Five-Star Mariners Jan and Dick Yetke set sail on Prinsendam’s 64-day Grand Mediterranean Voyage in March, and we’ll catch up as quickly as possible. Enjoy the journey with Jan and Dick!

Because we had to skip Horta in the Azores, the captain got permission for us to go to Bermuda the afternoon ahead of our schedule and dock overnight there. We were all excited about that! We arrived and were docked by about 4 p.m. It was a beautiful sail in as usual — with the turquoise water all around us. Note the photo of the wake.

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Five-Star Mariners Jan and Dick Yetke set sail on Prinsendam’s 64-day Grand Mediterranean Voyage in March, and we’ll catch up as quickly as possible. Enjoy the journey with Jan and Dick!

Horta is the chief town and seaport of the island of Faial, also known as Fayal, Portugal, one of the Azores, in the Atlantic Ocean. It was named Faial (Portuguese for ‘beech wood’) because of the abundance at that time (15th Century) of wax myrtle, mistaken for beech by the Portuguese. Faial is mountainous, rising to 3,000 feet above sea level, and is 14 miles long by 10 miles wide. Fishing, cattle, and farming are the principal occupations. Basket weaving, carving (from the white pith of the fig tree), and lace making (from agave thread) are widely done. Faial is the smallest of the three ‘Triangle Islands’ and an easy island to visit and get around. It has one of the main airports in the Azores and there are several ferries every day to Pico from Horta. When the first transatlantic cables were laid, Horta was the central communication station and many cable company offices were located here.

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Five-Star Mariners Jan and Dick Yetke set sail on Prinsendam’s 64-day Grand Mediterranean Voyage in March, and we’ll catch up as quickly as possible. Enjoy the journey with Jan and Dick!

Now headed back across the Atlantic with just a few stops left. Today we docked in Ponta Delgada, Azores. This is a beautiful island that’s got a very nice town in it.

We signed up for and took the ship’s tour: Whale and Dolphin Safari. This was a three-and-a-half-hour tour out on a Zodiac with 12 seats, two-by-two, facing forward. What an adventure it was!

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Five-Star Mariners Jan and Dick Yetke set sail on Prinsendam’s 64-day Grand Mediterranean Voyage in March, and we’ll catch up as quickly as possible. Enjoy the journey with Jan and Dick!

We arrived in Barcelona for a 2-day stay right on time at 8 a.m. this morning. We love Barcelona! There are many things to see and do in Barcelona. We have taken tours and last year we rode the Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus, which does a great job.

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Five-Star Mariners Jan and Dick Yetke set sail on Prinsendam’s 64-day Grand Mediterranean Voyage in March, and we’ll catch up as quickly as possible. Enjoy the journey with Jan and Dick!

Welcome to Mahon, Minorca, Spain. Minorca is the capital and seaport of the Spanish island of Minorca (or “Menorca”). Minorca is the second largest and easternmost of the Balearic Islands, which are situated off the eastern coast of Spain in the western Mediterranean and form an autonomous region and province of Spain.

So, today was a good biking day for us! We got off the ship and went to the left along the coast. The road lead back out the channel we had just sailed through. We went past a couple little villages and around another little harbor area. Eventually we got to the end of the road so turned around and went back. When getting back to the ship, we walked our bikes up the s-curved road just across from the ship up to the top of the hill where the main town is. We then biked around the main town and eventually along the edge road up on top that provided wonderful views of the ship docked and channel, etc. When it was time to go back, riding down the hill was the best part! Our bike trip was a total of about 6 miles. We had a great day there!

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Five-Star Mariners Jan and Dick Yetke set sail on Prinsendam’s 64-day Grand Mediterranean Voyage in March, and we’ll catch up as quickly as possible. Enjoy the journey with Jan and Dick!

Today we were supposed to visit Alghero, Sardinia, but when we got there, the sea conditions were not great for anchoring and tendering, so the Captain decided to cancel the port stop. There is always that risk when an anchor port is on a cruise schedule. We have not been to Sardinia before but heard it is beautiful so we were looking forward to our day there. But, oh well, better luck next time!!! We were at least able to take some photos from the ship looking to the shore.

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Five-Star Mariners Jan and Dick Yetke set sail on Prinsendam’s 64-day Grand Mediterranean Voyage in March, and we’ll catch up as quickly as possible. Enjoy the journey with Jan and Dick!

This is a port where we go biking! We got off the ship, out the port, and turn right, going along the lovely plaza path along the beach and ocean. It’s very pretty and they are still under construction along there. When you first arrive on the plaza, you see a large statue of a Navy sailor kissing a nurse. It is called “Unconditional Surrender.” This statue is reminiscent of the famous photo taken at the end of World War II in Times Square, New York.

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Topics: Cruise Diary, Grand Voyages, Mariner Voices, Mediterranean, ms Prinsendam | | 1 Comment

Five-Star Mariners Jan and Dick Yetke set sail on Prinsendam’s 64-day Grand Mediterranean Voyage in March, and we’re catching up as quickly as possible. Enjoy the journey with Jan and Dick!

We had a beautiful day here! The ship was anchored in a bay (Naxos) at the base of the Sicilian city of Taormina (high up on the hillside). We took a HAL shore excursion called: Taormina & Mount Etna. Wow, what a great all-day tour that was!

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Topics: Cruise Diary, Grand Voyages, Mariner Voices, Mediterranean, ms Prinsendam, Shore Excursions | | 1 Comment