We went on a Mediterranean cruise for our third! major vacation of the year. We flew WestJet to Calgary and then on to London.
We took a walk around Southampton before our cruise check-in. Check-in was much quicker and simpler than for the Alaska cruise. Our ship this time was the Island Princess.
Storm Ciaran was approaching England when we departed so the captain went full throttle all the way to Gibraltar, skipping our scheduled stop in La Coruna, Spain. The ship listed significantly to port during one of the 70 mph squalls! Once in Gibraltar, we hiked the Mediterranean Steps to the top of The Rock. Jebel Musa in Morocco was visible and we saw a monkey. Therefore, the tour guide said we couldn't get our money back!
The sun was setting as we sailed away from Gibraltar. Jebel Musa is in the clouds on the left. Together they are the Pillars of Hercules.
In Cartagena, Spain, our excursion went through the old city to a Roman amphitheater and the baths next door, then on to the Civil War shelter. After lunch back at the ship, we went on our own tour. Guided by Organic Maps: the Arsenal and the Capitania General Garden were photogenic but not open to tourists, Monte Sacro was inaccessable to the public while the temple is being restored, the bullring built on top of a Roman amphitheater is also inaccessable due to restoration. We had to settle for supertelephoto shots of the windmill on Sacre Mont and the autopsy pavilion next to the bullring/amphitheater. Actually, the autopsy pavilion is now an art gallery.
Because our La Coruna excursion was missed, we had a credit. We decided to use it on a Palma excursion rather than a Salerno excursion. Lucky choice! The 7 km seaside promenade to the old city of Palma is closed for construction! Our bus dropped us off at La Seu (Mallorca Cathedral) and the Royal Palace of La Almudaina. After being refused entrance to the cathedral, we walked down to the shops and Sa Llotja (The Exchange). Sa Llotja is sometimes used as an art gallery. It was also used for wartime storage. Castle Bellver is a circular castle at the top of Palma. It houses a museum now, but it was a prison until fairly recently.
Us on the second formal night!
We learned a lot about auto traffic in Sicily on our bus ride from Palermo to Monreale during morning rush hour. Double and triple parking is tolerated, scooter riders have no fear, and lanes are just a suggestion. Once in Monreale, we saw the Duomo di Monreale cathedral. The Norman king who commissioned its construction had a lot more money (gold) than the bishop who started the Palermo Cathedral 11 years later. After the Palermo Cathedral, we left the guided tour to explore on our own. We saw more churches!
The excursions for the port of Salerno were mostly long drives to Pompeii or Sorrento, so we went on our own to Castle Arechi. Organic Maps was mostly right on the route. Only one locked gate. I thought it was wrong when it told us to go into the apartment building undergoing renovations but, yes, there is a public elevator inside the private apartment building! On the way down, we stopped at the Salerno Cathedral. When Ellen got back to the ship, her phone said 12,000 steps. We took photos of some of them.
Our departure excursion was to St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City. St. Peter's is a very big building (250,000 square feet) in a very small country (121 acres).
