Serendipity Travels

Travels of Steve and Meredith Ross, our family and friends.

Sometimes traveling on MV Serendipity,
Sometimes traveling on planes, trains, and ships,
But always guided by the spirit of serendipity.

contact: drsteveross@gmail.com

Serendipity means a “happy accident” or “pleasant surprise”; a fortunate mistake.
Specifically, the accident of finding something good or useful while not specifically searching for it.
Read more in Wikipedia.

Contents

Click the picture to quickly jump to a specific trip or set of links.
Click “Top of Page” to return here.

Click the logo to see a listing of all my Story Maps

Travels in Ecuador 2024-25

Photographs and videos from a family trip to Ecuador at the end of 2024 into 2025. We traveled with our daughters, their husbands, and our grandsons to let them experience the high altitude of Quito and the natural wonderland of the Galápagos Islands.

Pictures and Videos
(On Flickr. Chronological order is left to right, row by row)

Middle of the Earth Monument Quito

Goliath Galápagos Day 1
Arrival

On Playa Tortuga Bay Galápagos Day 2
Puerto Ayora

Divers and Shark Galápagos Day 3
On the Water

Male Frigate Bird on Display Galápagos Day 4
North Seymour Island

Giant Tortoise Galápagos Day 5
The Darwin Center

Blue-Footed Booby (2) Galápagos Day 6
Isabela Island

Travels in Southeast Asia 2024

Photographs from a land and river cruise tour in October and November 2024. We took Viking’s Magnificent Mekong tour, which included a cruise on the Viking Saigon through Cambodia and Vietnam, as well as land excursions in Hanoi and Saigon, Vietnam, Siem Reap, Cambodia, and Bangkok, Thailand.


Pictures (On Flickr. Chronological order is left to right, row by row)
Hà Nội Scenes I	Hạ Long Bay	Old Hà Nội
Hồ Chí Minh Complex	Temple of Literature	Museum of Ethnology
Hà Nội Scenes II	Apsara Dancers	Angkor Wat
Angkor Thom	Ta Prohm	Siem Reap
Siem Reap to Kampong Cham	Kampong Cham	Oknha Tei
Phnom Penh by Cyclo	Royal Palace	Genocide Memorials
Udong Monastery	Koh Chern	Phnom Penh Scenes
Tân Châu	Sa Đéc	Cái Bè
On the Mekong River	Củ Chi	Sài Gòn
Bangkok Scenes	On the Chao Phraya River	Wat Arun
Grand Palace and Wat Pho

Travels in the Mediterranean 2024

Photographs from cruises in the Western Mediterranean in August and September 2024. We cruised on the Celebrity Ascent between Rome, Italy and Barcelona, Spain, with ports of call in Italy, France, Monaco, Spain, and Malta.


Pictures (On Flickr. Chronological order is left to right, row by row)
Rome	Corsica I	Portofino I
Florence I	Cannes	Mallorca
València	Monaco	Portofino II
Florence II	Pisa and Lucca	Sorrento
Sicily	Malta	Sardinia
Corsica II	Saint Paul-de-Vence	In the works: Barcelona

Travels in Asia 2024

Photographs from our cruise from Singapore to Tokyo in March 2024. We boarded the Celebrity Millennium in Singapore, visited Vietnam, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea on the way to Yokohama, Japan.

Pictures
(On Flickr. Chronological order is left to right, row by row)

Temple Detail Singapore

Flowers Gardens by the Bay

Vietnamese Boat Mekong Delta

Temple Detail Nha Trang

Hong Kong by Night

Buddha Statues Lantau Island

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Taipei

Kagoshima Bay Kagoshima I

Hozomon Gate Tokyo I

Temple Guardian Shimizu

Osaka Castle Osaka

Golden Pavilion Kyoto

Singer Okinawa

Aoi Aso Shrine Hitoyoshi

Blossoms Jeju Island

Detail on Gate Kagoshima II

Blossoms Tokyo II

Aerialists On the Celebrity Millennium

Travels in the Caribbean 2024

Photographs from our cruise across the southern Caribbean Sea in January 2024. We boarded the Star Pride in Panamá City, transited the Panamá Canal, and visited several islands and the country of Colombia on the way to Barbados.

Pictures
(On Flickr. Chronological order is left to right, row by row)

Miraflores Lock Control Tower Panamá Canal

Red Frog Panamá — Caribbean Islands

Evening on Calle 28 Colombia

Royal Plaza Mall Aruba

Arrival by Night Curaçao

SY Samur under sail Bonaire

The Pitons Saint Lucia

Hawksbill Turtle Saint Vincent and
the Grenadines

Flag of Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago

MY Star Pride On the Star Pride

Travels in the Mediterranean 2023

Photographs from our cruise in the Eastern Mediterranean in October 2023. We traveled with friends Dan & Ariane Ringler, Nelson & Jane Bright, Mark Voller and Barbara Heyde to celebrate the Ringler’s 60th Wedding Anniversary. Before the cruise started, we visited Cappadocia, Turkey. We cruised on the Viking Neptune from Istanbul, Turkey to Venice, Italy, with stops in Greece, Montenegro, and Croatia. After the cruise, we visited Florence and Venice, Italy.


Pictures (On Flickr. Chronological order is left to right, row by row)
Modern Cappadocia	Historic Cappadocia	Cappadocia by Air
Istanbul	Çanakkale and Troy	Kuşadasi and Ephesus
Rhodes	Crete	Athens
Piraeus	Olympia	Corfu
Kotor	Perast	Dubrovnik
Zadar	Chioggia	Florence
Uffizi Gallery	Venice	Murano and Burano

Traveling around the World 2022

Photographs from our trip Around the World 24 October – 29 November 2022. We flew from Vancouver, BC, Canada, across North America, the Atlantic Ocean, and most of Europe to Athens, Greece. We boarded the Viking Mars, cruising through the Suez Canal and across the Indian Ocean to Bangkok, Thailand. Finally, we flew from Bangkok across the Pacific Ocean back to Vancouver, BC, Canada.


Logs (Narratives with links to photos – stored as PDF files; Flag graphics from http://flagpedia.net)
Part 1: Home … Greece … Israel	Part 2: Egypt	Part 3: Jordan and Oman
Part 4: India and Sri Lanka	Part 5: Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand	Part 6: Thailand … Home

Pictures (On Flickr. Chronological order is left to right, row by row)
Sounion and Piraeus, Greece	Nazareth and Galilee, Israel	Mediterranean Coast of Israel
Nile Delta, Egypt	Alexandria, Egypt	Suez Canal, Egypt
Eastern Desert and Nile Valley, Egypt	Luxor, Egypt	Wadi Rum, Jordan
Petra, Jordan	Salalah, Oman	Muscat, Oman
Mumbai, India Scenes	Mumbai, India Civic Center	Mumbai, India Neighborhoods
Goa, India	Colombo, Sri Lanka	Galle, Sri Lanka
Penang Island, Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Singapore
Koh Samui, Thailand	Bangkok, Thailand	On the Viking Mars

Travels in Ecuador 2021

Photographs from our trip to Ecuador 26 October – 13 November 2021, with our friends Dan and Ariane Ringler. We cruised the Galápagos Islands on the Celebrity Xpedition and visited the Amazon Basin at La Selva Lodge.


Pictures (On Flickr. Chronological order is left to right, row by row)
Quito	Santa Cruz Is. Black Turtle Cove	Rabida Island
Santiago Island	Isabela Island Tagus Cove	Fernandina Island
Isabela Island Urbina Bay	Isabela Island Vicente Roca Pt.	Bartolomé Island
Santa Cruz Is. Las Bachas	Genovesa Island The Cliff	Genovesa Island Darwin Bay
Santa Cruz Is. The Highlands	Santa Cruz Is. Darwin Research Center	Coca and The Napo River
La Selva Lodge	Day 1 Afternoon Canoe Rides	Day 2 Morning Jungle Walk
Day 2 Afternoon Canoe Ride	Day 3 Village and Lake	Day 4 Morning Jungle Walk
Day 4 Afternoon Canoe Ride

Travels in South Africa 2018

Photographs and maps from our trip to South Africa, 11 – 29 September 2018, with our friends Al and Karen Callery. We spent a few days each in Johannesburg and Durban, six days on a photo safari, and seven days in and around Cape Town.


Logs (Narratives with links to photo and map applications – stored as PDF files)
Johannesburg and The Safari Begins	The Rest of the Safari and Durban	Cape Town and Vicinity

Maps and Pictures (ArcGIS applications – best viewed using a monitor in landscape mode. Chronological order is left to right, row by row.)
Johannesburg	Durban	Cape Town
Franschhoek	Cape of Good Hope	North of Cape Town

Pictures (On Flickr) To protect the animals from poaching, the geotags have been removed from these pictures and they are not displayed on a map.
No Geotags	Safari I	Safari II
Safari III	Safari IV	Safari V

Travels in Perú 2017

Photographs and maps from our trip to Perú, 5 – 15 January 2017. Our trip took us to many of the well-known sites of ancient Perú, including the Nazca Lines, Sacred Valley, Cusco, and Machu Picchu.


Maps and Pictures (ArcGIS applications – best viewed using a monitor in landscape mode. Chronological order is left to right, row by row.)
Paracas Nazca Lines Ballestas Islands	Sacred Valley	Machu Picchu
Cusco	Puno	Lake Titicaca
Scenes of Perú

Travels in China 2016

Photographs and maps from our trip to China, 4 – 21 April 2016. We visited many sites in Beijing, the Great Wall, Xi'an and the Terracotta Warriors, Shanghai, Chongqing, Guilin, Guangzhou, Macau, and Hong Kong, and went for a cruise on the Yangtze River.


Maps and Pictures (ArcGIS applications – best viewed using a monitor in landscape mode. Chronological order is left to right, row by row.)
Tiananmen Square	Forbidden City	Temple of Heaven
Great Wall	Ming Dynasty Tombs	Summer Palace
Beijing City Scenes	Xi'an	Shanghai
Wuhan and Jingzhou	Yangtze River	Three Gorges Tribe
Chongqing	Pandas: Video I ——————— Video II	Guilin and Yangshuo
Bullet Train	Guangzhou	Macau
Hong Kong I	Hong Kong II	Light Show Video I ——————— Video II ——————— Fish Market

Travels in the Caribbean 2016

Photographs and maps from our trip to Florida and the Caribbean, 20 January – 19 February 2016. We took back-to-back Caribbean Cruises on the Carnival Glory; upon return we met the McMaster family in Orlando for a visit to Disney World, with a side trip to St. Augustine.


Maps and Pictures (ArcGIS applications – best viewed using a monitor in landscape mode. Chronological order is left to right, row by row.)
The Bahamas	Turks and Caicos Islands	Antigua and Barbuda
Martinique	Saint Lucia	Saint Christopher and Nevis
Saint Thomas USVI	Puerto Rico	Saint Croix USVI
Sint Maarten and Saint Martin	Dominica	Champagne Reef Video
Grenada	Bonaire	Bonaire Video
Aruba	Curaçao	Walt Disney World
Florida

Travels in England 2015

Photographs and maps from our trip to England, 11 September – 9 October 2015, with our friends David and Penny Bradley. Much of our time was spent on a canal boat, but we also visited London and drove to Liverpool, the Lake District, the Borders, and York.


Maps and Pictures (ArcGIS applications – best viewed using a monitor in landscape mode. Chronological order is left to right, row by row.)
London	Along the Thames	Trent & Mersey Canal I
Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal	Shropshire Union Canal	Trent & Mersey Canal II
Liverpool	Northern England	York

Videos (On YouTube)
Locking Down	Cruising	Locking Up

Planning We built a spreadsheet from Internet sources that listed the notable features (such as locks) on the canals and used it to plan our journey (left link). We also visited Google Earth to do a photo reconnaissance, creating a few pictures for later use (center link). Also, (on right) links to resources from our 2013 trip.
Planning Spreadsheet	Google Earth Pictures	Planning the Trip ——————— Notes for Boaters

Travels in the Caribbean 2015

Photographs and maps from our trip to the Caribbean, 11 March – 8 April 2015. We traveled to eight countries on three cruise itineraries and explored Florida before, between, and after the cruises. We sailed on the Carnival Glory for seven days, and on the Carnival Breeze for fourteen days.


Maps and Pictures (ArcGIS applications – best viewed using a monitor in landscape mode)
Aruba	Belize	Cayman Islands
Curaçao	Dominican Republic	Florida
Honduras	Jamaica	Mexico

Travels in Hawaii 2015

Photographs, map, and videos from our trip to Hawaii, 14 – 21 February, 2015. We stayed on the island of Oahu and spent time near, in, on, and under the water.


Map and Pictures (ArcGIS application – best viewed using a monitor in landscape mode)	Videos (on YouTube)
Hawaii	Snorkel & Sail Adventure	Snorkeling in Hanauma Bay

Travels in Panamá and Costa Rica 2014

Photographs and maps from our trip to Panamá and Costa Rica, 11 – 23 December 2014. We transited the Panamá Canal and sailed up the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica on the MSY Wind Spirit, and we also visited Panamá City and the interior of Costa Rica.


Maps and Pictures (ArcGIS applications – best viewed using a monitor in landscape mode)
Panamá City	Panamá Canal	Isla de Coiba
Puerto Jiménez	Bahía Drake	Quepos
Arenal and Poás

Travels in France 2014

Notes, photographs, and maps from our trip to France 17 September – 17 October 2014. We rented a car and drove on the Côte d'Azur and in Provence, piloted a canal boat across the south of France, and then visited Paris.

Logs (Narratives with links to locations and other sites of interest – stored as PDF files)	Maps and Pictures (ArcGIS applications – best viewed using a monitor in landscape mode)
Planning a Trip on the French Canals	Côte d'Azur	Marseille
Côte d'Azur and Marseille	Les Baux-de-Provence	Pont du Gard
Provence and the Camargue	Avignon	Provençal Wine Towns
On the Canal: Lattes to Béziers	Arles and Nîmes	Camargue
On the Canal: Béziers to Carcassonne	Canal du Rhône à Sète and Étang de Thau	Canal du Midi, Les Onglous to Vias
On the Canal: Carcassonne to Négra	Canal du Midi, Portiragnes to Colombiers	Canal du Midi, Malpas to Homps
Toulouse and Paris	Canal du Midi, Puichéric to Carcassonne	Carcassonne
Notes for Boaters	Canal du Midi, Villesèque to Négra	Toulouse
	Paris Scenes	Paris Churches
	Versailles	The Louvre

Travels in the San Juan Islands of Washington 2014

Notes, photographs, and maps from our trip to the San Juan Islands of Washington 2 – 13 July 2014. We cruised on the MV Serendipity.

Maps and Pictures (ArcGIS applications – best viewed using a monitor in landscape mode)	Logs (Narratives with links to locations and other sites of interest – stored as PDF files)	Panoramas (on Flickr)
Garrison Bay	The First Four Days	Youngs Hill
Prevost Harbor and Blind Bay	Visiting other Islands	View from Turn Point
Sucia and Matia	The Last Four Days	Echo Bay

Travels in the Caribbean 2014

Notes, photographs, and maps from our trip to the Caribbean 14 – 30 March 2014. We cruised on the Carnival Sensation and the Carnival Freedom. Between the cruises, we rented a car and traveled in Florida.

Maps and Pictures (ArcGIS applications – best viewed using a monitor in landscape mode)	Logs (Narratives with links to locations and other sites of interest – stored as PDF files)
The Ships	Off to Florida
The Bahamas	Carnival Sensation Four Day Bahamas
Florida	Two Days in Florida
U.S. Virgin Islands	Carnival Freedom Eight Day Eastern Caribbean
Antigua
British Virgin Islands

Travels in Greece and Turkey 2013

Photographs and maps from our trip to Greece and Turkey, 15 – 29 October 2013. Most of our time was spent on the MSY Wind Star, but we also visited Istanbul and Athens.


Maps and Pictures (ArcGIS applications – best viewed using a monitor in landscape mode)
Istanbul	Topkapi Palace and Harem	On the Ship
Kuşadasi and Ephesus	Rhodes	Bodrum
Santorini	Mykonos and Delos	Athens

Travels in England 2013

Notes, photographs, maps, and videos from our trip to England, 19 June – 12 July 2013. Most of our time was spent on a canal boat, but we also drove in the Midlands, the Southwest, and the South.


Maps and Pictures (ArcGIS applications – best viewed using a monitor in landscape mode)	Logs (Narratives with links to locations and other sites of interest – stored as PDF files)	Videos (on YouTube)
Stratford-upon-Avon, Chipping Campden, and Banbury	Log of the Trudi: Planning the Trip	Underway
Grand Union Canal, Napton to Warwick	Log of the Trudi: The First Three Days	The Tiller
Warwick	Log of the Trudi: Days Four – Six	Under a Bridge
Grand Union Canal, Warwick to Birmingham	Log of the Trudi: Days Seven – Eleven
Birmingham and Fazeley Canal	Log of the Trudi: The Last Four Days
Coventry and Coventry Canal	Log of the Trudi: Notes for Boaters	Panoramas (on Flickr)
Oxford and Grand Union Canals, Hawkesbury to Braunston to Napton	Warwick Castle
Cornwall and Devon	Braunston Marina
Weymouth and Portsmouth	St. Ives Harbour

Travels in Europe 1999

Notes, photographs, and maps from our trip to Europe, 19 August – 10 September 1999. We rented a car and drove through Germany, Austria, Italy, San Marino, and Switzerland.

Maps and Pictures (ArcGIS applications – best viewed using a monitor in landscape mode)	Logs (Narratives with links to locations and other sites of interest – stored as PDF files)
Germany and Austria	The First Four Days Germany and Austria
Venice and Florence	Into Italy Venice and Florence
Umbria and Tuscany	Central Italy Umbria and Tuscany
Switzerland	The Final Week Switzerland

Maps

Get your own travel map from Matador Network.

Canal Routes in England.
Hints on how to use the map are below.

Map of Canal Routes in England
How to use this Google Map

You can view it on this web page, or make it full-screen by clicking the open rectangle in the upper right.
The white box on the left lists routes (check to show or uncheck to hide).
To scroll the map to a place listed in the white box, simply click the place name.
To hide the information about a place, click elsewhere on the map.
To learn about a place, click on the icon.
Use the mouse wheel or the plus and minus boxes to zoom in or out.
Enjoy!
I will be adding more routes to this map in the future, please visit again.

Travel Companies

These are the companies that we use to make our travel arrangements. We would be happy to discuss our experiences with you.
We are always looking for more information, do not hesitate to suggest others.
(None of these companies has paid to be included — we list them here because they have been useful in our planning and traveling.)

Check Back for More Travel Reports

We use this as a convenient, and public place, where we can post pictures, maps, and descriptions of our past adventures. Feel free to share and to suggest edits, additions, or deletions. We are just getting started, so please be a bit patient. This site is revised on a regular basis. If you have technical difficulties with this page, or have any comments or suggestions, please send e-mail to drsteveross@gmail.com.

Since 25 July 2014 ...

Experimental Area

We use this area to test new features. Some will work, some may not. You are welcome to click on links – which may or may not crash – and send any feedback you wish to drsteveross@gmail.com.