There are so many ports which have mythical names, the sound of which alone conveys you the glamour and adventure of ships, the gulls flying around, the small tugs, the smell of salt, sailors going around. Most of them have literary or other connotations, or mythical with a song.

Probably all lost.

this is my list of mythical ports : Shanghai, Surabaya, Yokohama, Saigon,Hong Kong Montevideo, Tanger, Trieste, Vladivostok, Mandalay, Honolulu ...

Am I too much a romantic. does anyone share my view this are mythical ports (which doesn't mean they ARE actually nice, and are probably a disappointment).

any other mythical ports ?

J

[ 11-26-2004: Message edited by: Johan ]

P.S. I was born in one of your mythical ports.

[ 11-27-2004: Message edited by: CGT ]

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Originally posted by CGT:
Bombay. Mombossa. Alexandria. Tunis. Dakar. Madras.

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Hasn't Bombay been renamed? Mumbai?

Of these I've been to Mombasa and Dakar. Then there's wonderful downtown Mogadishu (said sarcastically).

Brian

[ 11-27-2004: Message edited by: Brian_O ]

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Originally posted by Brian_O:

Hasn't Bombay been renamed? Mumbai?

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Johan wrote:
any other mythical ports ?

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Well, there are probably hundreds out there. Not sure how mythical some of these are, but there are a few with a bit of history.

Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Aden, Yemen
Alexandria, Egypt
Apia, Samoa
Aqaba, Jordan
Assab, Eritrea
Bahía Blanca, Argentina
Barranquilla, Colombia
Belem, Brazil
Brest, France
Cadiz, Spain
Cebu, Philippines
Dakar, Senegal
Da Nang, Vietnam
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Djibouti, Djibouti
Goa, India
Guayaquil, Ecuador
HaiPhong, Vietnam
Iquitos, Peru
Kuching, Malaysia
Lae, Papua New Guinea
Luanda, Angola
Lüderitz, Namibia
Maputo, Mozambique
Mombasa, Kenya
Mossel Bay, South Africa
Paranaguá, Brazil
Salvador, Brazil
Ushuaia, Argentina
Valparaiso, Chile
Yalta, Ukraine
Zadar, Croatia
Zanzibar, Tanzania

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P.S. Some I see have already been named by others…

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Originally posted by mec1:
Southampton is my favourite port in the world - and the sight of Fawley Oil refinery from the decks of an outbound liner one of my favourite views on earth.

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Still to be come: San Francisco, Sydney, Hong Kong, Yokomama, Singapore, Capetown, Rio, Mumbai, Port Said, Southampton, London, Amsterdam, Rotterdam.

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Originally posted by CGT:

Not in my book it hasn't.

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Your book is out-of-date. Of course, I often still refer to Maputo as Lourenço Marques because that is what it was called when I lived in that part of the world.

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Originally posted by Tim Agg:
Some magical port arrivals / departures of past years: arriving at Rhodes, at the edge of the city walls, at sunrise; arriving at Istanbul; sailing into Acapulco bay before sunrise; picking up the pilot at Victoria and sailing to Vancouver harbour on a clear day; anchored off Lahaina, Maui; leaving Charlotte Amalie at sunset; sailing from Manhattan at night; sailing from Prince Rupert in early morning mist; Bergen, Trondheim, Tromso, Hammerfest and the rest of the Hurtigrute stops; St.Malo; Portsmouth.

Still to be come: San Francisco, Sydney, Hong Kong, Yokomama, Singapore, Capetown, Rio, Mumbai, Port Said, Southampton, London, Amsterdam, Rotterdam.

Oh, my - time to go cruising again! Next new ports: Tampa, San Juan, Basseterre [Guadalupe], Roseau [Dominica], Barbados.

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You are very welcome to my homeport Rotterdam the Queen on the Maas.

I would like to visit Vladivodstok, Shanghai, Vancouver (hope next year) Cobe and many more.

Greattings frome Rotterdam Ben

[ 11-28-2004: Message edited by: Maasdam ]

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Johan wrote:
Mythical ports are to me those, the sound of whose name alone makes me wish to travel.

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That's why I added those ports I listed since they are not all visited by cruise ships. Tim Agg added some really nice places, some of the best ports in the world, but they have become too mainstream. I guess Johan you'll have to pick up a world map and draw an imaginary world cruise, and maybe sail out on a freighter from Antwerp. As Tom said, "Oh, my - time to go cruising again!"...

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bulbousbow wrote:
...and maybe sail out on a freighter from Antwerp...

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...or maybe we can all chip in and buy ourselves one of those ex-survey ships for sale. Good vessels for the high seas. Anyone interested?

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Originally posted by Johan:
Mythical ports are to me those, the sound of whose name alone makes me wish to travel.

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I think Dover is one of Britains most mythical ports, and learning now that she is referred to with her Latin name in official maps is even more fascinating. Thanks, SSLewis.

Cebu, plenty of ships, that's about it, I think. Zanzibar, well I'm reading Giles Foden's version at the moment

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Pam M wrote:
...But just looking at Bulbousbow's list, I think many are on my 'get out quick' list...

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I agree. In this day and age some of those ports should be avoided, but it doesn’t mean they are not mythical. In the colonial days and early last century things were different, and I think part of Johan’s mythical experience relates to this, part dream, part reality, where just a mention of a port’s name evokes a sense of mystery and adventure.

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