Our third Viking port of call was Puntarenas, Costa Rica. As usual, several excursion choices were offered. We chose one entitled “Walk in the Clouds.” We boarded a bus for an hour’s drive from the coast up to the highlands of the central valley running through the country. Our Costa Rican tour guide spoke for[…]
Following our first port of Cabo San Lucas and three days at sea, our second port of call on the Viking world cruise was the famous tourist city Puerto Vallarta. Puerto Vallarta is the capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco, a state which is approximately the size of South Carolina. Tourism is its main[…]
In this blog I will share photos from several ports that did not receive blogs dedicated to them. After the photos, I summarize my thoughts and lasting impressions of the world cruise.
This blog will offer photos from four Italian cities: Sorrento, Ostia, Pisa, and Lucca.
The Greeks affected the whole world with their ideas, foremost among them the concept of democratic rule. Greece gave rise to philosophers including Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Greek architecture was adopted first by the Romans, but later around the world, including the columns seen in US government buildings in Washington DC. The Greek language gave rise to words in science, religion, and history that have been adopted by other countries’ languages around the world.
There are many hamams in Istanbul, both ancient and modern. The hamam we visited was built in 1741 and bills itself as the last hamam constructed during Ottoman Empire.
As I’ve stated before, one should not equate a country’s government with its people. Often there is a big gap between the political aims of the government versus the character and traditions of its people.
The Pyramids were constructed between 2600-2500 BC. That means that they are the oldest manmade structures in the world.
Karnak Temple in Luxor, Egypt, is the second most visited Egyptian tourist site after the pyramids. Karnak is said to be the largest walled temple complex in the world, built, decorated, and modified by over thirty different pharaohs over a period starting around 2000 BC for the next 1300 years.
Wadi Rum is the landscape used in the hit movie The Martian (starring Matt Damon) and countless other movies.