Let me first say that I consider May the best month to visit Alaska… why because of the RAIN. On average, Alaska’s summers are slightly rainier than the rest of the U.S., but May is comparatively dry, with only a 25% chance of measurable rain on any given day. In addition, if you go early in May, there are fewer crowds and very few mosquitoes! Sitka is another lovely little wilderness town to visit with lots to see. For this stop, I took on the bumpiest ride I have ever taken as I embarked on “ocean raft adventure” (http://www.sitkaalaskaoutfitters.com/). You are provided a flotation suit and then you board a 26 foot Zodiac type inflatable boat that has only six seats, and off you go exploring the coastline at about 35 knots, riding high over the waves in open water. It was windy and a tad rough, so be prepared for a WILD ride. Not much wildlife, but the ride will live forever. Following the ride, walked through the Totem National Park before going through town.

Always wanted to this historical city/state. Decided not to brave the Mediterranean steps (save it for my next visit) and made contact with Douglas (http://www.gibraltarofficialtours.com/). Wow did I hit the jackpot with Douglas. We started our journey with Douglas driving. We visited the Pillars of Hercules, St. Michael’s Cave, the Apes Den, the Top of the Rock, the Great Siege Tunnels, World War II Tunnels, Moorish Castle, 100 Ton Gun, and I got to see the closing and opening of the airport runway. I got lucky and saw the coast of Africa from the Europa Point as the weather was clear. My day was filled with so many sights that after 5 hours it was ‘No Mas” to Douglas from my group (I had 8 tag along wonderful acquaintances). Many wanted to leisurely stroll around town while I wanted to rest my weary legs. Cannot wait to return and tackle the STEPS!

Ship docks downtown. Prior to my arrival, I had been in contact with Ana (www.qualityguidedtours.com/); she was great in communicating with me prior to the cruise and assigned a wonderful guide who turned a 3 hr tour into 4+ hrs of wonderful history and stories. Eight brave souls from the ship joined us, and we met our guide at the designated point. Cartagena has an interesting history: founded by the Carthaginians, it eventually became part of the Roman Empire. “Ula” (hope I spelled her name right), our guide, started our tour explaining the old town and the five small hills (like Rome) and the various fortifications. We walked to a museum of the “Punic Walls” excavation; this is a new museum and very interesting. An unexpected treat was the crypt inside the museum which was discovered during the excavation. You are allowed to actually walk down into the crypt and see the remains up close and personal… creepy but extremely interesting. We were then taken to the Bull Ring, Roman Theater and rode the elevator to the Castle. As our tour ended, we were right in the downtown area. Numerous restaurants, tourist shops but also a vast variety of local stores offering a variety of quality products; easy to spend $$$$. Great little town and well worth the visit.

Cadiz is a lovely vibrant city with a sandy beach great for sun bathing, swimming and surfing. This ancient port city in southwest Spain is located on a strip of land surrounded by the sea and is off the tourist radar but is a big vacation destination for the Spanish. Prior to my arrival, I had established contact with Oliver/Patrick (sightsandbikescadiz.com/), and we were met by our guide “Pablo” across from the tourist center. However, it was raining when we arrived, so we (I had a group of 12) were taken to a small café for complimentary coffee (very classy gesture) while we waited. About an hour later the weather started to clear, yet most of my group decided to go their separate ways (HUGE MISTAKE). Within a few minutes following their departure, the weather cleared and Mr. Sun started to shine. Immediately we hit the bikes and followed our guide Pablo. We started biking through the various city streets, stopping by the three city gates while Pablo explained that the city of Cadiz was once split in various quarters. We stopped at the Cathedral, then made our way to the Roman theatre ruins museum, followed by winding up along the coast, getting a great view of the 18th-century waterfront cathedral with a golden dome. As a treat, we biked all the way to Castillo de San Sebastian… located a few hundred meters from the coast along a small path – getting there on a bike is the best way; you battle a few waves but it’s a lot faster than the 2 hr walk. On our return to the city, we worked our way through various side cafes and stopped at the monument marking Spain’s 1st liberal constitution. What an awesome day and a lovely town! This bike tour exceeded every expectation; in addition, this outfit was so gracious that we were not charged any extra fees for the party that canceled…. THANK you, Patrick, and of course Pablo! I cannot wait to return.

Arrived for a two day stop in Malaga; had planned to see the non hilly areas via bike and tackle the hills on a segway. Due to the wet conditions on Day #1, we followed the advice of our vendor and switched from bikes to a walking tour, Kay Farrell (www.malagabiketours.eu) was extremely flexible with our booking, quickly taking care of refunding the difference between the two different tours which we had already paid for in advance. Our 2hr walk with our guide Fenne turned into an enjoyable 4 hr tour of the city that included: city market, free sampling of local wines, cathedral and renovated beach area…to name a few. Following the tour, my wife and I made our way to La Canasta – a bakery recommended by our guide as ‘the best’ – for some light snacks including the famous local serrano ham. Day #2 was our segway and hill challenge. If you want to visit the Castle of Gibralfaro (we did!) which is located on the highest hill in the city and plan on walking to the top, have your walking shoes ready! However, you can choose the easy and fun way like we did and ride segways to the top! Great tour and fun activity – only complaint is that we were time limited due to when we left port that day. Estephania (www.segwaymalagatours.com), our informative and excellent guide, was filled with information and I wish our tour could have lasted longer. Another lovely Spanish town that deserves another visit.

Much is written about the fabulous Croatian coastline, so to be unconventional, I decided to fly to Croatia’s capital city of Zagreb. I did not know what to expect and if Zagreb was worth three days of my time; was I in for a surprise! Zagreb is a warm and friendly city; it draws you in slowly with its hospitality, walk able tourist attractions and fun eating hangouts. Wandering around is one of the best things you can do in Zagreb. With no itinerary to follow except for an excellent bike tour the first day (great way to get oriented and to get excited about what to do and see the next day):  http://www.lobagola.com/tours-and-services/tours/zagreb-guided-bicycle-tours.html More of the adventure; Lovely accommodations, I booked a 3 night stay at a centrally located and wonderful B&B (4 city windows)  – my review below: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g294454-d6564884-r371543692-4_City_Windows_Bed_Breakfast-Zagreb_Central_Croatia.html The city; divided into Upper Town which has narrow streets and will draw you in with a treat around every corner, while the busier Lower Town is great for shopping and people watching. Trams and buses are simple to figure out and almost everyone I met spoke English. We wandered the streets, visit the numerous statues (make sure you visit the “Nikola Tesla”statue) and if you are in the mood to do something unique and different, visit the Grounded Sun sculpture then search the city for various metal spheres (more like small metal plaques) that are placed in locations throughout the city representing the various planets in the solar system. I was only able to find two planets. My unplanned walking tour went like this: walked to Ban Jelacic square which is more or less the main city center/square. From this point, you can make your way to most of the various sights etc. From the square, I made my way up the plaza steps located behind the square and found myself at the start of Dolac, a large open air food market with refrigerated items on the bottom level. Once I had my fill of the lovely fresh foods and vegetables, I walked to the Cathedral which is about 5 minutes away. The Cathedral is partly surrounded by the remains of the Renaissance Walls. Facing the Cathedral is a statue of the Virgin Mary with angels symbolizing Christian virtues of faith, innocence and humility. Slowly making my way to Upper Town, I passed “the Bloody Bridge” which is a small street with nothing but a few stores (the street has numerous legends behind its name). Passing the statue of St. George, I walked through the Stone Gate, and I was in Upper Town. Walked to St Mark’s Square and admired the awesome church rooftop (church is usually closed). Directly facing St Mark’s is the Lotrscak Tower with a fun activity if you arrive just before noon: you will get a chance to hear and watch the famous canon being fired daily at noon (pay the admission, climb the tower, great city view plus you can actually watch the canon being loaded). A few minutes before firing the canon With enough treats to include a visit the Museum of Broken Relationships, I rode the world’s shortest passenger funicular back down to Lower Town.   I hopped on a local bus and traveled a tad outside the city to visit Mirogoj –Zagreb’s main cemetery built in the 19th century and featuring monumental arcades, domed gatehouses and pavilion chapels. This was a somber but interesting journey to visit the grave of a former colleague (the picture taken is at the grave-site of “Kress”a legend in bringing Croatian basketball to the US. I met Kress a few times in college and he (Kress) decided to forgo a promising NBA career and return to Croatia.. sadly Kress passed away at a very young age). My entire day was packed with surprises and ended with a wonderful Croatian meal and fine wine. On another day I booked an terrific tour with http://petros.hr/en/ Lake Plitvice; The day started with an hour drive from Zagreb, our first stop was a visit to Rastoke …..a small village surrounded by waterfalls; it was like a fairy tale story then real life. The view was simply stunning. About 20 minutes away from Rastoke we spent the rest of the day hiking Plitvice Lake park , words can describe this incredible beautiful park with waterfalls and lakes throughout. Plitvice Lake and Rastoke are a MUST. I loved Zagreb so much that I will return.

Machu Picchu (MP) has always been on my “must” visit list, so the wife and I decided to celebrate our anniversary as “relics” by visiting Peru and climbing to Machu Picchu. Day #1: arrived Lima @ midnight; no issues clearing customs, our transportation was arranged through our hotel, and our driver was waiting with a sign https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g294316-d4456875-r392525147-Tierra_Viva_Miraflores_Larco-Lima_Lima_Region.html…… (My review). Our hotel was in the lovely Miraflores district, just a few steps from the cliffs overlooking the ocean. Our first day, we had arranged to join a bike tour (https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g294316-d1099232-r389869628-Bike_Tours_of_Lima-Lima_Lima_Region.html#REVIEWS,) no more than 1-2 minutes’ walk to our meeting spot. Lima is a very congested and crowded city – about 25% of the entire country population lives within the city, so traffic can be a challenge; however, the bike tour was awesome and we got to see numerous parks, the Pizza Alley, Cat Park (http://www.bucketlisttc.com/the-cats-of-kennedy-park-mira-flores-lima-peru/), Bohemian Barranco district, strolled (not biked) the Puente de los Suspiros (the Bridge of Sighs) http://content.time.com/time/travel/cityguide/article/0,31489,1977548_1977464_1977458,00.html), and wandered the neighborhood around the Larcomar ( http://content.time.com/time/travel/cityguide/article/0,31489,1977548_1977464_1977448,00.html)- a shopping center built into the cliffs overlooking the ocean. Day #2 Next day we started the day by making our way to the Huaca Pucllana ruins (http://content.time.com/time/travel/cityguide/article/0,31489,1977548_1977464_1977441,00.html) which is a pre-Incan temple complex used by both the Wari and Lima cultures from 200 AD – 700 AD.The ruins are located in the Miraflores district; the most challenging part of getting to the ruins was crossing the busy streets – very few traffic lights, and pedestrian crosswalks are just white paint on the street which mean nothing to drivers. Our ticket to the ruins included an English guided tour. Following the ruins, we made our way up and down streets and found a local eating establishment to have lunch. Our waiter spoke very little English, but we still had a nice meal. We then made our way back to the lovely cliffs of Miraflores, walked along the boardwalk, past the lighthouse, the iconic Parque del Amor (Park of Love), stopping at the paragliding vendor(http://www.aeroxtreme.com/ingles/index.php) next to the cliffs, as we hoped to book a paragliding adventure. However, the winds would not cooperate, so there was no paragliding for us that day. Day #3: back to the airport to catch our flight to Cusco, the main hub for the journey to MP.  Cusco elevation is 11,000 ft+, so we had opted to head to Ollantaytambo as our base to allow our bodies to acclimatize to the altitude. Ollantaytambo elevation is 9,100 and is located in the Sacred Valley, surrounded by a number of archaeological/Inca ruins. We did not attempt to climb the ruins as we just got acquainted with the city and arrived at the entrance too late to be allowed to enter. Our hotel was https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g294319-d4753323-r391566995-La_Casa_del_Abuelo-Ollantaytambo_Sacred_Valley_Cusco_Region.html), fair at best; on first glance, it appeared very nice, but the windows were very thin, door was not sealed well (noise from outside all night long!), water for shower and washing face ice cold, no heater in the room. In the evening as we walked around and per a recommend from the hotel, we discovered the Blue Magic restaurant (Av. Patacalle No. 115)  might have been the best restaurant we encountered in our entire PERU journey; also very reasonable prices. Day #4: Hopped on PeruRail Vistadome train for our hour and half journey to MP. The train journey is comfortable, with complimentary coffee/soft drinks and snacks. Arrive Aguas Calientes, the base for ALL MP visits; a very touristy, extremely overpriced town. We made way to a bus station for the trip to MP. You can either take the bus or hike – the bus ride was about 20-25 minutes up a winding steep dirt road; glad we did not hike the trail. At the entrance of MP we met our guide, as we were to be part of a group; however, there was no group and we had our guide to ourselves. Once inside MP you ‘hike’ a rather steep path of cobblestone steps until you get to the overview of MP (with our guide who was pretty pro-active, it took us about 20 minutes). Once at the vantage point, the view is simply awesome, much like the pictures you see. We hiked to the Inca Bridge (about 10-15 minutes from the vantage point) and to various other vantage points that our guide pointed out. The MP main area was extremely crowded; however, we did keep moving, thanks to our guide, and the weather was great. Getting back down was interesting as we waited about 40 minutes in line to get on the bus; the lines for the bus were long but moved fairly quickly and orderly. Day 5-7 Instead of a cab back to Cusco we hung around the Ollantaytambo main square and got to share a van (luggage tied on top!) back to Cusco for $5 per person. Once in Cusco, made our way dragging our bags across cobblestone streets to our nice little hotel with a Superb location. The rest of our trip was spent in Cusco; below is our itinerary/visits which were great: Free Tours by Foot: (http://www.inkanmilkyway.com) – a must to begin the adventure/orientation – Elvis was our guide City Centro Square/Plaza de Armas Cusco Cathedral Cristo Blanco Convento of Santo Domingo San Blas Walking a local market (we did the San Pedro market) Twelve angle stones Choco Museo Make sure you stop at Organika https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g294314-d8530478-r394365427-Organika-Cusco_Cusco_Region.html#REVIEWS, a possibly difficult to find restaurant for the BEST (quality, presentation, choices) meal in town plus very reasonable prices!: Calle Resbalosa Nre. 410; They grow their own organic produce in the Urubamba region.

Costa Maya Our first stop on this voyage was Costa Maya, a port we had not visited in many years, and has it ever changed. The port looks new and is very customer friendly. It features a myriad of facilities to include a number of fun authentic eating establishments, a nice beach, walking paths, dolphin area and even has brick paved roads outside the terminal. We did not stand in the long line for the $3pp shuttle; instead we made our way outside the port and grabbed a cab to the village of Mahahual (note: it is a good 30-40 minute walk or $2PP fixed 2 minute cab ride). The town of Mahahual is easy to navigate, and we made our way to the beach after being dropped off in town. On the beach, there were endless options of restaurants, water and beach activities, massage etc. We lucked out and met Kyle (an expat living in Mahahual). Kyle is the owner of El Faro, Cozumel Our second stop which is a terrific port for any cruiser. At first glance you might think this is another cheesy cruise ship destination. However, this lovely island has a lot to offer, such as diving some of the best reefs in the world, lovely beaches, scooters and ATVs to rent; visiting Mayan ruins, captivating scenery on the windswept side of the island. A fun consideration is renting an ebike ( https://beachbumcozumel.com ) a very good outfit and they also offer various excursions.  A word to the wise as I have been to Cozumel many, many times – if you are planning a trip to the mainland (Playa del Carmen or the Mayan Ruins), take the ship excursions as the local ferries cannot be relied on to arrive/depart on time…play it safe and go with the ship or be ready to wave goodbye to the ship as it leaves port!

Have you ever visited a new place and instantly loved it, for me it is Verona, Italy. This was my second visit to Verona which is gorgeous, similar to Venice but without the canals, the decay, and the huge numbers of tourists. For my stay in Verona I opted once again to stay at “Hotel Verona”, (http://www.hotelverona.it/index.cfm/en/), nice, great location and provides free bikes. For first time visitors I recommend you start by wandering “Centro Storico” which is the historic center of Verona. This is where you will find many of the main sights in the city, like the wide piazzas, Juliette’s house( remember Shakespeare/ Romeo and Juliette), and churches galore. Verona has numerous bridges with the “Ponte Pietra” being the prettiest. Cross that bridge and ride the funicular to the top and get a panoramic view of the city. For more fun grab a bike and just follow the river around town while discovering many of the cool sights. For restaurants the choices are endless but stay away from the tourist traps on the plaza. Put this gem of a city on your next Italy visit.

First stop in my past 14N cruise adventure was in one of Europe’s fastest-growing cities, I wanted to make the most of my 8-hr port stop since this city is filled with eye-catching architecture all over. Rather then go walking around or visiting the popular Viking Ship Museum, my merry little group decided to give “Segway’ a whirl.The ship docks close to the city center so we walked to our meeting point at the segway tours office. There we met our guide “Lameche” and started our 2-hour overview tour that turned into 3 awesome hours visiting; the wharf area, central train station, Opera House, grand promenade, segway’ed down Karl Johan’s street, all around the royal palace ground and I could go on and on. Great time and “Lameche” our guide was a blast. https://www.segwaybooking.no/

Gijion; An undiscovered cruise port in Spain as information was hard to come by, however, made contact with Luis(www.hiddeninspain.com ) and a tour was arranged. Luis was waiting at the port and away we went, we started the tour by driving along the Spanish coastline then into the hills and eventually we ended up at the “Covadonga sanctuary”. The Covadonga sanctuary is where the Re-conquest of Spain began under king Pelayo, his remains are buried in the cave alongside La Santina. We visited the Basilica and made our way to our lady of Covadonga shrine located in a cave, simply awesome. Leaving Covadonga we drove to see the Luces lighthouse which afforded us a magnificent view of the coastline this was followed by a drive to the small fishing village of “Lastres” where Luis maneuvered narrow streets eventually winding down to the seafront. Here we enjoyed a wonderful local meal in a restaurant overlooking the ocean and a massive seawall. On our way back to Gijon we stopped at the Providence Park to get more views atop Gijon before heading back to the ship. A great day with Luis, our tour was about 6-7 hrs and we got to see parts of Spain only the locals can encounter.

Melbourne-Arrived at this lovely city filled with history and known for its love for great COFFEE (Melbourne is known as the Australian coffee capital). Booked our stay at the wonderful TreasuryonCollins (https://treasuryoncollins.com.au/),a modern apartment style hotel located in the middle of the central business district and across the street from the historical ANZ Gothic Bank (I got lost just wandering in this magnificent building filled with iron columns and painted ceiling).Getting around Melbourne is quite simple,and to make it even easier,the trams around the entire city are FREE. Penguin Parade; Initially, I was not keen on going to Philips Island to watch the world’s smallest penguins (mini blue penguins)waddle up the beach, but this experience was amazing. The drive to Philips Island was a pleasant 2hr journey on the fun (TheLittlePenguinBus/http://thelittlepenguinbus.com.au/).On our way to the final destination,we stopped at various spots and got a look at the penguin burrows. This was a small taste of the parade that was about to start. As the sunset,I was simply stunned as small groups of penguins made their way from the ocean up the beach and towards the burrows. I viewed this experience from an underground viewing area where there was an infra-red camera spotting the groups coming up on to the beach from the ocean, the penguins ignore you as they walk by. I left with a smile on my face. Next day took a walking tour of Melbourne and visiting the numerous alleys filled with colorful graffiti, walking the parks and listening to stories and legends about Melbourne. I Strolled the historic Hosier and Rutledge alleys which are the epic centers of Melbourne‘s art scene. To end the day, I took the free tram to the Victoria docks –the oldest and largest surviving single dock in the world and enjoyed the view. Our final day in Melbourne had arrived, and we were ready for the “Great Ocean Drive”. A long 12hr+ plus day, this 250 miles journey starts in Melbourne and ends at the site of the twelve apostles (only 8 remain). These craggy limestone stacks rise from the Southern Ocean and were our ‘must see’ for this trip. We drove though a rain forest, along rugged coastline and through a national park. There was much to see, and our trip was filled with numerous stops. We lunched at a local bar/cafe along the route. We finally reached the apostles – huge limestone pillars/structures that were once connected to the mainland. However, wind and waves carved them into arches. Only 8 remain (the other 4 have eroded and fallen from the natural elements), but perhaps more are in the making. We were able to walk down to the ocean but needed to be careful to not get washed away by the powerful waves. Now we were ready to fly to the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrier Reef and the Sydney Bridge:( Day 1-7 again) Flew from Melbourne to Cairns (pronounced “cans”) – the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. Cairns is a small beach town located on the coast but has no natural beach – there is a small man made sand beach, but the coastline is all coral. The town is very tourist friendly and easy to navigate. Day #2: wanting to have a different experience getting to the outer banks of the Great Barrier Reef, I made arrangements to fly to an outer pontoon. I arrived at GBR helicopters (there were 3 passengers in our helicopter). Following our safety brief, we were led to the dock helipad, and off we went for our 25 minute flight to the Barrier Reef. Due to high winds, we flew at only 500 feet, which gave us an amazing view of the reef and the small cays – an exhilarating flight – and we eventually landed on a floating pontoon on the outer barrier reef where we got on a small boat in order to get to our reef platform. The platform was quite large, with a an underwater submersible and an area to snorkel, dive and swim along the reef. Once in the water, numerous large fish would swim right up to you, and during my snorkel experience I got to see a huge turtle feeding on the bottom. The ride back to shore was a rough 2hr trip on a catamaran (sure missed the helicopter!). Day #3: visited the Daintree Rainforest, riding the Sky Rail to the Kuranda Village. As we approached the village, we stopped at Barron Falls and walked on the glass observation deck. Following lunch and buying a bottle of mango based wine, we then rode the scenic Kuranda Railroad back into town. For our evening meal, my merry little group decided that we would indulge in Kangaroo cutlets and Bay Bugs... yummmm Day #4: fly to Sydney, our final stop, stayed at 28 Hotel (https://www.28hotel.com.au/) great central location. Day#5: Bridge day: my friend and I made our way to Sydney harbor by way of public transportation and got ready to climb the famous harbor bridge. Following numerous safety briefings, to include a weigh and calorie check, we were dressed and ready. Walked through a few walkways, and then we were on the bridge and ready for the climb. The climb is a mixture of steps and walkways, and throughout the experience you are connected via a metal cable to the bridge railing. The view of the entire harbor and city is breathtaking; once at the top, you circle back down. Awesome day I will always remember – not as scary as you would think. Day#6: My final day in Sydney – so the wife and I grabbed the ferry for the ride to Manley Beach. As we sailed on the ferry out to Manley, we got a great view of the harbor bridge and famous Sydney Opera House. Once at Manley we walked along the “Corso”, a large pedestrian only strip that takes you right to the water/beach. Back in Sydney harbor, we walked around the Opera House before making way back to our hotel. Day #7: Upon arriving at the port area, we were early and so we wandered the Rocks Market area for a bit. Boarded our cruise ship for the trip to Bora Bora and back to Honolulu.