Atlantic Odyssey. 2025: Outer Hebrides

 

Hebrides Bagpiper

Stornoway is the capital of the Island of Lewis and Harris. Weird name, or what? Well it turns out that Lewis and Harris are rival subgroups of the MacLeod clan. These sub-clans lived on different parts of the island. Gym thought to himself that maybe MacLeod would have been a more appropriate name for the island but he remained quiet about this throughout the day, so neither clan was offended.

Stornoway is another place in Scotland with an excellent deep water harbour. The MS Vista tied up there on the morning of May 27, 2025. Mr. Gym and his fair companion made another smooth transition from ship to tour bus and there they met their guide. He was a physicist with a PhD and had until recently been toiling away at what he referred to as the "uni in Glasgow". He moved home to the Hebrides so his son could be born there and not in the big city. From this, Gym deduced that there must be something to this place and was eager to see the sights.

The tour did not disappoint. Richard was any excellent guide. Notwithstanding the fact that he usually lectured on Physics, he was knowledgeable on many subjects related to his homeland and his passion was sincere. The highlights of the tour are set out below: 

1, From the Stornoway docks the tour drove east to the Calanais Standing Stones. Just like in the Orkney Islands these henges are older than Stonehenge. They are 5000 years old dating back to Neolithic times; 

Calanais Standing Stones

2. Continuing on to the north, the tour stopped at Dun Carloway Broch. This fortress dates from the First Century AD and is one of the best preserved such strongholds in Scotland. Unfortunately in 1861, the MacAuley's busted the place up a bit when the Morrisons of Ness hid out there, with some stolen MacAuley cattle. It hasn't been the same since. Gym sent his sidekick into the old stronghold to examine the structure from inside;

Dun Carloway Broch

Looking at the damage the MacAuley's did

3. Next the bus stopped at the Gearrannan Blackhouse Village. Here there are nine restored thatched 'blackhouse' buildings in a heritage village. Gym and his fair companion were able to get a feel for what it must have been like to live in these homes that were inhabited and still heating with peet in the 1970s. Blackhouse comes from the fact that there was no chimney in these buildings. The smoke just escaped through the thatched roof but not before it turned everything black. They were burning peet in one of the houses when Gym was there. Gym thought that a peet fire is somewhat smokey like a wood fire but it also has a sweet and earthy undertone making it less harsh on the nostrils; and,

The Gearrannan Blackhouse village

Note the thatched roof

4. On the way back to the ship, Richard passed around his tweed vest. And yes, Harris Tweed is from Harris! Did you know there is a Harris Tweed Authority that can only sanction products meeting specific standards as Harris Tweeds? It's true!

That evening the Vista would sail south to Killybegs, Ireland.

Stay tuned!

A Scottish Highland cow

Hand-cut peet drying and a peet cart

The northern coast

Atlantic Odyssey 2025: The North Sea and Kirkwall, Scotland

On May 23, 2025, after leaving the massive port of Southampton, the MS Vista sailed east through the Solent Strait, between the south coast the England and the Isle of Wight. The next port was to be Edinburgh, Scotland, a 36-hour voyage to the north. Unfortunately, when the ship arrived there in the Firth of Forth, on the morning of May 25th, there was a 2-meter swell and a 30 MPH wind. They were supposed to go ashore by tender and with those sea conditions, it was impossible to do so. As a result, they scrubbed Edinburgh off the itinerary, turned around and headed back out to sea. This was very unfortunate but the decision was made for the right reason, namely the safety of Mrs. Gym and the other fair ladies aboard.

When they nixed the Edinburgh visit, that gave the Vista more time to make the next stop in the Orkney Islands. The Vista could therefore throttle back the engines and give everyone a more comfortable ride in the windy conditions. In the fullness of time, on May 26, the ship tied up to the dock in Kirkwall, The capital of the Orkney Islands. The Vista had thus completed a trip up the entire eastern seaboard of the UK in less than 3 days.

Gym and his lovely companion got off the ship shortly after the gangplank was in place. They were going to check out several of the highlights of Mainland, Orkney, as follows:

1. The Orkneys are an Archeologists dream. Neolithic and Pictish sights have been discovered there and there are stone circles older than Stonehenge on the island. Gym and his fair bride checked these out;

2. Mary Queen of Scots' brother, Robert Stewart, the Earl of Orkney, built a castle on the island and although today, it is in need of renovation, it looked like it was once an upscale crib. Gym and Mrs. Gym saw this;

3. The dynamic duo split an egg salad sandwich in the town of Stromness. This seaside village has tons of character and the locals go out of their way to accommodate you;

4. Highland Park Scotch Whiskey is distilled here but Gym did not have time for a tasting; and,

4. The coolest thing that Gym enjoyed experiencing was seeing Scapa Flow. During both World Wars, this was where the Royal Navy set up shop. It is a natural, deep water harbour in the middle of the Orkney Islands that provided sheltered berthing for the Allied Atlantic fleet. There were two tragic events that happened there though. In 1919, almost a year after WW1 ended, the German caretaker crews scuttled the German High Seas Fleet in the harbour. Today, this is a popular diving spot to check out these ships. Then in 1939, a German U-Boat found its way into the harbour and sunk the battleship, Royal Oak with the loss of  hundreds of young British sailors. Divers are prohibited from diving near this wreck because it is a war grave.

The guide on that day was Allison, a native Orcadian that was very proud of her heritage. Her great-grandfather left the islands to work in Canada for the Hudson's Bay Company. He made a fortune in the fur trade and returned to buy a farm near Kirkwall that the tour bus drove past. Today, her brother runs the farm which is just outside the Arcadian capital.

That night the ship sailed southeast towards the Hebrides.

Stay tuned!

The quaint little Stromness Hotel on
Ferry Street in Stromness on Mainland Island

Colourful fishing boats in Stromness harbour

Tide is low 

Scape Flow is the resting place of dozens of WW1
German Navy vessels that were scuttled a year after 
the fighting stopped and the tragic wreck of the
Royal Oak that was sunk in WW2 with the loss of 800 young
British sailors

Stoned of Stenness, a henge on Mainland Island Colourful
That predates Stonehenge 

Castle ruins of Robert Stewart, Earl of Orkney

Some very unattractive but happy sheep

Atlantic Odyessy 2025: Paris, France

Early on the morning of May 23, 2025, the MS Vista left the English Channel and steered into the Seine Estuary. Then just after dawn, the ship docked at a pier adjacent to the quaint little port of Honfleur, France. Located near the mouth of the Seine, Honfleur was a very important port for centuries.  Today the massive port of La Havre on the other side of the estuary gets much more traffic. As a starting point for the drive into Paris though, Honfleur is better situated.

Later that morning, our hero and his fetching bride stepped off the ship and into a nice, new touring bus. It would be a long drive into the capital along the southern edge of the Seine river valley. As they started up to the top of the escarpment, towards the A13, it was difficult to ignore the lush, green forests featuring beech, oak and pine trees. Further up on the plateau, there were dairy farms where the red and white Normande cattle are raised. This breed produces milk that is transformed into Camembert cheese. Halfway to the capital cereal crops appear in the fields near  the historic city of Rouen.  

Only once did the bus stop and it did so at a fantastic roadside truck stop that rivalled anything in North America. The facility was clean, well-laid out and spacious. The bathrooms are immaculate. While there, Gym observed that the French truckers were on the whole slimmer than their American counterparts, they drank espresso instead of energy drinks and ate more croissants than they did donuts. In general, Gym was very impressed with the high standard of French highways and the related infrastructure (he had the same experience in southern France in 2023). 

In spite of a taxi strike that blocked one of the two main roads into the 'City of Lights' the bus driver soon had the tour through to the centre of Paris via the underground tunnels that link the suburbs to the old city. The driver that day was named Antoine and he was excellent. Not only did he really know his way around Paris, he also was feeding the tour guide with interesting information the whole day. 

Antoine didn't break a sweat as he emerged from a tunnel and did a couple of loops around L'Arc de Triomphe to show us what a talented road warrior he was. As we came out on the Champs-Elysees our guide pointed out all the flagship stores that lined that famous avenue. Near Place de la Concorde the bus was parked next to the Petit Palais and everyone was given 2.5 hours to explore on their own with strict instructions not to get lost.

Gym and Mrs. Gym wandered out across Place de la Concorde and then crossed over to explore the Tuileries Garden as far as the Louvre Pyramid. That Louvre Palace is massive. From there they backtracked to eat lunch in a nice spot off the Champs-Elysees. They then briefly explored some of the beautiful artwork in the Petit Palace before returning to the bus at the appointed time. To their amazement no one got lost and the bus left on time. Before the bus got back on the highway it stopped at the Eiffel Tower for 15 minutes and then toured the 7th Arrondissement, the most upscale part of the city, before returning to Honfleur.

That night the ship crossed the English Channel and tied up to the docks in Southhampton.  Here Vista would swap out some more passengers, take on more provisions and top up the fuel tanks. Gym and his dear wife also had the opportunity to get off the ship and have lunch with their friends the Andersons from Suffolk who hosted a wonderful meal at a greek restaurant nearby. 

That evening the dynamic duo would continue on the fourth quarter of the Atlantic Odyssey 2025 when the Vista would begin a loop around the United Kingdom and Ireland before landing back in Southampton again on June 3, 2025.

Stay tuned!

pics to follow

Dawn breaking over the Seine estuary

The pretty port of Honfleur, France

First glimpse of L'Arc de Tiomphe

A striking Parisian 

Place de la Concorde

Jardin des Tuileries

Garden dedicated to the people of
Kyiv, Ukraine

A look inside the Petit Palais

The iconic Eiffel Tower

Another good shot of L'Arc de. Triomphe

Atlantic Odyssey 2025: Jersey Island, UK

After 36 hours of steady sailing out from Bordeaux, the MS Vista arrived off St. Helier, Jersey, on May 21, 2025. There was no pier for a passenger ship, so the anchor was dropped just off the shoals that protect the inner harbour.  The tender boats were lowered and our hero and his fair companion then had the means to go explore this unique island.

Mr. G has always been intrigued by this place. Jersey is part of the Channel Islands and is home to 100,000 inhabitants. People there are often referred to as Jerseymen.  It is a self-governing British Crown Dependancy that is physically much closer to Normandy, France than any part of England. Its power is supplied by France and it has a special relationship with the European Union, concerning trade. It was occupied by 6,500 German soldiers during WW2 and they were trapped there in June, 1944 when the Normandy invasion took place all around them. Today, it is one of those islands that is a tax haven. There is no capital gains tax, estate or inheritance tax and income tax is capped at 20%. It is 7-10 degrees warmer and on the whole, has more annual days of sunshine than anywhere in the UK. Jersey needed further investigation.

All the tours in Jersey were short ones on that day. The ship arrived at 11 am and the all-aboard time was 3:30 pm, so the groups only had 2-3 hours tops, to explore a small portion of the island's many attractions. The adventurers chose to check out Gorey Castle and they were happy that they did.

Corey Castle is the oldest of the three main castles on the island. It is a well-preserved defensive structure mainly built during the Middle Ages. The main keep dates from the 1200's but most of the defences you see today date from the 1500's. You need to climb up 200 steps to get to the top from the front gate and as you do so you pass through a series of three sets of defensive walls, each one having it's own gate and drawbridge. Two hours is enough time to get the bear minimum of a tour and climb up to the top to take in to the view. You need more time though to explore all the nooks and crannies in this very cool place.

After descending back down to street level, the dynamic duo shared a scoop of Jersey ice-cream. They had been told that the local dairy products were of a superb quality and this was proven to be correct. The odd thing though was that Gym never saw a cow on the bus rides to and from Gorey Castle. He now has a burning need to find out where the cows live on the island. They will need to come back to answer that question and explore the rest of the island.

Later on this cruise, the ship returns to the Channel Islands before it ends. Guernsey Island will be explored at that time and a comparison will be made in a future post.

That night the Vista would set a course for Honfleur, France. From there it is a 3-hour drive to Paris.

Stay tuned!

Gorey Castle from the village below

Walking up the path towards the castle

First Gate

Second Gate

Third gate

Some nice garden inside the walls

One of the open areas within the castle walls

View looking back to St. Helier from top of the castle

At the end of the crosswalk is the reward for climbing
 to the top of the castle and back down again -
 Jersey Ice Cream 

j

Atlantic Odyssey 2025: Saint Jean-de-Luz, France

Jean-Baptiste Church in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France

Still cruising the Bay of Biscay, the MS Vista left Spain and entered French territory on the morning of the 17th of May. That morning for the first time in a month, the ship dropped anchor and used its own tenders to approach the harbour in St. Jean-de-Luz. The author finds it funny that he could have walked here from Spain when they were in Hondarribia and could have met the tenders coming from the ship the next morning. And yet, after leaving Bilbao on 16th the ship sailed around all night long to travel about a hundred km. The Captain must have been burning donuts in the Bay of Biscay all night because he could have made it there in a few hours, tops!

That morning Gym and his fair bride had chosen to stay close to the storybook little French-Basque town of Saint-Jean-de-Luz but still wanted to get in a bit of exercise. So they met a local guide named Cathy and hitched a ride out to about 4.5 miles from the centre of town. From there they would hike back to town through the beautiful Basque countryside. The weather was perfect that morning, not too hot yet and the visibility was clear out towards the sea where many surfers were setting up to catch the first big waves of the day.

Set back from the sandy bluffs are the architecturally-protected Basque farmhouses that today are all human homes but in the past centuries were house and barn, all-in-one building. The animals were housed at night on the ground floor and the upper floors were for the Basque farmers and their families. These houses come in three colour combinations; white with red trim, white with green trim and white with blue trim. All have red-tiled roofs that are slanted side-to-side or front-to-back. Today they go for 600K - 4M euros on Rightmove.co.uk.

The trekkers hiked past Lafitenia and Erromardie Beaches and eventually found themselves climbing up to the viewpoint on La Colline Sainte-Barbe. From this hilltop there was a stunning view of the Saint-Jean-de-Luz waterfront. Continuing down the hill into town they walked along the seawall overlooking the great golden sand beach, reminiscent of the ones they had seen in San Sabastian, the previous day. Cathy then led them into the centre of town where they checked out the ancient Saint Jean-Baptiste church. This church is where in 1660, King Louis XIV of France married a cousin, Maria Teresa of Spain. This union ended  a nasty war between Spain and France, but it was a short-lived peace because they went to war like clockwork three or four times per century for a whole bunch of silly reasons. In any event, the church is very nice inside.

After doing a bit of shopping our hero and his lovely sidekick then boarded a tender to go back to the ship for a nap. As he settled into his seat on the way out to the Vista, Gym was finally able to remove the gravel from his sketchers.

That night a legitimately long sea voyage was to be undertaken by the Captain to Bordeaux France.

Pics to follow

Atlantic Odyssey 2025: Bordeaux, France

One of two wines sampled

Vineyards on the limestone of Saint-Emilian

Dawn broke on May 18, 2025, after another remarkably calm night of sailing.  The MS Vista turned out of the Bay of Biscay and into the Gironde Estuary. A few hours earlier, a Bordeaux channel pilot had been dramatically transferred onto deck 14 from a helicopter. Local pilots always come aboard when ships approach new ports but this is usually done by boat. Gym surmised that the dramatic chopper landing was required due to the long distance from the mouth of the estuary, to the dock in the old city. It  was not because he had slept through his alarm clock. In any event, the pilots knowledge of the shifting channels in the bay and in the Gironde river itself, was an important factor in seeing the ship to safely reach its inshore destination, in the beautiful city of Bordeaux. 

As the gangplank was connected and the ship was tied up, the boat came to rest and would remain that way for 36 hours. For that next full day and a half, the Vista was the tallest structure in Bordeaux. Here the height of the buildings is capped by UNESCO World Heritage designation regulations. Our hero and his dear wife had a glorious view of the city from their 12th deck cabin. 

Very quickly after arriving in the port, the adventurers were off on a half-day tour. They were going to check out a small family-owned winery and then tour the medieval village of Saint-Emilion. Saint-Emilion and the appellation of the same name, are located on the right bank of the river valley. The bedrock on the right bank is limestone. The limestone has been quarried for centuries and provided the building blocks for the village of Saint-Emilion and the city of Bordeaux itself. The grape vines grown there have roots that can reach meters into the limestone due to the high porosity of the rock. This can be an advantage for these vines in a drought. Gym happily sampled a couple of vintages at the winery tasting room. However, with the price tag of70 euros a bottle for wine that should probably age for a few more years, he did not place any orders.

The tour guide then lead Gym and his fetching companion around the village. The place is magic. It has been around for thousands of years. The narrow cobblestone streets are flanked by golden limestone buildings, that glowed in the mid-afternoon light. Wine shop terraces dominate the open areas and most are shaded to give the fair-skinned tourists some protection as they sample the fine wines produced nearby. But as a bonus, because the adventurers had paid for a guide, they were also to enter the subterranean part of the village. Under the centre of town is  the Monolithic Church dating from the 12th Century. Wealthy nobles returning from the crusades may have started the excavation of this unique place of worship. It was a little worn due to water damage but the crypts, catacombs and twelve-meter high ceilings are marvellous to experience. Unfortunately, there are no photos allowed.

The following day, Gym and Mrs. Gym enjoyed a walking tour of Bordeaux given by a 32 year resident of France that was going to finally obtain French citizenship the following day. His thick British accent gave away his place of birth but he was also fluent in the linga franca. He explained that since the UNESCO designation was awarded in 2007 on some 1800 hectares of the city centre, the city has become a much more desirable place to live. Vast areas have been pedestrianized and there are many tree-lined boulevards and parks. 

The ship would leave Bordeaux at 11 PM on May 19, 2025. Thank god for modern sonar and infrared sensing devices! And also kudos to the pilot who was able to board the Vista by walking onto deck 4 from the Old Town promenade. He would help guide the ship back out to the Bay of Biscay.

The next day would be spent at sea, as the ship made its way toward the English Channel.

Vista going beneath the modern drawbridge in Bordeaux

View from Deck 12

St. Andre Cathedral

Bordeaux is on the Camino

Life in Bordeaux Old Town

Bordeaux Grande Theatre

Monument aux Girondins

Unfinished monastery walls in Saint-Emilion

Avenue de Verdun in Saint-Emilion

Inside Collegiale Church

Collegiale in Saint-Emilion

The Monolithic Church is under that bell tower

Looking down on the wine shop terraces