R. Doug Wicker — Author | Stories of Mystery and Adventure

November 13, 2013 · 10:27 am

Channeling Charles Berlitz

According to the captain the MS Ryndam just a short while ago entered the infamous Bermuda Tria

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Filed under Author, Humor, travel, Writing

November 13, 2013 · 5:35 am

It had been an extremely busy first week aboard MS Ryndam. Thankfully we finally got a day of rest after leaving Palermo on the way to Olbia, Sardinia. But our time in Olbia was very short, for Ursula had us booked on a tour of La Maddalena, which we reached after a short ferry ride.

Ferry to Maddalena

Our tour of La Maddalena began with a circuit around the island. Along the way we enjoyed great views from high above, as well as close-ups of water that was unbelievably clear.

La Maddalena

After the island circuit we returned to the main city and spent some time taking in the sights. Here are today’s photo gallery shots of this enchanting little island:

La Maddalena

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Tagged as cruise ship, Holland America, Italy, La Maddalena, MS Ryndam, photography, R. Doug Wicker, Sardinia, travel

November 11, 2013 · 5:35 am

Patrolling Palermo

Palermo, Sicily

Civitivecchia is the port city serving Rome. We’d been to Rome several times before, and this trip was going to be a short one between docking and departure so we decided to sit in Civitivecchia rather than roam through Rome. More on that in a moment, but this is for Randi Brewer (she loves these things):

Citrôen 2CV

Alas, there’s not a whole lot in Civitivecchia so this blog also covers our brief stay in Palermo. But before we go there, here’s two more for Randi:

Citrôen 2CV

Fiat 500

Most of our time in Civitivecchia involved a brief foray onto the main streets and a stop at a local WiFi-connected café to allow us to cruise the ‘net on our iPads. Back on the ship I captured a couple of pictures of passing boats:

Civitivecchia, Italy

Palermo on the other hand was quite a walking adventure — at least eight miles on foot through all kinds of streets. We reached Palermo on Sunday, October 27. We’ll get to those photograps in a moment, but first I was to share what I captured on the way into port.

The first is the roof of the passenger terminal:

Palermo Passenger Terminal

The second is an interesting shot of the mooring for the MS Ryndam:

Docking the Ryndam in Palermo

The following is today’s Palermo photo gallery, which includes a colorful and vibrant food market as well as some great buildings and more neat balconies and other architectural details (Click on any image below to bring up the slideshow):