Getting ready to book a Norwegian Fjord cruise.

 

Norway, land of Fjords.  This country's natural beauty draws me to see it before several of the fjords are closed to conventionally powered cruise ships.  Having cruised Alaska when I was younger, I know the value of seeing a land with much awe inspiring scenery.  On this trip, RQS will be with me, and I will have someone special with whom I can share this experience and the memories that it brings long after the cruise is over.

Right now, RQS and I are finalizing key details for this cruise.  We expect to be able to spend a day with my niece before our cruise.  It will be the first time either of us has left North America (save for my trip to Hawaii), and I am a little bit nervous.  Europe is foreign to me, and cruising provides enough hand holding for me to see the sights where we're going without limiting my choices to an excessive degree.

One port that I intend to visit is Flaam. The main attraction for me is the railroad.  As I like to remind RQS, I've been interested in trains since I was a wee little child.  I can't wait to go on this train and see the sights. But there is so much more to see. So our task is to determine which shore excursions we really want to go on, and purchase them well before the cruise.

We've budgeted approximately $7,000 each for this trip.  Like many "Bucket List" journeys, it is expensive.  We could have chosen a cruise that starts in Southampton, sails for several days in Norwegian waters, and then goes to Iceland for a few days before returning to Southampton.  Instead, we've chosen a cruise that sails directly from its home port to Norway, and then oozes its way along the Norwegian coast and through its fjords before returning home.

Luckily, both of our passports have several years to go before renewal.  However, we do not yet know whether we will need UK and/or EU entry permits.  We asked our Travel Agent about this, and he has no answers yet for cruisers.  I figure that I'll pay the small price for both entry permits and drop a $20 bill to be safe....

Hawaii Vacation - Day 06: Haleakala Crater

Today, I could have gotten out of bed an hour later than I did.  Most of the excursions I'm scheduled to take occur sometime between 7:00 am and 7:30 am.  Today's excursion was scheduled for 8:15 am.  At least, I had the time to relax after breakfast and get things done.

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Around 8:00, I went down to the gangway and it started to drizzle.  I waited a while before heading towards the queuing area for the Kaleakala Crater excursion.  When the tour guide arrived, he told us that the weather at the top of Kaleakala crater is unpredictable and that we might not be able to see anything due to the clouds. 

We then started our trek from sea level to 9727 feet above sea level on a road with many switchbacks.  It was hard to remain seated through those switchbacks with no arm rest, and it was a miracle that I didn't get sick.  Rising from sea level, we encountered a cloud bank around 6000 feet above sea level, and it got worse as we continued up to the top.  At the bottom of the mountain, the temperature was in the 80's.  At the top, it was in the low 30's, and I was glad that I brought my winter coat that I knew I'd need when I returned to New York.  This coat almost got left in my car, in order to lessen the weight of the luggage that was going to Honolulu.

 

None of the pictures I took today are much worth posting, so I put an image from the Park Service at the top of this entry to provide an idea of what I was hoping to see.  The image above is what I did see.  Hardly worth the effort to go to the crater, isn't it?  Maybe next time, assuming there is one, I'll get a good picture.  Since we had time to kill before the driver's next tour from the ship, we stopped by a souvenir shop and at the local Safeway.  If I had been thinking, I would have picked up another roll of clear adhesive tape.  But I can't think of everything when on vacation....