Category Archives: Global Travel in a Covid World

It’s Monday and just after noon. My flight landed on time in Portland. My husband, David, flew from Minneapolis this morning and will be picking me up shortly. We will be attending a beach wedding at the end of the week and doing a couple airport pick-ups mid-week. The trip ends with a weekend atContinue reading “Jane Not In Spain: Oregon’s Cannon Beach”

Typically on cruise ships, passengers are asked to have their packed bags in the hallway by 10:00 pm the night before. The crew picks up the bags and organizes them for disembarkment in the morning. In the morning, everyone needs to be out of their stateroom by 9:00 am. Rather than have 5,000 guests tryingContinue reading “Alaskan Cruise: Ship to Shore Seattle”

Sunday morning at sea … the further south we went, the better the weather. Our challenge of the day was to see if it would be possible to find today’s Packer game somewhere on the ship. YES! We found the Packers vs Buccaneers game at one of the ship’s bars. It was very odd becauseContinue reading “Alaskan Cruise: Last Day Stop In Victoria”

Today we start the journey back to Seattle with a brief stop in Victoria tomorrow night. Plenty of activities on board during the ‘At Sea’ days. It’s not raining today but there are gale force winds rocking the boat. The closed pools were sloshing and outdoor activities were cancelled. We took a visit to theContinue reading “A Day at Sea: Alaska to Seattle”

Juneau is a mountain town and a coastal community surrounded by extremely rugged terrain making it one of the most scenic capital cities in the United States. It’s so rugged, it’s virtually an island with all goods and visitors coming and going by plane or boat even though it is part of mainland Alaska. TheContinue reading “No Roads Lead to Juneau”

Our ship was scheduled to go to Skagway but had a last minute change substituting Icy Strait Point because of high winds in Skagway. Along with Icy Strait Point, a shuttle to the village of Hoonah was available. Icy Strait Point is a purpose-built cruise ship port that offers activities and excursions. The port isContinue reading “Visiting Icy Strait Point & Hoonah”

First stop is Ketchikan. Located at the southernmost entrance to Alaska’s Inside Passage, the ship works its way through a network of waterways and some of the most beautiful wilderness in the world. Ketchikan is known for salmon, incredible scenery, totem poles and rain … it is the rain capital of Alaska and on averageContinue reading “Ketchikan: A Morning of Crabbing”

Our ship is in and we’re ready to roll. Weeks before embarkation, we were required to download the cruise line’s app and complete required check-in information online. Also required within 48 hours was a verified covid test and receipt of a QR code with the results. Another “joyful” experience was completing the ArriveCAN app forContinue reading “Cruising to Alaska”

Back on the Hop-On Hop-Off bus. Today we’re hopping off at Seattle Center. The number one thing we wanted to see this weekend is the Chihuly museum. Like everything else, we had to buy tickets in advance and reserve a time slot. Pike Place Market is a popular spot but today we don’t have timeContinue reading “Sunday in Seattle: Exploring City Center”

Seattle is called the Emerald City because it has a vast number of evergreen trees that remain green and beautiful all year long. Hotel rooms in Seattle are very expensive. The moderately priced ones start around $200 per night. Since Theresa and I have experienced many albuergues in Spain, we were curious about American hostelsContinue reading “Seattle — the Emerald City”

We’re off on another adventure but this time it’s not in Spain. Theresa and I have just arrived in Seattle for a couple days and then we board a ship for Alaska. If I were a superstitious person I would have concerns right now. Joining us on the cruise will be my mother-in-law Sally whoContinue reading “JANE NOT IN SPAIN: Seattle & Alaska”

We are definitely ready to go home. I wouldn’t call this trip a “vacation”, it was more of a journey. Our Air Europa flight from Barcelona arrived in Madrid early afternoon and we were settled in the hotel around 2:00 pm. It was a beautiful afternoon so we decided to take a final wander aroundContinue reading “Goodbye Spain!”

The CDC requires those traveling internationally to get a viral test no more than 3 days before traveling by air into the United States (US) and to show a negative result to the airline before boarding a flight. Before leaving the US, we purchased verified antigen test kits from American Airlines. We purchased and splitContinue reading “Returning to US: Required Covid Test”

When it rains, it pours. And today was a pouring rainy day. Tomorrow we head to Madrid and the following day we fly home. However, we were notified that Renfe was anticipating a strike and we were advised to cancel our train tickets to Madrid and find another way there. The choices we had weContinue reading “Barcelona: Sagrada Família & La Boqueria”

Mallorca was a joy ride and I hope I get the opportunity to return some day. We barely scratched the surface of this fascinating island. After Theresa and I completed the 2017 walk on the Camino Frances, David and I toured around Spain for a couple weeks. We spent some time in Barcelona so thisContinue reading “Barcelona: Park Guell”

The most spectacular views in Mallorca are found on the North coast in the mountains in the Serra de Tramuntana. Windmills, dating from the 16th to the 19th centuries are still a significant feature of the landscape on Mallorca. The ones with the “arrow” feature are used for extracting water into a reservoir. Many areContinue reading “Mallorca: The Serra de Tramuntana”

The Oleander hotel was about three miles from the heart of Palma. It was very convenient to take the city bus. We caught it about a block from the hotel. The 13th century Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma is massive. It is a Gothic landmark that overlooks the Bay of Palma. It was builtContinue reading “Mallorca: Touring Palma”

Mallorca has been on my bucket list since Theresa and I started going to Spain in 2017, I just never thought it was a possibility. Now, we are headed there. I didn’t know much about Mallorca (aka Majorca) but did some speed reading research to catch up before going there. It’s one of Spain’s BalearicContinue reading “Mallorca … We’re on Vacation Now!”

There are many Caminos in Spain. Traditionally, people have walked the Camino for religious purposes but not so much anymore. I’ve read a report that said 10% and another that said 25% of all walking the Camino do it for religious reasons. It is believed the Santiago Cathedral houses the tomb of St. James, andContinue reading “CAMINO INGLES: Returning to Finish 2019”

Our first stop at the end of The Meseta is the city of Leon which has a population of 134,000. Leon’s finest treasure is its Gothic cathedral. We spent a couple days enjoying the city and our new found freedom from rural life on The Meseta. The Catedral de Leon features 130 stained glass windowsContinue reading “Leon”