Greetings, dear pals! I’m back from a world cruise! That’s right, a literal cruise around the literal, actual world. It was amazing. It was intense. It was exhausting. And obviously I took my camera with me, to document the entire thing.
So where did the world cruise actually go? Well, we set off from Hamburg, Germany, at the beginning of November, and sailed across the Atlantic Ocean (choppy, not particularly fun), then down the east coast of North America. From there we crossed the Panama Canal and then travelled back up the west coast as far as San Francisco, heading over to Hawaii just before Christmas. (In fact, I spent Christmas Day somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.) After New Years Eve in Honolulu we continued towards South Korea, then travelled down the coast of Japan towards South East Asia.
We sailed on up to Sri Lanka, then had a few stops in the Indian Ocean before we reached South Africa. Skedaddling around the Cape of Good Hope, the ship sailed on to Namibia, up the coast of west Africa, and finally reached European soil again in the form of the Canary Islands. (Hello, old friends.) After one last European stop in Lisbon, we made it back to Hamburg by the middle of March. Four and a half months, door to door!
I’ll get round to writing each port up, travelogue style, over the next few months, but in the meantime I’m sharing four pictures from each and every port that I managed to see. I say managed to see, because crew members aren’t generally allowed outside in every port. Sad but true: it’s mandatory for us to stay on the ship for one out of every four ports we dock at, so that if there’s an emergency we can help save the ship. And in Miami, not a single crew member was allowed outside, because Florida’s immigration officers said so. So there.
Isle of Portland, England.
A pretty Autumn day in the seaside town of Weymouth, during which I mainly stocked up on snacks at M&S, and toiletries at Boots. You can’t go wrong with Boots points, can you? I rounded off the day with a stroll along the beach and a slap-up fish and chips meal, which for a Brit on her last day in England is actually supremely important. I’ll have you know.
Reading: Persuasion by Jane Austen
Watching: On Chesil Beach
Halifax, Canada.
For half the Atlantic crossing, one of our dancers thought we were on the way to Scotland. I could see his logic though, when I realised Halifax is in Nova Scotia, which literally does mean ‘New Scotland.’ They even play the bagpipes and dance the highland fling here. We booked a good old Get Your Guide trip to beautiful Peggy’s Cove to see its picturesque lighthouse. Freezing cold, wrapped up warm, wonderful. Then back to Halifax’s waterfront for lunch.
Reading: The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
New York City, New York, USA.
I’ve been to New York a few times before, but sailing in at sunrise was definitely the most spectacular way to enter the city. We had a beaut time exploring the city from high and low- literally, because we snuck into a friend of a friend’s worplace at the Rockefeller Center- and rounded off the first evening with Death Becomes Her. What a hilarious show all round, I tell ya! The next day I was off for an Autumnal stroll around Central Park, before our sunset departure. It turns out, Autumn in New York might just be my favourite.
Reading: Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors
Watching: The Marvelous Mrs Maisel
Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
Back in warm weather at last. Years ago, given a choice between Charleston and Savannah, we opted for Savannah (which I highly recommend). So it was lovely to finally see this gorgeous Southern city. The one sight that we desperately wanted to see was the American Theater where The Notebook was filmed, and after that spent the day mostly shopping for Secret Santa gifts. If I’m honest though, the gift hunt transformed into more of a rooftop bar crawl, featuring plenty of frosé. 10/10, would definitely recommend.
Reading: The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Watching: The Notebook
Miami, Florida, USA.
Shock horror of horror shocks: in Miami, not a single crew member was allowed to disembark the ship to explore. (Even the girl who needed medical attention). The only exceptions were the four US citizens, who had a marvellous time out in the city! You know what, though? Having visited Miami back in my early twenties, I wasn’t too sad to miss out on this occasion. And the sunset from the ship as we were about to sail away was absolutely stunning.
Reading: Swamplandia! by Karen Russell
Watching: The Assassination of Gianni Versace
Cozumel, Mexico.
Cozumel is an island off the coast of Mexico, and one of the country’s most popular cruise destinations. Today was one of my fellow singers’ turn to plan, and as a seasoned cruiser he led us to a resort hotel for a day far, far away from our passengers, relaxing by the pool. I’ll be honest: this isn’t my normal way to see a destination for the first time (i.e., not to really see it at all), but we had a bloomin’ marvellous day, and I know I’ll return to Mexico to explore properly one day.
Reading: Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
Watching: Frida
Belize City, Belize.
My first time in Belize, and what a day this was! We headed out on a crew tour (that’s a discounted tour just for crew members) to the ancient Mayan ruins at Lamanai, which is a couple of hours from the port. These temples are truly astounding, and the fact that we had to travel by boat, and then trek through the rainforest to reach them, made it all the more exciting. On a side note, there’s something slightly unnerving about hearing howler monkeys echo through the trees as you approach an ancient temple.
Reading: Beka Lamb by Zee Edgell
Puerto Limón, Costa Rica.
Back in good old Puerto Limón, a Costa Rican port I know well. I joined a crew tour again, for a stroll through a banana plantation, a trip to the sloth sanctuary, and a boat ride to spot sloths in the wild on the Tortuguero River. I’ve visited several of these places before, but it was really nice to go back after several years. This is one astounding country.
Watching: The Americas with Simon Reeve
Colón, Panama.
Another place I’ve visited many a time before, the port of Colón is, in all honesty, kind of a scary place. It’s also quite crazy to see the apparent difference in general living standards between Colón, in the north, and Panama City, in the south. It only takes about an hour to drive between the two, so we headed over to explore Casco Viejo, Panama City’s beautiful old town, for the day.
Reading: The Great Divide by Cristina Henríquez
Watching: The Laundromat
Panama Canal, Panama.
Call me crazy, but I genuinely felt pretty astonished to be crossing the Panama Canal. Just before the pandemic I travelled the Suez Canal, but this canal operates with locks and is a whole different ball game. It took us the best part of a day to travel the length of the canal, and at its narrowest sections there are mere centimetres between the ship and the walls of the canal. Crazy.
Reading: The Tailor of Panama by John Le Carré
Puntarenas, Costa Rica.
After we’d found a taxi driver to negotiate a deal, he drove us across to the Tárcoles River, which is chockablock full of crocodiles. As fun as it was to be on a boat on the river, I thought we’d made a bit of a mistake in what we chose to do: the boat was so close to the crocodiles at times that we were practically on top of them, and the driver encouraged passengers to touch the sunbathing beasts. Up until then, I’ve always had a really positive experience with tour companies in Costa Rica, but this was not the one. We headed back to the beach town of Puntarenas to try Churchills- the local speciality- and then made our way back to the ship.
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
I know I only went to two very touristy destinations in Mexico, but quite frankly I can’t wait to return. We had a downright glorious morning in Puerto Vallarta, and I was genuinely devastated that we had to leave so early. This seaside city is beautiful, and we managed to finally get a bit more of a glimpse of actual Mexico (unlike our first wonderful but very un-Mexican day in Cozumel.)
Reading: On the Plain of Snakes by Paul Theroux
Watching: Coco
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
I have to be honest: Cabo was a drive-by situation, not an actual destination. I had no idea that we were sailing past the jagged cliffs and sandy beaches of Playa del Amor until I went upstairs to have my morning coffee and was astounded by what I saw. So, although I’ve never been to Cabo (of spring break fame), I can confirm that this beach is beautiful. I also spotted plenty of seals around the shore, and as we sailed away from the coastline: whales!
Watching: Y Tu Mama También
San Diego, California, USA.
What a stunner of a city, is San Diego! The last time I visited was back in 2012, and it was really lovely to return and explore with my pal Kate. After a delicious brunch in Little Italy, we walked (yes, walked), all the way up to Balboa Park, and then headed back through Down Town San Diego towards the waterfront. Sunset tacos, and an evening stroll past the USS Midway completed the day. To top it all off, the city was decorated all ready for a Californian Christmas.
Watching: Almost Famous
Los Angeles, California, USA.
LA is one crazy, crazy city, and we had a really full on day exploring. I spent a week here on my USA trip in 2012, so these Californian ports were truly like a walk down memory lane. The port is actually miles from the city, so a group of us spent the day hopping from one place to the next, in some of the most beautiful light I’ve seen in yonks. We had a misty start at the Griffith Observatory, skedaddled down Hollywood Boulevarde to Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, Ubered over to Rodeo Drive to watch my pal who was carol singing dressed as a Victorian lady (true story), and then walked from Santa Monica Pier to Venice Beach. It was intense, it was kind of crazy, but you know what: it was a brilliant day, and the Uber drivers were chatty and hilarious.
Reading: Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid, and The Tortilla Curtain by T.C.Boyle
Watching: Pretty Woman
San Francisco, California, USA.
We had three rainy days in San Francisco, following a quick 360º spin underneath the Golden Gate Bridge. (What a daredevil, Capitan.) Kate and I took the tram to the cinema for Wicked: For Good, and on the second and third days I enjoyed a bit of solo time strolling around the city. I stumbled across the absolute gem that is the Coit Tower, wandered through North Beach during a power cut, and had a lovely walk through Chinatown in the drizzling rain. To keep the Christmas spirit alive, mid-Secret Santa hunt (yep, that was ongoing), I had a peek around the Fairmont Hotel, home to some of the most extravagant decor I’ve ever seen. It may be San Francisco, not NYC, but it still had very Home Alone vibes, you know?
Reading: Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion
Watching: Mrs Doubtfire
Hilo, Hawaii, USA.
I was in luck with Hawaii, pals: the two ports I couldn’t get off at- Kauai and Honolulu– were places I’d already visited solo in 2018. Christmas had been and gone, and Hilo was my first Hawaiian port of call, on Big Island. We spent an evening in Hilo itself, eating shave ice and checking out a speakeasy, and booked ourselves onto a Get Your Guide tour the following day. After a pitstop at Rainbow Falls, our lovely guide took us into Volcanoes National Park, where Kīlauea has been erupting sporadically for a while. Smoke was billowing in one giant plume, and steam rose from vents in the ground around us. It was really, really cool to witness.
Reading: Hula by Jasmin Iolani Hakes
Watching: Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Kahului, Hawaii, USA.
After a quick supermarket run in the morning (ps, Hawaii is super expensive), we walked to the closest beach. It was choppy, it was kind of chilly, and there was a man sleeping in a shack on the sand. But it was still sort of lovely. In the afternoon, we’d booked onto a crew tour to Īao Valley State Monument, and to a fruit plantation. Public transport in Hawaii isn’t great, so it felt at the time like the best option. Don’t get me wrong, the scenery was wonderful, but the tour was pretty poorly organised and our day on Maui is a prime example of why a cruise is not a great way to visit somewhere.
Reading: Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell
Watching: Lilo and Stitch
Busan, South Korea.
It was a long old crossing to Busan, and even longer because we actually had to turn around and go back to Honolulu for a medical disembarkation. But finally we made it, and discovered that South Korea is in fact bitterly cold in January. What a shock to the system. Our two days in Busan turned into one (because of that longer journey), so we ran outside ASAP and got a taxi up to Gamcheon Culture Village. What a place! It turns out, I love it here! We followed the Gamcheon Stamp Map around the village, and discovered the most bizarre coffee shop I have ever stepped foot in. In fact, the coffee shop made me understand how Squid Game had come out of this country. What a strange place.
Reading: If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha
Watching: Squid Game
Tokyo, Japan.
Can you imagine sailing all the way to Tokyo, one of the most gargantuan and frantic cities in the world, and spending less than twenty four hours there? Well, that’s what I did, pals! I wasn’t allowed off on day two, so I went on a quick jaunt into Shibuya by metro. We wandered up to Meiji Jingū, a peaceful shinto shrine surrounded by forest, and I was so so glad to see a quieter portion of the city as well as the craziness of the Shibuya Crossing. My pal Maria and I wandered the streets, enjoyed a Japanese McDonalds (you can laugh, but I have my reasons), and then got sucked into the absolute sensory overload that is Don Quijote. If you’ve not heard of Don Quijote, it’s a massive discount store filled with anything and everything you could ever need, or not need. Over three hours later, we surfaced. I don’t know how that happened, but it did. That place is like a black hole.
Reading: The Little House by Kyoko Nakajima
Watching: Lost in Translation
Shimizu, Japan.
Shimizu is the Japanese port to visit Mount Fuji from, and we had so much luck here. It may have been cold, but the sky was completely blue and we had the perfect view of the snow-capped volcano from Miho no Matsubara, which is rare. After chancing upon a teeny tiny Japanese cafe where the owner thrust handfuls of sweets into our hands as she said goodbye, we hopped on a bus to the pine groves and beach where you can get the perfect view of Fuji. We took the ferry back to the port, and then I had a little solo wander through the market before heading back.
Reading: Lost Japan by Alex Kerr
Watching: Spirited Away
Kobe, Japan.
Instead of sticking to Kobe, I spent two days exploring Osaka, which is a short train ride away. It probably has something to do with the fact that I had longer here, but pals, I loved Osaka. Our first afternoon and evening was spent in Nakazakicho, a quieter part of the city with hipster vibes. I love exploring less-visited locations, so I was glad I’d managed to find it. The next day we visited the Namba Yasaka Shrine, ate kobe beef in Shinsekai, and walked through some lovely residential areas to reach Osaka Castle. It was a day filled with street food, too; I already knew I was a fan of dorayaki thanks to the box that Sakuraco sent me to sample, so it was nice to try one fresh.
Reading: Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
Watching: Rental Family
Naha, Okinawa, Japan.
I had never heard of Okinawa, but it’s a place I absolutely have to return to. The weather wasn’t amazing, but these are actually tropical islands which are culturally and economically very different from the rest of Japan. Okinawa island is also weirdly full of US military bases, and the affect this has had on the life of its citizens is quite shocking. I was intrigued. Although the rest of the island looks stunning, we stuck to the town and were happy wandering through the market, eating 10/10 ramen, and finished up with a lovely shinto shrine on the cliffs.
Reading: Why Are We In Okinawa? A History of Violence by Jon Mitchell
Watching: Hacksaw Ridge
Ishigaki, Japan.
Like Okinawa, Ishigaki fascinated me because I knew so little about it. This is another tropical island, and one that I absolutely have to return to (when the weather is slightly more on my side.) It was another wandering-and-eating kind of a day, which we really needed after the franticness of Tokyo and Osaka. When you’re working too, the tiredness really does get you. The highlight of the day was definitely the souffle pancakes we tried in the market. Good god they were mouthwatering.
Taipei, Taiwan.
Oh my goodness. I love Taiwan. Who knew!? We took the train into Taipei and started off with a walk up the steps of Elephant Mountain in the extremely humid air. The views are glorious, although I’d definitely advise checking the temperature because we were not prepared for the heat. Luckily we found a great spot for bubble tea at the bottom: they invented it in Taiwan, don’t ya know? We had a jolly old time navigating metros across the city, discovering various intriguing areas, and finished off with an evening trip to the Lungshan Temple and the nearby night market. (A word of warning: do not inhale when you see the fermented tofu. I don’t think I’ve ever smelled anything so horrendous in all my days.)
Reading: Green Island by Shawna Yang Ryan
Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
This city is brilliant. We taxied over to the Lotus Pond, a man-made lake whose shores a dotted with temples and pagodas. These temples are almost verging on the tacky: giant tigers, dragons and people seem Disneyland-esque, but they’re very much real life, pals! From there we nipped over to the warehouse district. This whole area, which once house railway carriages, is now one artistic hotspot, and there were loads of market stalls set up. Spotting a group of lovely Taiwanese grandmas who were painting Chinese New Year decorations, we asked if we could join them. And pals, they were only too happy to oblige! What a day.
Reading: Mr Chow’s Night Market by Emily Sun Li
Hong Kong, China.
I thought I was going to love Hong Kong. And in a way, I did. But I also found it really frustrating to navigate, and overwhelmingly filled with shopping malls, and that made it a teeny bit exhausting. We had two days here, so spent the first evening drinking cocktails at the Ozone Bar at the Ritz Carlton and eating dim sum. Day two was spent dashing around the city- from Victoria Peak via Peak Tram, to the beautiful aviary in Hong Kong Park, down Antique Street and over to the Monster Building.
Reading: The Piano Teacher by Janice Y K Lee
Watching: Expats
Ha Long Bay, Vietnam.
I had an amazing time sailing through Ha Long Bay with my pals a few years ago, and quite frankly I had no hope of topping that joyous experience. I was allowed outside for one morning of our two days docked here, so just stuck to the vicinity of the port. My main objectives were to get a coconut coffee and a banh mi, and that is precisely what I did. Mission, accomplished.
Reading: The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
Watching: Miss Saigon
Da Nang, Vietnam.
Da Nang is another city I visited a few years ago on my trip through Vietnam, and I really, really love it here. However, the pretty town of Hoi An is about an hour away, and we decided to head over for the day to explore; my last visit was short so it was great to be back. The old town is a super touristy place, but for good reason, and we loved exploring (and eating). We booked ourselves onto a lantern-making workshop, which was hilarious, and then returned to Da Nang and a mysterious cocktail bar that Joshua found.
Reading: The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Hue, Vietnam.
Hue is the closest port to the capital city of Ho Chi Minh, but it might surprise you to discover that crew members aren’t actually allowed to visit. In fact, officially we’re only allowed within a certain radius of the port. (That doesn’t mean that some people didn’t risk it, but as the city is actually quite a long journey away, we decided to leave it.) Instead, we had a very chill day exploring Hue. This is not a big tourist destination by any means, but I think that’s partly why I actually really enjoyed the day! We explored the streets, grabbed some food and a coffee, and walked through a local market with a big old pile of snakes for sale.
Reading: The Sympathizer by Viet Than Nguyen
Watching: Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations
Singapore.
Singapore is another destination that I was really surprised by. There is so much to do here, and we had several days to explore. From different neighbourhoods like Chinatown, Little India and Glam Pong, to the so-called ‘must-sees’ like the Gardens By the Bay, it felt like there was something different around every corner. I loved eating at the hawker centres, and we had a beautiful evening in the opulent Atlas Bar which is inspired by the Art Deco era.
Reading: Ponti by Sharlene Teo
Watching: Crazy Rich Asians
Port Klang, Malaysia.
We were off on another crew tour in Port Klang, this time to Malaysia’s capital city: Kuala Lumpur. First up we edged our way through crazy traffic to reach the Batu Caves. These cavernous caves are reached by climbing a colourful and extremely steep staircase guarded by some rather terrifying monkeys, and we visited just after the Thaipusam Festival which explained the crazy crowds. There was so much to see here that I was frankly enthralled. From there we drove into the city and the Petronas Towers, where the streets were being prepared for the Malaysia Moto GP.
Reading: The Harmony Silk Factory by Tash Aw
Watching: Tiger Stripes
Phuket, Thailand.
Back in beautiful Thailand for a mere day, and what a day it was! Docking in Patong on the island of Phuket, we hired a scooter from one of the many scooter hire shops and drove on out of the city to see what we could find. We hopped from beach to beach (discovering Russian tourists galore, whaddya know), and viewpoint to elephant-filled temple. My previous Thai time was solely focused on Bangkok, so it was nice to see a bit of countryside and nature.
Reading: The Beach by Alex Garland
Watching: The White Lotus Season 3
Hambantota, Sri Lanka.
Hambantota is so full of animals that I didn’t even know which way to look. This very rural part of Sri Lanka is stunning, but was also tricky to research before we arrived. As a result, we stuck to a crew tour which I was in two minds about and still am. We drove several hours to an elephant sanctuary within Udawalawe National Park, and although the scenery was stunning, we would probably have had more of an experience had we just stuck to the Hambantota area.
Reading: A Disobedient Girl by Ru Freeman
Colombo, Sri Lanka.
I wasn’t sure what I was going to make of Colombo, but I found this city completely intriguing. I also have never seen such crowds, or inhaled such a high concentration of traffic fumes, as on the streets of this city. It was pretty overwhelming. We started off with Sri Lankan breakfast near the sea, and then hopped in a tuk tuk to take us to a weird and wonderful temple in the city. After a quick trip up the Lotus Tower we walked along the lake and then up to the iconic Red Mosque. There was a moment of terror when we thought we might not be back on board in time (it’s a serious offence, pals), but made it just as the sun went down.
Reading: Elephant Complex by John Gimlette
Malé, Maldives.
The Maldives is a super conservative country consisting of over 1000 islands, with a capital city that takes up the entire surface area of one small island. If you’re a woman, you can’t just strip off and throw yourself in the sea in Malé. Instead, you need to get in a boat and head to one of the resort islands, and the most affordable way for us to do this was to join a crew tour. The island was incredible, the beaches were stunning, and the water was crystal clear. (We also saw plenty of very gentle sharks.) But I witnessed absolutely nothing of Maldivian culture or life; obviously this was a resort filled with westerners, built in a very western style. I felt so lucky to be there, but can I really say I’ve been to the Maldives? It’s a question I’m still pondering today.
Watching: The Island President
Victoria, Seychelles.
How I love the Seychelles, pals. I was lucky enough to spend several months docking here before the pandemic began, so I was so happy to be back even with some seriously damp weather to deal with. After waiting for the worst of the rain to blow over, we took the local bus from Victoria to Beau Vallon beach. The waves were incredibly choppy but it was still lovely to get in the sea for an attempted swim. We also had a really lovely brush with an incredibly kind local man- and it was a great reminder that humans are in general, lovely lovely people!
Watching: Indian Ocean with Simon Reeve
Le Port, La Réunion.
A word of advice, pals: don’t dock in La Réunion on a Sunday. The interior of La Réunion is stunning, and I’ve been on several amazing hikes across mountains and through villages here. I wasn’t really up for joining a bus tour to just watch the scenery roll by outside, public buses weren’t running, and the nearby car hire office seemed well and truly closed. The taxis at the port all charged upwards of €100 to get to the nearest town (where everything was closed), so we decided to just head out on a walk. Where to? Well, to the only place for miles around that was open: McDonalds. You know what though: I was still happy to be outside, and roaming the residential streets of Le Port that I hadn’t visited yet even after spending so much time there in the past.
Reading: The Rarest Fruit by Gäelle Bélem
Durban, South Africa.
In Durban we ventured out on a crew tour for a whistlestop ride through the city- first off to the Victoria Street Market which was filled with so many incredible Zulu objects that I became quite overwhelmed with excitement. The highlight of the day was definitely the beautiful botanical gardens, although there were definitely a few hairy situations with some very tense monkeys.
Reading: Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), South Africa.
Never did I ever think I’d have the opportunity to go on safari in South Africa, but here we were: out and about in the most luscious greenery I’ve seen in a long while. We went with a local company which was set up by an ex-crew member and her husband, and were so so lucky to spot lions, elephants, hippos and giraffes. We stayed through sunset and right into the night, and then became incredibly concerned that we wouldn’t get back to the ship in time. We did it, with two minutes to spare.
Reading: Alarm Girl by Hannah Vincent
Cape Town, South Africa.
Cape Town is stunning, although I also think the situation in South Africa is complex and I’d need to spend a lot of time here to even skim the surface. We had a delicious brunch, went on an accidental hike out of the botanical gardens, and then Ubered up to Table Mountain for a stunner of a view and a wonderful groundhog-spotting time. (In fact forget the safari; groundhogs are most certainly my new favourite animals.)
Reading: Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
Watching: District 9
Lüderitz, Namibia.
I first saw this (literally) deserted ghost town on a Brian Cox tv programme, about 15 years ago, and was fascinated. Kolmanskop was a built by German colonialists who wanted to mine as many diamonds as they possibly could from the area. They did that. And then they left. The town has been abandoned since 1956, and slowly the desert sands have been swallowing the whole thing up. This was definitely the strangest place I saw on the entire world cruise.
Reading: Mama Namibia by Mari Serebrov
Walvis Bay, Namibia.
It was another local taxi day in Walvis Bay, a town which seemed weirdly filled with luxury housing- barely any of which seemed to be inhabited. I was slightly nervous about driving my own quad bike up and down sand dunes, but I didn’t need to be. In fact, I absolutely bloomin’ loved it, didn’t I!? We stopped off at a stunning pink lake on the way back to the ship, and our two days in Namibia made my mind up fully: I really, really like it here.
Reading: The Purple Violet of Oshaantu by Neshani Andreas
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.
Alas, pals! We had one more African stop after Namibia- in Cape Verde- but I was not allowed to explore. Which meant what seemed like a lifetime on board. What can ya do? At long last, we sailed into my old haunt of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, a city I know very well indeed. Completely drained from so many jam-packed days, we settled with a casual walk into the city, a pitstop for a burger, and I had a lovely coffee catch up with a dancer friend who happened to be in Tenerife on another ship that day.
Reading: Notes From the Canary Islands by Camille Lenning
Funchal, Madeira, Portugal.
Oh how I adore Madeira. This is, without a doubt, one of my favourite islands in the world; there’s something for everyone, it’s completely Portuguese, and it seems eternally filled with flowers. After a wander through the city (including chasing a marching band down the street, because I really do love a marching band), we headed on over to our favourite steak on a stone restaurant right by the cruise port. The restaurant has been run by the same man since my first visit in 2017, and I really appreciate going back to say hello whenever we’re in port. (Also, the steak is incredible.)
Lisbon, Portugal.
The final stop before Hamburg! What a time to be alive! Lisbon was looking glorious in the spring, although it was certainly on the damp side, weather-wise. Luckily as this is another city I’ve visited numerous times, the pressure to explore was well and truly off. Praise the lord. We went out for a casual brunch, stocked up on pasteis de nata, and went on a bow tie hunt in the city’s vintage shops for a present for our manager. A chilled but lovely round off to an incredible journey.
Reading: Night Train to Lisbon by Pascal Mercier
So there you have it, pals. I lost count of the number of ports. And I’m pretty sure the overall effect of this round the world trip was what the kids call ‘sensory overload.’ (Especially when you factor in the fact that I was working the entire time as well.) If you’ve got any questions, ask away!
Four and a half months sailing around the actual literal world, with two extra months tacked on to the beginning for rehearsals and general prepping for the journey. What a time to be alive.