Madeira, Portugal, a resort island where we’ll live in a vacation home overlooking the Atlantic Ocean for the next two and a half months, leaving on August 1, 2014.

We’re packed except for our laptops and cords. We’re dressed and ready for Samir & Adil to pick us up at 2:00 pm along with the guy with the old fashioned hand cart for the long walk to Mohamed’s awaiting SUV.

Today, we’ll walk through the Big Square in the Medina for the final time on our way with the guy with the cart, Samir and Adil to Mohamed’s awaiting SUV to take us to the airport.

Last night, I was overheated wearing Tom’s heavy long-sleeve BugsAway shirt. I considered taking it off but the thought of leaving Morocco covered in new sandfly bites held little appeal.

Yesterday, the packing took less than a total of two hours which was especially easy for me when Tom decided to suck the air out of the Space Bags with the little vacuum without my help while I took care of last-minute details online.

Was that ever easier! Tom has a tendency to become snappy and grumpy when sucking the air from the bags, especially in yesterday’s 108F, 42C heat. My absence totally prevented this. Who gets mad when they don’t have an audience?

Our final dinner made by Madame Zahra, clockwise from the carrots, sautéed cabbage, sautéed zucchini, salad with peeled tomatoes and cucumbers, fresh green beans, and in the center Tagine Kefta which is meatballs in a seasoned tomato sauce, topped with hard-boiled eggs.  Of course, Tom’s bread and fries.

My old theory of not being in the presence of a grumpy person was further proven to a new level. The packing was done in no time leaving us both cheerful and ready to enjoy our last evening in Dar Aicha. Madame Zahra prepared another fabulous nourishing meal and later we watched a mediocre movie and another great episode of the entertaining TV series, The Vikings.

From this point on in our travels, we feel comfortable not packing until the day before we leave. Of course, our lessor number of bags is highly instrumental in the reduction of considerable stress.

When we first arrived in Marrakech, we’d planned to ride a horse and buggy to dine outside the Medina. After seeing the bloodied neck on a horse pulling a buggy, we lost interest.

With only two large suitcases, each filled with clothing; one smaller bag filled entirely with our combined shoes and boots; another smaller bag filled with supplies; one duffel bag for cords, the little vacuum and electrical supplies; two laptop bags; and my handbag and the pill bag, our load s relatively light.

Hopefully today, we’ll check everything except the two laptop bags, my handbag, and the pill bag with TAP Airline’s easier weight restrictions. The two flights are under two hours each with a two-plus hour layover in Lisbon during which time we’ll find a restaurant in the airport for a bite to eat.

Two doors next to one another. A common sight in the souks.

Hopefully, we’ll have access to a WiFi signal at the Lisbon airport, where if so, we’ll touch in with an additional post as to our progress.  In either case, if we aren’t able to get a signal, we’ll be posting tomorrow morning upon awakening in our new home, of course with photos.

Madame Zahra and Ouimaima arrived a few moments ago. Several times yesterday, we looked at one another with our hands placed over our hearts (a precious gesture of love) which after here a month, she began to do upon saying hello and goodbye. I easily picked up this special gesture as it became a common expression between us. We hugged several times during the day, kissing twice, once on each cheek and back again.

The scene above the doorway to Dar Aicha.
A moment ago, Madame came to see me in the salon while Tom was upstairs showering. Hand over heart, she smiled at me, tilting her head in a token of emotion. I stood wrapping my arms around her, feeling a rush of emotion so powerful that tears welled up in my eyes. Kissing each cheek, we parted still holding hands. No words were spoken when she speaks only Arabic.  Words haven’t been necessary as our relationship grew over these past months.
She will remain as my most treasured memory of Morocco, a people kind and generous, filled with love, warmth, and compassion.

Goodbye Morocco.  We continue on…
______________________________________

Photo from one year ago today, May 15, 2013:

Tom, as we walked the three-hour trek to and from the Lost City of Petra. Although not visible in the photo, we walked downhill on the way and uphill on the return in temperatures over 104F, 40C. Without a doubt, this was the most difficult walk we’ve made in our travels. Without a doubt, it was well worth it. For details, please click here.

Obrigada, Gina, for a memorable day, seeing next year’s vacation home!…What a pleasure!

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
View from the Garden Café this morning as we waited to disembark in Madeira, Portugal.
Gina and I in the kitchen. We can’t wait to sit on the barstools drinking coffee and enjoying the view of the sea from almost every room.
Another view of the wraparound veranda.
The drive as we left the house in the Riberia Brava area.
We entered one narrow tunnel after another on our drive around the island.

Today, reminded us why we chose to travel the world. Enmeshed in another culture while driving through the winding mountainous roads of the quaint villages of Madeira with expansive views of the ocean around us, we felt enriched and in awe.

Gina, owner of the home we’re renting next year was excited to show us the house.The 20 minute drive on the winding mountainous road was breathtaking.
The winding barely traveled road from the house was easy to navigate.
Gina said we are welcome to pick the fresh organic vegetables daily from the garden her fathers tends to each day. He’ll also deliver free range chickens to our door.

Our future home for almost three months beginning May 15, 2014, we looked at this port of call with different eyes than one would look on an excursion from the ship.

Another view of the garden from our future home.

Comfortable living room with leather sofa, WiFi, TV with some US stations, sound system and extraordinary view will make us feel right at home.

Cozy working fireplace in living room.  Unlikely, that we’ll use it during the spring and warm summer.

Gina, owner of our future home, albeit short term, met us promptly at the pier welcoming us in broken English with universal hugs while giddy with enthusiasm.  Warmth and charm exuded from Gina in a manner that captured our hearts as we all chatted on endlessly while listening intently to decipher the meaning of her words.

The well appointed kitchen had everything we need, including a bottle of fine red wine Gina will save for us.
The kitchen was well equipped with dinnerware, pots and pans, serving pieces, wine and beverage glasses along with many utensils.  Gina lives across the street and offered to bring us anything else we may need.  Of course, we’ll invite her and her husband Carlos for dinner. Carlos speaks no English, but perhaps by then, we’ll speak a little Portuguese.
Nook area off the dining room.

Somehow, we managed to communicate well enough to enjoy the hours we spent together in and out of her Citroen, touring the 35 mile long island, crossing its many bridges, traveling through its multiple narrow tunnels, all the while reveling in the unique design of its homes and buildings, entrenched in rich history and tradition.

Didn’t see too many of these in the US, although quite common in other countries. The home has three full bathrooms. Perhaps, I will select one exclusively for me, the one with the Jacuzzi!
Oversized bath with Jacuzzi. 
With three bedrooms, either of two could be the master with two en suite bathrooms as well as a third guest bathroom.
All areas are modern and well equipped.

As we maneuvered through the narrow winding roads on a 20 minutes drive, Gina took us to see “your house” as she frequently referred to the awe inspiring home we’ll be renting next year. 

Plenty of room for guests!
View from the veranda.
Third bedroom with king bed, private veranda and Jacuzzi bath.

Pulling into the tiny driveway, she steered us to the wooden front door to reveal the home exactly as it had been pictured on the rental website, that in person, illustrated a warmth commensurate with her charming demeanor. 

Intriguing stairway to second level.
Every turn presented an interesting view, The opposite side of the island was less desirable with cloudy and rainy weather.
The colorful narrow roads held one interesting view after another.
We’ll never tire of the quaint neighborhoods.
An outdoor restaurant in Funchal, known for its fresh local seafood was recommended by Gina.
We walked along the boardwalk in the town of Capanario, near “our house” as described by Gina.
More narrow roads, lined with upscale homes on the road to Funchal.
Many of the road were one-way and driving was on the US standard on the right side of the road.  There were many round-abouts, tunnels and bridges throughout the island.
The road, as we neared the Port of Funchal.
Our future home.  Perfect for us. I wanted to move in today, but we cheerfully tucked it away for yet a year to come with so much to anticipate in the interim;  a cruise to Dubai including a 13 night stay, a Mediterranean cruise, two to three month stays in homes in Tuscany, Kenya, South Africa and Morocco, all before we return to Madeira.
Colorful buses and tourist vehicles busily moved through traffic.

Ah, please pinch me.  Tom, on the other hand, easily settles into the reality of our lives on the move, while I engage in childlike wonder at the prospect of it all.  Together, we make a good pair of world travelers, filling in the blanks for one another while tempering the excitement to a manageable level.

View of our awaiting ship, the Norwegian Epic. 

Yes, obrigada, Madiera, for welcoming us to your little piece of the world.  Next year, we’ll share our stories with our loyal readers from all over the world. Obrigada dear readers, for sharing this journey with us.

Back to our current home, the Norwegian Epic, for seven more nights.Then, one night in a hotel in Barcelona. Then on Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas to Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
For more information on this wonderful vacation home, please visit Gina at her Facebook page.  She’s quick to respond to email inquiries and uses Google Translate for English translations.

Oh, Madeira!…We can’t wait to see you…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
The ship’s morning arrival to the island of Madeira, Portugal was cloudy and cool, later to clear and warm up.

This morning at 9:00 am our ship, the Norwegian Epic, entered the port of Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, situated 350 miles from the coast of Morocco (where we’ll be living one year from now) offering us one of the most breathtaking views of our lives.

Birds flutter around our ship, searching for a meal as the thrusters stir up the ocean floor, bringing fresh schools of fish to the surface.

The vistas of this mountainous island with peaks at high at 6100 feet is a mere 35 miles long and 13 miles wide.  The hillside is liberally ensconced in one architecturally interesting white building after another.

As the ship, the Norwegian Epic, approached the pier in Funchal, Madeira.

On May 15, 2014, we’ll return to Madeira to a nearby coastal village, Ribiera Brava, where a magnificent home awaits us to enjoy until July 31, 2014, a full two and a half months.  We’ll be arriving to Madeira after spending nearly three months in Marrakesh, Morocco.  At this point we haven’t planned our mode of transportation for this short journey, preferably a ferry or ship but most likely by air.

Our bellies full of a good breakfast in the Garden Café, we are currently situated in our favorite booth, to ensure our most advantageous views while we wait to disembark the ship to meet Gina, the owner of the house we’re renting here next year, to give us a tour of the house and the island. We couldn’t be more excited!

What awaits us today is a similar feeling of adventure we felt upon entering Belize the months ago, almost to the day. Neophytes when we left the US only four months ago, we now have a little experience under our belts with mounting opinions and ideas as to our present and future as world travelers.   

It would have taken eight years of two-week vacations to experience what we’ve done thus far in these four months. With five cruises behind us, we begin to get a “lay of the land” in cruising as well as the experience of living among the locals in a remote underdeveloped country. Our feet are “officially wet” with so much more awaiting us in the future, especially today as we explore this magnificent island.

Our MiFi is working here allowing us to upload photos we’ll take when with Gina today as we explore this tiny island and our future home for 2½ months.

We’ll be back later this afternoon with photos before the ship sails at 6:00 PM while our connection stay in tact. 

Another time change…We’re now 8 hours later than Los Angeles, 6 hours later than Minneapolis…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment

This morning, we awoke at 10:10 am, new time, after yet another time change during the night.  By the time we showered and dressed and sauntered to the Garden Cafe it was after 11:00 am. We decided on lunch as opposed to breakfast requiring we only wait until 11:30 am when lunch is served at the buffet.

Once again, our favorite booth was awaiting us while all booths around us were filled. In October 2014, we’ve booked this same ship back-to-back to return to the US to work our way toward Hawaii to be with our family at Christmas. At this point, we’re considering canceling both cruises and booking another line for this long journey. As soon as we can use our MiFi, we’ll be contacting our cruise guy Joaquin, at Vacations-to-Go, to make the changes.  This far out, we won’t be charged cancellation fees.
Without a doubt, this is a beautiful ship mostly appealing to the older population, but with many amenities most passengers don’t use: a rock climbing wall, giant slides, two bowling alleys and a wave pool.

Also, there’s the Ice Bar, with a temperature of 27 degrees requiring one to wear a coat provided (who wants to wear a coat someone else wore???) paying a $20 cover charge per person. We’ve yet to see anyone enter. Most passengers aboard this ship are from cold climates. Why would they want to sit in a freezing bar sipping a frozen drink, the only options available?

When booking a cruise, all of these amenities are appealing. Once on board, we find little interest by us or others to partake of many of these “attractions.”

With lifeboats consuming all of the deck space, there is no deck on which to walk, read and relax. With our romantic expectation of lounging in a chaise, covered with a blanket, reading an enticing novel as we cross the ocean, we  are sorely disappointed.

Then, there’s the food. Today, after a full week aboard the Norwegian Epic, we’ve come to a conclusion: the food aboard this ship is by far the least desirable we’ve had after cruising on three cruise (five cruises) lines: Celebrity, Carnival and now Norwegian since January 3, 2013.

However, the overall service although good, leaves much to be desired in their communication with one another. When the same mundane tasteless plate of food is placed in front of me each night, I’ve become bored with eating: a salad, a piece of unseasoned fish, a plethora of bland steamed vegetables. 

Last night it was tilapia, the prior night a 3 oz steak and a few unseasoned small shrimp and the prior night, a small chunk of bland snapper riddled with bones. (A properly prepared snapper shouldn’t have any bones).

To avoid liability, they require that I order my meals the prior night, so the cooks can ensure the pan is free of corn oil, flours and sugar. I’ve asked for seasoning other than salt and pepper but have yet to have a bit of flavor in the food. 

Pre-ordering is awkward with other guests at the table curious as to the special attention paid to me by a man dressed in formal attire waiting while I select something from the next night’s menu. Inevitably, I’m asked by the rightfully curious table mates as to why I require this special diet leaving me no choice but to graciously explain. 

If I didn’t explain, assumptions may be made that I’m a prima donna, on an Atkins diet trying to lose weight, inconveniencing the staff and the table while I rattle off all of my restrictions.

Little do most know that I have to eat huge amounts of fat along with the foods I can have, to
avoid losing weight. I don’t want to lose weight. Is it any wonder that Tom lost 45 pounds
following along with me? Neither of us can afford to have clothing that doesn’t fit us!

On the Celebrity Century, their regular menu included several exquisitely prepared gluten-free options using natural juices, seasoned to perfection. The side dished were varied options, such as mashed garlic cauliflower or pureed carrot soufflé. Although the Carnival Liberty didn’t have an
exclusive GF menu, they provided me with some good options, varying the menu each night.

Here on the Epic, most night, my order arrives with an item on the plate that contaminates the entire plate, requiring I send it back. Last night, while dining with two delightful world traveling couples, I sat there without a main course while the others were into their dessert. 

They’d brought gluten free bread (no GF flours allowed except nut flours) with the tilapia covered
in a flour-like red sauce sitting atop a pile of white rice (no starch allowed for me). They knew this.

There is a file under each passenger’s cabin number that appears when they check into the restaurants each night. The kitchen, the chef and the servers receive a printout of what each passenger may and may not consume along with a list of what was pre-ordered for the night.Not rocket science.

The conscientious assistant maitre d, Steven, seems equally frustrated that my food continually goes back to the kitchen to begin anew. He has carefully outlined my diet: any meat and sauce without sugar, flour or starch, steamed or olive oil or butter sautéed non-starchy vegetables, cheese plate (no fruit, no bread, no crackers) for dessert. It’s not that hard.

Tom is equally frustrated, almost having had the same dinner and dessert night after night, bland and uninteresting. Presentation lacks originality and appears comparable to what an inexperienced cook would throw on a plate. 

Tonight, we’re booked a reservation for dinner in the Moderno Restaurant, a Brazilian barbecue with a variety of seasoned meats, none with starch, sugar or flour coatings. Last night, we spoke to Clive, the Moderno chef and he assured us there won’t be an item served by skewers that I won’t be able to enjoy. The salad bar literally made me jump for joy with most options suitable for me. 

At $20 per person for this specialty restaurant, plus drinks and additional tips, most likely our bill for tonight won’t exceed $65. Should we dine in specialty restaurants the remainder of this leg of the cruise, ending on May 1st, we’ll still be well within our budget of $900 for the 11 day ocean crossing.

Currently, our bill is around $575, $300 of which was for the Internet connection, the remainder for drinks and mandatory daily added tips of $12 each. We’ll post the actual amount of our bill once this leg ends. 

The second leg of this back to back cruise is only four days for which we’ve budgeted an additional $400. Our Internet bill will be considerably less since we’ll spend two of the four days in port, making it possible for us to use the MiFi to post our photos. Plus, in each case, we’ll be getting off the ship to explore Majorca Spain and Marseilles, France.

Tomorrow, we’ll be in port for the first time in eight days, spending the day in Madeira Portugal.
As mentioned earlier, Gina, the owner of the house, we’ll be renting from 5/15/2014 to 7/30/2014, is meeting us at the pier to show us the house and to tour the island. How exciting! 

Photos will follow tomorrow afternoon as soon as we return from our tour with Gina. With the
MiFi working again, we won’t have difficulty uploaded photos.

So, please look for us tomorrow with photos and story of the island of Madeira, Portugal, 1200 miles off the coast of Lisbon, Portugal and our experience with Portuguese speaking Gina.