M/V Columbus

In the summer of 2018 I sailed on the M/V Columbus, of the British line Cruise and Maritime Voyages (CMV).  It was a beautiful ship, here are some pictures of her in those happier days:

As I said, a beautiful ship in her prime.  It was an enjoyable cruise from Amsterdam to Gibraltar to the Canaries to Madeira to Lisbon to London.  Two weeks, as I recall.

Well, she's not so beautiful these days.  Here's what she's looked like more recently, after being sent to a scrap yard in India after CMV went under because of the 'rona:

 Ship and aircraft boneyards seem like such a waste to me.

Skiplagging

I've encountered this term a lot recently.  Some people do it it save money on a flight, but for reasons I can't quite understand the airlines hate it.  Part of the reason it doesn't sit right with me is because it seems to violate a principle of mathematics:

Skiplagging, also known as "hidden city" ticketing , involves booking a one-stop flight with the intention of "skipping" the second leg and getting off in the layover city. Simply, it's booking a flight from Airport A to Airport C and getting off at a layover at Airport B.

People can save hundreds of dollars doing this because a nonstop flight is more expensive than booking one with a layover in the intended-destination city.

However, airlines have been trying to cut down on this travel hack and haven't shied away from punishing passengers who get caught , including canceling the return flights of those who skiplagged on their outbound journeys.

And it's only possible because airfares don't follow one of the most intuitive rules in math.

One of the most basic laws of geometry is called the "triangle inequality." If you're trying to measure the distance between points , one of the basic rules is that the distance between two points has to be less than or equal to the distance from your first point to some other point and then back to your original second point.

The inequality gets its name from how triangles work in classic plane geometry. If you have a triangle, the sum of the length of any two sides of that triangle is bigger than the length of the third side.

We might expect airline fares to more or less follow this rule and act as a distance metric between cities. Between fuel, maintenance, and crew pay, it should cost more to fly a plane from New York to Amsterdam, followed by a leg from Amsterdam to London, than it would to fly the plane from New York to Amsterdam. That cost difference should be reflected in the price of tickets between the three cities.

But that's clearly not always the case, and that violation of the triangle inequality is what makes skiplagging possible.

Why do airlines do this? 

The math and science writer Brian Hayes came up with a possible explanation for this triangle-inequality-violating phenomenon in a 2013 blog post. He wrote that the discrepancy could come from the direct flight being in much higher demand than the layover flight, which he said could lead airlines to charge more for the nonstop. And the price of New York to Amsterdam to London is competing with the price of New York to London direct, not New York to Amsterdam. 

That still doesn't explain it sufficiently in my eyes. 

For the most part I don't travel without a checked bag, so skiplagging isn't something that would work for me anyway and thus I won't be doing it.  However, I'd really like to have someone truly in the know, someone who prices flights for me, explain why it's a problem worth penalizing.

Pictures of Places

click to embiggen the pictures

San Francisco:

The Farallons:

I'd heard that these islands existed, but I'd never seen them before July 10th--and probably never will again.

Juneau, AK:

Skagway, AK

Icy Strait Point:

Tracy Arm and the glacier:

Prince Rupert, BC:

And my final view of San Francisco and the ship as we crossed the SF Bay Bridge on the way home:

Eagles

On this trip I saw humpback whales, what I think was a sea lion (the video is clear, I just don't know sea animals very well), and eagles; I did not see any orcas or bears.  Bummer on that last part.

Here are some pictures of eagles:

These were taken outside Hoonah, Alaska, the 3rd one when I was on a kayaking tour.  Click on the pictures to embiggen them.

These two eagles were in Prince Rupert, British Columbia:

Also in Prince Rupert I saw a flight of 4 eagles, seemingly playing over the water.  It was a beauty to behold.

Leaving San Francisco

After hearing, then watching the remainder of, a smash-and-grab in San Francisco, maybe leaving was a good idea even if I didn't have this view of the City and the bridge:

I took video going under the Golden Gate Bridge but it's over 300 MB so I can't post it yet....

Update:  Try this link for video :-)

Home!

It was a great 10-day Alaska cruise out of San Francisco, just about everything went off without a hitch.  I'll endeavor to post some pictures tonight, gotta start unpacking and sorting laundry now....

The Plan Is To Be Home Tonight

The hint I gave:  Carnival Miracle.

I first saw this ship on my cruise to Alaska in 2014:

I took this picture in Skagway.

Two years later, I sailed on Carnival Miracle on a Mexican Riviera cruise:

I took this picture in Cabo San Lucas.

Assuming all has gone to plan, I boarded Carnival Miracle and left the Port of San Francisco on July 10th and sailed up to Alaska; as of the time I've scheduled this to post, we should be docking back in SF.

I will endeavor to post some trip pictures soon.  (Remember, I'm typing this before the cruise) I hope to get some "postable" video sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge.

Stuck In San Francisco For 3(?) Days

Have you heard about the cruise ship that was damaged when it slammed into the dock in San Francisco on Thursday?  It was supposed to depart that afternoon for a 10-day cruise to Alaska, but was not allowed by the Coast Guard to leave the port because of damage it sustained.  Here's the latest from KTVU in Oakland:

The Ruby Princess cruise ship docked at Pier 27 in San Francisco is ready to set sail with 579 fewer passengers.

The cruise line announced the ship will set sea at 2:30 p.m. Sunday for a 7-day Alaska voyage after getting the green light from the United States Coast Guard. The repairs were reported complete and it passed inspection and certification.

Originally there were 3,256 passengers going on the cruise, but the cruise line said there are now 2,677 guests on the ship. The crew number remained the same at 1,161.

Guests had the option to cancel their cruise with a 100% refund, and also receive a 50% credit for a future trip. Passengers who chose to continue their trip on the Ruby Princess will receive a 75% refund, and a 75% credit for a future voyage.

The ship had smacked into the pier Thursday morning causing a gash in its underside. Crews worked throughout the weekend to repair the hole ahead of Sunday's departure.

The ship will stop in Ketchikan on July 12 and Prince Rupert on July 13, returning to San Francisco on July 16.

It was originally scheduled for a 10-day voyage, but that was cut short due to the damage.

The cause of the initial crash remains under investigation by the U.S. Coast Guard.

You don't often think that something like that would happen in the United States, but it did. The ship is scheduled to leave port in less than 20 minutes as I type this; if you're interested in keeping track of its location I found this web site.

BTW, I'd totally take the 75% refund and a 75% credit on a future cruise.  Why would you get off the ship and go home a week early?

Update:  It left later than 2:30, but it's on its way.

A Few Pics From Puerto Vallarta

I see those angel wing pictures on Instagram a lot, do they mean something besides my innocence??

In my previous post I mentioned the climb up Mt. Everest.  Here's a view from up there at the overlook:

 Blogger has to compress the video a bit, unfortunately, but you get the idea.

I snapped this picture of a pelican at just the right time:

 

I didn't pay for surfing pictures, but I'm not sure how good such pics of me would look anyway!

As you can see, Puerto Vallarta is a beautiful place, and I had a great 6 days there.

Update:  a bonus picture from my last day, 2 ships in port! 

What A Fun Trip To Puerto Vallarta

I spent the entire day traveling yesterday, including dealing with severely delayed flights.  My personal rule is, except in very few situations, to have flight connections of at least 2 hours, and yesterday that rule allowed me to get home rather than be put up in a hotel in Salt Lake City for the night.  It was nice to be in my own home, even though I didn't get here until just after 2 am.

I did take a 2 hour surfing lesson in Punta Mita, and was shocked at how tiring surfing is.  About the time I was at a level where I could conceivably try to stand on the board, I was too exhausted to do so.  I was able, though, to get up on my knees and steer the board somewhat, at least I accomplished that much!

I rented a Waverunner and drove it around for awhile.  That was fun!

I also hiked up Mt. Everest.  Not that pansy little hill in Nepal, the real one in PV--the Mirador de la Cruz.  It wasn't more than mile or two from my hotel, but that's just the "walk through town" part.  Then you start walking up vertical streets that are like some in San Francisco or something.  Eventually the streets ended and then the stairs started.  Oh, the stairs!  I honestly wondered if my heart would explode in my chest, or perhaps my lungs wouldn't be able to keep up, but much like a Sherpa I kept on going until I got to the top!  The view was nice, and the trip back down was somewhat easier.

Did you know that Mexico has a navy?  I'd never really thought about it, but the Museo Naval on the malecon was enjoyable.  Incidentally, Mexicans' view of Mexican-American conflicts over the years is a little different from what I learned in school, although I'm sure the truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

The first couple days I got pink, but repeated applications of aloe and sunscreen have resulted in the body of a bronze statue.  Not a Greek god statue, more like a buddha-belly statue, but bronze nonetheless.  The beach in Puerto Vallarta was beautiful, and the water was the perfect temperature.  The waves could easily knock you down, though.  If I had another day or so, perhaps I'd have spent an entire day at the beach and eaten some of the shrimp skewers being sold.

A very good breakfast was included at my hotel, I usually didn't eat lunch, and I did something different for dinner each night.  My favorite activity was going to different food stands for dinner and trying new things (think street food, but with tables and plastic chairs).  On recent trips to Mexico I learned to like tortas and huaraches, this trip introduced me to volcanes--tortilla, cheese, shredded meat, cilantro, onions, topped with shredded pineapple!  So good.

I did go out to a club on Friday night and had a great time, I'm sure the few rum-and-cokes didn't hurt at all!  I have a vague memory of the mic being handed to me as I sang along with the blaring song in the midst of the crowd....

I talked to a real estate agent there--he's from the Lake Tahoe area!  He's added me to his mailing list for properties that meet certain criteria, I'm looking forward to getting more emails.

6 days in PV made for a nice trip.  I haven't yet been to Mazatlan, perhaps that'll be my next south-of-the-border adventure.

See You In A Week :-)

 

Airplane Etiquette

As a moderate air traveler, I subscribe to the following in airplane etiquette:  the person in the middle seat gets primary access to both armrests; even though you can, you shouldn't recline your seat if there's someone directly behind you; and as soon as the seat belt light goes off at the gate, the aisle people should get up and get their gear out of the overhead bins.  I didn't even know that last one was a debate until I read this piece:

But there’s one bit of travel etiquette that has been spreading steadily online for five years that has become something of a mantra in recent months — and it's stupid.

It's the notion that it's bad to stand up once the plane lands. Buzzfeed even had an article headlined, "If You Stand In The Airplane Aisle As Soon As The Plane Lands, You Are Wrong."

The objectors here think they’re preaching good behavior, but really, they are being inconsiderate. 

Maybe this kind of writing is why Buzzfeed is shutting down, but I digress:

A considerate person has her ATM card in her hand by the time she gets to the front of the ATM line, and when she’s using the machine, she concentrates on the screen rather than staring at the birds or the clouds. She might get her cash only 10 seconds sooner by being quick and prepared, but the person seventh in line might get his cash a minute earlier if everyone in front of him is prepared and quick. That might make the difference between catching the next bus or missing it.

This is why the standard objection to the immediate-standers is not only dumb, but self-damning. 

The people making this objection literally only think, “What is in it for you if you stand?” They don’t think, “What behavior might help other people?”

So here's why, when I have the aisle seat, I stand up right away and start gathering my stuff: Yes, it's true that if you stand up once the "fasten seatbelt" sign turns off, you can’t go anywhere. BuzzFeed argues that this is why everyone should “wait until the doors have opened and it's your turn to get up and gather your s***.”

But gathering your things ahead of time is actually the courteous thing to do.

You have downtime while the doors are closed, and if you’re standing, you can use that downtime to get your bag down from the overhead bin. Maybe this saves you only 10 seconds, but if every aisle-sitter did it (both sides of the aisle for 30 rows), then the last person on the plane will get off 10 minutes sooner.

And there’s more. When I stand up once the seatbelt sign goes off, I am often able to pass a backpack or jacket to my rowmate or even get the roller bag from above my seat down for the lady two rows ahead, who otherwise would be clogging up more of the lane when it was “her turn” to get up.

Another benefit to others is this: When I’m standing in the aisle, the middle-seat person, who just spent two hours with no elbow room, now has a little bit more space. If the sitters had their way, we’d all be crammed into the same square footage we were crammed in during takeoff and landing.

Courtesy and consideration are about thinking about how you can help others or at least avoid inconveniencing them. Too many of the social media scolds think only of themselves. 

The one and only time I flew on a foreign discount airline, they enforced the opposite.  A flight attendant would stand in the aisle; anyone in front of that flight attendant could stand up and get their belongings, everyone else had to stay seated.  When those people had mostly cleared out, the flight attendant would back up a few rows and those new rows of passengers would stand and get their gear.  It was so inefficient.  Yes, it looked orderly, but it was inefficient.

I'm flying to Mexico in mid-June.  While I booked the flight through Mexico's flag carrier, the flight will be on an American airline.  I don't see Americans staying seated because some softhead without good reasons says they should.

Summer Plans

I don't think I've taken my trailer out camping since October, and now I probably won't until school gets out.  It will have been over half a year.

I was supposed to go over Spring Break, but a rock slide made access to my planned campground much more difficult than it needed to be, so that trip will get postponed until June.  Maybe I can go there right after school gets out...

About a week after school gets out, I'm headed for Puerto Vallarta.  I like to go places I haven't been or do things I haven't done before when I travel, and I'll get a smidge of both in PV.  I overnighted there on a cruise 7 years ago, so here are my planned new events:

• take a bus to Sayulita
• take surfing lessons in Sayulita
• rent a waverunner

How fun do those sound?

A few weeks after my return I'm going on an Alaska cruise with my mother.  When we booked it I had previously been to all the ports of call, but in the interim, Victoria BC has been replaced with the thriving metropolis of Prince Rupert BC.  From what I've seen on YouTube it doesn't seem like a fair trade at all, but at least it's somewhere I haven't been before.

The last weekend of July, some of my high school friends have planned a "reunion" of sorts.  I don't have a lot of details yet, but since Styx and Starship were popular when we graduated high school, we're going to a concert of theirs at the local casino!  Our 40th high school reunion should be this year but I think it's only in the initial planning stages.

I'm already doing preliminary planning for Summer '24, when my sister and I are scheduled to spend 2 1/2 weeks in Italy.  She's given me carte blanche to do the planning, saying "I just want to pay my share and show up and have it all done for me."  I am so the right person for that job!

I wish I knew enough about how to arrange it so I could deduct at least part of the cost of that Italy trip from my taxes....

Trip Canceled

I was supposed to go camping tomorrow, but today I got a call from the campground saying a rockslide had closed the road.  I could still get to the campground, but I'd have to drive dozens of extra miles down a twisty-turny road to come in from the opposite direction.  I postponed till June.  Can't find another campground within 2 hours that I really want to visit.

So now it's Monday night of spring break and I am not going anywhere.  Sure, I could go to Las Vegas, but I've been to Vegas plenty of times and don't really have a pressing need to go there.  Palm Springs is ridiculously expensive, as is San Diego.  I looked up places in Florida, the DR, Belize, and Mexico, but the only one that jumped out at me was Cancun--and not only have I been there plenty of times, but a friend from work took her kids (both seniors at our school) there today and it would just feel weird if I decided to go tomorrow too, ya know?

So after spending more than 2 hours at the computer looking at flights and hotels, with nowhere screaming at me to go, I still have no plans.  I texted my son to see if he would like to meet in Vegas for a couple days but don't expect to hear from him till tomorrow.

What A Whiner

The problem in this story lies not with her fellow students nor with the locals, but with the woman in the mirror:

While NYU is famed for its foreign offerings in places like Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Berlin, Paris, and Shanghai, I opted for Florence, Italy, in the fall...

I imagined fun potluck dinners with my roommates, summer flings with people who called me "bella," gelato that dripped down my fingers in the heat, and natural wine that paired effortlessly with good conversation and better prosciutto.

But when my semester in Florence came to an end, I grew to despise the sights, hated the people, and couldn't wait to get back home to my campus in New York...

My routine looked drastically different from that of my roommates. I had a GPA to upkeep and an online internship. I wasn't out partying; I was home working most of the time, and it became difficult to concentrate on my assignments...

The roommate schedule is the only complaint that I find valid.  How horrible for her, though, that everyone else had different fantasies--and lived them!--depriving her of "fun potluck dinners with my roommates".  Aww, and she couldn't find anyone who would call her pretty.  Self-centered much, lady?

Let's continue:

Since three-day weekends are the standard for NYU's study-abroad programs, almost everyone chose to take $20 Ryanair flights to places like Croatia and Munich for Oktoberfest. To me, this seemed like an exhausting form of escapism. I was convinced my peers were doing it only to freshen up their social-media profiles and make their friends back home jealous...

But most weekends, I stayed at home in Florence, while my classmates burned themselves out with travel. During those lonely weekends, I ran along the Arno river, popped into free gallery exhibits, and cooked with ingredients I found at local vegetable markets. I was left in the apartment completely alone. This lack of human interaction didn't help me feel optimistic.

I was disillusioned by the fact that no one in my study-abroad program seemed to have my values.

I'm not quite sure whom I resented more during my stay in Italy: my American classmates or the locals. The latter is often described as soulful, charming, and overflowing with hospitality, but I could provide concrete examples of them being hostile, inconsiderate, and preposterous. For example, one time, two women were talking about me on the bus, looking at me up and down and scoffing. There were a couple of incidents of verbal confrontations. 

I started to protest by presenting myself to the public in a way I knew they'd hate. I started wearing American-brand athleisure, Nike Air Max 97s, and oversize hoodies. The Italians rolled their eyes as I passed them on the street.

I know it's only one example, but two women talk about her and the world comes to an end?   And in response, she chooses to intentionally antagonize the locals?

In Europe in general, and in Italy in particular, how you dress is important.  Any European can pick out an American from 100 meters; we stand out, we don't dress as snazzy as they do.  Heck, I've been known to wear cargo shorts whilst walking around Rome!  She had to know the locals wouldn't like the way she dressed, assuming she dressed as an American--and she also didn't have to care what they said!  Granted, the locals didn't need to participate in "verbal confrontations", either, but that's an American viewpoint, I don't know if that's an Italian viewpoint.  And when in Rome...

Let's get back to the cry-fest:

I was consistently frustrated by the fact that my life back in New York was not put on hold. Fellow NYU students who stayed in New York were actively pursuing in-person internships, networking with zeal, and making moves to advance their futures. I felt like I was wasting precious time in Florence.

Are you kidding?  She's frustrated that everyone else's life didn't stop while she was in freakin' Florence?  Said in best Darth Vader voice:  the entitlement is strong with this one.

Send me to Florence for a year.  I volunteer for the suffering.

Italy

My sister and I are tentatively planning a trip to Italy in the summer of 2024.  I don't want to go too many places I've been before, and since she doesn't seem to mind skipping out on Rome, it looks like we'll go from Naples to Florence (where I haven't been since 1976) to Milan and Lake Como.

I've read, and heard firsthand, that Naples is "dirty", but given everything that's there, and given that I've never been there, and given its proximity to the Amalfi Coast and Capri, should I really cross that one off the list?

My sister wants to, in her words, eat her way across Tuscany.  I'm ok with that!  I spent the summer of 1976 just north of Livorno; Pisa was a half hour away and Florence was at most a day trip.  I don't really need to go back to Livorno to see the old digs, but basing in Florence and taking day trips to Pisa and Siena seems reasonable.  My sister wants to take at least one cooking class there; that's no problem, as I can occupy myself quite nicely, thankyouverymuch, while she's cooking.

Perhaps I passed through Milan while on the train from Livorno to Germany in '76, but that doesn't count as a visit.  I'd like to use Milan as a base for day trips, especially to the Lake Como area--maybe even get an AirBnB at the lake.

Anyway, that's my plan.  The order of the stops doesn't really matter to me.  Just for smiles and giggles I'm planning on flying to Naples and then taking the train to Florence and Milan, spending maybe 5 days in each place.  If flights out of Florence are cheaper, maybe we could take an overnight sleeper train from Naples to Milan and end the trip in Florence.  That can all be worked out over the next year.

Have you been to any of these areas, or within a day trip of any of them?  I'd love to read your recommendations!

This Is The Next Place I Want To Visit In Mexico

Although I'm not a fan of their no-reservations, first-come-first-served hotel procedure, these hot springs look beautiful.  And I'll just book a room in town and take a shuttle bus, anyway.

Metro Collision

Yesterday there was a collision on the Mexico City Metro:

Two subway trains collided between two stations Saturday in Mexico City, killing at least one person and injuring 41, authorities said.

Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said on her Twitter account that the accident happened on Line 3 of the capital’s Metro system, without specifying the cause of the crash between the Potrero and La Raza stations.

Sheinbaum said one woman was killed and 57 people injured, who were taken to seven hospitals. Four people were trapped in the wreckage for a time, including one train driver, who was reported in serious condition. Late in the afternoon, the mayor said 26 of the injured had been released.

I was in that spot on Wednesday, as I took the Metro to and from the Basilica of Guadalupe.  This is very sad.

Art

Here we get a little bit of sculpture from around Mexico City:

Is it just me, or do the sculptures on the corners of the Monument to the Revolution look a little "socialist-y"?

And while not a sculpture, it sure is a work of art...my hotel was built in 1904:

Yes, I took that picture with my phone, and with no filters!  That's really what it looks like!