13 December 2023

When I collected my wonderful award on stage from this weekend, I was told “this is a great award… it means you’re one of the good guys”. I’ve now had a little time to reflect on just how much this means to me, and how others can learn from the incredible culture at Travel Counsellors. 27 years and counting in the travel industry, and I’ve found my place. I’ve never not been the kind of person who wants to help others… it’s just who I am. But only now has the light been turned on. I’d love to be virtuous enough to say “I don’t need praise” or “I’ll always be helpful to others, no matter what”, but I now see that this wasn’t quite true. I did my best to be the “good guy” in my previous job, and although I received little or no recognition or encouragement for going above and beyond to help others, I didn’t think it mattered to me. I was wrong. After many years of thankless giving, I’m slightly embarrassed to admit, I felt worn down. It contributed to a feeling of futility… a sense that I wasn’t making much of a difference. I’d wonder… “what’s the point”. I have no doubt it played a part in my decision to leave the only company I had ever worked for after 20 years. What hindsight now shows me is the stark truth. Yes, I was a kind and giving person, but I needed the oxygen of recognition and appreciation to sustain my energy and efforts. I wish I could have carried on un-sung with the same gusto, but I couldn’t. Appreciation and gratitude doesn’t need to be public awards (wonderful as those are). For me, all I needed was a word of thanks, a short email, or just a smile. Just to know what you’re doing is landing, makes all the difference. If you’re already one of the “good guys” and you don’t think your leaders are noticing – share this post. The value-of-recognition penny might drop. If it doesn’t, KEEP DOING WHAT YOU ARE DOING. Even if your bosses don’t see or acknowledge what you are doing, you ARE having a great impact on others. I had no idea how much my efforts were appreciated until this weekend. I’m certain your efforts are too – so keep up the good work. It will be making a difference in ways you may never know. If you’re considering being a “good guy”. Go for it. Dominoes, Multiplier-Effect… whatever model or analogy you fancy, a little goes a long way. And it feels great. I’ve loved seeing the successes and personal and business growth of those I’ve mentored. Only having moved into a hugely positive and supportive environment did I realise how much energy I drew from steady feedback. So, if you’re a business leader, I urge you to emulate the intoxicating culture that CEO Steve Byrne oversees at Travel Counsellors. Here is my message and some action points for you on “looking after your good guys”: · Identify and RECOGNIZE these “good guys”. Ask around. Ask your team. Who is working hard to make your community better. · Cultural message – Bake colleague support into the non-negotiables of your company. If colleagues help colleagues “horizontally”, as well as fostering community spirit, it alleviates “vertical” pull on resource. Win-win. · Encourage value-adding behaviour. Empowering your team to lift each other up and motivate and mentor from within. · Credit where credit is due. Recognizing your “good guys” will re-charge them to do more. It validates their good practice and encourages them to rinse and repeat. Despite appearances, they do need praise. · Domino effect. Others will step from the shadows when they see recognition and praise dished out for virtues beyond raw sales performance. Your team needs a strong blend of headline performers and enablers. See how Formula One recognises both the drivers champion and the team constructors champion. · Open the feedback floodgates. Encourage feedback – positive and constructive feedback fertilise your entire environment. If you neglect to do this, your greatest internal influencers might just leave you and find somewhere else where they feel more valued. After my award, we recognised the stellar sales performance from TCs around the world, culminating in the “Top Performing Global TC” award which for the first time was shared between Gary Fitzgibbon and Chris D'Arcy . I am in awe of the achievements of these superstars. There was announced a luxurious “winners trip” to Athens. I was delighted when Global Sales Director Jim Eastwood asked me if I was looking forward to it. I hadn’t realised my particular award qualified alongside the sales galacticos of our community – but the fact that I too was given a place on that trip shows the importance TC puts on the One Team principles. Look after your Good Guys. They’ll do more for your teams than you’ll ever know.

26 June 2019

Is this really the dream? If I had paid $100,000+ to join an Everest ascent team, I have to say, I would be devastated if this was my moment being on top of the world. Imagine waking early with an expectation of saying “I’m the highest person on the planet” for a moment… only to find you weren’t the first person there that day. Maybe not even making it in the first 100. Worse still… what if your attempt was thwarted due to log-jams and sheer weight of numbers? Quite apart from the much more tragic reality that some of the people in this photo didn’t make it off the mountain alive, there is a stark warning here that resonates across the globe - down and down as the air thickens to sea level, and beyond. Clichés are created around truths. “Travel broadens the mind”. “The world is becoming a smaller place”. Generation by generation we are becoming more and more mobile. Today's traveller seeks to quench that insatiable desire to visit (and most importantly photograph or live stream from) somewhere breath-taking, and crucially, somewhere our circle of followers hasn’t been to first. The alarming image of the people-traffic at Everest’s iconic peak, is emblematic of our gradual normalising of what used to extreme destinations. Things that used be out of reach are so much more accessible. It wasn't long ago that the concept of Space Tourism was laughable. Who knows how soon even that will be a reality? For me the greatest excitement when planning a trip is the anticipation of for a short time owning the moment. The idea of putting myself in the picture. We see brochures and websites with wide open natural vistas and imagine ourselves standing alone enjoying it first-hand. The quiet, the tranquillity, the peace. The reality is becoming further and further from these airbrushed promises. Today’s travel photographer still grapples with the challenges of lighting and composition, but now also has to time the photo to "snap" between the crowds or people, to give the illusion that it was less busy than it really was. Across the globe, sites that formerly were a joy to behold in tranquil surroundings, shared with but a handful of fellow travellers, are now overrun by crowds of mobile phone-touting zombies “going live” rather than enjoying the moment. I reluctantly accept that people travel in different ways now, as I take my turn to espouse the “when I was a lad…” tales of yesteryear… but the real cause for concern is in the volume of visitors, and the difficulty in managing these numbers sustainably. There is a real balance here in acknowledging that everyone shares the right to see the world, whilst trying to guard against the perils of over-tourism. The impact of too many tourists is seen more clearly in some places than others. The bigger dilemma is working out who should make the rules. If a particular attraction brings huge amounts of revenue especially to poorer countries, should richer nations be able to dictate policy which might restrict vital national income? This is clearly one strand of the challenge currently facing the Nepalese government. Everest brings big money. And yet, with such a short season for summitting, should they bow to increasing international pressure and limit the number of permits? Something clearly has to be done to avoid repeating the problems of this tragic Himalayan season. Should Australia limit the amount of divers on the Great Barrier Reef? Or are their numbers fine on the basis that they have more regard to the use of cleaner boats? Surely though, this speculation is academic. The repercussions of not taking sensible precautions, and implementing robust strategies now, are unthinkable. Over-exposure to tourism will cause lasting or permanent damage. Many countries already face a reality where tough decisions need to be made now, to bring certain sites back from the brink of irrecoverable destruction. Maya Bay in Thailand (made famous by the movie “The Beach”) is currently closed by order of the Thai government in an attempt to allow the beach and marine environment to recover. Over 5,000 people a day had been visiting, and almost all of the coral has been destroyed. This beautiful and famous corner of Phi Phi Leh will remain off limits until at least 2021. This was a brave and decisive policy that has prevented so many people from visiting this bucket-list haven, but it has to be the right decision in the long term. Some parts of the world successfully manage numbers with established programs designed to protect against over-exposure. Tourism in Antarctica is regulated by IAATO and the Antarctic Treaty where signatory nations agree to limiting numbers of guests “on the ice” at any one time. The Galapagos has maximum annual quotas of visitors to the islands. Visits to gorilla families in East Africa are controlled with only a set number of permits issued per season. Many sites such as the Inca Trail leading to Macchu Picchu in Peru close for weeks or months at a time to allow regeneration and recovery. These all form part of planned, deliberate policies to maintain equilibrium long into the future. It is vital that governments and local authorities work hard and prioritise sustainability. The challenges presented by the increasingly mobile population of the world are dynamic, and often appear overwhelming. However, there can be no hiding place. With more and more transparency in our industry, we constantly have the opportunity to make conscious choices about who we work with. This might be which hotel groups we recommend, which tour operators we favour, or even which destinations to send our customers to. I am fully committed to supporting those travel partners who are working the hardest to ensure this amazing world of ours is still in good shape for my children, and their children after that.

13 May 2019

Since becoming a Travel Counsellors and being able to offer M.I.C.E. (meetings, incentives, conferences & exhibitions), it has become apparent how different organisations view the subject of incentive trips. Two opposing camps seeing either “outdated, expensive freebies – not really appreciated by the staff”, or “vital, energising opportunities to reinforce core values with your most valued assets, whilst making sure they know how much they mean to you”. If you work for, or even run, companies that take the former view then my humble opinion is that you need to turn a fresh page and change your approach. Consider just how the most successful, dynamic companies are seeing these trips as an investment in the future. Whilst in the business of helping you put together the perfect incentive trip for you and your team, I am in the privileged position of just having enjoyed the benefits for myself on the Travel Counsellors Gold Weekend in Marbella. I saw just how powerful and invigorating it was, and how you too could see great returns on such an investment. Getting some of the busiest workaholics in your fold to stop and take the time is the first challenge. I am wired that way myself and along with colleagues the first question that came up was “can I afford the time out to go on this trip?” If the trip is run effectively, the rhetorical question on my return was “How could I afford NOT to go on such a trip?” The logistics and organisation can be complex – but that is where why you enlist the help of someone like Travel Counsellors to ensure that you get it right. Our quasi-wedding coordinator role ensures that you miss nothing vital, and frees you up to concentrate on ensuring that you get the right messages and themes. You will need to consider: · How long you go for, and when to go? If you have parents in the team, think about the challenges of child-care / school holidays. · Where you go? This also impacts the “how long” question. A trip close to home can be a single overnight. Flying half-way round the world might require a few nights to justify and recover from the travel. Look for the "wow" factor - but remember, it can be close to home. · How many people to take? Both from a cost and an intimacy perspective. You want to reward the champions in your team, but don’t want to make it too exclusive or inaccessible to others. Equally, a group of 60 will bond maybe less effectively than 12. · How are you going to fund it? Important – yes… but don’t mistake this as being the key to everything. Ask important partners to sponsor you and maybe even come with you. Getting to know your team in “down time” on a personal level will often be worth their investment. · How to get people to mix? Think of the right balance of breaking up usual departmental and friendship groups by having set dining places from time to time, but then also let them do their own thing at other times. · Free time? A vital ingredient. Nobody wants to feel like they are being frog-marched from one compulsory event to another. For it to feel like a reward, you must build in free time. · Organised activities and excursions? These are fantastic bonding events – potentially the “Instagram” moments of the trip. Get them out of their comfort zones on a zip-wire, treat them to a dinner cruise, take them on a wine-tasting trip. Whatever it may be – this treat brings the trip together. The list goes on… there are so many variations, but they come later. First, you need to understand and decide that an incentive trip is right for you. The last 4 days shared with top performing colleagues and directors from Travel Counsellors have been invaluable because… I feel RECHARGED after taking some time out of the office I CELEBRATED as we were recognised for our business successes in the last 12 months I felt PRIVILEGED to be part of TC Gold, and motivated to earn a place on the next trip I felt VALUED because senior directors took the time to share with us and talk over dinner I made NEW FRIENDS and met other TCs who were only names to me before the weekend I felt TREATED as we were treated to outstanding food, drink and hospitality in top venues I felt PROUD to be a Gold TC, and LUCKY to share it all with my wife as partners were invited too. If you already understand the value of incentive trips, let me know if I can help you make your next one the best one yet. If you haven’t yet thought it would be right for you, I urge you to reconsider.

04 June 2018

As a Travel Counsellor, and a dad, this is one of the most popular questions I ever get asked. I will reply, acknowledging that any answer is a subjective one. What is right for one family may well not be right for the next. However, intertwined with my attempt at a response based on our own experiences, are some unavoidable golden rules. For me, king of the golden rules is that if the kids are comfortable and happy, all will be well. Being married to a fellow travel addict, the arrival of two young kids turned our own travel habits on their head. Grand plans for forays into tropical hotspots would now stay on the drawing board. Our world had changed irreversibly. New questions came to the fore. Will it be safe? Will it be too hot? How far can we fly? Do they have cots in the room? What will we do for food? It was a whole new ball game. For us it has been simple. Decide what you want to achieve. In the early years, just find somewhere that the kids will enjoy. Whether it is a pool, a beach or a campsite. If they have fun, everyone else will relax, and enjoy the holiday. There is no need to go beyond the UK, but Europe or further afield can improve the weather with the trade-off of the travel required to get there. Kids are resilient. Flying isn’t a big deal any more, especially over the age of two when they get their own seat. Long-haul, most airlines now provide seatback movies and games. Under two, you have the world of bassinets and cots to navigate. Then you have the baby entourage: nappies, clothes, arm-bands, change-mats, bottles, sterilising kit, food… Still, if you’ve considered all of this and found a resort or destination that you think works for you - go for it. Lessons learned on our previous trips help shape future holidays. We found a great resort when the kids were 4 and 2 and loved it so much that we went back two years later. We love finding new places, and going to new countries, but as parents, the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” adage trumps all. Some say it’s a waste taking kids somewhere unusual if they won’t really remember it. I disagree. We have great memories and photos of the kids having fun at the Atlantis hotel in Dubai, and Tulum in Mexico. Six or more years on, they don’t remember it, but we know how much we all enjoyed it. It isn’t important to us that those trips are stamped in their memory banks. They enjoyed the holidays, and we have the memories. Where the resort happened to be, is not relevant. As they’ve got older, we have moved to the next phase. We want to take them to interesting places and have them start retaining holiday memories for life. With that in mind, when they reached the ages of 9 and 7, we were able to take them to Florida to Disneyworld. We had a few days out and back in New York and Chicago, but the main focus was Disney. They were old enough to survive the long days walking around, and old enough to enjoy and understand all that they saw – but crucially they were young enough to be completely taken in and won over by the magic of the place. In fairness, so were we, but the pre-requisite for this was the kids were enjoying it so much. We left feeling that we had done our Disney trip at the optimum age. And so it goes on. Last year, having seen endless TV ads for cruises, and with the kids now 10 and 8, we decided to give Royal Caribbean a try in the Eastern Mediterranean. A few days in Venice, a week on board enjoying the razzmatazz that this cruise-line provides, and some outstanding, interesting destinations along the way was another perfectly timed trip. The Med is a great destination, because unlike the Caribbean and other cruise hubs, we didn’t spend thousands on flight tickets. The weather was great, we had variety and culture, and we didn’t need the biggest ships in the fleet. This was a first experience of this type of cruising for all of us, and it ticked every box. This brings us to our most recent trip. We’ve just returned from a wonderful holiday in Vietnam and Cambodia. Aged 11 and 9 our kids have now chalked up 16 and 14 countries respectively. Graduating to Asia was indeed a big step, but a natural one with the gentle progression over the years. The flights were long – but manageable (for the kids if not the parents!) The weather was hot. We had the relevant jabs from the doctor. For the first time, we didn’t have a set base – we were on the road/water/rail and had a blast. I am proud that our kids have now seen the stunning sites of Halong Bay and Angkor Wat. None of this would have been as easy as it was had we not gradually built up over the years. The kids are accustomed to flying, but the gradual pushing of boundaries in terms of the types of travel, climate, culture etc has been quite deliberate. We don’t need to keep pushing every time. Northumberland beckons this summer. After that, who knows? I know a lot about travel, but nobody can know what is right for your family. There are no right and wrong answers, but I would suggest a few bits of common sense: You don’t have to go too far. Find somewhere you know the kids will enjoy and go for it. Be careful with heat. Kids can generally handle journeys and time-zones, but heat can knock them silly. Let them sleep in the middle of the day if it’s really hot. Take Factor 50. Toddlers with tans are not cool. Sunburn really can affect the whole mood. Don’t worry about their memories. My own view on this is to let them enjoy the “now” and you can keep the memories and show them as they grow older. Don’t pick the hotel based on your requirements – think of the family. “Super cool” properties won’t appreciate noisy chaotic kids. Go somewhere they can have fun without you worrying about fellow guests. This carries into restaurants too. See if they have kid’s clubs, high chairs, cots. If they don’t then it may be a property keen to minimise numbers of young families. If you are a young family, accept that you are just that! You can go back to the cool, chic options when they’ve left home! And finally, don’t be afraid to try new things. The cruise was our perfect example of this. It hadn’t even been on the radar but turned out to be a very fulfilling holiday that the kids completely loved, and just like Disney, we did too. Parents like to think they’re in charge, but I urge you to pick your holidays based on what will work for your kids, and you won’t go far wrong.

20 September 2017

I have spent much of this year learning all there is to know about cruising and the dizzying variety of options available to the UK market. Over time, I have come to understand the benefits of small ships over the behemoth new creations, and vice versa and the meaning of phrases like ‘crew to guest ratio’, ‘on-board credit’, ‘gratuities’ and ‘port fees’. The UK cruise market is vast, getting bigger, and really does offer something for almost everyone, even if they don’t know it. Yet. Having booked over 20 customers onto cruises for this year and well into late 2018, surely the only thing missing from my cruise CV was personal experience? In March this year, when our own family holiday powwow between my wife and I took place, a cruise was duly suggested, considered, and ultimately selected. With a mix of trepidation and excitement, it was time to stop talking the talk, and start cruising the cruise. Carrying some of the apprehensions that we Scepticus Britanicus seem to be genetically programmed with, we knew it was time to find out for ourselves. For our voyage to be deemed repeatable, our myths that we had to bust were: • Feeling crowded. Surely? With thousands of other guests on board • Not enough time on the shore visits • The food can’t really be that good, can it? And the rumours of mandatory weight gain when cruising • The cabins will be too small – where will we put everything? • Cost of drinks and hidden extras? After much research, we selected our poison – a week in the Eastern Mediterranean on board Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody of the Seas discovering Croatia, Montenegro and Greece from Venice. Rhapsody is one of RCCL’s smaller, older ships – relative to the mega-ships that stalk the larger ports of the Western Med and Caribbean. We would be sharing therefore with (only) 2,430 other guests. We wouldn’t have the full extension of restaurants and entertainment. And not a wave rider or North Star glass capsule in sight. Panic – would this be enough? Would we feel unfulfilled? Roll the clock forward to 13:00 on Saturday 29th July 2017 and these fears melted under the Venetian sun. We all had the tingles as we all set foot on Rhapsody for the first time. We boarded our home for the next week with the same excitement as the golden-ticket holders crossing the threshold to Wonka’s factory. Our first view was from the foot of a 7-storey shiny, sparkly atrium. Light flooded in and we got dizzy looking up. To us this was grand and plenty big enough. We would find out by the end of the week that she was big enough, but not too big. We began to recognize fellow cruisers and staff, and that gave us a warm familiarity and sense of belonging. She became our ship. Vast as she is, Rhapsody had endless hiding places for our fellow 2,430. So, that dispelled our first major concern. Only at the mandatory muster drill on day one did we realize the extent of the magic people-hiding trick as all guests and crew crowd together for the first and final time. Our two sea days were the ones I feared the most on this front. But there were plenty of beds around the pool decks to keep all the sunbathers happy. There was an adult pool inside, the casino, kids-clubs, and the biggest people-magnet was the never-ending procession of food. With food, you have a decision to make on day 1. Either you develop a conscious discipline of restraint and sensible eating, or you resign yourself to spending the next 51 weeks working off what you ingest in this one. The quantity of food available was impressive, verging on excessive. Our kids soon learned that anything they put on their plate, they were expected to eat. My only real enduring problem with our cruise was the unforgivable amount of food taken by guests at the buffets, only to be left and thrown away. That said, you have to marvel at the culinary capabilities of these floating cities. The variety would satisfy all persuasions and dietary limitations. The quality too is excellent. Stepping outside the regular evening dining routine of the main restaurant, we had two nights in the specialty restaurants. The steaks on offer in the Chops Grille were simply stunning. So, the food concern safely navigated, what about on-board costs? We chose not to pre-pay the RCCL drinks package – in any of its guises. Before you cruise, you can pre-pay drinks and this would make sense if you like a few drinks per day. We decided to “sign-as-you-go”. Around the ship and in the buffet, there is plenty of free water and squash available, so too regular tea and coffee. If you can live without branded soft drinks and alcohol, you’re home and dry, otherwise, you need to pay attention. A large glass of house wine, or a beer in the bars or with your meal costs $8-15. Soft drinks are reasonable at $3-4. We largely kept off the paid drinks without any issue – and so the bill at the end of the week remained (just) in two figures. Gratuities (tips) are expected – so we had pre-paid ours. You settle-up on the final day. Our next concern – the cabin size – was also ill-founded. All four in a cabin would have been a squeeze, but we had two cabins with an interconnecting door between them. We had plenty of room, and a surprising amount of storage space. Everything was a lot more comfortable than we had dared hope, and our cabin attendant was amazing. In fact, all the crew were super-friendly. Onto the shore excursions. As I have written elsewhere, this itinerary is truly stunning. Venice – Dubrovnik – Kotor – Santorini – Olympia – Venice. I can’t imagine a better one. The only way this could go wrong would be not enough time in each port, but RCCL got it spot on. Early morning arrivals with late afternoon departures did the trick especially in the August heat. We generally did our own thing, but did pre-book one excursion in Santorini – and were glad that we did. We took a coach to the beautiful and quiet village of Oia. Later, joining the masses in Fira was the only time on shore that I felt aware of the impact of large cruise ships on local towns. It did feel too intrusive. Even Olympia with its sites and local beaches was easily fitted in within the shore time allocated with our own taxi driver. In conclusion, this cruise exceeded our expectations and busted our myths! RCCL is great for families. Others specialize in the adult market. Some are massive with all kinds of on-board attractions. Some are much smaller allowing access to tiny ports. The food is outstanding. The entertainment is surprisingly diverse and contemporary. Now having cruised myself, I get it. I understand why the cruise market has the most loyal repeat customers in travel. My job now is to find the right cruise for you!

01 September 2017

When asked what the highlight was of our recent Eastern Mediterranean cruise – the answer was as unexpected as it was simple. Indeed, when I first saw the itinerary which was laden with established tourist treats such as Venice, Dubrovnik and Santorini, the main appeal to Kotor for me was that I would be ticking off a new country – Montenegro. I barely knew of the nation and had no knowledge of Kotor itself. Unassuming. That we entered the inaccurately described “fjord” under cover of darkness was perhaps the perfect introduction to this gem. Our ship anchored a couple of miles from the city gates and gave little away other than the pleasant and dramatic cliffs and slopes. We wolf down our breakfast and make our way to the small tender boats to be ferried the last leg across the bay and into Kotor. It is a calm morning, and already the heat is starting to build. As we land on shore and pass the “Welcome to Montenegro” signs, we are blissfully unaware of the wonders that lay ahead. Magical. Just like Dubrovnik – another pedestrianized and ancient walled city – you first sense that you are somewhere special as you go through the entrance gates. As you cross the threshold, you leave the traffic and modernity behind you. You could be taking a step back into history. This time though, something is very different from Dubrovnik, which was our previous stop. Where the more famous Croatian tourist magnet knows order and structure with the main street running the length of the city, Kotor immediately feels jumbled. Messy and chaotic. A wonderfully higgledy-piggledy warren of back streets and hidden piazzas that appear only when you turn the corner. Even on a ship day such as this, you can find quiet and secrecy within moments of arrival. The shops are full of souvenirs but aren’t tacky. Not yet selling mobile phone covers or finger-spinners, they offer postcards and regional souvenirs. Ice-cream shops with their kaleidoscopic choice of flavors are plentiful and more irresistible as the mercury rises. Cafes and bars too with their charming views in cobbled squares. This enclosed world seems a better place without cars. Every building has such character, and you sense a hundred tales bursting to be told. The locals are friendly but unassuming. The old folk look as worn and interesting as the houses they live in. Every side-street draws you in, every craggy-faced resident, a storybook waiting to be opened. It seems they have just woken from a lengthy slumber, not quite sure what all the fuss is about. You don’t need to go looking for anything specific – you just wander and lose yourself for a while. Cool sanctuary from the building heat can easily be found in the various churches that will feature heavily in our photos as we leave – only when looking back afterward do we realize how much more stunning the shots look for the craggy limestone backgrounds. We stop to watch a small band of costumed dancers performing an odd-looking dance that adds to the feeling of wonder. Relative to the familiarity of our other ports of call, this place feels refreshingly different. Dramatic. Kotor has the vibe of a historical secret, only just being discovered. This compact city is hidden away under layers of protection, offered by its surrounding rocky slopes, and the imposing fortified walls. The setting is dramatic, and every nook and cranny ooze history and intrigue. The walls themselves are accessible and give an added sense of turbulent times past. An unlikely feature of the protective walls is that they not only encircle the city but also then stretch up the steep rugged cliffs behind - a defiant and impossible feat of engineering that evokes memories of the rambling Great Wall we saw disappearing over Chinese mountains. In the cauldron of the midday heat, those hardy enough to venture even part way up the breathless and steep pathway along this wall are rewarded with the most stunning views down onto the city with the pseudo-fjord behind. These impressive fortifications date from the 15th and 16th centuries, when the port was part of the Venetian Albania province of the Venetian Republic. Subsequently, it was besieged by the Ottomans, and over through the centuries was claimed by various empires and kingdoms including the Hapsburgs, Napoleonic France, Dalmatia, and Italy. More recently it hosted the Austrian fleet in the First World War before becoming part of Yugoslavia. Throw in earthquakes and plague, and you have to marvel at Kotor’s mere survival. That it survived with enough beauty for UNESCO to recognize it as a World Heritage Site is even more remarkable. Looking at the faces of our fellow cruisers as we are ferried back to our ship, it is clear that Kotor has done what very few places do. It has captured the imagination of the entire group of privileged and worldly-wise visitors in a matter of hours. So often we go to new destinations expecting great things, and against such expectation, reality generally falls short. How wonderful than on the odd occasion that we turn up somewhere unburdened with expectation, and are completely caught by surprise. The joy of discovery is even better. As we sail out of the Bay of Kotor we look back fondly on our new found friend bathed in the last moments sunshine as a huge dark storm gathers ominously behind. We won’t worry though – Kotor has endured far worse, and when the storm passes, Kotor will sparkle once more. It really does epitomise the old adage that it’s the quiet ones you have to watch. As we sail on to our next stop, we just have to decide whether to tell everyone about Kotor, or whether to tell nobody?