We're In The Med

We passed a quiet day until late this afternoon when the energy on the ship began to pick up. We were nearing the Strait of Gibraltar. Capt. Frank had originally told us we would pass through the Strait around 5 o’clock. While we caught sight of Africa at about that time, it wasn’t until about an hour later that we actually passed through the Strait. There were a lot of different kinds of ships – mostly freighters, but some small cruise ships and a yacht or two – passing through at the same time. We spotted some small boats, and I think they were African fishermen. I have no reason to assume that, but that’s my story, and I’m stickin’ to it. I saw what I think were traps.

We couldn’t see the Rock of Gibraltar very clearly, or at least I couldn’t. Bill ventured out into the wind to take photos while I sat in the lounge on the 14th deck with about a hundred other people to watch the goings on. I shared a table with a couple from the U.S. who had passed through the Strait of Gibraltar several times, but always during the night. They had hoped they would see both Africa and Spain this time, but no luck.

Tomorrow morning at 8 o’clock, the ship will sail into Cartegena. We have a very short stay there – we have to be back on the ship by 1:30. I frankly don’t know why they bothered to stop. Nevertheless, we will get off and walk into town to see what can be seen.

Tonight we plan to start our packing since we have to have our suitcases outside our door tomorrow evening. By the way, we changed our clocks ahead at noon today for the last time. We are eight hours ahead of our friends and family in Colorado, and this is the way it will remain for our entire trip.

Day 11

It gets harder and harder to blog because each day is remarkably like the previous as we near the end of this part of our trip. Today was our 11th day, and while I sound whiney, it really has been a marvelous and restful start to our adventure. The atmosphere around the ship is so much different than when we started. People are crankier and the energy level is just a bit lower.

The staff of the ship are marvelous and they have seemingly unending energy. I hope many of them get some time off before they have to set sail again. I asked our waitress (we have had the same waitress and assistant waitress for the entire ship; both are from Romania; she takes care of our table and I think one other) if she gets any time off after we get into Barcelona. She does not. The Voyager of the Sea will begin a series of seven-day cruises around the Mediterranean, and she will continue to work on those cruises. Someone told me (and I believe it to be true) that the wait staff earn $50 per week plus what they get from tips (which are generous) and obviously free room and board. It seems as though most of the wait staff are from middle or eastern European countries, Caribbean islands, or Asian countries. There is no one from the United States or western European countries. I suspect the work is just too hard and the time away from families (six month contracts) is just too onerous.

I continue to be very impressed with the talent they have on board this ship. Last night we had a comedian/juggler from Great Britain who was extraordinarily talented and extremely funny. (Each night they have a special show in the big theater – one at 6:30 for the folks who dine at 8 and one at 8:30 for the folks who dine at 5:30.) Afterwards, Bill and I went to one of the lounges where the singers and orchestra were performing jazz music. It was very enjoyable.

Tonight is lobster night! Those of you who have been on cruise ships know that this is a very BIG night! It’s also the final formal night.

I have talked about our table mates, and here is a photo of the people with whom we have dined each night: from left to right: Ray and Carol from Kansas City, MO (he’s a chiropractor and she helps run his business); Bill and me; Tom from Salt Lake City, UT (he’s a retired high school teacher); Dave from southern California (who is a retired travel agent who travels extensively); and Joe from Tampa, FL (also retired, who watches his 2-year-old granddaughter every day while the parents are at work). At the beginning of the cruise we also dined with Alex McLean from Scotland, but he seems to have found other friends as we haven’t seen him since the first few days. It’s hard to imagine that he could have found anyone more interesting than the seven of us!

We moved our clocks ahead again today at noon, so we are now ahead of our friends and family in Colorado by seven hours.

Tomorrow evening at 5 p.m. our time (which, after we move our clocks ahead again tomorrow will be 9 o’clock in the morning in Colorado) we will be passing through the Strait of Gibraltar. As I understand it, Spain will be about five miles away on one side and Morocco will be about three miles away on the other. We should be able to see both.

Porta Delgada

When we awoke this morning, we could see the Azores in the distance. The ship docked shortly after noon, and we made our way off the ship into Porta Delgada. It was very good to be in on solid ground after so many days at sea. The Azores are part of Portugal, so it was a nice way to sort of get ourselves ready to be in Europe. The contrast between the locals and the tourists was very obvious, but the locals seemed quite tolerant since the tourists bring in so much cash. I was fairly surprised when I overhead a woman from Texas asking if there was a Wal-Mart on the island. As in most European towns, most of the cars were very small and most of the drivers drove those small cars about a thousand miles an hour down the very narrow streets. They are supposed to stop for pedestrians in the crosswalks, and they seemed to actually do so. I’m going to have to get a lot more trusting however or I will never get across any street! Bill, who is very trusting of the rules and much more assertive than I, will consistently be a dot in the distance.

Bill and I got away from the crowds as quickly as we could. We stopped first at the church in the town center – St. Sebastian’s. The noon Mass was going on (in Portuguese of course) and we stood and watched for a bit until we could figure out at what point in the Mass they were, then wandered into the Porta Delgada community. We found a little local market and bought a couple of sandwiches (we didn’t know what kind they were) and a Coke Light (which is what they call Diet Coke). We took our goods to a nearby park and dug in. We made good choices, because his was a ham and cheese and mine was a tuna salad with pieces of corn and tomato. Both were delicious. We ate and watched the local lovers enjoying the sunshine during their lunch break.

We wandered around a bit more, and then found a little bar where we paid for a half bottle of the local wine – Vinho Verde – and two glasses. The label was Castel Garcia, which is available in the United States and which we’ve drunk on a number of occasions, but somehow it tasted better when sitting in a Portuguese café. We toasted our first day in Europe!

We were back on the ship by 4 o’clock, and we pulled out of Porta Delgada at 6 o'clock. We have two more days at sea, and then we will be in Cartagena on Friday.

Disco and Chocolate

A busy evening capped a somewhat quiet Sunday. After spending most of yesterday reading, we went to dinner as usual. Following dinner we went to the evening show, which featured two brothers who were illusionists. They were very good, and quite entertaining. At 10, what seemed like the entire ship congregated in the promenade, and they had a 70s street fair. The singers and dancers dressed up in 70s costumes and sang disco tunes, and many passengers joined in. It was very funny to see balding men singing along with the words to Donna Summers and the Bee Gees. People were having a lot of fun. I have to admit that Bill and I participated in YMCA (who wouldn’t?).

At 11 o’clock, we went up to the 11th Deck where they were featuring their chocolate buffet. We ate chocolate treats and talked with a couple from Iowa who were the poster children for not judging a book by its cover. Though looking as though they were fresh out of the corn fields, this is actually their 20th cruise or so, and they have traveled extensively throughout Europe. It was fun to talk with them.

Today is a beautiful day once again, though the sea seems a bit more rocky than it did yesterday. At lunch, three of the chefs cooked paella out on the pool deck, and then served it up with some sangria. Yum and yum!

Our Typical Day

The first morning on the ship, we had ordered coffee from room service the night before to be delivered between 7:30 and 8 (foolishly believing that we would sleep past 8 the first morning on a cruise ship). Predictably, we awoke around 7, so I telephoned room service to deliver coffee early and asked them to cancel the other coffee. We got our pot of coffee delivered very quickly and had just settled down to drink our first cup when a knock on the door told us that a second pot was being delivered. The room service waiter was not happy when I asked her to take back the second pot. Since that day, we have instead taken turns going down to the Café Promenade on Deck 5 to bring coffee up. That way we can do it whenever we awaken.

Our days on the ship have become very calm and rhythmic. After a cup of coffee we shower, and then we have typically gone to Mass. After that, we will grab some breakfast (perhaps a large breakfast or perhaps just a sweet roll). The first couple of days when it was nice outside we sat by the pool and read. Once we got out into the Atlantic, it has been a bit cooler so we read inside our cabin or in the library. If we take a dance lesson, it is in the morning.

We eat a light lunch. Each day at sea we turn our clocks ahead at noon, so we might start eating lunch at 11:45 but it is close to 1:30 when we finish!

In the afternoon we have generally attended some sort of lecture or class. Bill has taken a Spanish class, and we have not missed ANY of the Hollywood gossip classes! Today we got a peek at which stars are still alive past the age of 80.

We dine at the early seating and then go to the 8:30 show at the La Scala Theater. We have seen a variety of things from Broadway reviews to ventriloquists and magicians. Quite good entertainment.

After the show we may come up to our room or wander around a bit before we turn in. While it sounds predictable, it is actually very relaxing and we are still having a great time.

The seas are much calmer today. I think we may have survived the worst of it all. Bill may go down to the cigar room later, as he has done a couple of times.

Our Cabin

Here is a photo of our cabin and a photo of the view of the promenade from our cabin window.

Rock and Roll

“The sea was angry that day, my friend.” – George Kostanza

Captain Frank warned us yesterday that – lo and behold - we would be sailing into the low front that he thought would head north and away from us. Oops. He said we could expect swells today in the nature of six to seven feet. Instead, according to our ship television station, the swells are 7.5 to 12 feet high.

The good news is that neither Bill nor I are the least bit seasick, at least at this point. The ship really is rocking and rolling. There are not nearly as many people out and about as there have been other days. Still, I was surprised at how many have ventured out of their rooms.

Last night we went to the first ice show of the trip. It really was very beautiful. I was impressed at how well the skaters performed, particularly given the fact that the ship was already bouncing around quite a bit. I was having trouble walking, and here they were jumping around and twirling their partners above their heads.

This morning after breakfast, we elected to just WATCH the dance lesson instead of participate. I believe this decision was a wise one, since at the end of the other two dance lessons that we took we were barely speaking. Today’s dance was the tango, and we couldn’t really envision a time when we would be out tangoing. It was fun to watch, however. Some people do quite well, and some are worse than Bill and me. There is an Asian couple who has been at all of the classes who really are quite awful, but they are a joy to watch because they are having so darn much FUN. They really are. I like watching people who are happy and enjoy everything.

Tonight is the second formal night. I will pull out my same dress that I wore to the first formal night since I didn’t think it was prudent to bring several gowns that I would then have to haul around Europe for four months. I will put a colorful scarf with it and call it a new dress! If the sea keeps rollicking like it is, there might not be many people at dinner anyway.

I’m not sure I mentioned that every day that we are at sea, we turn our clocks ahead one hour at noon. It makes the morning short, but I like that better than doing it at night because you don’t feel like you’re losing an hour of sleep. After noon today, we will be five hours ahead of our friends and family in Colorado.