Mud Volcano, Cartagena

On our last visit to Cartagena I went on a crew tour to the Mud Volcano.

The volcano is located about an hour outside of the city, in a town called Totumo.  The mud is supposed to have therapeutic properties, same thing they say about the those spa places that do mud baths I guess.

We had a quick stop at the Fortress for some pictures then we were on our way.

The Mud volcano stands about 15 meters high, and you have to climb some very steep stairs to get to it.

When we got to the top there was a person that was in a wheelchair being carried down.  She was totally covered in mud and I was worried for her and the people carrying the chair down the steep steps at the top.

The top of the volcano isn't very big and can only hold around 15-20 people at a time.  so we wait in line watching as each person climbs into the mud.

There are people who you give your camera to, so they can take your picture without getting any mud on it.

Finally it was my turn. 

There are people who work there who cover you in mud, and give a basic massage.  They are surprisingly good at not getting any mud in your eyes, nose or mouth.

The mud is extremely buoyant.  Its very easy to float at the top few inches of the mud.  And in fact its hard to move around or stand in.
I expected that there would be a wood platform or something like that to stand on but in fact its just mud all the way down.  But at about 5 feet deep the consistency gets very hard so you cant sink at all.

After the massage you are left to play in the mud for a while until you are ready to get out.  It was fun trying to move and float around.

After we got out we walked a short distance to the lake where we can wash off the mud.

The whole day was very fun, and a very interesting experience.

Antigua, Guatemala

A couple of weeks ago was my first time in Guatemala.   

Another new country to add to the list.

I managed to get on a tour to Antigua, which is an old Spanish Colonial town.

Antigua is surrounded by three volcano's.

A couple of weeks before we arrived one of them erupted, and 10,000 people needed to be evacuated.

On our drive into town we witnessed ash coming out of the volcano a few times. 

Antigua is a Spanish town founded after the conquest of the Mayans.  It was created in 1543 after a previous city was abandoned because of a volcanic eruption.

Some replica Mayan art

Quatchi looking at the volcano

One day in Montery

We were in Montery for only a few hours the day after San Francisco.

We tendered into the town, so it made it harder for crew to get off the ship.

Lots of seals watching us as we went into the dock.

Nice little town.   Had a good lunch.   Not much else to say for that day.

Sail-in to San Francisco

Hello all,

Im trying to get caught up on my old posts.

Here are a couple of pics from my sail in to San Francisco.

We had an overnight in this port and I was able to meet up with friends who are living in the area.

Nice to spend time off the ship and feel like a regular person for a couple of days.

Out of Alaksa

After 6 weeks of mostly rain and cold.  We have finally sailed out way south.

Currently we are repositioning our way south.  Heading for a couple of cruises through the Panama Canal.

Lots of different ports, and a few new ones for me.
But also a lot of sea days.  8 of the 16 days are sea days.

Stay tuned for pics.

Sunset from the ship in Alaska.

Hubbard Glacier Calving

The last time we were in Hubbard Glacier there was a lot of calving of the ice.

I was able to catch a few pictures of the ice falls, which is hard because it happenes so fast that its over by the time you can get your camera centered on that area.

One last pic of the ship as it sails away.

Ziplining and eating crab in Icy Strait

The other day a few of us went on the worlds longest zipline, located in Icy Strait Point, Alaska.

The zipline is 5,330 ft long, and has a 1,300 ft vertical drop. It takes about 90 seconds from the start to the end, and on the way down there is a amazing view of the bay, and out ship in port.

This was the second time I have been on the zipline, the last time being in 2010.

After the zipline we went for lunch at the crab station.  This was the last day of dungeness crab season, so we were able to get fresh caught crab served right on the dock.  Also they give a 50% discount for crew so it was a good deal overall.

Pictures to come.

A few pics of hubbard glacier

Vancouver Sail Away

Here are a couple of pictures from my first day on the old ship. Sailing away from my home.

A return to Alaska

Its been 2 years since I was last in Alaska.

For my first contract I was on the Infinity, this time I return to my first ship the Millennium.

And as a big bonus one of our home ports is my home city of Vancouver.

It made getting to the ship 100x easier then normal.  No flying, no jetlag, and no hassle.
Just a very short car ride to Canada Place, and walk right on.

Another nice thing is I can visit home every 2 weeks for the next couple of months.

So far Alaska has been a lot rainier then I remember.  With only 1 sunny day in 10.  But hopefully I see a turnaround soon.

A Day in Copenhagen

Here are some pictures from my day spent walking the city of Copenhagen.

The main canal street

A cool church with a spiral that I climbed up to the top of

View from the top

Christiania is almost a country of its own located in the middle of the city of Copenhagen. Founded when a bunch of hippies took over an empty section of an old naval base, they squatted there for a long time, and slowly became accepted as just part of things.  Now they are being give the right to buy all the land and become more fully independent. 

The very famous "little mermaid statue"

The old royal family palace

Top deck for the sailaway

A Birthday in Russia

Another day of touring a new city.                    Also this is my 250th post!

St. Petersburg, one of Russia's top cities. 

Russian, and St. Petersburg flags

My tour would take us throughout the city and then to the Hermitage Museum, one of the worlds largest.

Our first stop was to the Church of Spilled Blood. Which looks exactly like one would imagine when someone says Russian church. Covered in mosaics, and topped with colorful onion domes.

Later we visited St. Issac's cathedral, which was built in a more European style 

It took 40 years to build during the 1800's and its dome is covered in pure gold.

During the cities siege in WW2 the dome was painted over to make it less of an obvious target from the air.

Main dome with dove in the center.

After lunch we began our tour of the Hermitage.

The Hermitage Museum, one of the largest in the world, consists of 6 main buildings that used to be the palaces of the Russian Emperors. Including the Winter Palace

In total there are 3 million works of art in the collection. With only a fraction of that on display, but those you can see include many painting by famous artists.

Entire rooms of works by Rembrant, Van Gogh, Picasso, Monet, Renoir, and many many more.  Also originals by Leonardo Da Vinci, and Raphael.

There are so many painting of great artists that if you spend even just a few minutes in each room, you wont have time to see much at all.

Hermitage from outside

 Also many of the rooms are still decorated as they were when the Royal family used it.

Walls covered in gold, floors made of very intricate wood inlay.

Tables made of solid gold, and Peter the Great's burial tomb, which was made with over one ton of silver.

One of many ornately decorated rooms

The Ambassador Staircase

We had about 3 hours in the Museum, and our guide moved fast, so we were able to see many of the rooms in the time we had. But still our guide told us we saw about 3% of the total collection.

Pro-tip:  The Hermitage is not air-conditioned and it gets very warm.  If you can visit on a cloudy/raining day, as I did.  It will still be hot inside, but I can only imagine how brutal it would have been if it was a sunny day out.  I guess the emperors only used it as a winter palace for a reason.

My one day in St. Petersburg is not enough, and I was not able to see some of the things I wanted to. Including the Peterhof Palace, said to be greater then Versailles, but even though we were in the city for 2 days, that night was my birthday, and not having to be up early the next morning for a tour was good with me.

Quick day in Helsinki

Nothing much to report on this day.

Just a bit of walking around Helsinki

Train Station

Church