Probably the last bit

The Med is currently like a mirror. We have had a couple of nights of slight movement, but that just meant we slept extra well.

In fact, since Ephesus, pretty much all we have done is sleep. We wake, we doze, we have brief conversations, we turn over, and we go right back to sleep.  Remember those Lovely new mattresses? Well, yes, they still are Lovely. Getting out of bed is getting more and more difficult. We’ve even got the room temperature pretty much sorted. I forgot to turn the fan on last night, and regretted it. But we have been getting up at about 3pm, eating a late lunch/ brunch at 4pm, then I have acupuncture at 5 and then we go to dinner.  In fact, if I have been in contact with you recently, and I seemed strangely alert, it’s because Greece, Crete and Turkiye are three hours ahead of the UK. So my 2am has been your 11pm. We went back one hour last night, so we are (a) allowed more sleep (b) getting closer to normal time

Saturday is a little different because I have a hydropool session after my acupuncture session. This is the “proper spa” bit, with the massage jets and salts and stuff. They charge £40 for two hours, but I’m getting it for free because (a) I have spent so much on acupuncture (b) Joel is very lovely (c) Joel is very senior so what he says, goes (d) the other pools do not have steps, only ladders. Even if I didn’t damage my shoulder climbing the ladder last time, no point in risking undoing all of Joel’s needles’ sterling repair work. So I shall descend and ascend a tad more gracefully than before, hopefully.

Last night we found a bit of the ship we had never been to before, even when we lived on here for three months! It has an indoor bit and an outdoor bit. It’s beautifully deserted and sheltered from the wind. If we ever come on here again, we know where we’ll be spending most of our time!

We won the quiz last night. That’s the third time. No tie-breaker. Just outright winning. Largely thanks to me *bows magnanimously*. There were a couple of WTFs: the first ebook ever published being the US Declaration of Independence, despite the fact it’s not actually a book, it’s a single page document, and whether a stye is on the eye or the eyelid. But winning is winning and beating the grumpy professional quizzers is the important bit. Which really is our only goal. Our team mates, Ken and Irene (from Scotland) and Bryan and Doreen (from South Yorkshire) are just as committed as us, in this regard. Our dinner tablemates, Carol and Roy, have decided to hate them vicariously, as well, despite having never set eyes on them, which is nice.

17.05.26

Tonight, we started on -1 – standard punishment for winning the night before – so we just missed being in the tiebreaker, which I would have won (what’s the current population of Gibraltar*), as my answer** was the closest to the correct figure.  Ken scored a spectacular point, being the only person in the entire room who knew the answer! The question was, in television terms, what does PAL*** stand for?

My hydropool session was AMAZING. I had the whole pool to myself and I played in the various jets for about an hour. I was so relaxed afterwards, I could barely stand unaided! Found some interesting ouchy bits, that may warrant further investigation in the future, but it was all mostly idyllic. I even managed to find my scrunchie after it got blown off by a particularly powerful blast! It was truly genius of me to wear a blue scrunchie to get into a blue pool. Sometimes I scare myself. Dad sat by the pool and shouted questions over the noise of the water. He was most perplexed when the steam started condensing on the ceiling and dripping back down onto him!

We have confirmed that tomorrow’s stop in Gibraltar is, indeed, only a half day, and it’s the morning half at that – BOB is 1.30, for pity’s sake, so we are going to skip it. We do like contributing to the economies of British outcrops, but there are limits to our abilities, and frankly, we are probably, neither of us, still quite recovered from Ephesus. Indeed, quite a few people we have spoken to have also decided not to get off tomorrow. I feel bad for Gibraltar’s economy, but rushing around like blue-bottomed insects doesn’t suit this crowd. I’m not sure our other tablemates, Malcolm and Sue, have even disembarked once during this trip. It’s a very laid-back cohort.

My last acupuncture session with Joel was surprisingly painful; much more so than any previous session. I think he wanted to leave me with something to remember him by. I certainly have a fascinating collection of perfectly circular bruises on my lower legs. I actually quite like it when one occasionally hurts. It makes me feel like something is happening. The lack of pain afterwards is an obvious clue, but during, you just have to lie there and hope! At least if I can feel something hurting, I know something is working. And if it hurts, it stops me fidgeting, Which I was not aware I did until now.

The “lasts” have started: last massage, last acupuncture, last port, last formal, etc. We’ve made our list of who gets a tip. Which reminds me, we need to go to Reception for envelopes. It’s a bit more dignified to hand over, rather than just waving pound notes about.

The current muzak in the buffet is What if God Was One of Us, played on a flute and a harmonica. I think the pinnacle (nadir?!) on this cruise was probably Knock Knock Knocking on Heaven’s Door sung as a breathy lullaby. Yikes indeed.

19.05.26

Yesterday was the last formal and today I packed. That’s it. For the whole two days. The rest was eating and sleeping. We gave out our tip envelopes and swapped emails with a few people. My new phone has a very strange quirk. When you add a new contact, it vanishes! I have no idea why or how or how to prevent it. It’s getting faintly ridiculous. I swap info with someone and then I have to chase after them to get it again. I feel like a right muppet. Any suggestions?

The last shorts day was Gibraltar. When we passed through the Pillars of Hercules and turned right, the temperature dropped like a stone. 26 down to 16. So out came the jeans! The forecast tomorrow at home is 20 degrees, which is very confusing. The weather while we have been away has been, apparently, somewhat erratic. Kate Kinsella from BBC weather has done a lovely short piece about how mid-May in the UK is renowned down the centuries for a sudden cold snap, although, unfortunately, she didn’t explain why! We have kept an eye on home, and are well aware of how cold it got.

The sea state has remained ‘virtual millpond’ throughout, until last night. We woke to fair few white horses (force 4?) today, but even they have calmed down as the day has progressed. The usual grey-blue of the Atlantic looks like rumpled silk, its so still. It’s like being in the Doldrums, but without the warmth.

We realised today that, during this entire cruise, not one single announcement has been broadcast through the cabins. So it can be done! You just need the right captain, it seems. You know, one that actually gives a stuff about the passengers. Remember those?! Mercifully, some kind soul has also arranged for the clocks to go back tonight, so we get an extra hour before the 8am cabin eviction. Thinking of the passengers, again?! Careful, P&O Cruises, people will get ideas!

I put all our cases out before dinner, as one is supposed to do. This may be the first time in 27 years I’ve managed it. I usually manage it by about 10pm, but they prefer them by 8. When I got to the table, I was so shattered, I could barely speak, never mind chew. I think, this weekend, I will have a major crash, but I left it free on the assumption I might. Just don’t expect much from me, words-wise! When we got back to the cabin, I realised I had packed all the chargers! Luckily, the cases had only made it as far as the lift lobby collection cages, which are maybe six feet from our cabin, so I nipped out and grabbed back a charger from the vanity case. The list of things I keep finding in the cabin that should have gone in is rather high, but I think we’ll manage.

So ends another cruise. We have had a lovely time on Arcadia, and it has been nice to visit new places and meet old friends and new.  I don’t want to go home yet. Time to look in earnest at making our next booking(s).

*Answer = 28,000

**My answer = 20,000

***Phased Alternating Lines