Friday Follow: Traditions

This week’s Friday Follow is inspired by traditions. Social Media + Travel with celebrating life at or near the sea with cats, Azamara and Cunard Line.

This week’s Friday Follow is inspired by traditions. All three posts that made the social media + travel roundup have something in common: a link to the past that can be traced to customs or beliefs from generation to generation.

Cats and ships

Oh no… Cats have taken over the helm… What’s next for the cruise industry?

Cats and Ships a maritime tradition. Imagine my surprise to see that one of the leading cruise news stories posted on my Google feed had to do with cats at the helm. Cats Bosun and Matros who “work” onboard the Nikolay Chernishevsky are making some buzz today. Although I know nothing of the cruise line, I do know that cats are very popular online and they also have a long standing tradition of helping on the ships (rodents be gone). Here is what Wikipedia had to say about cats and ships (yes, there is a wiki for that) … “The ship’s cat has been a common feature on many trading, exploration, and naval ships, and dates back to ancient times. Cats have been carried on ships for many reasons, the most important being to catch mice and rats.”

Click the image below to go to the original article and to watch the video with the cats… It’s funny (if you like cat videos).

Celebrating Traditions in the Canary Islands with Azamara

Become immersed in local culture in Tenerife, Canary Islands.

When I think about cruising I always circle back to places the ships visit and what to do in port. One cruise line that always think about when it comes to destination immersion is Azamara Club Cruises. Recently I had an opportunity to curate over 60 specialized experiences for the boutique cruise line, and they are slowly getting published. Last month one of my favorite explorations went live on Azamara’s blog and is the Mojo Workshop at Bodegas Monje.

Explore Onshore: Mojo Workshop at Bodegas Monje  #LoveTravel 

When I was curating the post I was surprised to learn about the mojos, which are traditional Spanish sauces. Some of the Canarian sauces (named because of the Canary Islands) are made from coriander or saffron. Excursions to the workshops usually involve lessons into the preparations of the mojos and then there is wine tasting to be had.  The flavors of Tenerife as prepared in the sauces are paired with Bodegas Monje’s different wines. The vineyards found at Bodegas Monje are located within the El Sauzal Mountains.

Traditions: Cunard Line one of the original great cruise lines

Cunard Queen Mary 2 is in the Blohm + Voss shipyard in Hamburg undergoing some major work. It’s great to refurbish the classic ships. Queen Mary 2 is scheduled for a 25-day remastering.

Cunard’s flagship, Queen Mary 2, is getting a refit.  Follow the cruise buzz using this hashtag: ‪#‎QM2Remastered‬.