Many seniors resist taking a long ocean voyage due to their fear of unprecedented weight gain that can occur on a luxurious ocean liner. This past May, my husband and I were determined to prove these critics wrong, as we approached our 6th cruise taken together/my 8th with nary a pound gained in the past. True our Holland America’s Iberian & Gallic Explorer Voyage would be 14 days at sea, and Nick was almost 79 years old and I was almost 73 years old. However, we both assumed that we, as senior athletic activists who prided ourselves on our daily schedule of running (Nick) and swimming (Joanie), would find a way to stay healthy through exercise and eating properly. The problem with the Prinsendam, our small ship, was that it did not provide Nick with an adequate size running deck (only the top small level) and not one of the two swimming pools onboard had lap lanes available for Joanie. What to do? Improvise, of course, which we did! Nick made the best of his skimpy running deck and I made the best of my good-sized walking deck with strong winds facing each of us on one side and one end of the ship at all times. I even participated in a three-mile speed Walk for Cancer with newfound friends. Our sleeping cabin was situated at a low ship’s level, which made our seven-deck stair climb, two to three times daily for food, a terrific workout! Besides who needs elevators to transport themselves up and down to different ship levels? Today’s modern cruise lines have almost all eliminated the Midnight Buffet – a great idea! Both buffet and seated meal menus now include an abundance of fruits and vegetables. The trick is to avoid wasted calories found in alcohol use (aside of dinner wines, of course) and in too many unhealthy desserts.
But here is the real trick in keeping the waistline small, choose your ship’s excursions wisely. We are talking “active excursions” only, if you are healthy enough to participate in them. Here is a list of the highlights of our cruise’s land trips that made weight control so much more enjoyable and, in many cases, worthy of labeling a workout:
1. While still in Rome’s port (Civitavecchia), my husband and I enjoyed a short trek to Michelangelo’s fortress. 2. In Alicante, Spain, our next stop, we chose to visit the Canelobre Caves, a true burning of calories, as we ascended and descended the immense caves’ varying steep levels to view their beautiful stalagmites and stalactites (elongated crystal formations). Still in port, we walked nature’s own steep ramps at Santa Barbara’s Castle.
3. Then it was onto Malaga, Spain and the beautiful 14th Century Muslim-Hispano ornately designed architecture complex of Alhambra. The summer residence of the Moorish kings was located there also in the Generalife Gardens with its sculpted grounds perfect for more long walks.
4. One of the highlights of our trip was our visit to “The Rock” where we encountered the tailless Barbary Apes and one of the female’s recently born offspring. To get to this middle station and the endless top station’s tunnels carved out of limestone, Nick and I took a cable car. We learned that “these siege tunnels” were used to ward off enemies as the Brits defended their strategic location extremely close to the continent of Africa and the country of Spain (and France) throughout the past recent centuries. The views as we walked looking down at the Strait of Gibraltar were simply mind-boggling!
5. In Portimao, Portugal, the beauty of Ponta da Piedade’s cliffs and the area’s beaches made the day’s further hiking well worth it. We even saw the site where Prince Henry the Navigator launched his Portuguese explorers to our New World in the 15th century.
6. We chose to visit our next stop, Lisbon, Portugal, situated on seven hills, by means of various modes of transportation: coach, funicular, elevator, tram, and our own feet.
7. Porto, Portugal meant a stop at a port wine winery and a lovely riverboat cruise of the city’s Douro River.
8. Traveling into France, Bordeaux, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (one of the many we would see on our trip), provided us with a merlot winery stop and a delightful visit to St. Emillion, a medieval village with constantly changing levels of uneven ground and challenging loose cobbled stone to navigate. Because our port provided us with a 24 hour stop due to its Gironde River’s changing tides, Nick and I joined our two close new shipmate friends for a long hike through the many centuries of designed buildings until we arrived at the 12th century Pey-Berland Tower (St. Andre Cathedral). There the four of us negotiated the bell tower’s 229 steps to see the view at the top!
9. On to Brest, France and its Brittany-flavored town of Quimper. With its wooden medieval buildings and craft shops and its always-curving river, more beautiful walking paths opened before our eyes.
10. Across the English Channel, we had planned a walk along Great Britain’s Jurassic Coast to discover fossils in the steep limestone cliffs. The morning rain had prevented this from occurring, but afternoon with its bright sunshine saw Nick and I engaging in a three-mile trek out to Lighthouse Bill where the channel’s rough waves continually come from all directions onto the Isle of Portland.
11. Back across the channel to Bruges, Belgium, we enjoyed a canal trip and viewing of incredibly well-maintained and restored medieval guild house architecture everywhere we looked and strolled.
12. Our last stop, Amsterdam, Netherlands provided us with a canal and a lake boat trip to two villages where we learned about windmills and their operation. We also saw the hand-manufacture of wooden shoes. Towards the end of this phenomenal two week cruise and having been faithful to our healthy lifestyle on our vacation, Nick and I thought it only proper to “cheat a little” as we tasted wonderful Dutch chocolates!
Our resulting weight upon arrival home the next day: Nick and I both had not gained, but instead lost two pounds each!
