Joe Benning Photography

Travel & Photo Blog

  •   Reston, VA

Docking in Lisbon, Portugal

After leaving Portimão, we sailed to Lisbon (AKA Lisbao) and we docked there for 2 days.  Upon arriving we headed out for Sintra, reputed to be a charming medieval town.  I can report it was everything it was cracked up to be.  Sintra is a small town with population about 385,000 people. It is densely […]

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Portimão Portugal

We said our farewells to North Africa and headed out to Portimão Portugal. That is about 336 kilometers (208 miles) away as the crow flies. The first significant place we visited was Fort São Vicente in Sagres, or Fortaleza do Cabo de São Vicente. Fort São Vicente was built in the 16th century to protect […]

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Visiting Tangier, Morocco

Tangier is located in the northwest of Morocco, on the coasts of both the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic ocean. Tangier has a population of about 1.25 million people. The city is located on a bay in the strait of Gibraltar, about 17 miles from Spain.  It has always been a strong supporter of the […]

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Casablanca

We finished sailing through the Canaries and, after a sea day, we docked in Morocco. While in Morocco we visited Casablanca, and then a day later we made our way to Tangiers. And yes, this was the same Casablanca from the the movie starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. The one where “Play it again, […]

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Visiting Tenerife in the Canaries

When we docked in Tenerife the plan was to go to see Mount Teide in the national park. But when we first got there the fog was so thick that it was virtually impossible to see anything.  However the fog eventually burned off and we were treated to some spectacular scenery in Teide National Park.  […]

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Europe at Last !

On March 22 we docked in Europe by way of Gran Canaria, one of the Canary Islands. The Canary Islands are part of Spain even though they are only a few hundred miles from the coast of West Africa. And it shows. The towns are clean and elegant and they definitely have a European vibe.  […]

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More on Brazil

We have already spent quite a bit of time in Brazil—and we are due to spend some more. We expect to arrive in Rio tomorrow, and then go on several tours over the next few days. The big event will be Carnival. We will be in attendance in the Sambadrome.  It promises to be quite […]

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More Adventures in Bordeaux

We continued our adventure in Bordeaux with a photo walk with a photographer around a few parts of town. On our walk we went to the public garden—a botanic garden that is open to the public. Both the public garden and nearby surrounding areas have Roman ruins that have been preserved through the centuries.  A […]

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End of the Line: Barcelona & Girona

3 Glorious Days in Barcelona & Girona When we sailed into Barcelona on May 30 we were ready for a planned 3 day stop with a side trip to Girona.  Except for what we needed for the next few days, our luggage was on its way back to the States.   We checked into a […]

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