Portugal, Cascais and Sintra

Jim and Sherryl at Cascais, the first stop of two on this tour.


Statue of Don Pedro I in square at Cascais.


Sintra's Palacio Nacional




Sintra

Happy Thanksgiving

From our small family gathering of thankful people. This was our smallest Thanksgiving gathering ever. Planned to have more people but travel and illnesses kept our T'giving small this year.





Perky thinks she's a dog. She loves to play with balls.

Las Palmas, Grand Canary

I love to photograph churches. This is probably the neatest cathedral I have seen other than Notre Dame in Paris ... and the tour bus went right by it without stopping! Nothing we saw was even close to as neat as this! I managed only to get a couple of shots from the bus. With cropping, this one turned out pretty good.


Gargoyles everywhere.


I also like to photograph stained glass from the inside of churches. This had a more modern look than most we saw.


A view of our ship from shore.


The Queen Elizabeth II was with us in two ports, including Las Palmas.


Peggy and Sherryl as the ship leaves port.

It's Snowing in Springfield

Interrupting our cruise reports for this weather flash. It will be a cold Thanksgiving in the Ozarks.

Canary Islands, Arecife

All of the islands, which belong to Spain and are off the coast of Africa, are different. Arecife is entirely volcanic.


Camels were introduced to the island and remain as an attraction. Here are Jim and Sherryl in front of us, before their camel stood up. That's our camel in the foreground.






They call that a lake behind Jim and Sherryl.


Back to the ship for new adventures.

Berber Oasis of Tiout in Morocco

Peggy and Sherryl with friend in Agadir, before going to the oasis.



Berber Band.


Washing facilities.



Some of the scenes here seem more reminiscent of South America than Africa.


Good-bye, Morocco.

Amazing Tree-Climbing Goats of Morocco

We had Casablanca removed from our itinerary due to "safety concerns," a huge disappointment for all passengers. It was the number one port the four of us, and many others, wanted to see. Felt the cruise line should have offered something in return, but no. Still, the trip to Agadir, Morroco and nearby was great.

On a tour to Tiout, we stopped to see some goats. Big deal, huh? This is one of the most incredible sights I have seen in my travels.


Here, and here only we were told, goats climb argan trees, a main source of income for locals. The argan trees are hardy and grow where little else will, becoming the only food available for goat herds. The argan berries can't be reached from the ground so the goats have adapted, learning to climb and easily balance on thin limbs in order to reach the fruit.

A post-digestion gathering process eventually leads to argan oil which is sold for health and beauty.


Amazing to see.

Malaga, Spain

The Roman Theatre in Malaga. There are lots of old Roman sites throughout Spain. This one was discovered in 1951.



The Alcazaba, Moorish fortress.


Peg and the Plaza de Toros.


Ken at the Plaza de Toros.


We walked back to the ship along Malaga's beach. La Malagueta is the more modern part of town south of the bullring, including the beach.



A sleek, well-fed "sea cat." Spaniards take care of their public felines.

On Board

Us on the first Dress Up or Not night.

Barcelona

Our first full day we walked Las Ramblas in the city.


The statuary and architecture are impressive.



Every church has its own array of art.


The Cristobal Colon (Christopher Columbus) monument in the Placa Portal de la Pau in the harbor.