We were picked up at 0500 for our ride to SMF. \240UA flight to ORD was uneventful and on time. \240After a 3.5 hour layover we boarded BA to LHR. \240Our departure was delayed 30 minutes because of high tailwinds that would have brought us to LHR before the 6 a.m. noise restriction for morning landings. \240

After delaying our departure from ORD so we wouldn’t arrive too early, we wound up circling LHR for 30’ awaiting landing clearance. \240We were delayed another 30’ after landing because the previous flight hadn’t cleared our gate and ultimately we were sent to a remote pad from where we were bussed to the terminal. \240Fortunately we had a 3 hour connection so, even with typical LHR crowds and security hassles we made our connection to EDI with time to visit the BA lounge.

The 1 hour flight to EDI was fine. We landed in sunny but windy and cool (52) conditions. \240The 30’ trip into Edinburgh took us through tree-lined city streets with cobblestone roads. \240The buildings are all old dating at least one century. Construction is of sandstone and appears to be about a four-story height, limitation. Overall, the city is very picturesque. We arrived at our hotel, the Balmoral is a classic old building. We were very fortunate that our room was ready for us upon arrival shortly afternoon. This is allowed us to catch up on some badly needed sleep.

A&K hosted a cocktail reception this evening. We met two couples, Sharon and Neil from Sarasota and Barbara and Ken from Charlottesville, Virginia with whom we had dinner. Then it was off to a good night’s sleep.

We walk to a sunny but chilly morning. Not having anything to do until later this morning we took a walk around the old city of Edinburgh. \240We were very surprised that the huge thrones of tourists visiting the city, not realizing what a major tourist attraction it is. The old city is made up of centuries, old buildings, many of which have been converted into shops, catering to the tourist trade. There’s also cathedral and municipal buildings. We did buy a couple of cashmere scarfs to bring home.

We returned to the hotel to check out and have a late lunch. Then we boarded the buses for a drive around. Edinburgh, followed by a tour of Britannia Followed by a tour of HMS Britannia, the retired Royal yacht. It was surprising how large and opulent the yacht was. The royal family certainly enjoyed traveling the world on this beautiful ship.

We continued on to the port where we boarded Le Dumont d’Urville, our home for the next 10 days. \240This friendship is quite new and beautifully appointed. The cabins are on the small side but comfortable. It seems that all of the executive . We departed at 4 PM, heading down the Fourth River into the North Sea. We now have about a 2 to 3 foot swell, but so far nothing too disturbing.

The overnight trip to Invergordon was bumpy but not uncomfortable. \240We arrived at 9:30. \240It is again sunny and cool; frankly cold in areas exposed to the wind. After breakfast we boarded a bus for a tour of Loch Ness and the Highlands. \240Alas, we failed to spot Nessie. \240We had a brief rain shower just as we were reboarding the bus at Loch Ness. \240We then drove to the town of Breuly for some quich shopping and then back to the boat for lunch and a rest.

Dinner with our now routine group and ready for sleep.

Our overnight trip was so smooth I had to look out to make sure we were moving. \240By 7:30 we were anchored off of Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands. After breakfast, we went ashore by tender for our day long bus tour of the island. The Orkneys are located just north of mainland Scotland. They are a group of 70 islands with a population of 22,000. The main activities here are tourism and agriculture. This is born out by large herds of cattle and sheep and by encountering many tourist groups. Our first stop was the Italian chapel. This was built by Italian POW’s during World War II when they were inprisoned here. Because of the isolation of the island they were not locked up but allowed to move about freely, including building their chapel. We also saw what are called the Churchill Barriers. These were causeways between several of the islands, also built by the Italian POW’s. Their purpose was to prevent access by German U-boats to the Royal Navy, which had major headquarters here. In fact, early on in the war, are a U-Boat penetrated the islands and sank major warship with Lawson over 800 sailors.

We then began to explore the Neil archaeologic sites on the island. These days back to a civilization that lived here 5000 years ago. These vertically install large rocks served some sort of ceremonial or meteorological purpose. There are similar to Stonehenge to a pre-Stonehenge by about 1000 years.

Our next stop was the ring of Brogna. This is a much larger installation of large stones. It’s the size of multiple football field. It also serve ceremonial purposes. We then stopped for lunch at a local hotel.

Following lunch, our final stop was Scara Bray. This was the aisle complex that dates back to 3100 BC. It’s a group of approximately 10 stone homes that probably serve a population of 50 to 100 individuals who lived here farming hunting and fishing. It appears that the village was occupied for about 600 years, after which it was abandoned for reasons that remain not known. The archaeologist say that there are, another level of structures below those that have been excavated and an earlier error. However, they have not been excavated due to the damage it would cause the existing excavated site. Ship shortly after 4 o’clock very interesting day.

Due to a weather forecast of high winds (greater than 30 kn) we modified our schedule for today. Instead of going to Stornoway in the Inner Hebrides we diverted to the small town of Mallaig. This is a village of only 800 people and has virtually no tourism. By the time we arrived and anchored in Mallaig, the winds were still 30 kn gusting to 45. This made launching the shore boats and going to shore impossible. So after a short stop, we weighed anchor and did a short 3 to 4 hour leg to Fort William. We’re now anchored for the night and hopefully we’ll get to go ashore tomorrow. However, there is forecast of rain in the morning so that may get washed out as well. \240We had a trivia contest after dinner, but our was a runner-up.

We had a calm overnight at anchor. When we woke this morning, it was overcast, but the winds had died down considerably. Donna stayed on the boat while I went on a morning excursion to Glen Coe, about 30 minute drive south of Fort William. At Glen Coe there is an interpretive center that focuses on the history of the Highlanders in that area, including an 18th century massacre of the Highlanders. It’s also a center of mountaineering and mountain rescue. They had recently built a replica of an 18th century, modern wood hut. It was moderately interesting. After lunch on the boat, we both went ashore again. This time it was to an event not far out of town at the top of a gondola which services a ski area in the winter and hiking, mountain biking, and tourism in the summer. We rode the gondola 650 m up to a day lodge on the mountain. On the ride up it was raining quite hard. At the day lodge they had a arranged afternoon entertainment for us, including a Scottish cleidh band with dancing and numerous refreshments. The dancing was a lot of fun. It’s remarkable how much touring they were able to put together on just one to two days notice. It certainly could not have been easy on the expedition team. By the time we rode the gondola back down at 4:30 the rain stopped, and the sun was starting to come out.

The weather changed for the better today. \240After breakfast, we were anchored off of Saffa Island. This island was formed by a huge volcanic eruption approximately 60 million years ago. This resulted in some absolutely remarkable vertical columns volcanic bass alt. \240We left the ship on the Zodiacs and cruised around the island taking pictures of the remarkable formations. During lunch, we moved a few miles to Iona island. This is where Christianity came to the United Kingdom from Ireland back in the sixth century. There is an abbey that dates back to that era. The island was really quite interesting. The people who live there now have pretty much dedicated themselves to creating a better world for everybody.

We’ve now weighed anchor and are cruising south, arriving in Ireland tomorrow morning.

Today we finally found good weather. When we awoke this morning, in the fishing town of Killybegs Ireland, it was partially cloudy. As the day went on, we had bright sunshine and the temps got into the low 70s. It was really nice not to be cold and bundled up.

After breakfast, we boarded buses For the trip to Derry in Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom. The ride to Derry showed us why Ireland is called the Emerald Isle. \240Because of the frequent rains, the landscape is a mixture of vivid shades of green. Derry was the site of Bloody Sunday, which set off the 25 years of violent conflict (The Troubles) between the IRA and the British government. We went to a museum, which was told from the Catholic perspective, \240the history of the Bloody Sunday riot in which the 13, presumably innocent, peaceful demonstrators for Catholic civil rights were gunned down by British military. While they’ve had peace now for almost 30 years, it was quite clear that there is still resentment among the Catholics of Northern Ireland towards the British government, and it was also pretty clear that Catholics would like to reunite with Ireland. Following the museum our tour guide walked us around the lower part of the city, called The Bog, where there are numerous murals painted on building walls commemorating Bloody Sunday hinting it calls for unification with Ireland. Also, it was very clear, that the Catholics of Northern Ireland share common cause with the Palestinians. We saw numerous Palestine flags and references to the Palestine struggle against Israel.

We went up into the old town, inside the ancient city walls, where we had a nice luncheon at a hotel in the protestant section of town. Following that we walked along the ancient city walls and down towards the riverfront. We walked into the Guild Hall and cross to the Peace Bridge. Then we retraced our steps with a one hour and 45 minute ride back to the ship at Killybegs.

I had another very full day today, although Donna didn’t come because she was getting over having been seasick last night. It was, again, a beautiful day. Sunny, light winds, temps in the low to mid 70s. According to some people we spoke with, this is the nicest weather Ireland has seen all summer. \240At 9:15, we left the ship, taking the tender to shore in the city of Galway. We boarded buses and began driving south along the Wild Atlantic Way. We stopped briefly in the town of Lisdoonvarna, where I found a very nice Irish fisherman sweater for about $80.

With them continued onto the town of Liscanore where we had a fish and chips lunch at a local hotel restaurant. Not being a great fan of fish and chips. I didn’t eat too much. Our first sightseeing stop was at the UNESCO world heritage site at the Cliffs of Moher. These are vertical cliffs that rise up about 1000 feet. They take back about 315 million years. This is a major tourist attraction in Ireland. I counted at least 25 tour buses in the parking lot, in addition to many private vehicles. We walked along the cliffs, taking in the views.

We were then back on the buses, starting to head back to Galway. We had a stop at a local sheep farm, where they did a demonstration of the border collie sheepdogs hurting the sheep. It was quite interesting. Our final stop was at Poulnabrone, the site of a neolithic, gravesite that dates back somewhere between 5200 and 5800 years. Following the stop we headed back to Galway. Due to traffic and getting a late start, we didn’t arrive at the port until about 6:30 PM and we’re back on the ship by 7 o’clock, after a long but fulfilling day.

We had a day at sea, en route to Plymouth England. \240 Not much to do other than several lectures, Liars’ Club, and Samba. \240

We arrived in Plymouth shortly before breakfast. It’s another nice day; sunny and fairly warm. Unfortunately Donna‘s still not feeling well. She’s been having nausea. I thought initially it was routine seasickness, but it seems to be continuing even when ashore or when not in any sort of rough seas. Nevertheless, we went \240ashore for a tour of the city of Plymouth. Like much of the UK, the city dates back \240over 1000 years. In more recent times, it was the stepping off point for the Mayflower and was a major staging point along the south coast of England for D-Day.

We visited a museum, dedicated to the Mayflower and the pilgrims’ experience establishing the colony in America. It had a lot of emphasis on how the colony affected the Native American population population where they settled. After the museum, we boarded buses for a short tour of the city. The city is built around the harbor, which is a major base of the Royal Navy, as well as a port for cross channel ferry’s, and, by the looks of the marina, a significant sailing center. We stopped for a coffee and tea at a restaurant overlooking the harbor, after which we returned to the ship. Weather is nice enough to have lunch out on deck and even to sit out on deck in the sunshine for a little while after lunch. At 12:30 the ship sailed for Dover, our last port. \240

As we approached Dover this morning the white cliffs were spectacularly illuminated in the morning sun. The weather was beautiful; sunny and a high of 75, despite the forecast of likely rain. \240We docked about 0900 and were ready to disembark as scheduled at 0930. \240Unfortunately the hydraulic powered gangway of the port wasn’t cooperating. \240We waited over one hour while the port tried, without success to get it working or have an engineer come and fix it. \240Finally they jury rigged a gangway on deck 4, enabling us to get off the ship and onto our waiting busses.

Now, over one hour behind schedule, we left for Chartwell, the vacation home of Winston Churchill. \240The tour of the home and gardens was of historical interest. \240Them back on the busses to continue on to London, arriving at 4:45. \240We are at the Four Seasons, near the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. We had a nice farewell dinner at the hotel. \240

We had a leisurely morning as our tour wasn’t scheduled to start until 10:45. \240It actually was later since the arrival of our bus was delayed due to heavy traffic, exacerbated by road closures due to a 10K run in downtown London. We finally took cabs to Fortnum & Mason to start our culinary tour. \240

We awoke at 5:00 so that we could leave at 5:30 for the airport. We arrived at Heathrow in plenty of time for our 9:30 flight to Houston. It was raining pretty hard the whole way to the airport. Our flight to Houston was uneventful. We had a six hour layover in Houston prior to leaving for Sacramento. \240Due to the cockpit crew being late getting in from Indianapolis, we were about a half an hour late leaving Houston and arriving at Sacramento. We finally got home about 11:30 PM to end the trip.