Tales of Fun & Sun

Our Eyes at Sea!

Mary Hartman is a veteran sea-goer and globe-trotter. Her resume reads a media relations specialist with Colorado State University and a free-lance writer who lives in Louisville, Colorado, USA.

Panama Canal

"There is a charm of adventure about this new quest." So said the New York Times in the 1870's when the Panama Canal was nothing more than a glint in the eye of a French entrepreneur, as well as the United States Navy. ...




Cruising The Baltic Sea

Peter the Great must be feeling pretty smug from his quarters in the Hereafter. Everyday, from early spring through late fall, legions of visitors stream through his palaces, fortress and gardens in St. Petersburg, Russia's historic "Window on the West." ...

South Sea Adventure

So boasted the travel literature, the cruise ship staff -- even the T-shirts sold to commemorate Society Expedition's voyage of the "World Discoverer" between Raratonga, Cook Islands and Papeete, Tahiti. ...




Norwegian Coastal Voyages

The Norwegians have a word for it. Hurtigruten - the "fast route." This passage, along the Norwegian Coast, also has been dubbed "the world's most beautiful sea voyage." ...

The Mediterranean, a Great Cruise

Clearly, this cruise is not for the faint-of-heart. The couch potato cruiser, the guy (or gal) who lives for a deck chair and a mai tai, should plan either to stay on board. . .or to stay at home. ...




Travels "Down Under"

The signboard in front of the cafe beckoned us. Once inside, listings on the menu almost choked us: Camel porterhouse steak and roast emu. Filet of shark. And the clincher: home-smoked kangaroo with wattle seeds.

Good Reasons to go to Iceland

A couple of years ago a friend asked me if I’d ever been to Iceland. "No," I told her, " I’ve never had the chance." But, last summer my husband, Barrie and I, got that chance, when we boarded Holland America’s ship, "The Maasdam." ...