Visiting the old town Reykjavik, Iceland/Carlos Pueblo

Visiting the old town Reykjavik, Iceland/Carlos Pueblo

The cruise ship was turned westward from Shetland Islands into the

Atlantic. We missed the famous Iceland polar light on the second night

at sea as I was informed that was a green one. This reminded me our

first miss at Fairbank, Alaska almost 10 year ago. It was out of the polar

light as I was told. We also missed several famous scenery places such as

the Golden Circle and Blue Lagoon instead of hiking up to the old town

Reykjavik, the Capital of Iceland.

It was a raining day and miserable. Amy was nervous and needed to find

a toilet right after getting out of a restroom at the pier. There was a small

closed museum alone on the field due to out of season, a lady runner pointed

out a gas station across a busy highway. There were still some passengers

walking to the old town for the visit. That gas station was the beginning of the

old town.  Amy bought a jacket thicker that the one she wore from home and

we kept on walking and made a left turn on an American franchise, Hard Rock

Café in order to use its toilet. That left turn toward a garden park surrounded

by a sea bay or a pound which I was not sure. We watched the white swans

stick out their long necks into the water for food. It’s all depended on how large

of the lungs in order to hold under the water. I met two Taiwanese girls who were

taking photos of the nearby ducks. They did see the polar light on the plane when

flew in last night.

The garden lots were in small scale yet still pretty in considering to the weather of

Iceland. Even in such a miserable day of raining, local residents were still walking

around the park for daily exercises. It was not getting better in rain, we decided to

turn back and turned our final visit at Hard Rock Café. People were still flocking to

the old town streets from everywhere of the world. Three or four groups of pedestrians

were ahead of us to across the busy highway and only two left seemed to be on the

the cruise ship direction. I was very confident that I did see the small museum on the

field. A group of 4 kept on going straight and a lone walker with rain coat made a left

turn and looked at us in distance to check if she was in right direction. I waved yes

silently.

She was from New Hampshire who took a bus from terminal 4 Heathrow directly to

Southampton the other day forUS$18. I asked her how to get on Metro and bus to

Laguadia. She advised me something like walk straight uphill till the 8^th Avenue and

make a left turn till I see the subway station.

冰島里克哈必克行/莊峻華

冰島里克哈必克行/莊峻華

船從協特蘭島啟航，西向冰島兩日夜，抵達首都里克哈必克港，

不巧遇上陰雨，也阻擋不了行軍街頭，我們帶有雨傘，北國海風

，仍舊強襲，海邊公園天晴時，必是飄亮，艾美緊張，必需上廁

所，遇見一小博物館，但已是季節外，有路跑者告知加油站方向

，加油站後，就是首都鬧街，我們逛街，艾美買下一防風雨夾克

，立即換上。街上許多是郵輪乘客，也有許多搭機前來遊客，克

市以觀光旅遊出名，我知道已經錯過昨夜之北極光，也錯過藍礁

湖溫泉，錯過著名之海鴨，但我們走到海灣公園，又沿路走回郵

輪。

北極光在冰島有特色，前夜有人在船上看到綠光，實際上有七彩

，約是十年前，我們驅車旅行阿拉斯加州，費爾邊克市，北極光

不是季節，我也不在意，這次按船上旅客曰，天氣不夠晴朗，效

果不佳。再來就是溫泉，我們也在費爾邊克，租泳衣毛巾，入泡

溫泉池，艾美片刻即起，非常掃興，提起其妹，上月來冰島旅遊

，泡過藍礁湖溫泉，我建議明年旅遊日本，泡日本溫泉，更是經

濟實惠。

我們在海灣公園休息，觀看白天鵝覓食，就是長頸引首入水，然

後就是潛水一陣，必較鵝肺活量，起首後，常常口中無物，因未

見鵝嚼食，再度潛水，我看完後，開始拍攝花朵相片，小規模花

圃，樸實無華，卻令我喜歡。我估算此刻折回，應尚有實力，使

用一家美國著名餐廳，硬石咖啡廁所後，就雨中長途遠征，海岸

途中，先是幾隊人馬，後來各自散去，只剩下一位單身婦人，遠

處望我指示方向，我因早上經過小博物館仍在，肯定方向，揮手

告知，這位太太，來自新英格蘭之紐韓斯維爾州，她搭巴士從希

斯洛機場第四機站，十六美金到南涵普頓郵輪碼頭，然後我再請

教她，下船後如何搭車到拉瓜地亞機場，於是她說如何如何，第

八大道左轉，再問人搭地鐵。

上船後，我就開始準備觀看北極光，結果海浪洶湧，北大西洋，

強風襲人，夾板上立足不易，天上烏雲密佈，識者曰無北極光也。

Visiting Lerwick, Shetland Islands, Scotland/Carlos Pueblo

Visiting Lerwick, Shetland Islands, Scotland/Carlos Pueblo

After one day and night at sea, the ship was disembarked at Lerwick of

Shetland Islands on the north east offshore of Scotland. We took a tender

service to a pier connected directly to the commercial streets of the city.

The islands were a dowry from a Danish King to a Scottish Prince in lieu of

cash in order to marry his daughter away. Later, Danish Royalty regretted

and still couldn’t afford paying back the dowry in cash plus interest

accumulated. It didn’t take very much time for the European naval powers

to keep their eyes away from the islands which were before the discovery of

the North Sea oil. The Dutch Naval guns destroyed the harbor of the city

and thereafter, the Fort Charlotte was built with 21 guns facing the harbor.

We went to Shetland Library to use its internet. The city is small yet with all

the necessary organs in a body as we say in Chinese language. We hiked again

toward north to Shetland Museum and Archives where I learned my dowry

legend while the city hall was on the way. Basically, the city is a lovely place to

live and I don’t know the North Sea Oil has anything to do with it. The city seems

to be affluent, neat, and beautiful. We could see the highland green there and

across the bay, called Lerwick in Norwegian or Muddy Bay in English. The Museum

was with plenty of visitors and local retirees leisurely engaging their chores of that

day. Majority of its collection are in wool industry, wood fishing vessels of all kinds,

large or small. I found a sword and its scabbard inside the shelf cabinet. I began to

wonder if Japanese was original from Scotland. A staff lady smiled and indicated

that Japanese could copy to the perfect; however, the sword was a donation from

a resident served in the Royal Air Force in Singapore during the War.

We kept on hiking back through a shopping center on the North Road, across the

road, there was a Gurkhas Restaurant and I wondered again. Are there any such

demand in this island? We kept hiking among the residential area with nice front

yard gardens and lots of green lawn between two green fields with plenty of white

swans and seagulls. I followed the street sign to find a youth hostel in vain and

reached to the bottom of the old town harbor front. Amy found some more

interesting places to go, we visited several stores with plenty of wool products.

We followed several groups of school children on their lunch break around the

Street to the down and back to school with soft drink. Anderson High School was

at the end of the street and there was a large  daycare center building with an

old hostel name on it.

船靠協特蘭島雷衛港/莊峻華

船靠協特蘭島雷衛港/莊峻華

船行一日夜，抵達蘇格蘭東北之協特蘭群島，首府雷衛港，接駁船

送客到岸，我們一身健行裝備，背包內有雨傘，飲水，和蘋果，靠

岸後就是兩條老街，市政府德政，觀光地圖上，標明六處廁所，非

常方便，我們先到市立圖書館，使用電腦，書寫家書報平安，然後

逛到查洛特堡，繼續北走到島博物館，沿路繞老街周圍，穿過季柏

頓公園，回到港口，再沿海岸，走到安德生高中，然後結束此行，

雷衛港和協特蘭島，就像影片上之蘇格蘭原野，山丘起伏，碧草如

茵，仍舊有居民騎鐵馬，穿梭郊外小徑。

據曰古丹麥王，將協特蘭群島，陪嫁給蘇格蘭王子為嫁奩，後來後

悔，蘇格蘭王要求折合嫁奩現金，丹麥皇室，一直籌不出此現金，

所以一直不曾歸還，當然這是早在開採北海海底石油之前，其間，

歐洲海上列強，不時爭奪此島，像荷蘭海軍，就砲毀雷衛港，所以

英軍在老街高崗上，建立查洛特堡，21處砲台陣地，仍舊有十處古

砲，槍口朝外，此堡仍就是英軍砲校，約有一營後備役實力。

島博物館新穎，收藏豐富，許多當地年長退休紳士婦女，社交聚集

處，展覽物多半是毛紡織工業機械，也有航海木船，很有規模，我

看到一把俊秀日本武士刀，正在納悶，日本武士刀，難道來自蘇格

蘭？女職員曰不然，又強調日人模仿到完美，但此刀確是日本製造

，是一位當地居民，二戰時任職皇家空軍於新加坡所捐贈。

走出博物館，就在購物中心矮牆上吃蘋果，這是一巴士站，對面街

有一廓爾克餐廳，廓爾克人服役英軍，不想此島居然有此市場，我

們沿路繞道南下，經過者均為住宅區，前院都是花園，非常美麗，

然後經過，季柏頓公園，這是一大草原，有許多白天鵝棲息，當然

也有海鷗，我按路標尋找一青年客棧不果，折回港口，然後沿海岸

東南向，艾美參觀幾家毛織品店，非常精緻，我也看到我的蘇格蘭

西裝店。

我們遇見一群群學童，走在街頭，嘻嘻哈哈，原來是午休上街購買

蘇打飲料，學校在馬路盡頭，旁邊有一大樓，書曰客棧，進入後始

知已是托兒所。

Adopted daughters on board/Carlos Pueblo

Adopted daughters on board/Carlos Pueblo

Once we boarded on the ship, we walked up to Deck 7, the front desk area

to see the atrium bar and the piano. I saw a familiar face, Roy from Indonesia.

I asked him for several people in my memory of last trip in the spring of 2016,

from Houston to Barcelona, Spain. He was one of the polite youngsters greeted

my Malaysian brother Yong as Parche, great uncle, instead of his insisting Abang,

elder brother in Malay language. Yong was 55 at that time just retired from the

Metro of New York City. Roy still remembered that story and told me the other

two waitress, Andrea quit her job and returned to Romania; Angie left for another

ship where we did meet on my way from Chile to Argentina last March. The boss

lady of all bars, Lirio, still recognized me and our group when we watched her to

train the bartenders. I did adopted her as my eldest daughter on board this time.

I saw Aiza, my honey on Deck 8 O’Sheehan’s, as a hostess as last year’s Blue Lagoon.

I asked her about my two adopted daughters from last year, Christina, the assistant

manager and Mylene, the fellow hostess. She said that Christina just left ship a week

due to foot injury and returned to Manila. Mylene is still on board at Grand Pacific.

First night at dinner, we went to the restaurant and Aiza arranged us to sit at Mylene’s

station and also ran into to Peruvian Maria of her assistant. Maria was on Deck 12 under

Christina’s surprise last year with a few youngsters from Peru and one from Argentina.

This trip I adopted Maria and her fellow Peruvian beauty Karla, Mylene’s roommate, as

Daughters almost immediately.

It doesn’t stop there. Once I mentioned Christina’s name which I called my daughter,

they all were relaxed. I knew that Christina didn’t pay that much attention to such relationship

because I did mention to another hostess at another ship from Boston to Bermuda. This

Rachel at O’Sheehan’s waitress was a close friend of Christina’s mother. She verified my

status with her via Facebook and treated me nicely on the next day. She said that Christina’s

just a passenger’s statement. I showed Mylene and Karla some of my un-deleted photos of

Bermuda, they recognized Rachel and an assistant manager of the Jasmine, Melinda. The

Cruise Line ships them around all the other ships.

I must keep on name the rest of my adoption. Mara is a young girl of her first contract and

working as a custodian for Deck 6 and 7. Amy is very fond of her and asks me carry a box of

German chocolate for her on my next trip in late November. Michelle, like my real daughter’s

first name, was at Grand Pacific and supported Garden Café in charge of the coffee cart.

Divine was the hostess of LeCucina while Analia was the hostess of LeBistro. One night after

Le Cucina dinner, I even adopted two fellow passengers, Mary and Ann of Ireland, as our

Daughters.

登船/莊峻華

登船/莊峻華

下車後，立即登船，我是鉑級客戶，所以報到後，優先上船，走到第

八層餐廳，就看到艾莎，她是位帶位者，我在一年半前，搭此船到西

班牙巴塞隆那港，與彼相識於此餐廳，餐廳經理，就是克莉斯丁娜，

我認之長女，一年半來，我一直想再搭此船不果，最接近一次，是去

年十一月，也在巴塞隆那港，兩船上並立，此船客滿，我以為可以巧

遇碼頭，結果不然，倒是在另船，遇到茉西，也是當年相識，調到新

船新職者。

我所繫念之菲律賓長女，剛好一週前離職，因為腳傷多次，必需返鄉

治療，我想到她在船上之工作，必需長時站立，腳傷腰傷可期，但願

她在家治療後，離開此繁忙工作。艾莎幫我安排到次女，麥琳之服務

站，她是在七層免費餐廳服務，秘魯之瑪麗亞，是她之助理，仍然憶

得上次邂逅，去年自助餐廳，幾位南美同事，均契約期滿後離去，我

立即收下瑪麗亞為三女，她們倆都在此紐約下船，兩月後，麥琳回任

，瑪麗亞則調到另一艘船，基地在冬天紐奧良和夏天西雅圖。

秘魯之卡拉，在十二層自助餐廳，聞我說到義女故事，甚感有趣，同

意幫我捎信給室友麥琳，果然麥琳見面已有準備，非常親切，自去年

春天，我已經搭乘此公司郵輪八次，每次都引義女克莉斯丁娜為例，

和菲律賓籍船員拉上關係，而且我把姓名，改成菲律賓名，卡羅素˙

普誒普羅，卡羅素是西班牙語之英語查理斯，普誒普羅係西語村莊意

，所以義女者也，普誒普羅家族是也，彼等聞言而笑，菲律賓姓氏多

為西班牙姓名。秘魯之卡拉亦成為義女，艾美特別喜歡此位義女，著

實緣份。

艾美也喜歡另一位義女，她是剛上船工作之瑪拉，在六層七層打掃環

境，包括廁所，英雄不畏出身低，她是大學資訊系畢業，因為弟妹大

學費用，上船工作，我非常感動，決定拉上公關，加認一位助理飲料

部經理莉里歐為義女，帶理克莉斯丁娜為長女，她們兩位都是准尉，

一線半，就近照顧我之義女群，尤其瑪拉，提拔她為調酒師，或是咖

啡師。紙短情長，家兄峻嚴在十六日，紐約上船，旅行新英格蘭，加

拿大三省到魁北克市，我已預告留船義女群，峻嚴要我電郵名單，以

便問候其侄女群，上述外，尚有蜜雪兒，自助餐咖啡車，蒂雯義大利

餐廳帶位，安娜莉雅法國餐廳帶位，有兩位美女甜心，蕾在賭場前座

，和一名未記上之茉莉花餐廳帶位，還有茉莉花經理理奇，是克莉斯

丁娜之繼任，六年前曾是她屬下。

Solving Crisis while traveling/Carlos Pueblo

Solving Crisis while traveling/Carlos Pueblo

No excuses for the mistakes when I made some basic planning for this

Trip. I booked a wrong date of plane tickets to return to London was

the first mistake; secondly we couldn’t bought bus tickets to go south

to Southampton to board on the Cruise within certain time limit.

Fortunately, the transportation systems are superior in the Great Britain

and the crises have been solved.

I was in panic when I attempted to check in on line on the 24^th for a return

flight to Heathrow from Edinburgh, the tickets date were on the 23th. I called

the airline and all coach seats were sold out and only the business class were

available for 500 British pounds each. We decided to take train and went to

the train station to purchase the next day tickets. We also checked the boarding

bus stop before dinner. A staff from the city bus company kindly advised us how

to board the bus from the hotel. We gave the restaurant waitress who helped us

the direction of train station our returning airport express tickets good for 30 days

for a better usage and no waste.

I planned to take a bus from Victoria Station directly to Souhampaton on the 25^th

from the airport hotel via subway, Tube. After arriving London, three people

had advised us to take a bus on a bus center at Terminal 5 nearby the hotel. The

problem was that I was not alert enough to book a pair of tickets before leaving

for Edinburgh on the 21^st. I thought that I was quite good of a good traveler of

freelance. The buses were fully booked in the morning on that day and the next

available one was 1:45 pm with a two and half ride in a raining day and we were

required to be on board before 3:00 pm. No way to consider the other economic

alternative, we walked back to the lady with the Cruise Line sign to guide the pre-

booked passengers to a special shuttle for help. She called the coordinator on the

other terminal to check for vacancy for two and luckily we got on to the bus with

150 British Pounds cost. The bus went directly to the terminal in front of the check

In office and the luggage went directly to our room.

On the morning of disembark in New York City, we got a final bill and stated that

150 pounds was really 150 US$ and also we didn’t need to check on the reason why

the Cruise Line gave us $69 on board credit each to offset such additional expanse.