Not so fast on Morocco—I forgot that we stopped off at Arrecife first before heading over to Casablanca. The first destination on Arrecife was Lanzarote at the Timanfaya National Park. And was it ever crowded. Both locals and foreign tourists converged on the place.

It’s easy to see why the park gets so crowded—there is a lot to see.  And the crowd didn’t tail off as the day progressed. It got bigger.

The landscape in the park is moon like. It was formed by volcanic eruptions, some of them as recent as the late 18^th and mid 19^th centuries.  So, as a result the landscape looks a little like the surface of the moon. After looking at the landscape, we had coffee and snacks at a café in the park.

Then we headed off to El Golfo where we went up to a lookout point toward the top of a large hill. El Golfo is a small fishing village on the Western coast of Lazarote. It is best known for its dramatic volcanic landscape near Charco de los Clicos, which is an equally dramatic  green lagoon. Not surprisingly it is also a popular spot with tourists and photographers. 

After El Golfo we went to a wine tasting as well as a … salt tasting. The reason for the salt tasting? There are historic slat flats near El Golfo that used to supply a large amount of salt to the market.  And so we tasted salt. Or had the opportunity to.  In the end, we declined the offer although many of fellow tourists tried it out. 

Anyway, it was a pretty interesting tour to go on. After leaving Arrecife we headed out to Morocco where we went to Casablanca and Tangiers. 

So, when we hit Casablanca: “Here’s looking at you, kid”.

JFB

We spent a second say touring around Tenerife with a terrific guide. Not only was she an excellent English speaker, she was a great problem solver and had a wonderful sense of humor. 

We visited a pretty crowded farmer’s market where there were plenty of fruits and vegetables for sale. This was a market where the locals shopped and was mostly located indoors. 

We also got a good look at some of Tenerife’s architecture, including some engineering feats like the bridge pictured below. 

Finally we went to an outdoor market where all kinds of merchandise was on sale and on display. We bought some products made by local artisans and then headed back to the ship. 

Next stop, Morocco, on the North coast of the Mediterranean in Africa.  

JFB

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. 

We went on a tour that brought us to the towns of Arucas and Teror. One of the first things we saw upon arriving in Arucas was the Church of St Jean the Baptiste (San Juan Bautista). Begun in 1909 it opened for worship in 1917 and was finally completed in 1977. 

After that, we bumped into a town square in the Old Section with its beautiful traditional European architecture. 

The next town we visited was Teror. 

Among other things, the town looks like it was almost designed for tourism. Not for tourists dragging a crew of 8 year-olds around mind you, but for tourists who really want to see some old world elegance. 

As if they wished to emphasize the point, a few of the shops had flower petals strewn about on the street in front of them.

A bit of the modern world invaded though as the photo below shows a young man wearing headphones while he sits on a bench in town.

That said, it was good to be back in Europe and Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands certainly fit the bill. 

JFB

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 a spectacle. Stay tuned.

But before we get to Carnival…we visited São Paulo and Santos, as well as 2 Brazilian islands: Ilhabela and Paraty.  São Paulo is one of the largest cities in South America and it is a cultural hub. But São Paulo is a mixed bag. 

It has some very posh areas, like where we had lunch at Fogo de Chao. But it also has very poor areas; what appears to be a large homeless population, and (according to our guide) a significant problem with crack cocaine.   

Santos, a port city, appears to be more balanced, but it too has its rough spots. Santos has become a vacation area for locals and it encourages tourism. While there we visited a Museum dedicated to the football (soccer) great, Pele, who originally hailed from Santos; we visited the Coffee exchange and took a small train ride around the city. 

We also went to 2 notable islands: Ilhabela and Paraty.  Ilhabela whose name means beautiful island in Portugese, is located 4 miles off the coast of São Paulo. While it used to be a place where sugar cane was grown on plantations by slaves, today it is known for its sandy beaches and tourism.

We anchored by Paraty Brazil, but didn’t venture out because, among other things, the Brazilian authorities changed our anchor position at the last minute. The change would have put us 4 nautical miles (and about an hour) away from the dock. So we declined going ashore. However we did get some photos of the sunrise over the island, shown below. 

JFB

We have just spent 3 days in Buenos Aires. Located on the Rio de la Plata, it is the capital of Argentina and its largest city. The city proper has a population of only 3.1 million, but the greater urban metropolitan area has a population of 16.7 million, making it the 14^th largest metropolitan area in the world. 

The city has been nicknamed the Paris of South America and it is easy to see why. The architecture, sprawling parks, cafes and restaurants make for a lively bustling vibe that is similar to that of Paris (or New York for that matter.) 

And then there is the Tango. Argentinians are convinced that they invented it. Uruguayans are equally convinced that the dance is “theirs”.  Since the dance developed on the banks of the River Plate and that is the border between the two countries, you can see why both claim the dance as their own.  

After we docked in Buenos Aires we headed off to the Plaza de Mayo, which is probably the most important square in the city. There we spotted a man dressed in the traditional garb of a gaucho (Argentinian cowboy). Later we saw the gleaming white government building. 

The Plaza de Mayo is also home to the Casa Rosa (Pink House) that serves as the seat of the Argentine government, dominates the square and houses the president’s office. It is here where Eva Perón, nee Eva Duarte, wife of Juan Perón, AKA “Evita” made many of her famous appearances. 

There are weekly protests in the Plaza de Mayo by the women in white, who still search for the many children who were abducted and adopted illegally, after their parents were “disappeared” for disagreeing with the military dictatorship (1976-83).  It is a reminder that the history of this country has had its dark times. 

Near the Plaza de Mayo is the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity where then bishop Jorge Mario Begoglio presided, before becoming Pope Francis. 

After visiting the Plaza de Mayo, we continued on to visit the La Boca neighborhood. It is known for its colorful houses that people in the area constructed out of whatever discarded material they could find from the nearby shipping port.  Many of the buildings are made from the corrugated container material, brightly painted with the colors that were used at the port (reflecting the flags of ships from other countries).   

Among other things, we saw a small park in La Boca and a BBQ stand where a local man was grilling various meats. 

La Boca is also known for dancers who don traditional Tango garb and convince tourists to fork over $10 to have their photos taken with them. And speaking of tourists, there was no lack of them in La Boca.

While the Catholic religion is prominent in Argentina, the nation’s second religion also is huge – fútbol.  In the Boca region of BA we visited an enormous complex that houses the arena, training areas, housing and other facilities for the Boca Jr club. The colors of the uniforms and buildings are bright blue and yellow – another reflection of the colors in the flag of Norway that flew on a cargo ship in the port.  (It’s a long story that involves 2 rival local teams that shared other colors – there was a match to determine which town would stay in Boca, and the winner agreed to change colors to the flag on the first ship in port the next day.)

We also spent some time in La Recoleta, an upscale neighborhood with pricey Parisian style townhouses. We ducked into a local shop for some croissants and coffee. The Recoleta Cemetery, final resting place of many famous Argentinians (including Evita) is here in the neighborhood as well. 

Another visit was to the Museo de Nacional de Belles Artes. It was not too large—but it had an impressive European collection. We saw paintings by Manet, Monet, Degas, Gaugin, Pissarro and Picasso, not to mention many sculptures by Rodin. 

Finally, we visited a famous bookstore “La Atenea” and later stopped for coffee and pan dulce (“sweet bread”).  The pan dulce was just too much, and Mary Anne rather adroitly gave it to our Uber driver, who is a fan of it.  

This is just a small sample of what is available in Buenos Aires, a remarkable global city. 

Joe and Mary Anne

It is already January 17, and it has been 10 days since we boarded the Crystal Cruise Serenity cruise ship. Not only is it better than ever, we have been pretty busy.  

One thing I have to mention is that Crystal put a show onstage with 3 famous songwriters: Allan Dennis Rich, Shelley Peiken and Gary Burr. You may not have heard of them, but you have definitely heard some of their songs. 

Allan, for instance is a two time Grammy nominee and has written for Whitney Houston. Shelly has had a number of hits including “What a Girl Wants”. She has written for Miley Cyrus and Christine Aguilera. Gary Burr has had 14 songs that went to #1 on Billboard and was inducted into the songwriters hall of fame. His credits include songs written for Shania Twain, Ringo Starr and Garth Brooks to name a few.  It was great to meet them and talk with them. 

We also went to an elaborate dinner party, Crystal sponsored for World Cruisers at a 16^th century colonial mansion in Cartagena named Casa 1537.

While in the city proper we saw the historicSan Felipe de Barajas fort the Spanish built to fight off an unsuccessful British attempt to take over Cartagena. Then we went to the Convent de Santa Cruz de la Popa where we visited the monastery and had a view overlooking the city. 

We went through an aviary on the way back to the ship where there was a tremendous collection of birds—something that Colombia is known for. Now we are on Gatun Lake on our way through the Panama Canal. 

So far we have been kept pretty busy with lectures about geopolitics, destinations and Spanish and French lessons. Next stop Panama City.

JFB 

It would be an understatement to say that the year 2024 was eventful. Anyway, it was busy for us. We started out slowly, but before the year was over—in a flash it seems—we wound up visiting Bordeaux for about 7 weeks; seeing friends from England; going to Bermuda for a while; visiting the Grand Canyon as well as Bryce and Zion National Parks, and finally going to Australia for about a month where we also visited friends. 

And that doesn’t count trips to the Blue Ridge mountains and Appomattox here in Virginia, or trips to DC or to New Jersey where we visited family and friends. 

For 2025 we have booked a full travel schedule as well. Expect photos from Brazil, Argentina and other places in South America. We will also spend a little time in Morocco, the Greek Islands, Istanbul, Croatia, Italy, Spain, England and Wales. So 2025 looks like it’s going to be pretty busy. 

Thanks everyone for logging on. Feel free to post comments and send a website link to friends…(www.joebwnningphotography.com)

Have a great New Year!

Joe and Mary Anne

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 few days later, over the weekend, we headed out on the train to Saint-Emilion in the heart of the wine country. It only takes a half-hour ride on the train to reach Saint-Emilion, and then maybe a 20 or 30 minute walk into town. The town and the surrounding vineyards are truly spectacular. 

It is a medieval city, and you can easily imagine what it must have looked like centuries ago. The old winding streets, the grand churches and little shops and restaurants provide a feast for the eyes. Along with Tai-Chi and Geraldine we had lunches consisting of  Coquille St Jacque and duck at a restaurant named Lard et Bouchon, which we could get into because Mary Anne had the foresight to make reservations. 

Anyway some photos from Saint-Emilion are below. Also—Mary Anne went on a tour of an outdoor market and took some photos. We’ll post on that before too long.

Au Reviour — Joe

Well, we made it. We made it in spite of the fact that on our scheduled day of departure Air France sent us an e-mail a little before 6:00 AM informing us that our flights were cancelled. Just like that. Not even an explanation—even in corporate speak—as to why. Based on news reports we surmised that it was a targeted strike of sorts.

Needless to say, Air France was incapable of rebooking us on alternate flights and the Air France website was useless. So a mad scramble was on. Fortunately we managed to book flights into Atlanta and from there to Paris and from Paris to Bordeaux. When we got to Atlanta we managed to get to the gate for the flight to Paris just as the plane was boarding. But we made it. So, as they say here: Voila!

French language classes start Monday and they will go on for 3 hours each weekday for 6 weeks. They are not kidding when they refer to language immersion. After classes we will be visiting museums and going to French cooking classes. On the weekends we plan to visit some vineyards. Saint-Emilion, Pauilac and St Estephe are all high on the list. 

We are just settling in, so we’ll report back after some classes and touring around. In the meantime here are some iPhone photos. 

Joe