HaPpY NeW YeAr 2019
from MaRtIn!
The year began for me in Stockholm with a rather wet New Year’s Eve firework display. I was lecturing on board the Saga Sapphire at the time.
After a week back at home, I flew out to Cape Town for a lovely two week cruise on the Boudicca. I enjoyed four mini-safaris and a visit to Groot Constantia vineyard and Kirstenbosch gardens. The highlight was the Scenic Winelands tour to Paarl, Franschoek & Stellenbosch, where I had my finest picnic of all time!
After two weeks back home, I flew back out to Cape Town again, this time to cruise up the South Atlantic via the magical island of St. Helena and the spooky Ascension Island. My third new island of this cruise was Gorée off Dakar in Senegal.
In March I collected my new car, another Hyundai i10, this time in white and also attended an Open University (OU) weekend in Bristol, staying over with Charmain in Clevedon. My next cruise was to Andalusia on the Braemar, with trips to Jerez from both Seville & Cadiz.
In April I did my only purely dance hosting cruise of the year around the Bay of Biscay on the lovely little Saga Pearl II (SP2), with visits to two new ports: Pasajes & Avilés.
In May I was back lecturing on the Boudicca going to the Med with four new towns, three new berths and one new port (Peniscola, pronounced Pen-is-co-la, not Pee-nis-cola!). At the end of the month I went around the Irish Sea on the Saga Sapphire with a first call for me at Douglas, Isle of Man.
In July I made two visits to Norway, first on the Saga Sapphire and then on the Sapphire Princess. On the former I gave my two port talks (Flåm & Stavanger) together with three enrichment lectures (Norway, Grieg & Vikings). The latter talks were ready for my first time enrichment, not destination, lecturing and my first time on Princess Cruises. I went on two hikes and two other new tours unavailable on either Saga or Fred Olsen.
In August I splashed out on a barrage of blood tests to celebrate my 65th birthday. Then I was back on SP2 with double billing going to two of the Isles of Scilly and having two days in Dartmouth for the Royal Regatta.
In September I took full advantage of the two weeks of National Heritage Open Days making eleven visits in total celebrating my 65th birthday! At the end of the month I flew out to Marseille to pick up the lovely Crystal Serenity for the first time, doing a week’s cruise around the Western Med visiting three new ports. Again I did a hike and a bike ride which you don’t get with Saga or Fred. I then flew back from Barcelona via Madrid.
In October I was back on Braemar for the German Waterways cruise, but we had to stay over in Kiel and miss out Bremen. My OU English student living and working in Maryland submitted her MSc dissertation and I gained two new students in Cyprus and the Netherlands for next year.
In November I flew out to Florida to join the lovely Crystal Symphony for 24 days across the Caribbean and up the Amazon for a third time. This included six new ports which I wouldn’t have been able to do if I had been a destinations lecturer!
I am having a quiet Christmas & New Year at home, the first time since 2013! I have lots of lectures to prepare ready for flying out to Australia & New Zealand at the end of February and going to the Adriatic for a month in April. I will also be dance hosting on the new Spirit of Discovery going to Norway twice next summer.