June, 2022: That New Ship Smell | Around the World with Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler

One of the tropes of cheesy mystery stories is a gathering of suspects, family, or other interested parties at which an unexpected letter is read aloud. “If you are hearing this letter, that means that I am…”

No, not dead, in our case.

If you are reading this blog, it means we have been at sea, at last, after two years of unplanned isolation.

And we did it in high style, sailing on the pre-Maiden shakedown by-invitation-only cruise of the beautiful Viking Mars, right out of the shipyard. Viking Cruises does a fine job delivering well-above-the-middle voyages, and one of the reasons is that it took a beautiful design and has replicated it–a little bit better with each try–for all of the ocean vessels in its fleet.

We met the ship at Civitavecchia, the ancient port of Rome. Our island-hopping itinerary took us to Palermo and Siracusa on Sicily, then the marvelous nation of Malta, on to Cagliari on Sardinia, and Palma, Mallorca before finishing in Barcelona.

Italy, Malta, Spain. Grazie, Grazie, Gracias.

I was one of several guest speakers on this special cruise, and we enjoyed just about everything. If only we could have done the trip without having to endure the sorry state of airline travel these days, especially on the U.S. airline whose name is the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet.

The view from above was spectacular. The experience from within…not so much. But we made it from Boston to Rome, and then from Barcelona to Boston by way of Amsterdam where I took this photo from my window seat. *Photo by Corey Sandler*

Siracusa, Sicily (Italy)

Everywhere on Sicily is special, with its Greek history and its Sicilian culture. Our new ship fit in very well in the old harbor.

***Viking Mars* at the dock in Siracusa. *Photo by Corey Sandler***

Shelter from the sun in Siracusa. *Photo by Corey Sandler*

Ancient gates in Siracusa. *Photo by Corey Sandler*

A Visit to the Second Island of Malta

Malta is one of our favorite places in the world. If you can’t take a great, or at least good photo there it is time to retire your camera. I’m keeping mine.

On this visit we took the fast ferry from Valletta harbor on the main island of Malta for a visit to the second island of the nation: Gozo, a place less visited by modern tourists but one very familiar to the ancients.

After our ferry ride, we took a tuk-tuk expedition from Yippee Tours circumnavigating the island. Here’s some of what we saw:

The Citadella above Gozo’s capital city of Victoria, which is the name it took under British dominion. Its other name speaks of Malta’s middle eastern influence: Rabat. *Photo by Corey Sandler*

Around the corner at the Citadella. *Photo by Corey Sandler*

The ancient bells of the citadel. *Photo by Corey Sandler*

Malta is just short of one Roman Catholic church or cathedral for each day of the year, as expected for a place that can by some measures be considered an *apostolic see,* founded by one of the original apostles: Saint Paul (Paul of Tarsus.) *Photo by Corey Sandler*

Nearby to the grand church stands a grand monument to an old watering place in Victoria on Gozo. “Take a little time out,” you’re invited. *Photo by Corey Sandler*

Salt pans on Gozo. *Photo by Corey Sandler*

Cagliari, Sardinia (Italy)

We doubled back to Italy for the day to the salt water-infused city of Cagliari on the island of Sardinia, which sits just below the French island of Corsica.

Cagliari overlooks its harbor, with a view here of a Dutch tall ship flying the red, white, and blue of The Netherlands. *Photo by Corey Sandler*

Palma, Mallorca (Spain)

Mallorca is the major island of the Balearics, a sun-drenched outpost of Spain. The minor island is Menorca, and the even-lesser rock is Ibiza. Mallorca is dominated by La Seu, the dominating cathedral of tall spires, gargoyles, and gothic arches.