Two voyages on board MONT ST MICHEL this October

Since her debut in December 2002, I have sailed many times on MONT ST MICHEL, this October did a couple of crossings both from Ouistreham to Portsmouth, she is a fantastic cruise ferry, for other "posts" and photos of this ship please visit my BRITTANY FERRIES Blog here. Photos 1.10.2013 and 21.10.2013

"A tree so big that its shadow would cover Normandy and England", History on board MONT ST MICHEL

In 1027 WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR was born at Falaise in Normandy, legend has it that his mother, Herleva, had a dream the night he was conceived, the dream was, "a tree would grow out of her body, so large that its shadow would cover both Normandy and England". Some History on display to passengers on board BRITTANY FERRIES "MONT ST MICHEL", photos on board, 21.10.2013

"PONT-AVEN" cruising the Bay of Biscay for nearly ten years

"PONT-AVEN" is the BRITTANY FERRIES flagship, she was introduced back in 2004, her maiden voyage was on the 23.3.2004, since then she has been cruising mainly on the Plymouth and Portsmouth to Santander, she is also used on the Plymouth/Roscoff and Portsmouth/Saint-Malo routes, the photos above were taken this week during a crossing from Portsmouth to Santander, 16.10.2014

"PONT-AVEN" bunkering and getting ready for sea at Portsmouth

BRITTANY FERRIES magnificent flagship "PONT-AVEN" built in 2004 is seen here at Portsmouth bunkering and getting ready for another trip to Santander, she left 45 minutes late due to late arrival and also because of that precious load taken on board, 508 passengers would make the trip, me included. "PONT-AVEN" will be 10 years old on March the 23rd of 2014, date that she embarked on her maiden voyage from Plymouth to Santander. Photos 15.10.2013

Old Links renewed with the city of SETUBAL

                                  EVORA built 1931

                                          RECORDACAO built in 1961

SETUBAL has been a city in Portugal since 1860, today with just under 120.000 inhabitants is in my opinion one of Portugal's best kept secrets, a Country with many, it is strongly associated with my childhood and teenage years, I lived only 13 miles away, I used to go there with family and friends for the many wonderful things on offer, gastronomy, if you like fish, it's the place to go, incredible beaches, some of the most beautiful I have seen in my life, Portinho da Arrabida is a typical example of that, this beautiful city is 40 kms south of the Portuguese Capital, Lisbon, it has a beautiful bay, a protected Natural Park at Arrabida and the TROIA holiday resort with marinas, beaches and fabulous accommodation, I will come back to this subject in more detail as soon as possible. Setubal is located on the northern bank of the river Sado, so clean and unspoiled that has had  bottlenose dolphins as residents for decades, yes decades. Setubal was the fourth busiest port in Portugal in 2012, commodities exported are cement, paper and fertilizers, last September I was there once again and had opportunity for some ship spotting as well, it was good to see two old freinds from my childhood years, the beautiful EVORA, built in 1931 and still cruising with passengers just for pleasure and the RECORDACAO built 30 years later and unfortunately abandoned, must have bone between the two vessels over one hundred trips on them. Photos 23.9.2013

PORT OF LEIXOES

The Port of Leixoes is located on the mouth of the river Douro in Portugal, the original Port's facilities dates back from 1890, throughout the years the Port has been gradually modernized in order to provide large scale container-gantries and equipment that includes heavy-cranes capable of handling Panamax container ships. The Port of Leixoes is also the gateway to visit the city of Oporto and the Douro Valley, a new Cruise Terminal is now under construction and due to open next year, Passenger Ships of up to 300 meters in length will be able to dock at the new terminal. Photos taken 19.9.2013