Ireland 2009

CNA-09 CANADA, USA, Greenland (DENMARK), ICELAND, Scotland (UK), NETHERLANDS, IRELAND, UK, Wales (UK), Faroe Islands (DENMARK) Date of travel: Jul 15 - Aug 31, 2009 (the whole trip 48 days, cruise 42) ITINERARY: On Jul 15, 2009 in the evening I leave Vista in a car from Hertz for Los Angeles airport. There I board a United Airlines plane to Chicago.There I switch the plane for another United to Montreal. It lands in Montreal, CANADA on Jul 16.I get to my hotelin a bus. On Jul 17 I take a walk-through Montreal. I go to St. Lawrence River harbor, I see the spot where my ship will be tomorrow. Then a stop at Basilic Notre-Dame. I walk past a gate to Chinatown. Later I take video of Cathedral Marie-Reine du Monde. On Jul 18 in midmorning I take a taxi to my Holland America ship “Maasdam.” In the afternoon I get familiar with the ship, sign-up for excursions and do some photographs. In the morning on Jul 19 “Maasdam” docks in Quebec.I get on the bus for a shore excursion. We are taken to “Fairmont le Chateau Frontenec Hotel” then through a park and past important buildings.Before lunch we are back at our ship. In the afternoon I take a free bus for individual exploration of Quebec. Besides other places I visit the above-mentioned hotel. Later I go down the staircase through the old city. The next day is on the St. Lawrence River. I am invited to Captain’s Lunch. On Jul 21 “Maasdam” docks in Charlottetown in the Canadian province Prince Edward Island (PEI). Again, I do a tour. We drive through the city. No high rise building here. There are fields and woodlands outside the city. Potatoes are the main crop. There is a stop at the “Confederation Bridge” built 1992-97 connecting PEIwith the rest of Canada. After lunch I take a walk-throughCharlottetown by myself. On Jul 22 our ship comes to Sydney in the Canadian province Nova Scotia. In the afternoon I take a bus trip to Baddeck on the Cape Breton Island to see Graham Bell’s Museum.Next day we land in Halifax, the capital of Nova Scotia. Here I do a city tour on my own. First, I walk uphill to the “Citadel.”Then down and through the city. On Jul 24 “Maasdam” drops anchor in Bar Harbor, Maine in USA. We go on tender to shore, then on bus through Bar Harbor and its vicinity. Many rich people built villas here. Our ship docks in Boston, Massachusetts, USA in the morning. Many passengers depart and new board the ship here. I take a taxi to Aquarium in downtown. I am at Long Wharf. I buy a 45-min. boat ride on the Boston harbor and 1 hr. bus tour of the city. In the Navy Yard we see the ship “USS Constitution” called “Old Ironside.” Then a bus tour of the city. I return in a taxi to ship. Next day is a sea day going north to Canada. There are interesting lectures available. On Jul 27 “Maasdam” inches its way through the fog to “Cap-Aux Meules,” Magdalen Islands, Quebec, CANADA. By a tender to the island. We seethe island individually.The following day our ship drops anchor in Bonne Bay on Newfoundland, another province of CANADA. To shore by tender. Next day we anchor in Red Bay in Labrador which is part of Newfoundland province of CANADA. “Maasdam” spends another day on the North Atlantic Ocean before dropping its anchor at Nanortalik in Greenland, dependency of DENMARK. A ship tender brings us to the village. I notice the Greenland flag with rising sun. I walk through the place taking pictures of local kids. No trees or bushes just grass and few flowers like dandelions. Some houses are nice. There are 2,500 people living here. In the whole Greenland there are 56,366 inhabitants.The following day we sail through the Prins Christian Sund bordered by sheer cliffs. Day after is on the ocean with interesting lectures. On Aug 3 we land in Isafjordur innorthwestern corner of ICELAND. My first visit to Iceland since 1969. In the afternoon I take a boat to one of the local islands. I see the “puffins” funny looking birds of the arctic region. Day after we moor in Akureyri on the north coast of the island. The shore excursion takes us to a large waterfall called “Godafoss.” From here to Lake “Myvatn.” In the afternoon we visit a break in the crust where the European and American plates meet. There is a hot water in it. Then we pass used to be sulphur mine and later a power plant run by volcanic steam. Following day, we are at Husavik also on the north coast. We see the small town individually. The day after a stop at Seydisfjordur in a deep fjord on the east coast of the island. Again, we walk through the town individually. The next day we are sailing towards Scotland. On Aug 8 our ship docks in Invergordon in Scotland in UK. During the shore excursion we stop at “Colloden Battle Field,” where the last battle in Great Britten took place on Apr 16, 1746. The second stop is a “Cawdor Castle” sitting in a beautiful garden still run by the Cawdor family. On Aug 9 “Maasdam” anchors at South Queensferry near the famous cantilever bridge on Firth of Forth. We get to shore by a local boat. Buses take us to “Falkirk Wheel” (from 2002), which amazingly connects two vertically distant canals. We experience it on a canal boat, which takes us to the near Antonie Wall built by Romans in 142AD. There is a walk to one of the wall fortification, Rough Castle. Past a castle where Mary Queen of Scots was born we return to our ship. After a sea day, when a sick passenger was extracted from “Maasdam” by a helicopter,the ship docks in Rotterdam, NETHERLANDS on Aug 11. Here most of the passengers leave and new board the ship. Today shore excursion takes us through Rotterdam and on the levees outside the city. That brings us to “Kinderdijk Windmills.” There used to be some 10 thousand windmills throughout this country. There are about 1,000 now. We get full explanation of past and present use of windmills. By a different route back to Rotterdam. Then “Maasdam”leaves Rotterdam through the Maas River into the North Sea and to the English Channel. We continue sailing also the next sea day. On Aug 13 our ship drops anchor at Dunmore East in IRELAND. By tender to the shore. Our bus takesus to Waterford. There used to be a famous glass company here, but this spring it was closed. Then we go to town Inistioge and stop at “Woodstock Gardens.” From here we drive to New Ross, the place Kennedy family came from. There is an Irish show on the ship in the afternoon. The following day our ship is moored at a pier in Liverpool, England (UK). I take a bus tour to “Conway Castle” in the town of Conway in Wales (UK). After about 30 min. we cross to Wales. An hour later we are in Conway encircled by a 1.2km wall. Above it is now ruined “Conway Castle” built by the English king Edward I. and finished in 1287. This king built several castles to stop the Welsh attacking the English. On Aug 15 “Maasdam” docks in Greenock, west of Glasgow, Scotland (UK). For the shore excursion I picked up a trip to “Stirling Castle.” Our bus needs 1.5-hr to get there.A fortress used to be here.The current buildings date between 14th and 16thcenturies, when it was a residence of Stuart monarchs. It is the grandest of all Scottish castles. We get a full sightseeing tour of the castle. Mary Queen of Scots was crowned here. After our return, our shipdeparts Greenock. Next day it sails the Atlantic Ocean north. On Aug 17 “Maasdam” lands at Torshavn on Faroe Islands,dependency of DENMARK. A shuttle bus takes me through harbor to town. The sightseeing is on my feet. The town is on inclines leading to the harbor. Faroe Islands are fully autonomous region of Denmark and with their own currency. Faroe Islands and Greenland are not part of EU though Denmark is. I am walking around the town making pictures. On the end I visit a grass covered fortress with a lighthouse and a great view of the town and its harbor. Overnight our ship reaches a small town Djupivogur on the southeastern coast of ICELAND. Tenders take us to shore. I spend about an hour walking here before I return to ship. After lunch on Aug 19 “Maasdam” docks in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland. Afternoon a bus takes people from ship to city. I browse through the city on my own. I am thinking about the 2 days I spent here 40 years ago. By chance I come to the building of Salvation Army. I slept in Salvation Army hotel that time, but I don’t recognize this building. Inside I ask in reception, if this building was here 40 years ago. A young man tells me that it was. It was built in 1912. The following day I am taking part in a bus tour outside Reykjavik. First stop at the greenhouses in Hveragerdi, then through Selfoss a place I traveled to 40 years ago looking for waterfall (foss) I did not find it. A photo stop at Kerid volcano. Another one at a two-storeyed Gullfoss waterfall. It is very impressive. We have lunch at Geyser Hotel near the famous Geyser. All geysers got their name from this one. In the afternoon we see the rift valley where American and European plates move from each other. There is a place here, where the Icelandic Parliament met first time in 930AD. Back inReykjavík we stop at “Perlan.” It is a glass building from where the hot volcanic water is pumped through the city. There is a museum, shops, and a restaurant in it. From its roof there is 360 degview of the city. Next day we sailwest. On Aug 22 in the afternoon our ship navigates the “Prins Christian Sund.”The following day we anchor at Qaqortog village with 3,500 people at the southern tip of Greenland,which is an autonomous part of DENMARK.After tender brings me to shore, I do some walking with my cameras in the harbor and the village. Again, I make few photos of children. Then we have another ocean day with lectures. On Aug 25 “Maasdam” drops anchor off the northern tip of Newfoundland, a province of CANADA. A tender takes us to a village St. Anthony. From there by bus to the visitor center of “L’Anse aux Meadows.” A foundations of a 1000-year old Viking village was excavated here. We get 2.5 hours to see the visitor center, the foundations of the Viking village and a make-believe village showing the life 1000 years ago here. Next day we dock in St. John’s, which is the capital of Newfoundland province. There is a bus tour of the city and its vicinity. In the morning on Aug 27 our ship should anchor off the coast of 2 French islands, St. Pierre and Miquelon. They are the last vestiges of once large French possessions in North America. However, the first I hear from intercom this morning is that for bad weather and few other excuses we can’t anchor there, and the visit of the islands is canceled. I don’t want to believe it. The weather is beautiful, and we are far from any land. The cruise companies use this excuse to prolong its ocean going to keep their stores and casinos open and get more income. While in harbor all above must be closed. I am very disappointed, I complain to the staff, but nothing would help. So today and tomorrow we are on the ocean. In the morning on Aug 29 “Maasdam” docks in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, and our cruise is over. In midmorning I take a taxi to my hotel in the city. It is often raining over next 2 days. With an umbrella I do some sightseeing of the city on foot. On Aug 31 in the afternoon I take a taxi to the airport. I fly from Boston on United Airlines plane to Los Angeles. In LA I get a car at AVIS and drive home to Vista where before midnight. Travel office: Holland America Line (HAL) with help from Spiekermann Travel Service Who took part: “Maasdam” can take 1,258 passengers and 560 crew members Maasdam: 55,451 gross tons, length 720ft. (220m), width 101ft. (31m), max speed 21k