80 Days till Anchor’s Aweigh!

 

It is time to get serious. 

We just committed to a schedule of guided tours for our cruise. Between the guided tours and hiking on our own at various ports of call, more than half of our days will be spent on land somewhere.

This supports the notion that one should not think of this as 160 days on a cruise ship. Rather, one spends near 90 days experiencing new places around the world, with but a single unpacking and packing of the suitcase.

What a deal!

In the Footsteps of Cook and Darwin!

Our ship had originally planned to return to Europe from Asia via the Middle East and Suez Canal, visiting points in Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Dubai along the way. The route was changed in July, due to the ongoing threats of attack from the Houthi rebels on the Red Sea. 

Given the news now in October, cutting as wide a berth around the Middle East as possible is the only sensible thing to do.

From a historical perspective, the route around Africa and the Cape of Good Hope is the route that was followed by the Europeans plying trade with India and China for hundreds of years. Not to mention, the route followed by all the early world circumnavigators. 

I feel a special bond.