Waterfalls thunder through the fog and mist when the bodyguards board the bus for our [url=http://myitchytravelfeet.com/2009/02/19/riding-rails-norway-cruise-excursion-baby-boomergone-wrong/] overland excursion from Gudvangen to Flam. Kathryn and many other passengers have chosen to stay on Voyager for the scenic ride up the fjord to Flam. The bus drives through a narrow valley, a UNESCO heritage site, to reach Stalheimskleive, a narrow road that curves through 13 hairpin turns in less than a mile. As I peer out the window at the steep drop-off, our guide says, “We have a loca [View Full Entry]

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The sun shines on small farmsteads nestled among green forests as Voyager sails into Tromso. We’re out on the balcony again and our cameras are clicking. It feels like a return to civilization after a great adventure although we’re still in the far north of Norway. We’ve chosen an excursion to include Kathryn so that she can enjoy some time on land. As we walk to the tour bus, a Sámi woman dressed in the royal blue colors of her native costume walks through the vendor tents set up on the dock. Kathryn asks to check out the goods when our [View Full Entry]

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Capt. Dag takes us sightseeing around the North Cape today. It’s cloudy and cool but passengers are outside on the upper decks snapping photos of Europe’s northernmost point while Voyager waits her turn to berth at Honningsvag. The small town is a staging area for Arctic expeditions and land visits to the North Cape. Our choices for shore excursions include a 22-mile bus trip across the tundra plateau to the North Cape visitor’s center, a bird watching expedition or deep-sea rafting. Alan and I had planned to take the deep-sea rafting trip until our departure was change [View Full Entry]

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It’s almost midnight but the sky is bright outside the windows of the Observation Lounge where excited passengers wait to celebrate their first glimpse of polar ice. Capt. Dag’s voice calls over the ship’s loudspeaker, “Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. We are one hour from the polar ice pack. Unfortunately, there is a medical emergency and I must turn the ship around to meet the rescue helicopter.” As the ship rushes towards medical help, Capt. Dag explains that we have reached Latitude 80 degrees 03”17’ North above the A [View Full Entry]

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A bleak landscape appears outside our balcony. Voyager has arrived in Longyearbyen located on the island of Spitsbergen, part of the Svalbard archipelago. We are halfway between the North Pole and the Norwegian mainland. Once a mining area, oil-drilling drives today’s economy. With four months of midnight sun and four months of polar night, it takes a hardy soul to live here. Alan and I join a group of hikers to begin our ascent of Plateau Mountain. The group is divided into four levels. We choose the next to the slowest group, which means we will probably not have time [View Full Entry]

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As we sail up Geirangerfjord this morning, the ship anchors in Hellesylt. Mountains with gushing waterfalls loom outside our window but it’s too cold for breakfast on the balcony. Some of the passengers tender to Hellesylt for overland excursions to Geiranger including one involving a scenic hike. The bodyguards stay onboard to enjoy breakfast with Kathryn as the ship glides up the fjord offering views of isolated farms and one majestic waterfall after another. When the ship anchors at Geiranger, Alan, Janet and I take the excursion to Splendid Herdal Farm. The bus motors up m [View Full Entry]

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Yesterday, we boarded Regent’s ship, Voyager, for a [url=http://myitchytravelfeet.com/2008/09/19/discover-fjords-waterfalls-and-goat-farms-on-a-cruise-in-norway/] Norwegian cruise that will take us all the way to the polar ice pack. Along the way, the journey will take us to scenic fjords plus provide a glimpse at living above the Arctic Circle. Raindrops fell as we pulled out of Copenhagen putting a damper on picture taking. Groups huddled beneath the overhangs on the pool deck, clinking glasses of champagne to toast the voyage. A large group of internet cruise friends is onbo [View Full Entry]

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The sun may be shining in the Sonoran desert but, this time of year, snow calls to me and I long for a short taste of winter. When I received an email from Hannagan Meadow Lodge with pictures of the white stuff piled beside the Coronado Trail, it was my call to “come play in the snow.” A storm moves across Arizona, causing a household debate. Can we make it to Hannagan Meadow? Will we be stuck there? My longing for snow wins out and Alan and I leave early on a Friday morning. Our route introduces us to a part [View Full Entry]

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The 4:30am wake-up call comes too early for me. But the workshop ends today and we must check out of our motel before leaving for a sunrise photo shoot in Monument Valley. At the park entrance, the ticket booth is closed and parking lot access is blocked. So, we park at the campground across the road. Stepping over the barricades, we walk to a flat, red dirt area that overlooks the valley. Joining a crowd of photographers, our group sets up. Staking out positions, cameras on tripods, we wait for the sun to rise. The purpose is to take a picture [View Full Entry]

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As we leave Page, AZ, the photo workshop stops at one more slot canyon. Upper Antelope Canyon is the slot canyon most tourists visit. If you’ve ever seen a picture of gold, orange and red canyon walls with a shaft of light shining down the center, you’ve seen Upper Antelope Canyon. We pay a $15.00 fee plus $6.00 hiking fee and wait for the truck that will drive us approximately 1 and ½ miles to the canyon’s entrance. Riding on bench seats on the open back of a truck, exposes us to sun and dust. I have to hold my hat [View Full Entry]

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