INTRO TO OUR JOURNEY to THE WIND SWEPT COAST OF WALES

In the last  entry of The Soggy Moose Blog I asked you to stand by for this trip. So here is a rough idea as to what lies ahead for us. 

Our journey will start with a mighty long airplane ride to Dublin, Ireland. We will have one day and night to explore and recon for our return. So we will be exploring on foot the banks of the River Liffey, finding places to eat and drink for our return after our sailing. That night I believe we will make our way to The Temple Bar to enjoy a meal and music before we find the historic Gaiety  Theater and attend a performance of River Dance. This day should help us adjust to the time change, but not always as I will be up early either way. 

The next morning we will walk to another hotel where we will meet our fellow travelers. We will have a city tour and then board the Lindblad National Geographic Orion, casting off to sail to the wind swept coast of Wales.  

We enjoy Lindblad Nat Geo for many reasons and here are a few of my random thoughts. 

1. The ships are small expedition class. The expedition class ship was pioneered by Lindblad. 102 guests in 53 cabins to give you a feel for the size of this vessel. 

2.   An open bridge, yes one can wander onto the ships bridge and chat           with the on duty staff and crew. 

3,   While there is an itinerary, this is an expedition and all is subject to change, be it weather, government clearances (as experienced in Cuba), or maybe a unique wildlife sighting. 

4, The quality of the speakers is outstanding. On this we will have several historians, photographers, naturalists and yes an ethnomusicologist. 

5. While the ship is small there is no lacking on service or quality of food. FOR MY DISNEY CRUISE LINE FRIENDS THERE IS NO “EXCELLENT SPEACH”

There are more reasons, which will be revealed as the travel progresses.  

During this sailing we will be exploring the flora, fauna and history of many out of the way as well as some well traveled paths. Skomer Island, Fishguard, Isles of Scilly, Tresco, Alderney and Sark to name a few. We will also visit Dartmouth and Portsmouth. I am looking forward to being onboard the HMS Victory as there is great history on those decks. 

Our last morning will find us sailing up the Thames and I believe we dock alongside the HMS Belfast after sailing under the open Tower Bridge. 

We will then have a day and a half in London. Here we will visit a few of our favorite pubs and, as time is short, probably visit the British Museum for another round of Egyptology.  We do hope to meet up with friends and enjoy bits of the Totally Thames Festival. The Thames has a fascinating history which spans many years. 

Next we travel by rail and ferry back to Dublin, staying at a little Inn above a pub on the River. The only scheduled event in Dublin is the Guiness Storehouse tour. I am sure we will visit Trinity College etc.  and I have also discovered a walking tour (Ok a pub crawl) themed on the authors of Ireland who lived in Dublin. 

So kids, that is what one may expect to read about in the days to come. 

Thanks to one and all for reading and sharing our blog. I hope you get inspired you to explore and learn and experience and find the beauty of our world. 

Scott and Lynn