15th November After leaving Kristiansand on Sunday we sailed up the the west coast of Norway crossing into the Arctic Circle towards Tromso. The Sunday night was choppy to say the least with a Force 9 blowing and 6 - 8 metre swells. Monday morning brought calmer conditions and the captain apologised for the 'potholes' in the night. We arrive in Tromso early morning Wednesday 15th and depart for Alta early morning (3.30 am) on the 16th. Apart from the inclement weather on the sail up to Tromso we had a showing of the Northern Lights in the late evening of Tuesday, we were able to glimpse a quick peak before it calmed down. One of the things to get to grips with is that sunrise is 09.30 am and sunset is 01.30 pm, we left ... read more

On our way to pick up a cruise to Norway via a stopover in Winchester. A quick cruise up to the Arctic Circle to try and spot the Northern Lights in Alta, Norway. Just four Norwegian ports. Cheers... read more

Las Palmas 16th June Gran Canaria is (another) volcanic island with deep valleys, volcanic cones and a picturesque landscape. The main city and heart is the port and capital Las Palmas, we were here back in 2004 and could not recall what wedid!!!! Must be old age setting in. Gran Canaria is one of the most popular islands in the Canaries, mainly because of sandy beaches, the landscape is probably less dramatic than its neighbours such as Tenerife and Lanzarote but its place in history is right up there!! Pause for history lesson. Originally the islands were the thought to be the last vestiges of Atlantis but recent discoveries suggest that they have been inhabited since the Bronze Age. The original inhabitants were the Guanches, a native race who for years resisted the Spanish from conquering ... read more

Madeira We have been to Madeira many times, normally at the beginning of the year so it was great to be back when some of gardens were in full bloom. The cruise is focussed on the flower festivals on the islands so it was off on a tour to see two of them. By the way as usual a half a day in each garden was not nearly enough to do the places justice. Gardens are open throughout the year and welcome visitors. Our first garden was on the Palheiro Estate known more famously as Blandys garden is one of the most beautiful gardens in Madeira Island, today they form part of the Estate which includes a Hotel, Golf course, the Palheiro Village and Florialis orchid nurseries. The land first belonged to the Count of Carvalhal ... read more

1st May Ponta Delgada Our final port of call was Ponta Delgada on the island Sao Miguel, Azores. This is a remote Portuguese archipelago some 760 miles west of Lisbon in the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of nine islands in three groups and was first settled by Gonçalo Valho Cabral in 1439, there is a statue of him at the city gates. The land commands a high price because of its fertility, dairy products, live cattle are the most important trades along with beet-sugar, alcohol and pineapples. Ponta Delgada has narrow and cobbled winding streets and in lots of ways reminded us of Funchal, Madeira. A lot of the buildings are whitewashed and have wooden balconies. The streets are paved with mosaics and there are churches at most street corners (or so it seemed). We wandered ... read more