Dear Friends,
Friday morning, July 17, we got up, packed, ate breakfast, checked out of the hotel, and started driving. Dick did not want to go directly to the ship in Dover so we headed east and then south out to a point on the map called, Dungeness. You can look it up. It is a bleak point of land sticking out into the sea. We went thru a town called Lydd, then headed south across an open plain. When we got to the end of the road, we found two huge nuclear power plants, two lighthouses, a small cafe/gift shop, and some little houses. Also, there is a little narrow gauge tourist train that comes down the coast from Hythe (south of Dover) and ends there at the little cafe. Dungeness has one of the largest areas of vegetated shingle in Europe and is internationally important. (Haven't looked up yet the definition of a "vegetated shingle" but it is obviously some sort of land.) It is a unique and easily damaged landscape. It is unlawful to drive on it. But along the seaside are little boats and huts that fishermen spend the day in. The old lighthouse was built in 1904 and the new lighthouse which is out closer to the point was built in 1961. The Romney, Hythe, Dymchurch railway was extended to Dungeness from New Romney in 1928 by railway enthusiast by Captain Howey who made his fortune in land estate in the centre of Melbourne, Australia. The narrow gauge railway brings around 100,000 tourists to the area each year. (Why we do not know!!!) The nearest power station, building A, was built in the 1950s and 1960s and is being decommissioned from early 2007. The B station was built during the 1980s and still generates electricity.
From there we drove north up the coast road going thru several tiny towns along the seacoast. Went thru Greatstone, Littlestone, St. Mary's Bay, Dymchurch, and Hythe on our way to Dover. It was a cold and gray day so no people out on the beach, etc. Not many people out at all.
We drove into Dover and came upon the cruise terminal right away. Dick dropped me and the luggage off and he went to return the car. By 2:30pm we had boarded the ship, our home for the next 37 days. It is great to be back on this ship again. We were on Prinsendam for the 2006 World Cruise!!! We have run into some of the crew who we know from past cruises which is really fun for us!!! For those of you who were with us on that 2006 WC, you will know Susana Beleo, the Customer Service Representative. We were so excited to see her and she us!! We have always enjoyed her.
It is pretty to sail away from Dover since you see the "white cliffs of Dover". These landmark cliffs are chalk rocks. They have guided mariners for centuries and were responsible for saving Britain during two world wars. Composed of fossilized shells (limestone), the iconic cliffs were once underwater. Compressed by the weight of the water, they became sediment on the seabed some 80 million years ago.
Dover is one of England's "Cinque Ports", selected centuries ago to define the fledgling unified kingdom. Just 22 miles from France, the port has seen its share of troubles, don't forget that the two nations were at war for most of the 13th, 14th, and 15th cenuries. Dover's landmark castle towers 400 feet above the port atop the White Cliffs. Among the oldest and bestknown castles in England, William (the Conqueror) built the fortress in 1066 to secure the coastal approach. During the Napoleonic Wars, a network of tunnels was built into the cliffs. The passages were barracks, but were later expanded. Laid out in three underground levels, they played an important role in WWII.
We had a lovely sailaway and the Strait of Dover and North Sea were both calm. We headed north and east - first port to be Oslo, Norway, two days later. It was nice to have the first day as a sea day in order to finish unpacking and just relaxing!!!
By the way, this is a relatively cold weather cruise. Warmest temps to be up to 70 degrees. Spending most of the time in long pants, long sleeve shirts, fleeces, coats!!!
Enjoy!!!
Jan and Dick
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visit Jeff's blogs at:
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