Even More Journeys of a Lifetime

By Len Coates

When I wrote my first book Journeys of a Lifetime in 2004, it reflected how dreams of mineof visiting unknown places in the UK, countries across the North Sea in Europe, and seemingly far-off continents of America, Africa, Asia, and Australiabecame a reality.

That was mainly due to the advent of air travel, package holidays, and the massive growth of international travel in the second half of the twentieth century.

Nine years on from that book, in my second book, our traveling had continued, and in that time, having seen the arrival of four grandchildren, naturally they have joined in some of the journeys. At that time, our fourth grandchild just made the book with her name and date and place of birth.

Naturally, there was a need for another book so that she, as well as her brother and cousins, will all be able to read as they get older about their grandparents travels, and in particular, some of which included them.

Although places visited in the three years since the last book include some return trips to old favorites, this book reflects only the new places visited. In particular, India, the Middle East, the Far East, Eastern Europe, and nearer home the beautiful Northeast England, it reflects the visits of the grandchildren, featured more this time.

As we now have two grandchildren living in the Costa del Sol, as well as the Aussie part of the family, Spain, and Australia are now regular destinations. Although the UK is much smaller in area than those two countries, it is packed with wonderful places to visit, so trips at home are still often very much included in our travels.

Added to that, cruising has taken off in the last decade a bit like package deals to Europe did in the 1960s and has provided a very enjoyable new dimension to the journeys made. Cruises are featured several times in this book.

More Journeys of a Lifetime and now Even More Journeys of a Lifetime reflect the further growth in long-haul travel and the massive increase in cruising. Hope you enjoy my further travels around this small world of ours, going on from those early dreams of mine and continuing to do so!

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Aug 14, 2017
• ISBN: 9781546280675

Len Coates

Len Coates was born in Cambois, Northumberland, England, in Apri1 1939. From a very early age, he had a passionate interest in travel.First of all, it was within the United Kingdom. After that, travel widened to Europe, then he was off to Zambia in Africa for two years. Transatlantic travel followed, and he has now been to North America more than thirty times. In subsequent years, his travels have taken him many times to the Far East, the Middle East, Australia, and the subcontinent of India. He has been married since 1967 with his wife, Pauline, with two children, Lesley and Anthony, and four grandchildren, Caitlin, Ciaran, Benjamin, and Layla and has now visited over one hundred countries/islands spanning five continents.

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2017 Len Coates. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 08/14/2017

ISBN: 978-1-5462-8052-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-8067-5 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

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CONTENTS

PART 1

AMERICAS

ANTIGUA

ARUBA

ATLANTIC AND CARIBBEAN CRUISE

BAR HARBOR

BARBADOS

COZUMEL

JAMAICA

MARTINIQUE

NEW YORK TO CANADA CRUISE

NEW YORK TO CARIBBEAN CRUISE

NEWARK

NOVA SCOTIA

PORTLAND

PUNTARENAS

QUEBEC CITY

ROATAN

SAN DIEGO

SAN JUAN

PART 2

AUSTRALIA - NEW ZEALAND

AKAROA AND THE BAYS.

AUGUSTA AND CAPE LEEU IN

FIRST CLASS FLIGHT TO AUSTRALIA

JOONDALUP

KALBARRI AND THE PINNACLES DESERT

PHILLIP ISLAND

ROTORUA

ROTTNEST ISLAND

SHARK BAY AND MONKEY MIA

THE SOUNDS OF NEW ZEALAND

PART 3

EUROPE

ANTWERP

BENALMADENA

CADIZ

CANARIES CRUISE

CANNES

CARTAGENA

CENTRAL MEDITERRANEAN CRUISE

ELVIRIA

GRAN CANARIA

GUERNSEY

HAMBURG

KATAKOLON

KEFALONIA

LA CORUNA

LANZAROTE

LE HAVRE

LISBON

MEDITERRANEAN MAGIC CRUISE

OSLO

SOFIA

VALENCIA

VIENNA

VIGO

PART 4

INDIA – AFRICA

AGADIR

BANGALORE

CHENNAI

DURBAN

GOLDEN GOA

MAHABALIPURAM

PONDICHERRY

SAL - CAPE VERDE ISLANDS

SHARM EL SHEIKH

SHIMLA

PART 5

MIDDLE EAST - FAR EAST

ABU DHABI

FUJAIRAH

KARMA KANDARA

SEYCHELLES

SINGAPOREAN CRUISE

SIR BANI YAS

SIX STAR CRUISE

TRANSFORMED DUBAI

PART 6

UNITED KINGDOM

BALLATER

BELFAST

BERWICK UPON TWEED

BLACKPOOL

BRIGHTON

CARDIFF

CASTLES OF NORTHUMBERLAND

CRIMDON DENE

DOVER

DURHAM

FALMOUTH

GRANGE-OVER-SANDS

HAWICK

HEANOR AND THE PEAK DISTRICT

HISTORIC SIGHTS AND SCENIC DELIGHTS CRUISE

HOLY ISLAND OF LINDISFARNE

INVERNESS

ISLE OF MULL

LOCH RANNOCH

LUCKER

SOUTHAMPTON

STONEHENGE

STONEYGATE FARM

THE NATIONAL FOREST

THE TALL SHIPS AT BLYTH

PART 7

AROUND THE WORLD CRUISING

AROUND THE WORLD CRUISING

PART 8

MY OVERALL FAVOURITES

MY OVERALL FAVOURITES

TO OUR LOVELY GRANDCHILDREN:

Caitlin Mairead Callaghan, born 14th September 2006, in Sunderland, England.

Ciaran Michael Callaghan, born 27th January 2010, in Sunderland, England.

Benjamin Matthew Coates, born 1st July 2010, in Perth, Western Australia.

Layla May Coates, born 6th June 2013, in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.

With thanks for all the pleasure you have provided and continue to do so for Grandma Pauline and Grandad Len.

You are all seasoned travellers and have flown thousands of miles on aeroplanes already. I hope your future travels give you as much pleasure as ours has to us.

INTRODUCTION

When historians look back on the 20th century, it may well be remembered as the era of package holidays and international travel for the masses. For me the selection of the journeys for my first book in 2004 and this book reflect a lifetime of memories. So where did it all start?

Sixty years ago I was a youngster living in the village of Cambois in Northumberland, England. Then holidays meant an annual street day trip to Edinburgh, Scarborough or the Lake District. But even then I got the chance to travel internationally as my grandparents lived in Hawick, Roxburghshire, Scotland.

My holidays with them meant catching a ferry and three changes of buses and the journey took about ten hours, funnily enough about the same time as a flight now from Newcastle to Florida in the United States or Goa in India.

Since those days I have flown over a million miles and visited more than one hundred countries and islands. My first flight was on an old Dakota that really did splutter all the way across the Irish Sea, but somehow got to the Isle of Man.

By the 1960’s package holidays had arrived. In 1963, feeling a bit like a pioneer I made my first flight to mainland Europe, with a superb holiday in the sunshine of the Catalan capital, Barcelona. That city still remains special to me and I have been there numerous times including four times as a cruise departure port.

More European holidays in places like Rimini (Italy) and Porec now in Croatia but then the old Yugoslavia followed, before Pauline came on the scene. After we were married, Spain and Majorca were soon added to the increasing list of European destinations visited.

For us the mid 1970’s brought dramatic changes in our travel, when an ambition was realised and we went to live in Africa. By that time daughter Lesley and son Anthony made up our family. At that time apartheid was a big problem in South Africa, but we had no problems during our two-year stay in Zambia. During that period we visited Botswana, Kenya, Malawi and South Africa.

It is often said that the best parts of the world are provided by nature. Well I can say that the fantastic game parks in Zambia, Kenya and Tanzania as well as the magnificent Victoria Falls in Zambia are great examples.

By 1980 the smell of aircraft fuel was well and truly in my nostrils and the family made our first transatlantic trip. Thanks to friends Roy and Barbara who lived in Wisconsin at that time the first American city visited was Chicago.

That was combined with our first visit to the Entertainment Capital of the World, Orlando. Surprisingly although the kids were mesmerised by the fantasy of Disney World it was the reality of the Kennedy Space Centre that left the biggest impression. Those were the days of mighty rockets going off to explore space on a regular basis.

Our subsequent visits to the USA have taken us to many of the biggest cities including New York, Washington DC, Boston, San Francisco, Miami, Phoenix and Los Angeles as well as the place I regard as Disney World for adults, Las Vegas!

In the nineties we also had two separate holidays in Canada and again got reminders of Mother Nature’s best when we visited the Niagara Falls and drove right through the Rockies to the spectacular emerald green Lake Louise.

Having travelled so much previously, Pauline’s 50th birthday had to be something of a special surprise. I kidded her up for months that we were going to Turkey and then revealed at the last minute that it was really a case of Hawaii Five O’.

It was in the 90’s that we also got back to the continent of Africa, with a marvellous trip to Egypt. Now neither of us really thought we would be interested in historical things, but we had to marvel at the enormity of the Pyramids, Sphinx and the Valley of the Kings and the beauty of Tutankhamun’s treasures in the Cairo museum. It was unbelievable that we were looking at things created over three thousand years ago.

To celebrate our silver wedding in 1992 we thought it was another trip of a lifetime, our first trip to Australia. But like USA twelve years earlier it has not worked out that way and we are now looking forward to our twentieth trip down under. But before we got to Oz for the first time, it was the Far East with stopovers in Bangkok, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Australia is a long way to go but is really worth the effort. If there is a more spectacular harbour in the world than Sydney then I have yet to see it. After we left Sydney the first time, it was up north over one thousand miles to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef and another surprise. The reef is actually thirty eight km from the shore.

The second time we went to Oz it was part of our Round the World trip to celebrate my retirement that started off on the beautiful island of Bali. Then we went on to the wonderful city of Perth, before going on to the mysterious Ayers Rock and Melbourne then on to New Zealand.

Our journey onwards from Auckland provided another first, crossing the International Date Line. Now if a couple of hours time difference on a trip to Europe or within the United States causes problems, then you would really enjoy the journey from New Zealand to the west coast of the USA.

We actually left Auckland at ten minutes to twelve on a Sunday night and the flight took twelve hours. The problem was that we arrived in LA at ten minutes to twelve noon but still on the same Sunday. I am uncertain how many meals we actually had on 16th March 1998 but it has never been beaten in our lifetime.

Now our trips down under tend to be to Western Australia as we have an Aussie part of our family living in the world’s largest state. However, the east coast still features in some of our itineraries including actually sailing out of that wonderful harbour of Sydney in 2011on our Australasia cruise.

In the last seventeen years another regular long haul destination has become very popular for us, Goa on the west coast of India. On our annual visits we like also to have a bite of India and the Golden Triangle, Kerala and the Palace on Wheels train trip and the fantastic monuments in Hampi have all provided memorable journeys in the fascinating sub continent.

During that timescale we have also participated in the fantastic increase in the popularity of cruises. Previously we had crossed the North Sea and the Irish Sea a few times and sailed down the Nile. But for me although my favourite is cruising remains the Caribbean. Alaska China and Norway are also spectacular as are two of the world’s famous canals Panama and Suez and the mighty Yangtze in China.

Although in the twelve years since my first book and four from when I wrote the second one there has still been a big increase in long haul travel for us. Notably it has been to Australia, the Far East and the Middle East, India and the USA but we still always find some time for the UK and Europe especially our old favourites Spain and France. We have also visited a number of the former communist countries and in particular greatly enjoyed trips to the wonderful Czech Republic capital city of Prague and to Krakow in Poland and Budapest in Hungary.

Back home we still like to visit the old haunts and in the last year have again been to old favourites Edinburgh, Scarborough and the Lake District, yes the same places as I went to on the street trips all those years ago. They do say that if you wait long enough, everything comes round again!

Of course some things to do change and special for Pauline and me in the last ten years has been the arrival of our four lovely grandchildren, Caitlin, Ciaran, Ben and Layla.who have actually joined us on some of the journeys in this book. Long may that continue!

PART 1

AMERICAS

ANTIGUA

Antigua is the largest of the Leeward Caribbean islands and is often referred to as the heart of the Caribbean It proved to be certainly one of the most popular islands that we have visited in the Caribbean. Along with its sister islands of Barbuda and the uninhabited Redonda, Antigua makes up the nation of Antigua and Barbuda. However, we learnt its British connection goes back over two hundred years.

The island is fourteen miles long and eleven miles wide. Its highest point is Mount Obama which was affectionately previously known as Boggy Peak! It lies in the south west of the island and is actually named after Barack Obama the 44th President of the United States of America.

It boasts an amazing coastline of natural harbours and beautiful coral reefs and wrecks. Although we did not participate we learnt also that it was an ideal place to snorkel and scuba dive, but did enjoy spending time on some stunning white beaches, more about them later.

St John’s is the capital and largest city of Antigua and Barbuda and is the commercial centre of the nation and the chief port of the island of Antigua and is a lively hub for shopping and dining. The skyline is dominated by the magnificent white baroque towers of St John’s Cathedral.

Antigua’s graceful and historic district is the fifteen square miles Nelson’s Dockyard National Park. Developed as a base for the British Navy in the 18th Century it has been transformed into quite a number of historical sites with lovely restored buildings and interesting museums. Being British we felt quite at home in Nelson’s Dockyard with its abundance of restaurants and bars as well as lots of shops and markets.

Another interesting place to visit is the Museum of Antigua and Barbuda. It is housed in the colonial Court House built in 1750. The museum displays both Arawak and colonial artefacts which were recovered during archaeological excavations on the island.

The serenity of that visit was quite a contrast to spending time in the vibrant farmers markets held on Friday and Saturday mornings on the southern edge of St John’s. Folk crafts, colourful tropical fruits and the buzzing and noisy crowds all added up to make for a lively morning.

Away from the crowds you are spoilt for choice with the lovely beaches. Although we did not count them or try to visit all of them there are reputed to be 365 beaches on Antigua, so one for each day of the year.

Most of them rest inside the calm protected waters of the island’s Caribbean side. The beaches most convenient to St John’s are Fort James, which is very popular with the locals and Deep Bay. Another one we saw which was well used by surfers was Galley Bay.

As a keen cricket fan myself I could not fail to see that the island is fiercely devoted to cricket and matches seemed to be taken place everywhere. Not surprisingly the Antigua Recreation ground is regarded as one of the most exciting places in the world to watch cricket.

The most celebrated of Antigua’s greatest cricketers was Viv Richards and I was pleased to recall that it had been quite an experience to watch the Master Blaster in action. However, that was many years ago and in England rather than in the sunshine of his home island of Antigua.

Although our visit to the lovely island of Antigua was relatively short it was most enjoyable. Just one afterthought, little did the legendary Admiral Horatio Nelson realise what he was creating when he sailed into Antigua in 1784.

Now well over two hundred years later many more British visitors like ourselves have the pleasure of enjoying Antigua which is one of the Caribbean’s premier tourist destinations.

ARUBA

Located about fifteen miles north of the South American country of Venezuela, Aruba is a lovely island in the warm waters of the southern Caribbean and surprisingly Dutch. It is home to some lovely beaches and has a constant temperature around 28C all year round.

Aruba is about twenty miles long and six miles across and fortunately it is located below the hurricane belt and unlike a number of the Caribbean islands it does not get much rain!

Set on Aruba’s southern coast is the island’s capital Oranjestad. Actually its Dutch name translates as Orangetown and having spent a fair bit of time there we can certainly confirm it has got a bit of zest about it.

A lot of the colonial landmarks and some of the newer lookalikes in the cobblestoned streets of the Upper Town bear more than a passing resemblance to gingerbread houses! There was something very relaxing and pleasing about looking at them in their lovely pastel colours of pinks and yellows.

The Lower Town, meanwhile is home to the port packed with fishing boats and schooners as well as the busy cruise ship terminal. There you can also see ruins from the island’s bygone days.

Oranjestad is naturally Aruba’s largest town and there are a number of beaches quite close. Elsewhere, modern shopping malls congregate in the downtown area giving way to makeshift markets and stalls piled high with fish and fresh produce.

The oldest structure in Oranjestad is Fort Zoutman a military fortification built in 1798 by the Dutch army and the Willem 111 Tower at the west entrance of the fort was added in 1868. They have now been restored and form the Historical Museum of Aruba.

The closest beach to Oranjestad is Druif Beach which stretches more than six miles. Just behind is the JE Irausquin Boulevard, the coast road that connects Druif Beach with some of Aruba’s other tropical beaches. Eagle Beach is the closest with its top line-up of restaurants and bars.

Palm Beach is further down the road past the island’s bird sanctuary and the Butterfly Farm. Nicknamed the Las Vegas of Aruba its supersized malls and casinos are very busy. Yet just to remind how small the island is Oranjestad is just a fifteen minute ride away.

This is actually the island’s flagship resort with almost two miles of breath taking tropical coastline on the north west of the island. Its crammed with international restaurants and is home to Palm Beach Plaza Mall, Aruba’s biggest shopping centre and a number of spectacular casinos.

Aruba is a relatively small island but it packs in a lot. On a half day tour you can see it all from lighthouses and rock formations to gold rush country and tropical rainforest.

Our first stop was on the north west corner of the island. There is the sky-scraping California Lighthouse named after the steamship of that name which was wrecked nearby on 23 September 1891. We saw also the Chapel of Alto Vista a small Catholic chapel known as Pilgrims Church which provided wonderful 360-degree panoramas over sea, sand dunes and Wild West style cacti.

Further south there isquite a contrast the weird and wonderful rock formation called Casibari. By climbing the mammoth rocks there were more fantastic panoramic views. The rocks are clusters of huge tonalite rocks which sit together just north of Hooiberg.

Next on our list was a visit to the canyon-side Bushiribana Gold Mill which in the 19th century was an all important gold resource. So much so that the island was then named oro ruba or red gold. Our last stops were at two natural beauties, Baby Bridge a sea worn arch cut from coral limestone and the impressive Butterfly Farm.

Also worth making the effort to see on the north east coast along the windward shore is the island’s unofficial mascots, the fofoti trees. The constant trade winds have permanently sculptured them into graceful, south westerly bending forms.

Sometimes after visiting so many Caribbean islands it is really difficult to distinguish easily one from another. However, Aruba we remember with affection particularly those lovely pastel coloured houses in the capital Oranjestad and again the lovely beaches blessed with glorious sunshine.

ATLANTIC AND CARIBBEAN CRUISE

Although we had crossed the Atlantic Ocean before, this cruise was a new experience as it was the first time for us to sail out of England’s major port Southampton. In addition our destination involved stopping in two Caribbean islands and ending up in San Juan, Puerto Rico which is actually associated with and part of the USA.

After our ninety minutes flight with Flybe down to Southampton we were looking forward very much to the cruise. Perhaps Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas was an an aptly named and appropriate choice for what lay ahead of us. As mentioned Southampton is our country’s main port and has four terminals, so it was not surprising to see three ships in the port.

As it was November obviously darkness had fallen before our adventure started sailing down the Solent, but a very nice first surprise was soon evident. Standing on our balcony on the starboard side we were fortunate to have wonderful views as we passed, the illuminated Queen Mary 2 and the Oriana, both ready for their own departures. Obviously their passengers enjoyed seeing Adventure of the Seas sail past, as many were on the decks and balconies waving to us.

We had got our bearings on the ship in the three hours before sailing, and soon were joining fellow passengers in the huge Royal Theater for the Welcome Show and still had time for drinks before heading for dinner in the Strauss restaurant on deck 4. The main restaurants were on three decks and all had names of famous composers, the other two being Mozart and Vivaldi.

The first two days were cruising towards our first stop which was the Portuguese island of Madeira, so we enjoyed getting around the ship’s excellent facilities and amenities. Our balcony cabin on the 7th deck was very nice and in a good position as there were 14 decks to get to see around the ship. In addition our cabin steward Johncy was from the south of Goa, where we go for six weeks at the end of January each year. Talking to him it was even established that we knew some of his friends back in India!

By the second day at sea it was getting noticeably warmer, so we were soon taking advantage and enjoying sunbathing and reading our new Kindles. As part of our holiday package we had been offered free drinks all the way to San Juan. We are not heavy drinkers, but in the afternoon sunshine a cocktail could not be resisted!

The following morning when we woke the ship was already berthed in Funchal, the capital of Madeira. After a healthy option breakfast we went ashore with a couple we had met on the ship. Now we knew from previous cruises that tours booked on the ship are very expensive, so the four of us hired a taxi for a tour of the island.

Not only was that much cheaper but also proved to be great value. Our tour was most enjoyable especially when we got very high up and had magnificent panoramic views of the island. On the way up our driver stopped to show us the home where Cristiano Ronaldo the former Manchester United player, now with Real Madrid was born. Back down in Funchal we had a leisurely walk along the main shopping street before heading back to the ship.

Back on the ship we then had five days at sea to come and more surprises. Now flying to the east coast of the USA from the UK, we were well used to the five hours time difference. However, here on the ship we had five 25 hours days in a row. So it was a case of going for dinner, to a show and afterwards to a bar or the casino, then before retiring for the night turning our watches back by one hour!

Of course, during the day in lovely glorious sunshine we also had time to get around the ship and enjoy the facilities, including one afternoon going to see a wonderful ice show in Studio B on deck 3. At other times the ice rink was available for skating, but Pauline and I much preferred to be outdoors enjoying the sunshine, sunbathing and chatting to other passengers most of whom seemed to be from the USA and Canada.

Our first port after leaving Madeira was the island of St Thomas and there was another surprise before we got there. On the afternoon before our arrival because St Thomas is American we had to queue to clear USA customs. Although we were allocated a time to go to the restaurant, unfortunately it was a little chaotic and consequently we were there much longer than anticipated!

At least we knew afterwards that when eventually San Juan was reached there would be no customs to clear before going ashore. Back to St Thomas it was quite a picturesque island. We walked right around from the ship to the centre where there were some very interesting shops. On the way back we even had time to get quite a different view of St Thomas, by going