one more sleep

The seas quieted down overnight, leaving us to enjoy the gentle rocking that I’ve become accustomed to. It’s been mostly sunny and could have been a day at the pool.

After coffee in the Piazza, I started packing… yes, our vacation is almost over. Tomorrow we dock in Fort Lauderdale and fly home into the snow. It will be a real shock to get back to reality.

I had the suitcases flipped open on the bed and Carm folding - it was a feat of unbelievable proportion that everything fit - I think, tomorrow morning the last of the stuff goes into one carry on which hopefully has enough space.

We putzed around for a while, had lunch, and then stood in line at the theatre to get into the show that ‘sold out’ yesterday. We waited for ages but scored the perfect seats for the new production.

We managed to get seats in Hector’s section in the dining room. He has a cute helper who has a sweet shy smile. Hector is also one of the fastest servers - we always get out of the dining room in record time - no 2 hour suppers in his section.

Since we were skipping out on the singers tonight we grabbed seats in the piazza for the Captain’s cocktail party and to enjoy the band ‘Hot Tonic’. Lots of people were dancing, including us for one tear around the floor to ‘It’s a Wonderful World’. We sat with a nice couple from Niagara on the Lake. From there it was to Take 5 for our cranberry juice and a few bars of jazz.

One more sleep!

yet another lazy day

The sound of wind and waves battering against the side of the ship woke me up this morning. It was 6:30 am gmt-4. I opened the curtains. I shut the curtains and crawled back into bed for a bit. I opened them again and yanked open the balcony door… a big mistake as now it creaks and groans incessantly. Whitecaps topped the swell; I stepped outside onto the wet floor and took my photos.

I wouldn’t call the sea rough, but the floor does disappear out from under my feet now and then. It wouldn’t be a day for wearing heels! Carm figures the swells are about 8 feet high, enough for gentle rocking.

At breakfast, I decided to forego eggs and other North American fare, instead filling a bowl with rice, stir fry, and sauteed bok choy. It was a nice change!

The piazza had zumba and then a line dancing class while we had our coffee this morning. I could have joined, even with my 2 left feet, but I was more than happy to exert myself by tapping my foot while watching others sweat 😎

Only today (which by the time I post this will be almost gone) and tomorrow left for sea days and then we’ll disembark for our grueling trip home. I’ll be happy to see the dogs, and I’m already planning a visit to Kirsten, but honestly, I feel like I could stay here forever.

Aside from a short outing to have lunch at the buffet, we had a relaxing afternoon in the cabin watching the clouds play peek-a-boo with the sun as they race across the sky. We even skipped supper in the dining room for a picnic on the bed, complete with a bottle of bubbles that we bought in Genoa. It was nice to be far from the maddening crowd for a little while.

We did make an attempt at getting to the theatre tonight but it was sold out when we got there (45 minutes early!). There is a new production show so I guess everyone on the ship wants to go.

My head is spinning from all the movies we’ve watched today so it’s time to turn out the lights and close my eyes. Good night!

just 2 more seadays left

I am getting repetitive (wonderfully so)! I’d left the curtains open an inch so I could see when it got light out. It was still earlish (7:30 am gmt-3) which was surprising as I’d forgotten to take my meds at bedtime and only remembered at 4am (luckily I’d realized then otherwise my morning would have been ruined). A step outside revealed another glorious day with only a hint of cloud on the horizon. It was hot again :-)

Breakfast was pretty much the usual except I had a bit of Asian style pork - tomorrow I’m going to go all out with bok choy and other weird non-Western breakfast food.

On the way to the Piazza we stopped to see Crinella so that I could trial the lipstick I wore last night… it’s a pinky coral colour and I like it quite a bit so might buy a vial. 

At the Piazza we talked with a man who’d been in the Vietnam war… he’d finished his career in Data Management so we touched on work things a bit, but gosh, who the heck wants to talk about work in the middle of the Atlantic! He talked a little about his experience coming home from the war - he’d had a lot of injuries, physical as well as mental - he was the only one that returned alive from his unit. He had a positive attitude and it was clear that he worked on his mental health, but I felt that he was still haunted. Visions of the horrors of war were fresh in my head as we’d watched Tolkien last night so perhaps I had an extra bit of empathy.

We saw the matching couple line dancing in the piazza - I wish I had their joy for life! Apparently they’ve worn matching shirts since they got married 49 years ago 😄 It’s funny but sweet at the same time. I suppose once you’ve done it for a certain length of time it would be weird to change? 

11:30 am: Carm’s in the pool  - I decided to relax on the balcony and then when I got too hot, to lounge in the room babbling on my blog. It would have been a great pool time but I guess I’m not 100% yet.

3 pm: We had lunch (salad and grilled zucchini) then attended a lecture done by a 2nd officer of the ship about navigation and other interesting topics. He was a good speaker, keeping us entertained for over an hour. Now we are back in our room for a little rest (cause you know, everything has been so exhausting). We’ll go down for our pre-dinner drinks just past 4pm. 

6ish: back from supper (yes, more eating)... while standing in line to get in a very unpleasant man attacked Carm when he said that immigrants were a good thing. My goodness, the guy went ballistic. Carm was being rather bland (which if you know him...), and totally did not deserve that craziness. Thankfully Carm had the good sense to end the conversation and turn around to converse with another couple. Ugly.

Supper was great as it always is but today we were just 2 and in the section of our favorite waiter, Hector, so it took ½ the time as it did last night… we didn’t have anyone other than ourselves to talk to but perhaps it was just as well as we were a bit shell shocked from the earlier conversation.

The pianist from the other night was back on the stage - he played a 55 minute non-stop medley of every song you can think of. He was incredible! Jo Ellen, you would have loved the show.

As you can see, the only things to take photos of are the ocean, food, and each other! Sorry for inflicting so much drivel on you!

Good night!

if it's the middle of the Atlantic it must be Wednesday

It was dark in the room when I opened my eyes this morning as I’d left the curtains fully drawn, but I could see a swash of light on the floor. I glanced at my watch (7:30 am gmt-3) and opened the curtains. The view was dramatic with the roiled sky and flush of pink. I struggled to open the balcony door as there was a bit of a wind creating a vacuum against the side of the ship. With a burst of effort I got it opened and stepped outside with my camera. It was still warm with a bit of wind.

I went back to bed.

When we finally got up and upstairs for breakfast it was past 9am but amazingly enough there was still lots of food to choose from! We sat next to a lovely couple from Edmonton - Judy and Gord. 

From there we went to the piazza for a better cup of coffee. Sitting behind us were two couples all dressed in the same patterned shirt. We wanted a photo and tried to sneak one but then decided it was better to ask. They were a fun group full of jokes and laughter.

I still needed something from the cosmetic store so I stopped there on my way to the room and met with Crinella, and she suggested a makeover tonight so I’ll be all spiffy for formal night. I’ll have to forego our pre-dinner drink but it will be fun to be fussed over (although slightly weird too).

Carm got back to the room in time for us to venture out for lunch. Yes, we were eating again, and again in the dining room. We sat with 5 people, some from the US and one couple from AUZ (I don’t recall their names but we may see them next October on the Coral). Lots of conversation - nothing controversial. At this point in time I can’t imagine wanting to have supper… Next cruise I think I’ll just pack moo-moos/caftans - remember them from the 70s? They were shapeless, flowy dresses (although I hesitate to call them a dress, more like a giant sack).

Sadly, tonight is formal night, which means stuffing myself into a tight sausage casing. Oh my… or I could go for the stretchy fancy pants and loose top… will tell later what I decide.

It is actually ridiculous how much we’ve eaten… I’m so stuffed that I’ve been skipping dessert for some meals 🤢 The scale will probably run away screaming when it sees me!

We are inching our way across the Atlantic at the mind boggling speed of 33 kmph, at this speed, we’ll be in Fort Lauderdale in 4 days, although it’s hard to imagine that we will have crossed the Atlantic at such a snail's pace. It will be strange to be back in reality - with the sea mirroring the grey clouds in the sky it isn’t hard to imagine that I am in a glass globe muffled in a bag of slightly dirty cotton balls.

… back in our room after makeover, supper, theatre, and jazz club…

I wore the purple dress without the sausage underwear...it didn’t look too bad. The makeover was fun but I should have had Carm video it so I could do a re-enactment. He said it didn’t look like I had tons of makeup on and since I only got a glimpse in the mirror I had to take his word on it.

Supper was fun with Bonnie & Mike and 2 other couples. It took forever though so we had to skip dessert to make it to the theater. No big hardship. The show was great - the entertainer was a singer originally from NZ. She wasn’t only a great singer, she was funny too. Now we are back in our room watching the end of ‘Lion King’ - amazing animation.

swimming in the sun

I didn’t part the curtains until 8am (gmt-2) and was pleased to see the glorious sun which was higher above the horizon than yesterday, and still very much present. There was just a light breeze so I left the balcony door open while we got ready :-) 

Glorious.

We broke our routine this morning. After we’d had our special coffee in the Piazza, (where we sat near the couple that always wear matching shirts), we changed into our bathing suits and headed to the pool.

Yes. 

Swimming at the end of November while transiting the Atlantic.

I would say that I have no words, but you all know that I’ll find some! The sun was hot, the water in one of the pools was cold, the hot tub was hot, and the other pool was almost warm. It was amazing! They were playing ‘Lion King’ on the big screen so it was like being at a drive-in, well, make that a swim-in. I watched some of the movie bobbing in the warm pool being swished by the waves created from the slight ocean swell. It was one of those WOW moments.

The sun was burning down with the threat of sunburn, so after an hour we picked up our things and headed to our room to change and then downstairs to wander around. As we were strolling around the ship we ran into Patti and Paul, a couple that we’d first met in Florence - it was lunchtime so we decided that lunch in the dining room would be nice. It was.

I ducked out at the end of lunch for some quiet time. As luck would have it I was able to catch up with Kirsten on Messanger. We chatted for over an hour! Carm came back to the room and we chilled for a while on the balcony. Before we knew it, the time had come to go down for dinner. We met up with Bonnie and Mike again and had a great meal together - Italian night so lots to choose on the menu! I was so stuffed that I skipped dessert 😁 

We lingered over supper until I glanced at my watch and saw that we’d never get seats in the theatre unless we skedaddled. The same comedian was the entertainer tonight and boy, did he make us laugh. I thought I’d fall off my chair!

We made our way to Take 5 after the show and met up with Bonnie & Mike for a bit of jazz and some cranberry juice. And here I am now… ready for bed and watching Tolkien.

The time changes again tonight so not only do I have no idea what day it is, I also have no idea what time! We’ll switch to GMT-3 in the middle of the night.

stretchy clothes are needed by day 20

I was awake a bit earlier this morning (7:30 gmt-1). As I stood there on the balcony, mouth agog, the golden orb of the sun popped over the horizon. It was still warm. The wind had picked up a bit, not a lot, but there was too much wind to have the balcony door open.

We are both creatures of habit and quickly develop routines. It’s part of why we were successful in our jobs, but also maybe why we aren’t really creative. We crave order. So yes, we had our showers and ascended to the top of the ship for breakfast. From there it was to the piazza for some real coffee.

Carm started babbling with some people about Brexit, so I took off and loitered around the ship a bit. Back to the room for some reading.

There was no bridge this afternoon so we had tacos for lunch by the pool, back to the room for some time on the balcony, reading and a tiny bit of laundry (remember I mentioned the summer shirts!). Carm went swimming. No pina colada today. I don’t feel bored yet.

There are lots of activities around the ship, and if I were a joiner I imagine there’d be all sorts of fun. I’m not really up to making the commitment to participate in a week long activity. I enjoy quiet time and I think it’s what is keeping me sane this trip. The other thing that’s helping is unlimited internet so I can chat with Pat every morning. Regular pictures of the pets keep me happy!

We decided to turn in our voucher for Crown Grill the speciality steakhouse. We also had one for a bottle of prosecco. Supper was fantastic and I had perhaps the best rib steak ever, either the steak knives were out of this world, or the meat was butter tender. By the end of the dinner I was stuffed and silently thanked goodness that I hadn’t put on my sausage stomach smoother.

We were in time to get good seats in the theatre. Tonight’s entertainer was the most amazing pianist imaginable. (I thought of you Jo Ellen - you would have loved him). He played a non stop medley of music from many countries for over 45 minutes, without sheet music. I’m afraid I didn’t have full appreciation though as I was so full I felt almost sick.

Funny thing… as the music moved through the countries a picture of the flag would display on the big screen… when the US flag appeared all the Americans cheered and clapped. 🤔

So that’s 2 sea days down, 5 to go… so far, so good!

glassy

My eyes fluttered open and I checked my watch: 8:30 am (gmt-1). I flung open the curtains to see what sort of day we’d have - bright sun and a nearly mirror like finish to the ocean. Wow! 

I slid open the door and stepped out in my pjs to see what the temp was - hot - a day for shorts and summer tops. What the heck! Luckily I packed a pair of shorts, but only included a couple of warm weather t-shirts so I forsee (fingers crossed) lots of laundry in the sink.

According to the captain there are 16000 feet of ocean below us!

We had our usual breakfast and then wandered downstairs to get a macchiato. It was crowded in the piazza but I managed to find a seat where we chatted with the people around us for ages. Back in the room, I enjoyed some time on the balcony - we chose our room to be on the sunny side of the ship - but today the sun drove me in once I could feel the prickle of sunburn starting. 😁

Carm took off for a swim so I just chilled in the room, watching a rerun of Love Boat. Mindless drivel but fun. He got back from his splash with just enough time to change and rush off for a bridge game. 

I picked up my stuff and headed down to the piazza for the bridge tax: a pina colada in the Piazza. It’s fun watching the world go by. The table behind me were complaining about the food - they had nothing good to say, and strangely we think the food on this ship has been the best on any we’ve been on! I guess we all have different expectations. 

When Carm got back we spent some time on the balcony with a glass of wine. The wind has picked up a tiny bit so the ocean isn’t glassy anymore and there is still only a gentle swell. 

Sea days… not so bad! 

Tonight we had a single older gentleman on one side, and a pair of New Yorkers on the other. It was a fun dinner.

The entertainer tonight was a Broadway singer - he was okay, but when he did the prayer song from ‘Les Miserables’ I had tears in my eyes. From there we went to ‘Take 5’ for a cranberry juice and a bit of jazz, then to the other end of the ship to listen to the piano player.

First thing this morning I was texting Graham in Ottawa and Shenna in NZ while I was in the middle of the Atlantic! Isn’t that amazing :-)

So much fun in one day!

p.s. I am always amazed at how much I can babble on when nothing is really happening!

higher than the mile high club

In a state of terror, I gripped the seat in front of me praying that we wouldn’t go hurtling off the side of the cliff as we raced around hairpin turns. We were in Madeira heading to the top of the island 6200 feet away from sea level. When I could peel my eyes off the side of the road I could see that it was a beautiful island forested with eucalyptus, cypress, cedars, and a myriad of other trees. It was lush, at least until we neared the top and passed the tree line.

On our journey we passed under the runway! It had been built on pillars jutting out over the cliffs.

The first stop was several hundred feet above sea level at a tiny pull out. The bus lurched backwards before the driver put the handbrake on… we were parked at an impossible angle… I wondered if the bus would rocket off the cliff behind it. The views were spectacular!

Our second stop was 2000 feet up at a beautiful golf course. Carm was drooling over the greens. Tables were laid with linen, each place set with a teacup and plate of Madeira cake. Unfortunately it wasn’t soaked in actual wine which might have made the next 4000 feet up a little easier to bear. It was a nice cake with bits of orange peel.

After I’d eaten my cake I took a trip to the loo and got locked inside the stall! Jiggling the lock and fiddling with the doorknob wasn’t getting me out but finally (while I had visions of the ship leaving without me), a woman came in and helped me get out. There was no gap under the door or overhead escape route - I was truly stuck in a stinky box.

More spectacular views.

With no little amount of trepidation I mounted the steps to the bus and took my seat. We raced up the road, horn blowing as we whipped around each hairpin turn. The variety of trees changed as we ascended into the clouds (yes, clouds). I felt no great joy when it started to rain and the roads turned a slick looking black.

We passed a gorge slashed out of the side of the mountain and down to the sea. It looked like a scene out of Lord of the Rings. 

Unfortunately, when we reached the summit, the clouds had socked in and there was a slight drizzle. All around us a thick grey fog obscured our vision. Carm was the only one who wanted off the bus, so he was out voted and we turned around to make our way back to Funchal. Luckily it took an easier, less hair raising route.

When we reached the city we disembarked the bus in the center of the town. It was a short walk to the winery where we got to taste a few varieties of Madeira - we bought a bottle to bring home. 

A small park was adjacent to where we were meeting the bus so we putzed around taking photos and buying trinkets from the craftspeople.

And that was it. We are now on the ship catching our breath before we decide what to do before supper. This was our last port before Fort Lauderdale in 7 days time. It’s been a wonderful whirlwind of sights and experiences. Starting tonight we’ll be on the open Atlantic ocean… I’m keeping my fingers crossed for good weather. Maybe even swimming weather.

We had supper tonight with Bonnie & Mike again. It was another comedian in the theatre, and even though we’d seen him before (and it was more or less the same show), we laughed and laughed. I saw many people wiping their eyes as they left the theatre.

One flight of stairs down brought us to Take 5, the jazz bar. We settled in and ordered our drinks - a cranberry juice for Carm and an extra special gin & tonic for me. My drink was full of botanicals and citrus. Cardamom and basil was a special twist on an old classic. 

I savoured every sip.

After the band finished playing we traversed the length of the ship to where the Princess band was doing an Eric Clapton tribute. They were great, but I’m afraid to say that my eyelids were drooping… so here I am, just about to crawl into bed.

Good night!