Gran Canaria

Friday 5th December

Both Jenny and I had difficulty waking this morning but managed to meet up again for breakfast at 9:00 in the restaurant. It was strange to only be able to talk to Judith by phone! She described her Norovirus experience as 6 hours of unpleasantness followed by 2 days of boredom!

We set off walking into town, hunting for the bus to take us to the old part. It was not quite as I expected from the internet, but we finally found the bus stop and a bus station to buy tickets. There was a queue taking about half an hour but we had acquaintances from the ship who helped us to buy tickets. We needed either the number 1 or 12 bus. While in the queue to get on the bus itself, we found we could have bought tickets there instead of queuing up. It may have cost more but it would have been better than spending ages in line.

There was very little to see, and I did not feel inspired to take loads of photos. We had coffee sitting in the shade (could not find a seat in the sun) and then I visited the cathedral. I loved the open spaces (seats only in the centre aisle) and the sun shining through the modern windows (circles of coloured glass in a larger pane) to put rainbows on the stone pillars. It was a lovely space, not too ornate.

Jenny wanted lunch, so ordered spaghetti carbonara. She had to send back her first plate because the bacon was more gristle than meat, and it was swimming in butter. The second plate was better. I was happy with my banana bread and ate it as we walked along.

We caught the bus back to the ship and were on it in time for afternoon tea.

Both Jenny and I were tired and decided to go to dinner in the King’s Court at 7.30. It was pleasant enough. Jenny had to leave in a hurry, with pains in her stomach. She rushed back to her room. She decided it was the result of the lunchtime food, rather than the Norovirus, as she felt much better once she had emptied herself. However, she stayed away from dancing.

I did not get down until 9:45 when the dancing started. Because it was a formal night, the room was full. We played musical chairs for a while, with me sitting in the seat of any of my friends who was asked to dance! After the demonstration there were plenty of available seats.

Santa Cruz de la Palma

Saturday 6th December

I had left a note with Jenny to phone me when she got up, so we could go to breakfast together and then out exploring. That ended up being close to 10am. I had woken several times but was happy to go back to sleep.

Jenny and I set out to explore the town. We walked along the promenade and stopped for coffee when it rained. We then walked higher in the town and found a wonderful shopping street parallel to the promenade but two streets up. We were sorry we had not found it first, for coffee. Jenny bought some shoes but they did not fit me. I enjoyed the quaint architecture. On the way back to the ship we stopped at the port and sat in the sun.  Glorious!

I took my jam (from breakfast) and clotted cream along to afternoon tea. The waiter, who had previously seemed very unhelpful, told me that they could fetch that sort of jam for me any time if I preferred it. Also, if I asked for clotted cream they could bring it for me. That is worth knowing for the future. He actually went off to check the information for me.

Once again my key had demagnetised and I had to go to the Purser’s office to get a new one. Of course I looked in the Swarovski shop on my way. Time passed very quickly and it was soon 7pm and I had to get ready to meet Jenny for dinner. Once again we went to the King’s Court. 

After dinner I had hoped to meet Vi for coffee but she was tired and had taken dinner in her room and did not intend to dance. I went to the Queen's Room with Jenny but I knew I would not be staying, and didn’t even have dance shoes on or party night clothes. I was not prepared to waste a lot of energy in modern dancing, just standing and shaking everything! Besides, the modern band plays very loud music. I stayed until 9:45 when Vibz started playing, and then returned to my room to catch up on things and relax. Unfortunately I could still hear the vibrations from Vibz in my room. It might have been a problem if I’d gone to bed straight away but it was fine while I read. I got to bed about midnight.

Lanzarote

Sunday 7th December

I had arranged to meet Vi at 11am in order to explore with her. Outside the ship, she met some friends who advised us to take a taxi instead of the shuttle bus. The bus would cost $4.50 each way but would leave us about ten minutes' walk from the shops. A taxi would cost €8 each way and would take us right to the shops. We checked the price with the taxi driver before getting in, but the journey was a bit of a battle. He kept wanting to take us to see the volcano instead. We kept saying ‘Shops’. Eventually we got there.

Vi loves shopping but forgets what she has and often never wears the things she has bought. They get taken to charity shops without ever having been worn. We explored the shops and found a few items that she liked and a dark green top in Zara that I bought. 

We sat outside with a revolting cup of coffee each (whipped cream and cinnamon on top!) while I accessed the internet. I had purposely bought an iPad mini so that it would fit in my bag on port visits, but hadn't had a chance to use it off the ship before this.

We then walked down to the shore and sat in the sun to eat rolls and banana bread (taken from the ship’s buffet) and just enjoy the warmth. It was all so different from the cold of the UK. I had been warned that there was not much to see in Lanzarote. It's great for water sports but not much else. We were onboard by 2.30.

Judith was finally out of her cabin, and I managed to catch up with her at afternoon tea. Some restrictions still applied: she could not visit the crowded buffet for another two days. Waiter service must be that little bit safer if there is any chance of passing on an infection.

Of course I went dancing that evening. I arrived about 9:30. The sea was rather rough at times and we were dancing uphill and downhill.

All at sea

Monday 8th December

I slept in until midday as usual. I’d woken quite a few times but I was happy to go back to sleep. I felt ready to wake up properly by just before midday.

Jenny, Judith and I had lunch together in the Britannia restaurant and arranged to meet up at 3pm (after Jenny’s line dancing) to explore the ship. I especially wanted to see the outside glass lifts. Somehow we missed Judith, so only Jenny and I got to explore. We went up and down in both glass lifts; we walked through the Commodore Club; we found the higher decks closed because of high winds; we tried walking in the sun around the main deck but after being blown towards the railings we gave that up; we sat by the pool under the glass ceiling until afternoon tea time.

When I dressed for dinner, I found that the work I’d done shortening straps on the petticoat of my pink long dress was all for nothing. The petticoat showed about 8cms at the neckline. I hastily unpicked. Vi and I went down to dinner for the first time in ages. We had a few laughs between ourselves.

I went down to dancing at 9:30 and found a fantastic position at the front, near the side stairs, so a bit further from the band than usual. I was all alone for most of the night. Jenny and Judith came down at 11:30, after dinner and the show. I had far more dances than usual. I think some Dance Hosts find it difficult when a group of ladies sit together; they ask one or two and then think they have been to that group and need to move on to another section of the ballroom. (Other Hosts find it easier and work methodically around the group.) 

Being alone, I was asked for 5 dances (and had refused one with Paul) in the first 35 minutes! I must have had about 12 dances all night, the most I’ve ever had. Three of them were with Constantinos. Perhaps I should cruise alone more often?