Norwegian Epic — Tenerife; La Orotava


La Orotava, Tenerife

The first port of call for the Norwegian Epic following our departure from Barcelona was Santa Cruz on Tenerife in the Canary Islands. As many of my blog followers may already know, I’m a former air traffic controller, and I still teach air traffic control at the local FAA Airport Traffic Control Tower (ATCT)/Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON). When you mention Tenerife to a controller of my generation, the worst aviation disaster in history comes to mind. Fortunately, we were here for other reasons than to relive that horrible experience.

La Orotava, Tenerife

Ursula and I wouldn’t be spending much time in Santa Cruz this trip, however. We had a tour planned, a tour that would take us to a national park (more this Wednesday). But on the return back to Santa Cruz our tour made a stop at the charming and picturesque town of La Orotava. Among the many sights here is the domed Baroque-style Church of Our Lady of the Conception (Nuestra Señora de la Concepción):

Church of the Conception, La Orotava, Tenerife

Church of the Conception, La Orotava, Tenerife

Church of the Conception, La Orotava, Tenerife

Another stop is the House of the Balconies (Casa de los Balcones):

La Casa de los Balcones

La Casa de los Balcones

La Casa de los Balcones

Some other interesting photos to take here:

La Orotava, Tenerife

La Orotava, Tenerife

 

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Fun Photo Friday — Epic photos of an Epic ship


Epic LED Chandelier

This week’s Fun Photo Friday is a tribute to some of the really fun photo opportunities aboard the Norwegian Epic:

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Touring the Norwegian Epic


The massive Norwegian Epic

After three days in Madrid, Dolores and Earl Daniels with Ursula and I took the Alta Velocidad Española (AVE) high-speed train to Barcelona. Along the way we frequently hit speeds in excess of 300 kph/186 mph. Impressive. At these speed it takes only 2 ½ hours to cover the 621 kilometers/386 miles. Very impressive. The next morning we headed out to the port to catch our transatlantic ride — the massive Norwegian Epic, which when built was the third largest cruise ship ever.

Epic theater

The Epic displaces up to 155,873 tons, measures 1,081 feet/329 meters in length, has 1,724 crew, and houses 4,100 passengers (double occupancy). Aboard ship are countless lounges, restaurants, shopping venues, a casino, a comedy club, an entertainment theater, a fitness/well-being center, and a huge multi-story LED chandelier.

Gigantic LED chandelier

But the one venue that kept drawing us back was the recreation of the Beatles-era Cavern Club and the almost nightly Beatles tribute band that played there. If you closed your eyes and just listened, you’d swear you were listening to the real thing. These musicians were that good, and especially note worthy this voyage as the John Lennon impersonator.

Recreation of the Beatles-era Cavern Club

Below are some more photos of Norwegian Epic venues. Click on any image to enlarge and to activate a slide presentation:

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