Madeira was a beautiful place, very European with great food and beautiful architecture and scenery. But our visit was short, and after only a day in port we were off to sea again!
The following morning, January 15, we arrived in Tenerife, Canary Islands for our third port of call since January 4. By now we had begun to develop a daily rhythm. We had learned to like breakfast in our stateroom so we can have a gentle start to the day. There are 2500 passengers on board, and approximately 1500 crew members! It also keeps us away from all the tempting breakfast extras so we have a prayer of fitting into our same clothing when we arrive home! After getting ready for the day it was off for a lecture, or to the planetarium for some fun educational viewing, the library, or laying in the sun!
On port days, though, we get up and speed through our routine – especially if there is a tour. While we have done a few tours it is our style to explore on our own. It is pretty easy to find a taxi or a private driver near the ship’s berth for the most part. For long days we hire, through Cunard, a driver/car to take us to the places we are most interesed in.
Tenerife was a bus tour day and it included more mountainous, twisty/turny and narrow roads. We laughed at the precariousness of it all and were relieved when we arrived at a small village where lunch with wine and local cheese was waiting for us. We stopped at a local market and bought pistachios, almonds and spices. Then back on the road to wind our way (different roads) back to the port and the ship.
Now we were in for a long, long passage. 8 days at sea while we crossed the Atlantic Ocean to the east towards Africa! This was a very big passage, with our first port of call in Africa to be Walvis Bay, Namibia.
We spent our days moving around the boat, exercising, doing yoga and meeting new people. Our tablemates were wonderful: 6 Brits and us at a table for eight. We dress formally for dinner about every 3rd night and cocktail attire for all other nights. We had lots of fun at this table, and our companions were with us until Capetown, South Africa. There are also nights when we just dine in or room for some privacy and to enjoy dinner on the balcony as the world slides by.
We had a wonderful time sliding ever southward and eastward. We had an especially fun day when crossing the equator. Neither of us had crossed the equator previously, so we were ready for the fun and games of going from being a ‘Polliwog’ to a ‘Shellback’. I dressed in old shorts, and one of Ken’s T-shirt’s as advised. This was definitely going to be quite a messy event and we were forewarned. Ken cheered me on! There was a wonderful ceremony with speeches made by Captain Wells, his senior officers, and Neptune, who appeared to judge and sentence the newcomers to his kingdom. Our punishment and admission was to be led to chairs and doused with pudding, cold spaghetti, sauces, whipped cream and other junk which felt gross, lol. After the crew finished covering us with gunk we were marched to the pool to jump In and rinse off the worst of the goop. Certificates were awarded and off we headed to the showers. Although I thought the goop was pretty well removed in the pool I was very surprised to discover a few stray pieces of spaghetti on the floor of the shower. I don’t even want to think about where they might have been hiding.
We continued our journey to Namibia, but things took a serious turn one day. As we sunned ourselves we realized the sun was ‘moving’ and we had changed direction. The captain announced via loudspeaker that we had a critically ill passenger and we were re-directing to Dakar. It was sobering and we watched as a water ambulance reached the ship and our fellow shipmate was handed over and taken to the hospital. We spent hours in the harbor watching Dakar from afar before heading back to sea. We felt and feel very lucky that we have been so healthy and able to enjoy this wonderful experience!
More to follow, with pics as soon as we are able to figure out that little detail, lol.
QM2 2018 World Tour 