Ports

Cadiz, Spain

Do not confuse the town with the region of the same name. The town is out on an isthmus into the ocean, connected to the mainland by a thin sliver of land. The town is old and cobbled and a bit hilly but beautiful, with fairly narrow streets and that faded charm that the Med does so well. The central market is very lively, and most of the shopping streets are pedestrianised (except for disabled access/ taxis/ police/ ambulances/ deliveries, i.e. not very!). We took a taxi to the Archaeological Museum, because this is one of the only places in the world with a significant Phoenician history and collection of finds (they called it Gadyr). But, despite my research on the internet prior to departure, they did not warn us that they only let in 25 people per hour, and closed for siesta until after our departure time, so I didn’t get to go inside. We then made our way down to the shopping area, and found that Punt Roma (mum’s favourite shop – although I was the only one who made a purchase) was very easy to find and C&A closed down in August.  Not the most satisfying of mornings! We went to the Senator Hotel (the only 4-star in the place) for a bite of lunch (there’s a lovely spa in the basement, fyi), and then we went for another wander, after which we returned to the ship, so we could all shower whilst we were still moored.

Messina, Sicily

Messina is a proper town, with the standard Mediterranean thing of putting a dual carriageway along the front (WHY do they all do that?!). It was noisy and smelly and surprisingly friendly. We plodded along the fairly well-paved pavements to the Piazza Duomo. We drank expensive (tourist priced) drinks and used the cafe’s (pretty poor) toilets while we killed time until noon struck, at which point, we all gathered under the Campanile to watch the rather impressive moving parts perform to the tune of Ave Maria. The ages of man processed, saints raised their hands in blessing, a dove of peace circled, a cock crowed and a lion roared. On one side of the tower is one of the most beautiful astronomical clocks in the world.  The weather was gorgeous, and we enjoyed the whole thing immensely.

Then we got on a rather cute road train for a tour of the town.  Unfortunately, the roads are not as lovely as the pavements, and I suggested they put up a warning sign to alert people to the fact that their vertebrae may not be returned to them in the same order as that in which they arrived.  We tootled up to the top of the town, where we took photos of little Oriana (1800 passengers) parked in front of MSC Meraviglia (5,000 passengers) parked in front of a Seabourn three-master  mock schooner that holds a few dozen. We found a lovely little neighbourhood restaurant for lunch (with much better loo!), and then we then plodded in (futile) search of shops (but at least it was all downhill!) until we ended up back at the ship. The one shop we did find was one that allowed mum to replace the reading glasses she had sat on the day before, so that was a plus.

It’s a very nice place, Messina, but although they have dipped kerbs for the mobility impaired, car parking is pretty haphazard (double parking, sideways parking, on the pavement, on the dual carriageway, you name it), and they park across the dips without blinking an eyelid, which means the rather high kerbs are the only option.  Not for the severely mobility impaired, this one, I’m afraid. And if you cross the road, pushing a wheelchair, at a zebra crossing, with a green man light in your favour, you will still get people trying to run you down, and when you object, they will tell you to go and do things to yourself that would usually be said in Anglo-Saxon in the UK – even my limited Italian understood that. Charming! Well, everyone ELSE was friendly! And the sun shone, which helped.

Corigliano Calabro (possible prize available if you can find this on a map!)

We waited AGES for a shuttle bus and took the 20 minute drive away from Schiaveno, where we moored, up into the hills overlooking the beaches, where this tiny town is perched, on, if not actually in, the cliff face. This town is not for tourists, and certainly not for those of limited mobility. The roads are so narrow, there is no vehicular access, and the town has no taxi service. It is also entirely built on sloping hills, which makes it quite unsuitable for wheelchair users. There is a pretty impressive castle (built by the Normans – no, I didn’t know they had come this far south either) with some lovely views. That’s it. For the whole town. No shops, no restaurants, no bars (except the one the shuttle bus parked outside of), no souvenirs, no postcards, no taxis, no maps, nothing. So we took the shuttle bus back down again.

The port area of Schiaveno is a very large patch of concrete with no freight cranes, so clearly intended to welcome passenger ships, rather than stuff, but the town is not ready. According to the internet, there are two resort hotels nearby, but as there were no taxis or maps, we couldn’t go looking for them. We never got to see Schiaveno town either, for the same reason. P&O wanted to whisk us up to Corigliano Calabro and if we wanted to go elsewhere, tough poo. We were back on board in time for lunch by the pool, and so were most of the other passengers. A shame, really. A bit of a waste of a day, that could have been much more enjoyable if P&O had tried a little harder. But, I think it was their first time here too, so maybe things will improve for future visits. I certainly hope so, anyway. What little we saw had the potential to be a lovely place to visit.

This is the end of the first few ports. It gets a bit complicated from hereon in so bear with me!

I sometimes get told off for sounding quite negative and a bit moany when I talk about conditions on board ship.

So here is someone I have never met or heard of, talking about a cruise on the Arcadia – the ship about which my last cruise posts were about. So, he was on board the same ship I spoke of but seven months after I disembarked. You may find a few of the themes somewhat familiar…

Click here, please.

I don’t often post on this blog in between cruises, but this was something I simply had to share.

It’s just a headline, but I think it tells you all you need to know about the story.

Personally, I laughed til I cried. It probably wasn’t funny for those involved, mind you…

“The ship was waiting in Dover and the passengers were in Tilbury!”

Well done, Fred Olsen Black Watch. You have absolutely made my day.

The last sea day for what will probably be a very, very long time.

Mind you, eight hours solid kip was lovely, and that was only ended by a bout of screaming cramp. Something I ate last night disagreed with me, but I’m good at finding the upside of that particular situation and I am happy to sit there and think of the weight loss.

Met the parents for lunch. Then back to the cabin for a nap. But I couldn’t sleep worrying if all the last bits I have unearthed (including one whole cupboard I had forgotten about) would fit in the space left available, so I had to get up and do the packing, to be sure. THEN I went to bed.

I have ended up with two jute shopping bags and a yoga mat that don’t fit in anywhere else. Not bad for four months of unmitigated shopping opportunities, and most of that is probably just down to my poor packing and could probably have been solved with more effort.

Went to the parents’ cabin and dad managed to house the contents of one of the bags, almost in its entirety, so now I’m down to one extra bag and the yoga mat, which will be much more manageable. Just must remember to get my stuff out of his case before I leave London on Friday! He taught me a very useful packing trick for one of the hardest items to deal with – belts. Every day’s a school day!

Dinner was mostly talk of travel plans and goodbyes. I think I have seen everyone I wanted to. Some of the waiters seemed genuinely sad to see us go. I suppose, thinking about it, if you go to the same restaurant every weekend (and let’s face it, not many do), you’d only see the staff 52 times a year. These guys have been with us for 114 nights in a row. That’s two to three years of friendship in the real world! Life can be very intense on a cruise ship, and the friendships can either last a lifetime or vanish in a puff of exhaust smoke. There is no in between. I hope some of the friends we have made on here will stay in touch – we haven’t made many, but those we have have been really lovely people, and I would like them to continue being part of our lives and social circle.

I really ought to start my next essay – due to the extension I needed because of that ridiculous lurgy, I now have only three weeks until the deadline for the next – but now that all my decorations and notes and magnets have come down and been packed away, sitting here at the computer, I see nothing but my own reflection staring back and me in the mirror that covers the whole wall in front of the dressing table/desk, and it is surprisingly distracting! I don’t want to watch myself while I type!

Talking of distracting, the hangers now have nothing stopping them really going for it with the jingling and so, although it is actually quite calm here in the English Channel, they are not stinting themselves on the moving about any more. It’s like being next door to a school music room, and every few minutes, someone drops a boxful of sleigh bells on the floor.

Watched The World’s End on the telly, which, I believe, is the one remaining part of the Cornetto Trilogy that I had never seen before, so that was both thoroughly enjoyable and a useful completion of that canon. Very satisfying.  And P&O had not noticed/ removed the swear words, so I got to see an unexpurgated version, which is rare on these ships.

That’s it. The end of the longest cruise we have ever done. TTFN.

Bad night. Barely slept a wink. Didn’t feel like I had, anyway. Woken by announcements that started at 8.45am – no, really – for non-UK residents’ immigration. Met parents for lunch. No appetite – just fruit and a drink – well, two drinks – a pint of orange juice and a pint of diet coke. Then back to bed. Meh. I’m aware of my To Do list, thanks very much, but I’m no good to anyone like this.

Got up at 4.30. Shower, etc. Ready for last formal.  Black and white, although they forgot to say that in the paper. *sigh* Captain’s drinks. Said goodbye to him – he’s off to Adonia next – and chatted to some other people we like. Had a bit of a laugh and a free orange juice.

Then dinner at the Ocean Grill with mum and dad. Very pleasant. The steak was astonishingly soft – it was amazing. Bit boring there, though. Wouldn’t want to eat there too often, I’d be bored to tears. No one to talk to. No regular waiters. And dinner takes over two and a half hours. You’d never get anything else done ever again. Some people have breakfast there – if you have a suite, it’s included. No, thank you.

Then back to the cabin to sit on some cases and stare blankly at my essay notes for a bit.

That was Tuesday, that was.

Last day tomorrow. A bit sad, but a bit relieved too. I’ve had enough now. It stopped being fun about two weeks ago, and since then, we’ve just been counting down the days, til we can get back to some form of normality. Talking of normality, this essay won’t write itself…

3AM UPDATE: done, printed, bunged in the parents’ postbox for proofing. Bed.

The LAST three sea days. *sigh* and including the Last clock change at lunchtime today, after the Last face-to-face immigration inspection (woohoo!). We will move from GMT to BST and then the end will truly be in sight. Once we’re back in the same time zone as you, it’s just a matter of time – if you see what I mean.

I have to say, you have clearly been trying very hard with the weather for me, just as I requested. Words like ‘heatwave’ are very reassuring, but I don’t think I’ll put away the fleece and scarf just yet…  It’s still less than half of what we had a week ago. But bless you all for (a) trying and (b) thinking that 19 degrees constitutes a heatwave in May, even in the UK.

So, anyway, one proper night’s sleep later – lovely – immigration, fruit, pasta, Sudoku, siesta, massage. Last one of those too, sadly. Michelle really is VERY good. *sigh*

Then dinner and chores – picking out the photos worth keeping/paying for, trying to arrange the apology meal that is all we are clearly going to get for all the lies that were told about San Francisco, emails and the usual stuff. Busy, busy, busy. Who has time for packing?!

I really need to crack on with that essay…

Fever/cold day, I dunno, six? Did not sleep last night. Dreadful night, frankly. Got dressed. Ate something.

Met parents. Went out. Got as far as the end of the shops on the quayside, before I had to lean against something. Went back to bed. Mum and Dad went shopping without me. No postcards from here.

Ambition for today: getting dressed in time for dinner and managing to get there and eat and hold conversation. I imagine that will be enough for today.

UPDATE: In the end, I managed all of the above, and also fitted in a walk through the photo gallery afterwards, to check if there was anything worth buying. There wasn’t. I don’t take a very good picture, so I was hoping the law of averages would provide something decent with four months of trying. Will take another look tomorrow. But at twelve quid a pic, I’m not sure anything less than SPECTACULAR will cut it. Their prices are getting utterly ridiculous.

Films: Today, in between sleeps, I watched Inside Out (again) and No God, No Master, the story of the anarchist bombings and political machinations in the US that led to the formation of the FBI. Rather good, but not one to watch while you’re doing other things, unless you have very fluent Italian, which bits are subtitled.

Dilemma: In San Francisco, I had to buy new mouthwash and toothpaste, due to miscalculation of need (also under-budgeted for cotton buds, cleanser and moisturiser)(by contrast, vastly over-budgeted for conditioner, shampoo, deodorant and sun cream). Anyway, my teeth look whiter (to me, at least). Trouble is, I now don’t know whether to thank the mouthwash or the toothpaste! #firstworldproblems.

The Lasts have begun. Yesterday was the Last Friday night get together. Tomorrow will be the Last pillbox refill and the last port day/stop. Today was the Last new canister of deodorant. Monday will be the Last formal night. The Last, the Last, the Last. Most conversations now include, “Well, there’s still a week to go, but in case I don’t see you again…”. There is less than a week left now, in fact.

I think the reason I slept all afternoon today was possibly less to do with the persisting cold and fever, and more plain common or garden depression setting in. Everyone is sleeping a lot now, even the healthy ones. But at least I made it to lunch like a relatively normal human being today. Fever came back during dinner, but luckily, I had eaten by then. Dad and mum both ate well this evening, which is reassuring for me.

Question mark over the air con in the cabin. Is it set too hot if the elastics in your suitcase have PERISHED in the four months they have been sat under the bed?!

Stayed in bed. All day.

Made it upright in time to meet up and say goodbye to the Friday night crowd. Quite weak and wobbly and sweating/feverish, so definitely in no fit state for kisses and hugs!

Then dinner. Still feverish off and on. Managed to eat, but felt pretty dodgy afterwards.

Back to cabin. Back to bed.

The cough and rib pain are new, though. Maybe that counts as progress? Less sneezy, at least.

That was Friday, that was.

5AM UPDATE: Couldn’t sleep. Felt queasy, which is new. The ship isn’t moving about much, so it must be something to do with this monster lurgy thing that has taken up residence inside me, and shows no signs of moving out. Ribs still hurt too, which makes the, granted now fairly rare, coughs and sneezes all the more enjoyable.

I’ve really had enough of this now.

Did some packing, to pass the time. Dad is starting to fret, so I’m going to need to leave time to go and help them with theirs, as well as doing my own, so a head start is no bad idea. Amazingly tricky to pack stuff away, logistically. I’m seeing some people the night I get back, so I have to make sure I don’t pack their presents in the wrong place, by accident, and drive them back to my flat without delivering them. That would be most annoying. Although I’m sure I’ll forget something, in my current, somewhat befuddled, state (whilst typing this I have realised that I have, indeed, put at least one item in the wrong case, already).

The head rush that comes with trying to get the cases out from under the bed, whilst bunged up with cold and unable to breathe properly, was quite an interesting upside to the whole procedure, especially as, when done, they all had to go back under again! Who needs illegal narcotics?! Hah!

Which reminds me. I have a philosophy essay to write. Woohoo. No way this can go badly, oh no.

Took a sleeping tablet (herbal, not prescription) and slept from 11 pm to 4.30 am. Woke up shaking with hunger and had to call room service. On the plus side, my fever may now have completely broken. On the negative side, it’s not easy to order from the already somewhat restricted overnight cold food menu during Passover. But on the plus side, at this hour, you don’t half get served quick.

For some reason, our BBC News channel visuals are now six full seconds out of sync with the sound. It’s very distracting.

Slept til 11.30. Mika rang to ask if she could change our dinner date tonight to lunch. She woke me up from such a deep sleep, I remember commenting on the phone ringing in my dream, before it woke me. But at least the awakening meant I got to watch Singin’ in the Rain on the telly, which I would otherwise have missed. There is an upside to almost everything.

Met parents for fruit and a chat. Then went and met Mika. We sat out by Aquarius pool and chatted. I didn’t eat – my fever returned – so I just watched her eat and then smoke, and we had a drink. It was very relaxing, just hanging out. The captain came over to say hi, and ask how my dad is. He commented on the irony of me now being the one who is ill. When he had gone, Mika was white as a sheet. She works on Reception and no one had told her that the Captain’s plans had changed. She thought he had disembarked at Aruba! I knew the communication on this ship was rubbish, but fancy not telling the Reception staff who their current captain is?! Shocking, really, if you think about it.

I went back to my cabin and had a rest before dinner. At dinner, dad ate properly for the first time in possibly more than a week. He had soup and steak and chips and he ate it all. He said he felt hungry for the first time in ages, it was all delicious, and the steak was the best he had ever tasted. It was quite a relief. I wasn’t so worried about parting company after that.

I am getting very cross with my grey hairs. Until now, they have only grown in my fringe, where they are the most prominent and obvious they could possibly be. Or so I thought. Turns out I was wrong. There is somewhere more prominent and obvious. My EYELASHES are now going grey. For goodness’ sake. Eyelashes?! Seriously?!

<Pause for sneezing fit> That’s it. I’m done. Time for bed.