Tales of the Sea

We cast off from Malaga and headed for Funchal.  We thought.  At sea, our favorite Captain Stan (Stanislaus Mercier De Lacombe) got to deliver the news that the weather sucked (big tropical storm) and we were deviating to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands to take on fuel and then it would be nine days at sea, straight to Miami.  With plenty of rough seas.  Goody.  So much for Bermudan Thanksgivings.  

We don't have pictures of Las Palmas because there was so much spray in the air, but the surfers love the place.  And, we got out of there just in time.  Check out this video of what happened when the storm got there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRg6yJg2lKM

The Captain and the Cruise Director did something new enroute.  They made really good "Weather Channel" tapes so that we could keep up via TV.  That's how we knew about the storm videos.

OK.  So.  We spent about 35 hours rocking and rolling before it finally calmed down, but there was enough motion still for a person to feel a lot of vibration from the engine pods in the aft section.  One afternoon, we were sitting in the Horizon Lounge, which suddenly stopped vibrating and went dead still.  Gee, it really calmed down, we thought.  After a couple of minutes we decided that something was wrong...too quiet.  And we seemed to be turning, hard.  

We intrepid sailors were right.  Here came the announcement:  we have spotted a lifeboat on the port side and we're going to investigate, maybe put a rescue team overboard.  We circled the boat, which was the ejection type (think Captain Phillips) that are on cargo ships. The hatch was open, and it was floating semi submerged.  We got real close and sounded the whistle.  No response.  

Captain Stan could read the name of the ship it belonged to, and got on the radio.  The ship was in Croatia with everyone accounted for.  We got straightened out and again set off for Miami.  We found out later, from the Portuguese Coast Guard, that the lifeboat had been lost, last April, from a Chemical Tanker in the middle of the Atlantic, along a line roughly between northern Canada and northern France.  It had been drifting for the last eight months and had wandered over 1,000 miles south of its original position.  We noted the fact that it was still afloat says something good for lifeboats!

Although we went 550 miles out of our way, we were making good time...fair winds and following seas, as they say.  Everyone cheered when it was announced that we'd make a stop at St. Maarten before heading into Miami.  In port there, we saw the oddest ship parked next to us.  Look at this.  Can you figure out what's wrong with this picture?  Took us a while!

When we got to Miami, all was well...in Miami.  Chicago, however, was having themselves a bugger of a snowstorm.  Our 3:50 p.m. arrival time got bumped four times and we finally got there around 10:00 p.m. and thought we were lucky.  Our limo company couldn't get a car to us.  We finally found another limo and got home around midnight.  And did we need a drink.

There is good news, however.

Pati won the wiener dog contest, 5 to 1.

The Alhambra!

It's a two hour drive from Malaga up to Granada and the Alhambra.  This Moorish palace has plenty of history for both the Moors and the royalty of Spain, including being home to the young Infanta Catalina de Aragon (Henry VIII's real queen, Catherine of Aragon).  We'll not tell its history here, check online at www.alhambradegranada.org and other places for outside pictures and historical stuff.  We'll take you inside where the treasures really are.  Hang on, here we go:

The tree of life.  God, apparently, sits above its roots:

The patios:

And inside: Hint on this first photo...that's not decoration, it's Arabic from different periods.  And it says "there is no conqueror but Allah".  Twice.  This particular carving is replicated all over the building.

Here's the conqueror script again:

Mind boggled yet?  It's amazing isn't it?  One can come up for air at the nearby Generalife Gardens, where the royalty hung out on hot days...

We stopped for a wonderful lunch and then, back to the ship and onward.  Read our next installment for an interesting tale of the sea.

The 2018 Crossing

This crossing from Barcelona to Miami was kind of an extra added attraction.  We flew to Barcelona to spend a couple of days, one of them in a hotel we would have never sprung for.  Regent footed the bill.  We indulged in our usual meal of Iberico ham and sausage, but also tried something different.  We have enjoyed our duck pates and terrines so this time we branched out and tried Iberico pates.  They are excellent!  Of course, we dined at our favorite place, El Mussol.

The weather allowed a longer walk, so we went up to the Sagrada Familia.  We hadn't been there for about three years (in spite of being in Barcelona a lot), and we can report that they're making a lot of progress on the building.  Here's some of the detail from the building:

And we found this guy slaying a dragon along Passeig Gracia:

Leaving Barcelona, we were to visit Cartagena, Malaga, Funchal and Bermuda.  Bermuda Thanksgiving was the title of the cruise.

In Cartagena, we visited the old Roman parts of the city, including a museum built around a Roman cemetery and dedicated to the various findings as the excavation was completed.  Our guide had lived, as a child, very near the cemetery and he told of he and his brother climbing the wall and stealing bones from the cemetery.  Well, it got him started because now he is an archeologist and, funny, next in line to head the preservation committee!

Detail from the Cartagena Town Hall:

Right now, they're excavating a Roman arena (where the games took place) that is within walking distance of this Roman theater (where plays were put on).  By the way, for racing, you need a Roman circus.

We left after dark, so we couldn't see the submarine pens near the docks.  Next stop, Malaga, but not our usual Malaga day at the market buying almonds and figs...we're off to the Alhambra!