Category Archives: Uncategorized

16 April 2016
Saint-Tropez, France: An Artist’s Lure

April 16, 2016 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

When we say Saint-Tropez, most people think of Brigitte Bardot in a bikini or perhaps modern Children of the Sun lounging around on the beach in no bikini at all.

But the handsome French Riviera beaches and towns of the region were also home to a martyred saint from Pisa, a Japanese sumarai in the early 1600s, and an almost-forgotten World War II invasion site.

Many artists and fashion designers were drawn to the beaches and the special light of maritime places.

Silver Cloud at anchor off Saint-Tropez today

The painter most directly associated with Saint-Tropez was Paul Signac, born in Paris in 1863, but a regular visitor and resident. In 1884 he met Claude Monet and Georges Seurat. He was struck by the systematic working methods of Seurat and by his theory of colors and became Seurat’s faithful supporter.

Seurat and then Signac abandoned the short brushstrokes of impressionism and experimented with carefully placed dots of pure color, intended to combine and blend not on the canvas but in the viewer’s eye. It was called pointillism.

Signac inspired Henri Matisse and André Derain among others, leading to the evolution of Fauvism. (The Wild Beasts, including Matisse, Dufy, and Georges Braques.) Pablo Picasso was also a frequent visitor in the early 1950s.

The next generation of artists who came to work in Saint-Tropez include Bernard Buffet, David Hockney, and Donald Sultan.

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Now available, the revised Second Edition of “Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession” by Corey Sandler, for the Amazon Kindle. You can read the book on a Kindle device, or in a Kindle App on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

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15 April 2016
Bonjour et bienvenue from Nice

April 15, 2016 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Hello, and welcome aboard from Nice on the Côte d’Azur of France, the Azure Coast.

At the same time, we bid arrivederci and safe travels to guests leaving us here.

Nice is a handsome seaside place, somewhat surprisingly France’s fifth largest city. (First is Paris, then Marseille, Lyon, and Toulouse.)

The Russian Orthodox Cathedral of Nice, built by Czar Nicholas II of Russia in 1912 when the South of France was a favored gathering place of European Royals

We’re headed off on a cruise to some of the most culturally rich ports of France and Spain.

Midday tomorrow we are due to arrive in Saint-Tropez, one of the playgrounds of the rich and famous but also a place with a fascinating history. After then we visit Marseille and then Sète in the Languedoc-Roussillon region, a place with a distinct identity of its own within France.

After then, its due south out to sea to Alcudia on the Spanish island of Mallorca in the Balaerics. From there west to Valencia, and then this cruise ends in the spectacular port of Barcelona.

I hope you’ll join me here for photos and observations each day.

Not an itsy-bitsy spider, but a large piece of art climbing the walls of the Citadel in Calvi, Corsica

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14 April 2016
Calvi, Corsica: No Island is a Man

April 14, 2016 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Silver Cloud at anchor in the Bay of Calvi today

Snow still lingers in the hills above Calvi, even as summer arrives in Corsica

Napoleon was born here. Nelson left behind a body part. And everybody claims Columbus.

But in the end, no island is a man.

Corsica, at least in the wishes of its people for centuries, has always been a place unto its own.

A French flag, an Italian heritage, and a Corsican culture

It is an island of jagged granite mountains and dense, dark forests.

It even has its own perfume, a scent of the maquis: fields of aromatic herbs and shrubs.

Deep in the woods, bandits once roamed. And generations of Corsicans maintained blood feuds: vendettas.

For its entire existence it has been a fortress.

The Citadel de Calvi, in the main part of town and not far from the port, is the most popular attraction in Calvi. It was first built by the Genoese as a monastery in the 13th century, most recently rebuilt in 1570.

Time passes at a different rate here on Corsica.

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If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

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13 April 2016
Olbia, Sardinia: Very Old and Very New

April 13, 2016 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Sardinia is about 9,200 square miles, the second-largest island in the Mediterranean. Only Sicily is larger.

In Sardinia, a disconnected and somewhat loosely culturally attached piece of Italy, the traditionalists are partial to the Sardinian language.

Although in Olbia many old-timers speak a dialect of Catalan Spanish.

Italian? Only when they must.

In Olbia itself, much of the older architecture and a bit of the culture is still heavily influenced by the Spanish and the Habsburgs who ruled here for many centuries.

The Municipale, or city hall, in Olbia

Olbia has been settled since pre-historic times. The Ozieri culture was present in the 4th millennium BC; while the Nuraghe civilization was active around 1500 BC.

Scattered around Sardinia are thousands of megalithic ruins known as nuraghes in Sardinian or nuraghi in Italian.

The name is believed to come from an old word meaning heap of stones, or confusingly, a cavity in the earth.

In any case, they are usually located in panoramic or strategic locations; about eight thousand have been cataloged, but perhaps 30,000 once stood.

They date from the middle of the Bronze Age (18^th-15^th centuries BC).

But these days the old-timers are much outnumbered by an influx of international persons of great wealth and portability.

The newer construction in Olbia and in nearby modern gathering places like Porto Cervo are a little bit Las Vegas, a little bit San Tropez.

The lingua franca is Euros, American Express, MasterCard, and Visa.

And they call the region the Costa Smeralda: The Emerald Coast.

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12 April 2016
Trapani, Italy: Look Up

April 12, 2016 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Trapani, on the west coast of Sicily, was the ancient port for the important city of Erice.

It’s an interesting old city, worth exploring.

But for me, the excitement comes when you look UP . . . or around the bend.

Above Trapani is Erice, on the slopes of Monte San Giuliano.

Much of Trapani’s economy still depends on the sea.

Fishing and canning are the main local industries, with fishermen using the mattanza technique to catch tuna, which is a rather brutal and non-selective harvest.

Trapani has some of Europe’s oldest salt marshes, and is still home to some of the windmills once used to drain water from the basins.

Drawing salt from water is a slow process involving a lot of sun and dry summers.

The dehydration technique was known to the ancient Egyptians, and in Sicily dates at least from the time of the Greeks and Romans. The windmills were added in Medieval times.

Sea salt is highly prized in Sicilian cooking.

Erice is at the western end of Sicily, about 75 miles or 90 minutes from Palermo.

The town is located on top of Mount Erice, at around 2,360 feet or 750 meters above sea level, overlooking the city of Trapani and out to the Aegadian Islands off Sicily’s north-western coast.

The original settlement was named after the Greek hero Eryx, the son of Aphrodite and King Butes of the Elymian people on Sicily.

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If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

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IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

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11 April 2016
Valletta, Malta: A Place Apart

April 11, 2016 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

The two-and-a-half island nation of Malta is not quite like anywhere else, and that’s a grand thing. The sail-in and sail-out to the main city of Valletta is one of the most spectacular sights anywhere in the world…and that’s just the beginning of the experience.

Malta is pretty much right in the middle of the Mediterranean, 55 miles south of Sicily and Europe and 180 miles north of Tunisia and Africa.

It lies east of Gibraltar and west of Alexandria and Jerusalem.

That location made it so very important as a crossroads and rest stop for invaders, crusaders, pilgrims, and traders.

It is heavily Catholic and has a long tradition of Christianity, and yet it was greatly influenced by the Middle East and the British Empire.

Over the centuries, Malta has been ruled by Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, the Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt, Sicilians, the Knights of St John, the French and the British.

The view from the bridge as Silver Cloud arrived in the Grand Harbour at sunrise today

Our ship at Pinto Wharf

In the Renaissance, artists from Sicily and elsewhere were brought to the island by the Knights of Saint John to decorate their churches.

Towering above them all was Caravaggio, who stayed about fifteen months and made at least seven major works.

Caravaggio’s The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist and Saint Jerome Writing, are on display in the Oratory of Saint John’s Co-Cathedral in downtown Valletta.

And then Mattia Preti of Calabria transformed the severe, Mannerist interior of the Co-Cathedral of Saint John into a Baroque masterpiece. Preti’s hand can be seen almost everywhere, including in the 3-D figures that float above in the cathedral.

In 1530 Charles I of Spain gave the islands to the Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem. These knights, a military religious order now known as the Knights of Malta, had been driven out of Rhodes by the Ottoman Empire in 1522.

The last colonial power was the British, and for that the Maltese suffered greatly, and stood up bravely, during World War II as the Axis powers pummeled Valletta.

Malta gained its independence in 1964 and became a Republic in 1974.

The architecture of Valletta mixes Italy and Spain and the other sources of Crusaders with Arab and North African elements

There are said to be 360 churches on this small island, and nearly every one of them is a work of art. We visited some of the lesser ones today

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10 April 2016
Taormina, Italy: Bubbling in the Hills

April 10, 2016 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Taormina is a charming old town, perched in the hills, about midway between Messina and Catania on the island of Sicily.

I say “hills” advisedly. Nearby is one very large and very active hill.

When we sailed south from Sorrento through the Tyrrhenian Sea we entered into the Strait of Messina. On our left was the big toe at the bottom of the mainland of Italy. To our right was the large island of Sicily, the football being kicked by Italy’s boot.

This is, in maritime and geological circles, an interesting place. The narrow strait has some treacherous currents (just ask Homer, who wrote about Odysseus’ passage between Scylla and Charybdis here.)

And then there is the bubbling deep down below. In this region, the Eurasian plate is moving down toward the African plate.

Which brings us to that hill: Looming at the end of town is Mount Etna: the tallest active volcano in Europe, nearly constantly bubbling over like a bowl of Arrabiata sauce left on the burner.

The view of Mount Etna from our ship at anchor in the Bay of Naxos today

Etna stands about 3,329 meters or 10,922 feet tall, although every time it erupts it grows or shrinks. I’ve climbed to near the peak, but I left my tape measure behind.

Etna is about two-and-a-half times the height of the next tallest Italian volcano, Mount Vesuvius between Naples and Sorrento.

Taormina is the jewel of the region, a lovely little town with a spectacular Greek Theater and an even-more spectacular view of Mount Etna.

We are due to return to Taormina on May 1 and I will have additional photos and commentary in the blog entry for that day.

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If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

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Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

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9 April 2016
Sorrento, Italy: What Volcano?

April 9, 2016 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Sorrento is an ancient town, established by the Greeks, elaborated upon by the Romans, and now devoted to the Tourists.

It remains a place of color and charm.

The backdrop to all of coastal Campania just sits there…tick, tick, tick.

Mount Vesuvius is the still-active volcano that buried the great Roman city of Pompeii as well as other villages like Herculaneum in the region.

This is one of the most attractive spots in all of Italy, and it is quite possible to forget about Vesuvius. Chances are it won’t erupt today. But it’s due.

Because of the dense population of the coast from Naples south to Sorrento, Vesuvius is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world.

Pompeii was destroyed in the year 79.

The volcano has erupted dozens of times since. On occasion, eruptions from Vesuvius have blanketed nearly all of southern Europe. In 472 and 1631, Vesuvian ash fell on Constantinople (Istanbul), more than 750 miles away.

The most recent significant eruption came near the end of World War II, in 1944. Tick, tick, tick.

Above, a street in Sorrento.

Below, a street in Pompeii, with Vesuvius in the background.

Below, the famous Via Krupp on the lovely island of Capri, offshore of Sorrento.

We will be back in Sorrento on April 30 and I will have additional comments in my blog on that day.

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8 April 2016
Ciao e benvenuto from Civitavecchia

April 8, 2016 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

We bid arrivederci to friends from our cruise from Barcelona, and prepare to set off on a new adventure.

Sailing from Civitavecchia, the ancient and modern port of Rome, we’re off on a cruise to some classic Italian ports, a quick jaunt to Malta, and then back to the mainland of France.

We sail south to lovely Sorrento, where we can go ashore there to explore that city or head to always-intriguing Pompeii or Herculaneum in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius.

Or we can cross over by ferry to enchanting Capri.

From Sorrento we continue south between Scylla and Charybdis into the Strait of Messina and on to a port call at Taormina on the island of Sicily, the football kicked by the toe of Italy.

On Monday we are due to visit the spectacular city of Valletta on the island of Malta.

From there we will head north for a stop at Trapani in Sicily, and then to Olbia on the Italian island of Sardinia, and then Calvi on the French island of Corsica.

This cruise will conclude on the mainland of France at Nice.

I hope you’ll join me here for photos and observations.

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If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

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7 April 2016
Livorno, Italy: Just Passing Through?

April 7, 2016 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Livorno is Italy’s second-largest port, after Genoa.

It’s a city of some interest, although most visitors just pass through on their way to some of Italy’s most resplendent inland gems.

The Mercado of Livorno

From Livorno you can easily reach the great city of Florence (Firenze) or visit one of the world’s iconic sites, a certain tower in the town of Pisa.

Or you can head to beautiful Tuscany, Siena, and Lucca.

Livorno’s canals

One of the many splendid sights of Florence is this old bridge, the Ponte Vecchio (which means, old bridge).

It’s lined with shops and tourists.

It’s also an easy way to cross over the River Arno to the Oltrarno, (Beyond the Arno) the Left Bank of Florence, the south side of the Arno.

Pisa is on the right bank of the junction of two rivers, the Arno and the Serchio, a city of about 87,500. It is a city with many impressive buildings, but truth be told almost everyone comes to see the one that is almost falling down: The Tower of Pisa.

Construction began in 1173. Almost immediately, the tower began leaning to the southeast. The reason was quickly apparent: an insubstantial foundation on loose and wet soil.

It took five years, until 1178, for the tower to reach the third floor.

Then construction was halted for almost a century.

The Pisans were unsure how to proceed, and they were distracted by wars with Genoa, Lucca, and Florence.

This was actually a stroke of good luck, since it allowed time for the underlying soil to settle. Otherwise, the tower would almost certainly have toppled.

In 1272, construction resumed. To try to compensate for the tilt, engineers built upper floors with one side taller than the other.

The tower began to lean in the other direction.

Because of this, the tower is actually curved, banana-like.

The seventh floor was completed in 1319, and the chamber with seven bells added in 1372.

In modern times, several efforts have–we hope–halted the continuing tilt and even straightened it up, just a bit.

We will return to Livorno on April 28 and I will have additional comments in my blog entry for that day.

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6 April 2016
Portofino, Italy

April 6, 2016 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

No one would ever blame you if thought the name of this lovely town and harbor meant “Fine Port.”

Alas, that’s merely a coincidence.

Portofino is truly a fine port.

But according to Pliny the Elder, the great Roman chronicler of the first century, Portofino was founded by the Romans and they named it Portus Delphini, or Port of the Dolphin, because of the large number of dolphins that inhabited the Tigullian Gulf.

Silver Cloud at anchor offshore of Portofino today

The dolphins are mostly gone now, replaced by swarms of tourists who come to see the fine harbor, its nearby Paraggi beach, and the surrounding area including Camogli and Rapallo.

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————-

If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

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5 April 2016
Monte Carlo, Monaco

April 5, 2016 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Monaco has all the ingredients for adult fantasy.

A seven-hundred-year monarchy in a country smaller than New York City’s Central Park.

MONACO FROM ABOVE

A view from above Monaco, with Silver Cloud tied up at the dock.

The romance and heartbreak of Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly.

The other royal wedding of 2011, between the playboy prince and a lovely and nervous Olympian bride.

A prestigious Formula One automobile race through its winding streets.

A major tennis tournament.

A major jewel heist by the Pink Panther gang, still unsolved.

Sandy beaches, spectacular yachts, don’t-ask-the-price shops, don’t-look-at-the-bill restaurants, and a fabled casino where—in our mind’s eye, at least, the men are all dressed in tuxedos and the women are dressed to kill.

And us.

Inside the Grand Casino

We’ll also be back on April 25 and 26, and I hope you’ll check out my blog post then.

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4 April 2016
Cannes, France: Strolling La Croisette

April 4, 2016 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Cannes has the film festival and its red carpet, fabulous hotels and casinos, tres cher shopping…and a piece of the Grace Kelly story as well as tales of modern jewel thieves.

It requires more than a little bit of suspension of disbelief, but Cannes was once a small and humble fishing village.

It is no longer small, by no means humble, and today’s fishing is aimed at the wallets of visitors.

In the 10th century the town was known as Canua. Canua was probably the site of a small Ligurian port, and later a Roman outpost on Le Suquet hill, suggested by Roman tombs discovered there.

Most of the ancient activity, especially protection, was on the Lérins islands and the history of Cannes is the history of the islands.

In postwar times—since 1946—Cannes is most famous for its film festival, held each May.

Producers shop for financing or hope to strike distribution deals.

Actors come to see, but mostly to be seen.

Especially the actresses: from starlets like Brigitte Bardot who posed on the beach in 1953 and helped make herself—and the bikini swimsuit—famous.

We will be back in Cannes on April 25, and I’ll have more commentary then.

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If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

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3 April 2016
Alghero, Sardinia: Outside the Circuit

April 3, 2016 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

“Sardinia, which is like nowhere. Sardinia, which has no history, no date, no race, no offering. They say neither Romans nor Phoenicians, Greeks nor Arabs ever subdued Sardinia. It lies outside; outside the circuit of civilization.”

Those were the words of D. H. Lawrence in his book, Sea and Sardinia.

Very evocative.

Not fully true, although it certainly is an unusual place.

Sardinia is part of Italy, while its neighbor Corsica is part of France.

Although French Corsica is closer to Italy than France, and

Italian Sardinia is closer to France (at Corsica) or Tunisia than it is to Italy.

Oh, and in Corsica most would prefer to speak Corsican.

In Sardinia, the traditionalists are partial to Sardinian, although in Alghero many old-timers speak a dialect of Catalan Spanish.

Scattered around Sardinia are thousands of megalithic ruins known as nuraghes in Sardinian or nuraghi in Italian.

The name is believed to come from an old word meaning heap of stones, or confusingly, a cavity in the earth.

In any case, they are usually located in panoramic or strategic locations; about eight thousand have been cataloged. Historians say perhaps 30,000 once existed.

They date from the middle of the Bronze Age (18th-15th centuries BC). Many were in continuous use when Rome arrived in the 2nd century BC.

We don’t know much more.

They may been used for religious purposes or as military posts, or both.

And we know little about what are known as the Nuragic people.

Alghero was built around a fortress.

The port was founded about 1102 by the powerful and wealthy Doria family of Genoa; they ruled Alghero and other places for centuries.

We will be returning to Alghero on April 24; I’ll have more commentary in the blog entry that day.

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2 April 2016
Porto Mahon, Menorca

April 2, 2016 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

The Balearic Islands sit offshore of Spain, very attractive in many ways.

Possessed of rich and fertile land safe harbors, they were on the ancient trading routes for long-vanished peoples,

as well as for wave upon wave of empire builders including the Carthaginians, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Vikings, the Spanish, and the English.

And right along the watery highway for incoming Islamic tribes, and then for outgoing Crusaders.

Today, close enough for invading holiday makers to hop on a ferry or a flight from the mainland to the beach.

There are four principal islands in the Balearics:

Ibiza, with its port of the same name.

Mallorca, Spain’s largest island possession, and its second-most populated island (after Tenerife in the Canary Islands.)

And then there is Menorca, and the place we are heading: Porto Mahon.

The fourth largest island is Formentera, and there is also the uninhabited island of Cabrera.

Porto Mahon, pronounced MA-own, is believed to be named after the Carthaginian general Mago Barca, brother to Hannibal, who was said to have taken refuge here in 205 BC.

We’ll be back in Porto Mahon on April 23 and I’ll have more commentary then.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

————-

If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

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1 April 2016
Hola y bienvenidos from Barcelona

April 1, 2016 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Welcome aboard in beautiful Barcelona. We sail off tonight for a classic Mediterranean cruise.

A detail of Gaudi’s La Sagrada Familia

Tomorrow morning we will call at Porto Mahon on the Spanish island of Menorca, the middle of the three Balearic Islands. From there we head east to Alghero on the Italian island of Sardinia.

And then we return to the mainland of Europe, calling at Cannes in France, then Monte Carlo in the Principality of Monaco. Moving to Italy, we are due to visit Portofino and Livorno (gateway to Florence and Pisa) before concluding this cruise in Civitacecchia, the port of Rome.

I hope you’ll join me here.

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19 February 2016
San Juan, Puerto Rico: Hasta Luego.

February 19, 2016 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Hasta Luego.

That’s Spanish for (in rough terms), Arrivederci.

Until we meet again.

In my case I’m heading home for just a bit, and then joining Silver Cloud for voyages from Barcelona in the Mediterranean and then up to transcendent Venice and concluding with a passage through the spectacular Corinth Canal to reach the port of Athens at Piraeus.

I hope you’ll join me here, or there.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

————-

If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

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18 February 2016
Road Town, Tortola

February 19, 2016 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

We’re back in Tortola, the largest and most populated of the British Virgin Islands, which are neither large nor well-populated.

British Virgin Islanders are classed as British Overseas Territories citizens, and since 2002 have had full British citizenship. Although the territory is not part of the European Union and not directly subject to EU law, its citizens are deemed to be citizens of the EU as well.

Just to make things confusing—or easier, if you prefer—the official currency of BVI is the U.S. dollar.

In previous posts about Tortola, I’ve mentioned that the Spanish–initially the most obvious of suspects, Christopher Columbus–were here first. Then came the Dutch, who named the place after an island in The Netherlands.

In the late 16th century, the English displaced the Dutch and established a sugar cane plantation colony on Tortola and the surrounding islands. Wherever there was sugar cane, there were slaves, because the industry was very labor-intensive.

In the late eighteenth century, new settlers arrived: Loyalists from the Thirteen Colonies after the American Revolutionary War who were given land grants by the Crown to encourage development. They brought their African-American slaves with them, outnumbering the British colonists.

The sugar industry dominated Tortola economic history for more than a century.

We are visiting Tortola three times this season. We came first on February 2, and again on February 11. You can read my posts for those days for more commentary and photos about Tortola.

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17 February 2016
St. John’s, Antigua

February 17, 2016 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Antigua, located on the major sailing route from Europe to the West Indies, was considered Britain’s “Gateway to the Caribbean.”

And it was for that reason in the late 18^th century the Admiralty decided to beef up its resources on the island.

Young Horatio Nelson, later to become Britain’s most celebrated naval hero, was sent in 1784 to oversee the dockyards at English Harbour and enforce The Navigation Acts which dealt with commercial shipping.

Nelson did not much like Antigua, calling it a “vile place” and a “dreadful hole.” He spent most of his time in the cramped quarters of his ship, H.M.S. Boreas, during his stay from 1784 to 1787.

Serving under Nelson at the time was Prince William Henry, later to be King William IV of England; he had much nicer accommodations on shore, Clarence House.

We were here most recently on February 10, and I invite you read that blog for more details of the sugar mill history of Antigua.

The dockyard was originally called “His Majesty’s Antigua Naval Yard.” Boats coming in for repairs sailed into the boat house, and their sails were hoisted up to the loft through a trapdoor.

The old Boat House and Sail Loft was severely damaged by an earthquake in 1843 and then by a hurricane in 1871. All that remains are the massive boat house pillars.

The Naval Officers House was put up in 1855. It has a small set of exhibits including some artifacts of the shipyard and some of the vessels and men who visited.

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16 February 2016
Castries, Saint Lucia

February 16, 2016 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Saint Lucia is a handsome island with a fairly typical Caribbean cultural schizophrenia: in its first 150 years of recorded history it ping-ponged back and forth between England and France 14 times.

Overlaid to that is a still-strong African influence, derived from the homelands of the slaves brought to work the island. You’ll find the influence in the patois, the cuisine, and music.

Lucians still use music as a way to convey political opinion. Among popular styles is soca.

Folk instruments include the bélè (or ka) drum; a long, hollow tube called the baha; a rattle called the chakchak; the zo (bones); and the gwaj (scraper). Various types of banjos and a four-stringed instrument called the cuatro are also native to the island.

And then there is another influence: gospel music, and particular a collection of songs called sankeys.

The name comes American singer and songwriter Ira Sankey, born in Pennsylvania in 1840.

Known back home as “The Sweet Singer of Methodism,” Sankey wrote many hymns and songs himself, including “The Ninety and Nine.” He also composed and arranged music for many more; more than 1,200 were collected in a booked called “Sacred Songs and Solos” which is still used today.

Sankey did make several visits to the United Kingdom, but apparently not to Saint Lucia. But his book made its way to Saint Lucia with Methodist missionaries and took hold here quite tenaciously.

We also visited Saint Lucia earlier this month, on February 9, and in that blog post I wrote about the Pitons.

And then there is Calypso, which originated on Trinidad amongst African slaves as a way to communicate with each other without overseers understanding the words. It still is popular on Saint Lucia, sometimes called by an even older name, Kaiso, from a Congolese word meaning “go on.”

And there is the St. Lucian kwadril, a popular traditional dance. Based on the French quadrille, it is a complicated dance with five distinct parts.

It is also worth noting that the talented but bedeviled singer Amy Winehouse seemed to find a connection to Saint Lucia.

At the time of her death she reportedly was working on an album that would have used Lucian themes and instruments.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

————-

If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

Around the World with Corey Sandler

Category Archives: Uncategorized

16 April 2016
Saint-Tropez, France: An Artist’s Lure

15 April 2016
Bonjour et bienvenue from Nice

14 April 2016
Calvi, Corsica: No Island is a Man

13 April 2016
Olbia, Sardinia: Very Old and Very New

12 April 2016
Trapani, Italy: Look Up

11 April 2016
Valletta, Malta: A Place Apart

10 April 2016
Taormina, Italy: Bubbling in the Hills

9 April 2016
Sorrento, Italy: What Volcano?

8 April 2016
Ciao e benvenuto from Civitavecchia

7 April 2016
Livorno, Italy: Just Passing Through?

6 April 2016
Portofino, Italy

5 April 2016
Monte Carlo, Monaco

4 April 2016
Cannes, France: Strolling La Croisette

3 April 2016
Alghero, Sardinia: Outside the Circuit

2 April 2016
Porto Mahon, Menorca

1 April 2016
Hola y bienvenidos from Barcelona

19 February 2016
San Juan, Puerto Rico: Hasta Luego.

18 February 2016
Road Town, Tortola

17 February 2016
St. John’s, Antigua

16 February 2016
Castries, Saint Lucia

Cruise Photos and Stories by Corey Sandler