Galleries

Ha Long Bay Vietnam is a unique location, famous for its thousands of scenic islands in the bay.  Our tour took us to a magnificent cave inside one of the islands.  The photos from this area will tell the story better than my words.

Our third Viking port of call was Puntarenas, Costa Rica.  As usual, several excursion choices were offered.  We chose one entitled “Walk in the Clouds.”  We boarded a bus for an hour’s drive from the coast up to the highlands of the central valley running through the country.  Our Costa Rican tour guide spoke for the whole hour as we traveled, providing many details about his country.  I remain very interested in Costa Rica, having heard that it is a popular destination for retired Americans wishing to relocate to a foreign country less expensive than the US and having a great climate.  I’m happy to continue to live in Reno, but we might want to visit Costa Rica again for a more in-depth visit...

The city of Hue is located approximately in the middle of Vietnam and was the seat of royal power from the 19th and into the 20th centuries.  There were thirteen kings who reigned from Hue.  Many of the ancient structures were destroyed during the Vietnam-American War, which have since been restored.  The photos show scenes from the Imperial Palace as well as the three hundred-year-old Buddhist pagoda.

Our Viking China cruise continued to three port cities I had never heard of before.  The Chinese government seeks to increase tourism, and our cruise is one of the first collaborations with the Chinese government and Viking Cruises.  The ship's staff is 100% Chinese, and the entertainers are all Chinese.  So this particular cruise is different from the usual Viking multi-national staff.

Our ship, the Yi Dun, is named after the first Chinese commercial ship launched in 1872, the Yi Dun.

Until today’s port visit, Cadiz was just a name I had encountered sometime in the past.  I didn’t know anything at all about it.  Now at the end of the day, I feel enriched by learning about this city, as well as having visited an historic village named Vejer de la Frontera. 

Our recent Viking River Cruise was a quick visit to five countries in six days, including Bulgaria, Serbia, and Croatia, as well as the embarkation and disembarkation cities, Bucharest, Romania, and Budapest, Hungary. In each port, we would load onto buses and be shown the city or the countryside. Such a compressed trip can turn into a blur when trying to remember the details. This blog will be an attempt to summarize my most vivid memories. . .