Alderney, Dover, and now London

Since last I wrote, our cruise ship left the town of Portland and headed south to Alderney, third-largest of the Channel Islands (after Guernsey and Jersey). The Channel Islands are part of Britain but not exactly in the same way that Britain itself or Scotland is -- they're more akin to a territory or protectorate. And, because they're closer to France than to England, the signs around the dock are all in both English and French. (The first sign I encountered was one that warned against bringing animals onto the island, in order to prevent the spread of rabies, known in French as "Le Rage.")

We were late arriving in Alderney, because we had been late departing Portland, and that in turn was because we had to undergo extra screening upon our return to the cruise ship in Portland after the day's excursions. Everyone over here is very mindful of Thursday's terrorist bombings in London, of course, so we've been told to expect some delays here and there as security is tightened. Anyway, because of our late arrival on Alderney, we didn't have much time to poke around the town, but everyone enjoyed checking out the shops and the pastel-colored houses. I wandered off on a side street and encountered a large yard with a bunch of white swans drinking out of one of those child-sized portable swimming pools. Then we headed back to the cruise ship for dinner and packing as the ship set off for Dover.

I awoke this morning to see the famed white cliffs of Dover sliding by my cabin window -- this in turn caused another song to stick in my brain for a while, a Jimmy Cliff song done by Linda Ronstadt called "Many Rivers to Cross," which has a passing mention of the white cliffs.

We disembarked the cruise ship in Dover this morning and boarded a bus to London, where we'll spend two days before heading home. More on our London activities in my next posting.

Incidentally, there are five Channel Islands altogether. In addition to Alderney, Guernsey, and Jersey, there also is Sark, and -- my favorite name for an island -- Herm.