Monthly Archives: January 2012

Montego Bay, Jamaica

31 Tuesday Jan 2012

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Inserted these pics here of the food carvings on display the chefs put on for us one evening. The most amazing structures all edible and we did! They must have spent hours and hours making these delicious works of art.  I wanted to put in some pics of Noel Coward´s house and Jamaica here but they are not on my memorystick, I´ve left the lead in my cabin, so will try again. Just have.

Trying to catch up with the travels and my posts as we have arrived in Colon at lunchtime and I haven’t written about this place yet so here goes.

‘I shot the sheriff’ was the first thing I heard as we disembarked in Jamaica – the beautiful island.  Embarked on a tour leaving soon after 8am and our guide told us about the pigs on the island, there are lots, hip strip hotels and a local hero  Sam Sharp. She pointed out Usain Bolt’s (the world’s fastest man) school, the William Nibbs as we drove by and with a wave of her hand, where Bob Marley, the reggae hero was born in Hope Road, (there is a bird called the reggae bird).

One of his paintings in his studio

We, however, were on our way to see Noel Coward’s home, Firefly, right up the hill with incredible views across the bay. Seems a bit incongruous to be seeing the famous playwright’s home amongst all this history but it was very interesting. He used to live out here for several months every winter, beside his other homes and his body is buried in the garden beneath a stone plinth; there is a statue of him sitting on a chair contemplating the views. A very modest house with ’30s style furniture, no kitchen, he had his food delivered from down the hillside and housed his numerous celebrity guests at a house down at the foot of the hill. His paintings adorn the walls of Jamaican scenes and are very good. He died here in 1977 and they played us a little film of his life.

The dining table but no kitchen

Photo of his friend on the piano

We passed the famous Rose Hall on the way, famous for a notorious woman who killed her husbands in horrible ways practising voodoo but I won’t go into that now. At one time there were 16,000 slaves on the sugar plantation around here. Later we climbed the Dunn River Falls which was quite a feat, climbing up 960ft on the rocky bed of the waterfall in hazardous conditions. We all held hands in case we slipped and climbed up the rocks in a chain, the weakest first and were able to have little swims in the deeper pools during our ascent. Some of the rocks were smooth but not all of them and there were hidden ones under the surface so it was a good job we had plastic shoes on our feet (had to hire these).  It was very exhilarating but was mortified to find at the start that we had to walk all the way down to the beach in our swimsuits only, which was not nice. Everybody looking at you with our fat wobbly thighs, very exposed. There was a nuisance of a photographer who came up the waterfall all the way with us photographing us slipping and sliding. He was making a video of our climb and charged a lot for the DVD, not sure if anybody bought one.  Enjoyed it though, what an experience.

Our driver put on a calypso CD which was heavenly, very relaxing and a long time since I’ve heard this type of music, Harry Bellafonte in Jamaica somehow lends itself to the atmosphere; and later had a delicious lunch of jerk chicken and noodles and fried rice with cakes for dessert under this ornate chandelier. The island is divided into parishes with all English names and I’m surprised they haven’t changed them. Names like Trelawny, James and St Anne’s parish is the oldest. Our guide sang to us on the bus, she had a lovely voice, and she sang her national anthem and some other songs. You wouldn’t get a Brit to sing their national anthem, let alone know the words.  She taught us a bit of creole patois – ‘me non wan ti” for I don’t want it!, yaman means yes and everything is ‘no problem.’

On our return trip, she wouldn’t let us off the coach at Montego Bay. We drove  straight back to the ship, the port all gated and we had to show our passes to a port guard who came on the bus. There is a lot of poverty here and drug taking and you get offered drugs if you walk along the street apparently. We were being kept away from this and were warned not to go out alone and you get to feel afraid.

Jamaica is a beautiful island, green covered hills with lush vegetation everywhere and wonderful colourful flowers. One hundred and forty-six miles long, limestone rock with a population of three million, ninety percent of whom are African descent. The Arawak Indians were the indigenous peoples and Columbus brought the Spanish much later. In colonial times it was of course a huge slave island with vast sugar plantations where they lived miserable lives if at all. Runaway Bay is named after the runaway slaves and there is a mountainous area called the ‘cockpit’ in the centre of the island where escaped slaves congregated and lived in the wild, becoming guerillas. They formed a community up here and it became a hideout and refuge from the slave owners; it was where the Rastafarian culture and religion was born in the 1930’s with the cultures of King of Kings, Ras of Ale, Lion of Judah. They didn’t eat any meat, had many wives and the colours of their flag all denote something, eg red for blood, yellow for wealth, green for? can’t remember now. The gangia weed is consumed which is illegal but nevertheless consumed widely.  Now they export bauxite, a red dirt which is processed abroad and blue mountain coffee and yams and bananas among other things. Our guide told us so many facts on the way out, I can only remember half of them but strangely on our return journey, she didn’t say a word, probably she’d had enough.

Bought a Jamaican dress blue and yellow with words ‘Dunn River Falls’ where I’d climbed, Montego Bay and palm trees and wore it to the leaving party that evening. A whole lot of passengers got off and the same number more or less got on, so we’ve had to say goodbye to some lovely people sadly. The temperature here is absolutely ideal and perfect around 80 degree F very balmy and the air is soft. It is wonderful walking around the deck after being inside with the cold air conditioning.

Rumour went round the other day, as we left New Orleans, one of the crew jumped ship! apparently he was a security person, he must be desperate poor bloke, but this is only rumour of course, so not confirmed.

 Saw frigate birds this morning and about 20 boobies as we neared the island and here are a couple of pics courtesty of Moss Taylor. The top is the masked booby looking for flying fish, so-called because of the black marking around it’s face.

Susan, we have arrived here in Colon and again it’s a dangerous place so told not to go further than the dock.  It’s much more humid here. I have read all your comments, I hope you can get the house finished soon, why not just choose plain white, we do instead of all the different tones of white, the cheapest. I’m going to try and put some photos on here, so here goes. They speak Spanish here and I’ve completely forgotten all my spanish and forgot the dictionary as well. Hasta luego!

View from Coward's home

Wooden ceiling of our restaurant

Galverston, USA

28 Saturday Jan 2012

Posted by in Johnson Space Centre, Houston

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Mission control room at Johnson Space Centre

Docking at Galverston on a grey morning

On our tram tour showing main buildings

‘Houston, we have a problem’   said Captain Jim Lovell aka Tom Hanks from the Apollo 13 spaceship on that fateful trip of April 1970. His historic words (immortalised by the film) were heard at the mission control centre, now known as the Johnson Space Centre, the same place I actually visited three days ago. How exciting is that? This was the very room with the map of the world and the computer display screens all lined up I was seeing from the spectator gallery.

They didn’t have any computer mice in those days so they could only watch the screens. And amazingly, the power to bring back the astronauts from their failed mission to land on the moon from outer space in the LMB was the equivalent of an electric kettle.  It was from this room that they controlled all the Apollo and Gemini missions plus others from 1965-1995. The Orion capsule is the next one they are working on and we heard about the International Space Station. Couldn’t believe I was actually here. The ability to stay calm and in control in a crisis is one I certainly admire and is obviously vital for a pilot or astronaut.

The tram tour took us round the site in-between torrential downpours and lightening where the buildings are concrete bunkers to withstand nuclear threat and a hurricane. These open-sided tram cars proved a bit of a hazard for those sitting on the outside seats as they got a slosh of rainwater from the canopy as we rounded corners. Luckily for me I was sitting in the middle. Going round we saw the massive rockets that transported the astronauts into space with engines, so enormous, hard to take in.

Inside the main museum there are lots of differents bits, like a simulator and moon rocks and loads of info, very interesting. School parties make up a large percentage of the visitors to this place and we heard on the news that it will be closed down sometime in the future. What a shame that would be. Birdwise, saw some grackells in the top of the trees, black with long tails and making weird noises, not a mocking bird and heard dozens of frogs croaking. It had poured down earlier somebody said a tornado, but thought they were exaggerating a bit.

There was a copy of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation on display in the museum, apparently one the female astronauts loved reading sci fi which led to her ambition to go into space. Has anyone read it? Maybe we can for the book club. FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION

Haven’t written anything about Galverston itself, that’s because I didn’t go there,  all day was taken up with my trip to the space station and didn’t see Houston either. Other passengers who had didn’t seem that enthused. They found the public library where they could use the free internet  and tried to stay away from the downpours and thunder and lightening, so I don’t think I missed much.

Ship feels a bit  ‘wobbly’ at the moment as if you’re sitting on a giant jelly or balloon, you can feel this on the higher decks which is quite interesting and is rather nice. My cabin because of being midship is very stable and I don’t get the wobbly feelings which is a bit of a shame.

We have been at sea now for three days after leaving Galverston and arrive in Jamaica tomorrow morning. On one of these nights we were treated to the most fantastic light display I’ve ever seen. It started with patches of sky on the horizon lit up with lightening. Great white sheets spread out with fork lightening zigzagging across the sky, angry looking, going down into the sea.  Flashing every few seconds and you could see the clouds above it and then clear sky with stars. Very dramatic, not a sound of thunder, just very eery and quiet. Expecting the storm to come towards us, it never did, but later it spread right across the bow of the ship in one long line across the horizon and went on for hours. I left the curtains open in my cabin and was watching it as I fell asleep. A truly spectacular light show.

We crossed the Gulf of Mexico and the Yucatan peninsular where the air temp was 79℉ and sea 27℉ , so could have swum in this with the equatorial current pushing us along and a deep deep sea of 5,500 meters – wow!  Seeing pieces of green Saragossa seaweed in long strands floating past our ship. This seaweed holds the tiny eggs of baby eels which float all the way from here right across the Atlantic to our shores. It finds it’s way down the English Channel, round the coast of Norfolk and through the inlet into the lake at Holkham Hall. I remember reading about this fantastic journey on a walk round the lake one summer from the wildlife information boards dotted around the lake.

Jamaica, here we come – cruising at 15 knots or thereabouts where we will arrive tomorrow morning at 6am. Heard a very interesting lecture this morning by Johnny Beerling from Radio One about the songs and life of Roy Orbison and so Blue Bayou is playing in my head, I didn’t realise he had written Pretty Woman, thought it was Elvis. Goodness this dates me doesn’t it. Well Tally Ho,  I’m off for cocktails and dinner soon.

 

New Orleans, Louisiana

26 Thursday Jan 2012

Posted by in New Orleans

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Our passage to New Orleans through the Gulf of Mexico was dotted with oil rigs and cargo ships passing us by. At night the rigs are lit up with tiers of lights like a cake. We had to have a pilot to guide us up the Mississippi, 100 miles from the mouth to New Orleans itself and awoke around 7am to mist and greyness and cranes lining the wharves each side of the ship. It was very gloomy and scrubby along the banks with broken roofs and very industrial, not at all what I expected. The river is called the ‘old muddy’ and I can see why. Very brown and murky and deep in the centre with a big current, fatal if you fall in. Tug boats, dredgers and cargoes were passing us with names like Hiawatha and Spindle Top. We birthed in Julia Street dock, opposite a long mall called Riverwalk which was fantastic, not like our malls, very interesting and everybody very friendly with an outside walk right into town. I spent two hours  in an internet cafe trying to get my posts out to you so I hope you all appreciate it! Had a devil of a job importing the photos, anyway about New Orleans.

First time I’ve been here and streets very quiet. A lot of people have left since Katrina and just not returned so our guide told us. We toured the French Quarter with lovely balconied brick houses and the old warehouses converted into homes. Lots of wrought iron with plants trailing from the balconies above street level. Streets badly  need repairing though and it has an air of dilapidation. The design of some of the houses is called keyhole, two fitting into each other neatly. I took a walking tour but it was more standing than walking and our guide was nice but very slow so didn’t see some important places. There is a square called Congo Square here where the slaves used to gather and dance and where jazz first originated. This place has loads of history, first founded in 1699 by the French, named after Duc d’Orleans, I’m sure yall know. She told us about the terrible yellow fever that killed 14,000 at one time, as it was a swamp and very unhealthy.

Out in evening with a group to Bourbon Street, very touristy and not much jazz until we walked to Frenchman’s Street and heard different types there. One place was too noisy for me, had to resort to writing messages to someone because it was too loud. But another bar there was a great trumpet player, they, however, finished playing about ten minutes after we arrived. Back on board they had a trad jazz band playing who were fantastic.

We’ve been passing above an area called the Lightering Areas to be avoided which are areas of sea which involve the transfer between vessels of oil and other hazardous material and are restricted and should be given a wide birth. Key West is Area to be Avoided because of risk of pollution and damage to environment, no wonder the sea was so clear and lovely there. The map on the wall is replaced as we move on and I find it fascinating. It has a little model of our ship and drawn in pencil lines straight as a dye to our next destination. It’s funny how we are travelling in straight lines. It has depth of sea in metres and currents and loads of info.

I can’t believe the number of oil rigs around here, so many and we had thick fog last night and this morning. They closed the dock and we had to wait outside for the fog to lift. It’s such a change from where we’ve been so far and quite cool today. We had torrential rain in Galverston and Houston today, but I’ll send another post about them. I always seem to be behind with this blog because of the way we are travelling. It’s now 6.30 in the evening and we are just about to leave port. I’m writing this from the ship and will have to go now. Andy I am missing you and have just had texts from Emily as I’ve put more money in my phone. Wish I had an iphone and laptop, would make all this a darn site easier.

Have a good day everyone and keep the comments coming!

j

Key West, USA

23 Monday Jan 2012

Posted by in Key West, Florida

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Great excitement and drama leaving Key West. Was up on deck 7 watching the preparations for leaving. Over the tannoy, a couple of people or cabin numbers still not returned to the ship. We were looking out for anybody running along quayside, but nothing and we started moving away from the dock. There was a little boat which had picked up the men from the concrete posts where two ropes had been tied to. Suddenly the couple appeared who had been missing. They were picked up by the small boat, two life jackets were thrown down to them and the rope ladder, used for the pilot, was hoisted over the side of the ship and they had to climb up it into the ship as we were both moving. Cheers went up from the on-lookers and people clapping etc. Unbelievable, they were so lucky getting on the ship, if the little boat hadn’t been there they wouldn’t have had a chance. Apparently their watches were an hour out so they had miscalculated. I guess we have been making a lot of time changes as we travel west.

Key West is fabulous. Lots of those clap-board wooden houses painted in pastels with big balconies all the way round and deep verandahs, very southern. The front and back door are aligned to get the through draught.  Luxuriant gardens with palms and exotic trees and shrubs providing the much-needed cool. Duvall Street, one of the main streets is full of shops of all sorts. Saw a man with his hairless cat sitting on his shoulder, the cat with sunglasses cooly watching everybody go past. We took a trolley bus which goes all around the island past beaches and various buildings. Hemmingway’s house is much visited, a huge pale yellow house with lime green shutters and gorgeous garden but we didn’t go in (see above). The whole place has a hippyish feel, you could laze about, doing not much and just enjoying life. There are boat rides in the glass-bottomed boats, snorkelling and fishing trips to be had. The marina has huge expensive boats moored, our ship was moored at Mallory Quay. Loads of tourists around the quayside and walking around the busy streets.

It was beautiful leaving as well, apart from the excitement, the sea so calm and blue  and lots of smart sailing boats seeing us off. We have to leave before sunset because a ship our size obscures the view of the sunset we were told! There was a party on board, with people dancing, music playing and rum punches again! All very nice indeed.

We were invited to a cabin party the other day, thirteen of us squeezed into a fellow passenger’s single cabin which was actually quite big. He had smuggled on board all sorts of booze and used his stainless steel waste bin as an ice bucket. Strictly forbidden.

Getting into this country is incredibly protracted. It took hours and hours for us all to get clearance from the ship to disembark. They did it deck by deck. You had to queue to get your green card stamped and show passport and esta form and so we didn’t have very long in this place. The authorities came on board and checked everything and’ looking in cupboards and all over the ship, thought they were looking for stowaways.

Nice man and woman have helped me with these, what a sweat. A couple of views of Key West and me doing my weight lifting at the gym, only on sea days. Bye for now from ship’s blog.

Grand Turk

23 Monday Jan 2012

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This is the view of sunset from my cabin window! Because I´m starboard, I haven´t had any sunrises nor sunsets but managed this one.Feels like aons since my last post as so much has happened. Arrived on this tiny island, only seven miles long from Toortola. We birthed early in the morning to a tiny quayside and acres of turqoise sea. A long beach with blue and white striped loungers under palms with powder-fine sand.

You walk off the ship into an enormous shopping open-air precinct with loads of clothes (again) and tourist stuff but nothing useful. Got a taxi to the town which is very spread out and empty looking. There are a couple of salt pans now disused, they used to export salt to the US but everything has to be imported now. It was terribly hot and I eventually found an internet place with a very helpful local guy who got me sorted. Found, somehow, an enormous warehouse supermarket called Cee’s, “where one call gets it all”. Very laid-back island and then snorkelled off the beach and saw the most amazing sights. The rock fell away just on the edge of the boundary and there was a line of about ten black cuttlefish, lined up alongside each other like sentries all facing the same way. I could see their enormous white eyes with a black centre and they looked quite alarming at first. Their tentacles held out in front and a frill around their middles keeping them stationary. There were lots of other fish, pretty pale pink with yellow stripes and I suddenly found myself surrounded by these and nibbling my toes. I saw a dark grey eel coming out from its hole in the rock and tiny electric blue and black fish darting everywhere. There was an huge old anchor and chain and canon lying on the bottom. Incredible, and this wasn’t even a snorkelling tour. In fact I don’t snorkel, I just wear my goggles and hold my breath and swim about and it’s just as good, although I may try again sometime.

There was a lovely beach bar with music and rum punches again. We had to get back on board too soon though.

We had a day at sea then and we passed through the Old Bahama Channel where the water was 500 metres deep, so quite shallow compared with other places. We could see the coast of Cuba off our port side which stretched for a long time. I hadn’t realised it is such a big island and you could see trees strung out along a stretch of land. Hardly seen any wildlife for some time. Keep missing the dolphins, our Captain told us they were port side and to go and look but they’d gone by the time I got out there. Just flying fish and once I saw the spume from a whale. No birds, no ships, no planes, really weird.

Haven’t been feeling marvellous, got a sort of sore throat and not 100%, everybody says it’s the air-conditioning and loads of people have a cough. I managed to speak to our Captain about it and he said the air is not circulated, it’s fresh air coming in the ship and stale going out but he would check my section. This morning an engineer came and has adjusted the airflow so it’s more evenly spread. What service! I also changed beds to my day-bed so I’m not directly under it and feel fine now.

Trying again to import some photos. Everywhere I go there’s a different arrangement and am having difficulties again.

Tortola, British Virgin Islands

19 Thursday Jan 2012

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Hi, everyone. Since my last post from St Maarten, been to this island and now arrived early this morning at Grand Turk of Grand Turk and Caicos.

Swam in a warm sea and sheltered bay at Tortola, a public beach for over an hour as the water was so warm and dark grey pelicans were diving into the water around catching fish. It was idyllic and didn’t want to get out. There was a main street with bars and cafes lining it and smaller streets everyone other one a jewellery shop behind the beach. It’s very easy to get muddled with which island now because we stopped two days running with one day at sea between. Yesterday at sea there was a real swell which was very soothing and everytime I sat down on deck, fell asleep. We sailed through the Puerto Rican trench,  nearly 9000 metres deep and had the equatorial current coming up causing the deep swell. Star gazing last night with the Captain and his laser beam pointing out the stars, Jupiter to our bow and the plough to starboard. When the lights are turned out you can see the starry heavens above and it’s awesome.

Must tell you – took a ride on a catamaran out over Francis Drake Passage to Normans island for snorkelling. Supposed to be Treasure Island of the book which I’ve just read. Was great, an hour out and I swam with a turtle, not a dolphin. He came up to me to investigate and then took some breaths and sank down to the bottom. Purple fan coral and small fishes swimming about the rocks, it was great. Saw herons on the top of trees at a little beach and tiny yellow fish darting everywhere. Going at 12 knots on the return journey skimming the waves and getting wet but great fun after our rum punches. A lot of people didn’t get off the catamaran at all, just stayed for the ride.

Seen masked boobies – gannet type birds which divebomb the sea to catch their dinner, small white fish, maybe flying fish.  We had several circling our ship and gliding on the thermals looking around, very peaceful.

That’s all for now folks, like my photos? I’m off for a swim. Next stop is Key West, thanks for all your comments, great to read.

 

Arrived in St Maarten

16 Monday Jan 2012

Posted by in Crossing the Atlantic

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After six days at sea we arrived this morning at 6am to this island of the Caribbean which is half Dutch and half French. We dock in the Dutch end and it was strange waking up to see a green mountain and another huge ship slowly docking just a few metres away from ours.

I loved the time at sea, not like some people who had cabin fever and were longing to get to land. The motion of the ship, the ever-changing sea is fascinating, and the skies got more incredible as we went with the Trade Winds and the current. The temperature has rsen day after day and it’s about 25 degrees today. In the evening you can actually see the sun sinking into the ocean really fast, a golden ball, above are blue/grey clouds with bits of pink and red, really spectacular. We’ve had about four hours added as we crossed the Atlantic and seen nothing apart from sea, no other ships, planes, birds, a bit of seaweed from the Sargasso and just the flying fish. I did see what I thought was a large green plastic bag floating just under the surface, apparently it was a green turtle! which I’d had a closer look. 

We’ve been going about 17 knots which is why it’s taken so long and I’ve seen flying fish lately, they come up under the bow, glide across the sea and plop back in. They look like white moths flitting about and are very pretty. They’re escaping their predators apparently, bigger fish and some skip over the water like a skimming pebble.

There’s a fabulous brand new ship docked alongside us with young crew dressed in white shirts and beige shorts. It’s gleaming and obviously very new and we are all wondering who the owner is, there’s not a passenger in sight.

Our lovely captain had us star gazing last night on the top deck. He turned out all the lights and pointed his laser to the different constellations. Unfortunately it was a bit hazy but says we’ll have another go tonight.

We’ve got a tropical night tonight on board with a steel band and they are selling in the shop all these Hawaii style shirts as we’e supposed to get dressed up. The last one was a nautical theme and just about ev erybody wore their stipey tops, and some had dressed as pirates, quite hilarious.

Been out here walkng around the streets, full of jewellery and diamond shops, for the Americans someone said but it’s terribly hot and the sun is very strong so I’m trying to stay out of it which is difficult. I shall have a local rum punch which is made with guava berries and sounds good.

I’ve got my camera lead this time but forgotten my camera, so apologise, no photos yet but this keyboard is hellish, it keep missing letters. I’m in the port internet room and writing this is a hurry. Can hear a steel band playing outside, there are loads of passengers everywhere from the two other ships docked here as well, enormous ships. We saw the news about the one in Italy, but our captain knows what he is doing.

Just off for a swim in the turqoise sea, there’s a little bay right here by the town which looks very safe and there are frigate birds diving in alongside the swimmers.

It’s lovely to get your messages and read them, feel in touch but haven’t had one from you Andy, where are you? My phone doesn’t work out here, only text messages.

Going to try and send this now but next time will get some pictures hopefully. Our next stop is Tortola where I’m going snorkelling so won’t have time to send anything and only a short time on the island, so bye for now.

Ship`s (blog) …goodbye Southampton and hello Tenerife

09 Monday Jan 2012

Posted by in Tenerife, Uncategorized

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Ship`s (b)log  for today, just arrived on this beautiful island Tenerife in the Canaries after four days at sea. Left Southampton in the middle of winter to arrive here, temp is 74℉ and hot sun.  But first…….

Leaving Southampton docks at dusk

It was quite rough at first especially through the Solent and out to sea. Very strong wind blowing all the way down the Channel and the ship was jarring underneath when a big wave hits it.

Ship's bow heading out to Atlantic

Spent the first day getting used to being at sea and the movements of the boat but Bay of Biscay was calm and very smooth. Our captain Olav comes onto the tannoy twice a day and tells us all the co-ordinates and temps and sea depth etc with a reminder to put on suntan lotion which is useful. He is Norweigian and his daughter is on board as well so feel extra safe!  We´ve travelled 3,750 miles to get here and the colour of the sea has changed from a deep inky blue and grey to much lighter blue, so calm you could swim in it.

Deck 7 where you can walk all round ship

We had a lifeboat drill a shortly after we embarked and found our cabins. This consisted of taking our life-jackets, two in my cabin to my muster station. There is a diagram of this on the back of my cabin door and is located in the Palms cafe on deck 7 so I managed to find it and gave my cabin number to the crew who are assigned to the station. My lifeboat is No 10, you have to proceed in an orderly fashion to the lifeboat in an emergency. Don’t think about it Fran. They showed us how to put on our life-jackets correctly, they are bright orange and have a headrest, light and whistle and quite snug. Thank goodness for that because Kate Winslett needed a whistle to alert the rescue  lifeboat, so feel a bit happier about that. You can see from the photo above the inflatable covered rafts which also hold extra passengers.

You can see why I love it

There´s so much to do on board from attending lectures about various things, went to the ornithologist´s talk and what to watch out for at sea, saw a petrel flying low over the sea, to bridge lessons, ballroom dancing classes, gym, yoga, pilates, etc etc.

One of my favourite walks is round the whole ship on deck 7. Four circuits of the deck is equivalent to one mile and the views are terrific, just the sea and sky and the endless horizon. It has become very popular however so gets it a bit crowded at certain times of the day. I do a quick circuit before breakfast and then later before going to the gym for my workout and then again at dusk when it´s quieter. Some people are walking masses, like five miles and more twice a day – to work off all those meal probably.

The bridge and gym above from the ship's bow

I´ve had a session with the physical trainer who has started me off on a programme, so I´ll have to keep it up. Plus endless walking up and down flights of stairs to get to the restaurants and talks, is making my legs ache. This all sounds terribly active and have been running around too much. The ship is vast, still haven´t found my way to all parts yet, but slowly getting the hang of it.

The other passengers on my dinner table, seven of us are very easy to get on with and fun, four of us are going the whole way, there´s a mother and daughter who get off in Jamaica and fly back. We have a Dutchman who is very jolly and is sending a blog or report to a newspaper in Holland, but says he´s not a journalist and another man who is a yacht skipper.

We are stopping at Jamaica after all, so that will be good, quite a few passengers leave here after 25 days cruise. Our captain leaves us in Callo, Peru with his daughter so I hope we´ll have someone else to step in. He´s been very sociable, attending cocktail parties and is around the ship talking  to everyone, but not allowed to shake anybody´s hands, strictly forbidden because of cleanliness rules. They are taking every precaution against this Norovirus which is a good thing because it apparently spreads like wildfire through the ship. There are videos and information sheets and you have to clean your hands before entering the restaurants.

I´m having to write this with difficulty in an internet room because they charge a fortune on the boat, so these will have to be done from wherever I land. Forgot my lead for the camera as well, so unfortunately no photos for this post, but will try next time. As you can see, put these in retrospectively.

The food is fabulous, I´ve been having egg and bacon every morning plus lunch plus three or four course dinner with wine. So really have to keep up the exercise regime.  Now that I´ve made some of you jealous, I´ll sign off as must get out and see the city. Next time will be in about five days time because our next leg is acros the Atlantic to West Indies – St Maarten. Bye for now

PS I’ve checked where my lifeboat is located, it’s hanging securely above deck 7 and looks very large.

Destinations

02 Monday Jan 2012

Posted by in Getting Ready

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The Balmoral is on it’s maiden South American voyage and I’m listing all the countries and places we are travelling to. We slip away from the docks at Southampton on 5th January 2012 and here goes:

Canaries, Santa Cruz Tenerife, across Atlantic to St Maarten, Philipsburg in the Caribbean, British Virgin islands, Tortola, Turks & Caicos islands, then USA, New Orleans, Galveston for Houston, across the Gulf of Mexico to Jamaica, Montego Bay not Ocho Rios then Colon and through the Panama Canal into the Pacific ocean. Turn right up the west cost of central America to Puntarenas, Costa Rica, Corinto, Nicaragua, Acajutla, El Salvador.  Then we double-back down the west cost of South America, stopping at Manta, Ecuador.  Peru for two nights, at Callao for Lima then Chile, all these different places called Arica, Coquimbo, Valparaiso, Castro, Puerto Chacabuco.  Cruising the Chilean Fjords to Puenta Arenas and round Cape Horn I hope, at the bottom of the world, unless we go through the Beagle Channel.

This is the Southern Ocean where Ellen MacArthur sailed solo during her world race, reputedly very rough and scary but we will be in a big boat. Up the east coast of South America, towards the east and stopping at Port Stanley, Falkland islands. Then back towards the continent to Montevideo, Uruguay and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Next Brazil, Santos, for Sao Paulo, Ilhabela, then Rio for an overnight stop, another Salvador this one in Brazil, Recife, Fortaleza, down the Amazon to Santarem and back up to the coast. Heading east across the Atlantic stopping at Mindelo, Cape Verde islands and Funchal, Madeira and lastly home to Southampton.

An epic voyage and one I’m really looking forward to.

New Year preparations

02 Monday Jan 2012

Posted by in Getting Ready

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Not long to go now. Been dashing round shops for last minute stuff but end up taking things back as I don’t like them. Trying to get enough dresses and evening wear for all those formal nights. Had a Kindle for Christmas from A so have been busy down-loading free books and well as buying some. Having to deal with all this technology is a pain but I’m doggedly persisting. It’s lovely to be able to read more or less anything you fancy at the touch of a button. I’ve already read our last bookgroup book girls on my Kindle, so how’s that for speed?

Thought I’d include a few facts about my ship, the Balmoral of the Fred.Olsen line. All their ships begin with the letter ‘B’ for some reason and instead of the usual emphasis on the first ‘mor’ of moral, I like the different one which is on the last ‘al’ which makes the name sound totally different.  I heard this from a royalist American hack after Princess Di’s death and like the sound better.

Her tonnage is 43,537 grt, length 218.18 metres, beam 28.2 metres, draught 11 metres, (this is the part under the water) speed 20 knots, she can take 1350 passengers and 510 crew. She was refitted in 2008 and I had read somewhere that she was cut in two and an extra piece put in the middle or midship, where my cabin is. So fingers crossed that the welder did a good job! My home for the next three months.

Bear with me, I shall endeavour to post a couple of photos – one of me wearing a present from P which she embellished for when I run into difficulties. The next one is a photo of my great grandfather John Cahill who was a Lieutenant Commander of the Royal Navy MBE 1864-1926. I don’t know much about him except he was from Cork and was on a trainer ship in Devonport and like to think my excitement of being at sea comes from him.

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