Portimao is on the southern coast of Portugal, called the Algarve. This whole region is big with tourists in July and August. I signed up for my Portimao tour several months ago, so I did not realize that my current tour directly leaves Portimao and travels to Lagos, 18 miles (30 km) to the east. … Continue reading Portimao

Like how the Canary Islands are a part of Spain, the island of Madeira is part of Portugal, and is about 310 miles (500 km) north of Tenerife. So we arrived in early afternoon and stayed the night. Trivia: soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo was born in Madeira. Madeira is a very pretty island. Fortunately we … Continue reading Madeira

The island of Tenerife is only 73 miles (117 km) from Grand Canary (63 nautical miles, if you are feeling navy-ish), so we were there bright and early. Tenerife is the largest island of the Canaries, and I'm touring the volcano park. Mt. Teide is the tallest mountain in Spain, and Teide National Park covers … Continue reading Tenerife

We crossed from Gambia to the Canary Islands, to Las Palmas of the island Gran Canaria. No, "Grand Canary" is not a cartoon super hero. Nowadays, the Canary Islands is known as a tourist haven, but with it's position off the Atlantic coast of Africa there's a lot of history here. My standard "highlights" tour … Continue reading Grand Canary

Technically "The Gambia". The only other country that keeps the definite article in its official short-form name is "the Bahamas". I visited here during my 2019 World Cruise and visited wildlife. Today I took the general highlights tour. Bottom line: I should have gone back to see the animals. West Africa is tough. Economically they … Continue reading Gambia