30 by 30

Or… 23?

I’ve had a goal to hit 30 countries by the time I was 30. And now, as the port days have come to a close, I’ve officially hit 30 countries. WOW! Some places over the years I’ve really gotten to delve into and spend a lot of time exploring, other places didn’t allow me as much time. But instead were just a taster of what the place has to offer, encouraging me to come back again someday.

I am so incredibly lucky for this life. The places I’ve been, the things I’ve seen, the people I’ve met. I can’t wait to see what’s next for me.

But until then, please enjoy reading about my final port days!

Just kidding- here’s a sea day first:

Sea day Orange Party 4/27

We had another guest and crew party for Kings Day. Or, the Orange Party, as called on the ship. As you can imagine, everyone is dressed to the nines in all things yellow to celebrate a Dutch holiday.

Were you paying attention? Did you notice I said yellow?

Wink

I meant orange.

Anyway, we danced the night away (I mean. Let’s be real here, it’s a Holland America ship, the party ended at midnight haha) and enjoyed all the free champagne that kept coming our way.

Portree, Isle of Skye, Scotland 4/28

Our first port in Scotland was so beautiful. A quaint town with kind people and beautiful scenery. We took a small loop trail to The Lump which was a nice lookout point.

We also went to a historic lookout tower and got a view of the Old Man of Storr, which Shauna and Tom went and saw later that day!

I opted to stay in town. I walked around for a bit more, but ultimately spent the majority of my day on the ship.

I needed a self care day. Mental health matters. And you can have rough days no matter where you are in life. And this day was just a wake up call that real life responsibilities still exist, and they come up when you least expect it.

So I took some time to myself, did some breathing exercises, yoga, meditation, and fueled my body with a yummy and healthy salad.

Oban, Scotland 4/29

We started the morning walking a short distance from the tender drop off to Caig’s Tower- a coliseum type building overlooking the beautiful Scotland highlands.

Then Shauna, Tom, Chris, Kerry and I walked the waterfront to castle ruins. It was closed but we saw fiddleheads and sheep- even black sheep! - along the way which made it all worth it.

We made our way back into town to a church with a cemetery dating back as far as the 1600’s (wow!)

Then we made one final pit stop at Lidl before heading back to the ship. I would shop at Lidl in Sweden and they had a special type of chocolate muesli that I loved. I would seriously devour the box in 2 days… Breakfast, second breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner, supper… you get the idea.

Anyway, I found it! I bought two boxes to enjoy and share over my final days on the ship.

Once we got back on the ship Andrew invited us to tea. To our surprise he shows up with freshly baked scones, 4 different types of jam, and clotted cream. It was such a cute moment to be altogether sharing the treat as we sailed away from Scotland and made our way to Ireland.

Dublin, Ireland 4/30

Number 30!!!!! WOOHOO!

We actually docked in Dun Laoghaire, which was about a 20 minute train ride (DART) into Dublin.

Our first stop was the infamous Temple Bar where we all shared some laughs over Guinness and live music. What a warm welcome into Dublin! And the Jameson was a warm welcome into my belly…

Just as we were leaving it started down pouring rain, so we saw that as a sign to stay and have another drink.

Once it cleared up we walked to Dublin Castle and Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. We stopped at the park here to have a picnic in the park. This park area was home to where St. Patrick baptized many of the local inhabitants during fifth century A.D.

And then, in typical Tom, Shauna, Chris, and I fashion we found ourselves at the right place at the right time.

We were headed towards Grafton Street- a popular street to see buskers. Sheehans bar was a pit stop for the bathroom… and I’m so glad it was. Once we got in there was a band squished up in this tiny corner, happy as can be, playing music to their hearts content.

They were a hoot. Tom bought them drinks and then they were REALLY a hoot! The mandolin player let Chris play (he was really itching to get his fingers on it), and then he pulled out a pair of spoons and started playing those (how cool! He did a really good job too).

It was just so memorable to be truly present with a group of strangers, dancing along, with no better place to be but some small pub in Ireland listening to a 7 man band of bearded guys from Italy funny enough. As we were saying our goodbyes they got up and cheered for us all, and gifted us each with a cd with a full album of their music!

To top off the day, we saw a full rainbow over the water once we were back onboard. Truly the cherry on top.

Cobh, Ireland 5/1/2023

Shauna and I had a tour booked through Viator to go kiss the Blarney Stone since the end of January. So we were one of the first ones off the ship, and ones of the last ones back on the ship at the end of the day!

We met our guide Gabriel and he was a bald, beer bellied Irish man with a great sense of humor. He was an incredible tour guide- knowledgeable and funny. The typical fashioned dry dark humor.

He also sang for us and played Irish music along the way. My favorite lyric that stood out to me was: she was a rare thing, as fine as a bees wing.

Our first stop was at Blarney Castle to kiss the Blarney Stone. We got there before the crowd, so we were able to make our way straight up. We passed signs that read “90 minutes from the point” “60 minutes from this point” and so on. If those signs are there, that means that it can get that busy. We strut our stuff straight up the tall, VERY NARROW tower. We learned it was so narrow because it made it easier to fight off intruders into the castle. It was easily the narrowest staircase I’ve ever encountered.

The was one family that went before Shauna and I which was half the fun! Seeing the squirm and squeal helped the anticipation grow!

One woman was short like me, and as she layed down on her back and grabbed the rails for support, the worker there to help pointed to the section she needed to kiss in order to get the gift of gab. To everyone’s surprise, the section was much further out, and down, than we all thought.

“THAT ONE?!” She said. It made me giggle, because none of us had quite realized the depth of what we’d gotten ourselves into.

Shauna expressed that it felt like we had to contort our bodies to reach it (haha).

But it’s a lot more developed than it used to be. Andrew said he did it when he was about 9 years old and there were no poles to hang onto, no padding on the ground (we really are a pampered bunch) and the little, old, frail Irish man in the tweed vest and tweed fedora that held him by the ankles was lucky if he weighed a buck twenty.

It was a fun experience! A good opportunity to see some beautiful country and have a bit of an adrenaline rush.

There were so many hidden treasures within the gates too. The gardens were beautiful:

Wishing Steps- legend has it if you’re able to close your eyes and walk down the wishing steps, thinking of a wish, and ONLY thinking of that wish for the entirety of your time walking the steps, then your wish will come true within a year.

Witches Stone- There’s a profile of a witch in a stone. Legend has it every night she escapes from the stone and roams the castle grounds. Luckily, they close at dusk *wink*

Fern garden- All the gardens were beautiful and it was easy to get lost in them, but the fern section was my favorite because it was so lush (and, as some of you know, I have a soft spot for curled ferns).

We also popped into the largest Irish gift shop in the world… Shauna and I have an inside joke… basically if you stick “worlds largest” on it, or give it a sign, we want to see it. The LENGTHS people will go to try and market the “Worlds largest ____” is hilarious. The longest tram in the southern hemisphere after a rainstorm on a Tuesday… you know. Exaggerations like that.

We closed our eyes on the bus and next thing you know we’re at Charles fort. Shauna and I, especially Shauna, have terrible habit of falling asleep on public transportation.

There is SO MUCH HISTORY to Ireland, and it was so meaningful to walk around the grounds and try picturing what people endured there.

“I do not hate the ones I fight and I do not love the ones I guard.” - a quote from an Irish Soldier that resonated with me from the fort.

Our next stop was Kinsale. I had honeycomb icecream, saw a church from 1190 (with only 2 other people inside), had a takeaway chicken strip and fries lunch and sat in the middle of the square watching kids run around.

With some time to spare, Gabriel made an extra stop at the cathedral in Cobh, and it was so cold inside you could see your breath!

There were tents and live music set up by the park near the ship for May Day- a European holiday. We walked through and checked out the tents, pet some of the dogs (of course), and enjoyed people watching for the last bit before waving goodbye to Ireland.

Ponta Delgada, Azores 5/4/2023

We wanted a chill walk around the port day, especially because it was foggy. So we started with the church (surprise surprise).

We were inside, Tom was talking to Andrew about something, and out of nowhere came this man “Shuuuushhhh!!” To Tom. This stranger literally shushed Tom. We were all so shocked, we didn’t say anything, just simply watched him briskly walk to the next person talking and shushed loudly at him as well.

Next we went to the bell tower that had a 360 view of the city. When we were at the Blarney Stone it was the narrowest staircase I’d ever been on…. This staircase was narrower. Andrew had to take off his backpack and turn sideways so his shoulders could squeeze through.

We spent the rest of the day bouncing from cafe to cafe enjoying the wine that was less than 2€ a glass and bifana sandwiches.

As we were finishing up our last glass of wine, David came rushing into the cafe we were in. He had spotted us and wiggled keys in his hand and asked if we wanted to go on a car ride.

About a 20 minute drive away was a lookout point to a beautiful lake. But it was soooo foggy we could barely see we’ll enough to drive leg alone a lake. Little did we know what was in store for us!

“It’s foggy like pea soup,” David

“So foggy I can see chunks of ham,” Chris

“You mean TRUCKS of ham,” David

We came to a parking area and decided to pull in. Come to find out, it was an abandoned hotel, but it wasn’t closed off to visitors! It was a really neat place to explore for a bit. It was definitely giving spooky vibes (the fog and dampness from the rain added to the effect) but it wasn’t giving haunted vibes. No ghosts!

Praia da Vitória, Azores 5/5/2023

A calm but memorable final port.

Shauna, Tom, Chris and I saw our final church of the journey. It was a small yet unique church with blue trim on the outside, and 2 altars on the inside… we could go through the rooms, and even back behind the altar, which is unusual.

The we starting ascending up the daunting switchbacks that could be seen through the whole town. The switchbacks led to the top of a small mountain (more like a hill) to a nice viewpoint of the city, and the surrounding 3 volcanoes on the island. It only took us about 10-15 minutes to walk up, no biggie!

Afterwards we explored and wandered around the grassy, field area where people were growing crops and had cows. This was all fun and games until it smelled painfully bad of cow manure. Honestly, as if my nose hairs were being singed off. It’s permanently embedded within my nostrils forever. Nasty.

Anywayyyyyy.

We ended the day with a walk back to town, and a bite to eat with Ben and his dad. I had a small bifana (pork sandwich) because I was saving room for pastries that I’d spotted in a cute shop at the start of the day. I got two pastries that were special to the island: one made out of potatoes, and another made with honey and brown flour.

BUT (drum roll please)

As I was paying, my wrist was warm.

Warm from what you ask?

Heat coming off of fresh out of the oven pastel de nata.

Let’s pause a second here to wipe our drool away.

I had to buy one! It was sooooo good! Not quite as good at the first time ever trying it in Belém with Andrew, but still a great send off.

5/7/2023

Sailing over mid-ocean range. The longest mountain range in the world!

Now that the port days are over I’ve got one final hurrah of sea days before disembarking on May 12 and heading back home. It’s been an incredible ride, and I’m so grateful for everyone I met along the way, all the fun things I got to see and do, and the wonderful memories I made that will last a lifetime. This was truly a once in a lifetime experience, and I couldn’t have done it without the help of HAP, and my supportive friends and family.

On to my next adventure.

Cheers,

Tay