26/4/2016 Disembarkation and home!

Southampton, sunshine, breakfast then home! Thank you Singapore, Sri Lanka, Seychelles, Mauritius, Reunion, South Africa, Namibia, Cape Verde, Canaries and Madeira and of course our friends and companions Indian and Atlantic! Good Morning England! Better travelled, very well relaxed and definitely better educated about South Africa  and inspired to find out more, thanks to Chris Lubbe.



Disembarkation of 1800 impatient travellers can't be easy, but it was as smooth as could be, a bit of herding in various locations around the ship, ours was the Curzon Theatre and as we had a coach booked we were the first group off. The luggage that had been taken down to the hold last night had to be taken to the grand shed first, then when we got off identified by its colour code (pink for deck 10) and we collected it.  In customs we were randomly stopped I think  from the questions to see if we were smuggling cigarettes! Then straight into our Intercruises transfer in the Southampton FC executive coach again. Big leg room and comfy recliners, same "chauffeur" (notice how I'm looking for an alternative word for driver) and the same vibe as last year.  Ground rules clearly set by said executive coach executive! (He told us not to call him a driver, not to call the vehicle a bus, clear up our own mess and dispose of it using bags provided, and most importantly not to ask him what time we'd be arriving!!! I was suitably scared of transgressing, so didn't engage with him after that introduction.) Not really, he was funny and quirky with a cheeky look in his eye and a wry smile. Obviously also very proud of the vehicle!

So once more to Knutsford Services, with just 2 stops and drop offs, one nice cup of tea, and our rendezvous with Talene before home at tea time! First impressions back, and my last words from this blog - it's fffffffreezing.

25/4/2016 Final sea day to Southampton

Well the Bay of Biscay came and went without swell, nausea, or anything unpleasant. We are now in the English Channel, and it is predicted we'll be near the south of the Isle of Wight at around 3 a.m., I expect the phone will come back on then, which will be delightful. So today, instead of typical BOB behaviour of groaning and lying down, our last day was a good one. It was all about finishing off our time away, saying goodbyes especially to our cabin steward Austan and our most favourite waiter, Shakti. We have also been attending final concerts, final art exhibition and of course packing and getting ready for the grand disembarkation in the morning. We both put two of our paintings in the art exhibition - mine were Woman Carrying Fish on Head and Arch 22, Khachik's were Humming Bird and Monk Seal. The following are Khachik's gorgeous creatures.

EVERYONE on the ship was wearing jumpers today, including all the restaurant staff, who have long sleeved navy jumpers for when the weather is in single figures like today.

So we have enjoyed our last rounds of haute cuisine looking out to sea, enjoying the endless sea in its many states, the blue, grey, red and orange skies, sun rises and sunsets, iced drinks, the balcony, our lovely cabin and of course these amazing countries: Singapore, Sri Lanka, Seychelles, Mauritius, Reunion Island, South Africa, Namibia, Cape Verde, Canaries and Madeira.

Tonight after the final dinner we went to the final concert in the Curzon Theatre - it was a bit like a Royal Variety performance. By the way we were sitting behind the 5 young men in Collabro, and that felt really funny having been sitting where they were when they were performing on stage yesterday.  Then there were 5 separate performances, The Headliners, the Opera Boys, Clare Bonsu and Brian Conley. So we have been well and truly light-entertained.

Khachik made use of the gym for the last time, walking on the treadmill for an hour. He must have the healthiest heart and circulation of a 70 year old on the ship, he hasn't missed a day. I on the other hand have been resting more than ever! I engage in the most gentle restorative mobility and stretch now. I do think about cardio and strength, and how long it will be before I can do something else, but for now they are on hold.

Just a quick word about hips - I honestly didn't know how this cruise would pan out, or if hip pain would detract from my enjoyment. In brief I can honestly say that it has been much better to be here doing this, with the many distractions I have had, than in the cold. Next up are the two hip replacements but I can't say exactly when. I hope it is soon because intractable pain can be very tiring and it will be such a good thing when it has gone. I have had a very good time, in spite of it, and feel very lucky and very grateful to have this kind of a distraction in my life :)

Now for the next chapter, and whatever that may hold. Maybe I will add a little bit on here tomorrow about the morning once we arrive home, let's see, but I will say bye for now. xx

24/4/2016 Second of 3 days to Southampton

Today's coordinates are  44 degrees north and 9 degrees west, just about going in to the Bay of Biscay, but not to worry the forecast is calmish, all things considered, so we shouldn't need travel sick meds or sick bags. Can feel how cool it is outside now, so we must be nearly there.

How have we amused ourselves today, apart from eating well?  Firstly we discovered that we had £48 left in our onboard spending account, and as this is non-refundable we were forced to spend it in duty free, for me a glitzy Pandora charm and for Khachik some Bombay Saphire, soon spent.

Our highlight event today was Chris Lubbe's fourth and final talk.   He began with some anecdotes about life with Nelson Mandela - like Mandela drinking the water in the finger bowl at a dinner at Buckingham Palace with the Queen. Apparently HM was most amused. Another tale was about how Chris had learned not to react to celebrity, and how he tried to play it cool when Denzel Washington came to the office, at first declining him a spontaneous audience with NM only to find that he was donating one million US dollars to Nelson Mandela's children's charity.

Then there was the visit of Princess Diana when Nelson Mandela forgot to put his shoes or belt on, and came out in his slippers, something he was forever embarrassed about but reportedly didn't phase Diana.
 He described what a rebel NM was in relation to high security.  Aparently he had been instructed not to leave his vehicle in the US because there was intelligence that armed KKK members were in the crowd. This was fine until NM spotted a baby, and ordered Chris to let him out of the car. This resulted in a cascade of expletives through the elaborate body guards'communication systems, but NM's only tongue in cheek response was "that's why I have you Chris, to take the bullet for me!"  Chris added that it was always the bodyguard who tasted the food, just in case it was poisoned.



Pretty quickly though we were brought back to serious business and reminded of the role of the British and the Dutch in the slave trade, and how those days preceded and fed apartheid.  We learned how a slave owner might like his slave and might share his own name with him and so this is why many South Africans have surnames of their original slave owners. But also there were those who were given the surname of the month they were purchased - and this explains why some South Africans might be called January etc.



The session then went on to chronicle some of the events leading up to Chris being with us today.

The story about him and his dear friend Ashley being chased by the SA police during the Apartheid era and being thrown a lifeline firstly when the police car ran out of petrol, but secondly when an Afikaans farmer took them into his home, covered their car completely with hay, and then sheltered them for 2 months, after which he gave them his own car to protect them from being arrested.  Sometime after that Ashley Kriel was murdered by the SA police. But Chris remembered those times,  and once employed as NM's bodyguard, shared the story with NM and NM tracked that hero down and invited him to the President's residence, where his car was returned by Chris  and Chris was able to thank him for saving their lives.

I am sorry I can't remember the whole story about Chris Hani, other than that he was murdered on the eve of the first democratic election in SA. So NM gave a rousing peace speech.

Chris gave us an insight too into the African concept of UBUNTU - very like Buddhist "interdependence", I am because you are and vice versa, no man is an island, sharing v. greed. Beautiful.  There's so much more but my eyes are getting so tired now I will have to finish.

In my customer feedback form to P&O I have written more about Chris than anyone or anything else on the cruise, because he is so special and because I don't think he realises just how special. When his book The Pencil Test is released in August 2016 I will be  reading it, and sharing whatever I can.

This afternoon I have painted a beach picture, while Khachik watched Leicester beat Swansea 4-1, and then gym. This evening after our final Blacktie dinner, we started to say our goodbyes to the staff who have been taking care of us. Here are our waiters from the Medina, Shakti is on the right.

                                     

Day 36, bloomin eck, that's gone so quickly.

Tomorrow there's an art exhibition and we have to pack and leave our bags outside the cabin during the afternoon so that we can be reunited with them in the terminal before we get on our coach to Manchester.
Bye for now xx

23/4/2016 First of three days to Southampton

We're at sea again!  Our coordinates are 37 degrees north and 13 degrees west, so we are still level with the Moroccan coast heading towards the coast of Portugal. All is flat and smooth, no swell no rain, and as expected the temperature has dropped to 16, so the roof is on the pool and the sunbathers on the sun deck above have all been driven indoors. It's ok though, an indoor swimming pool instead.  There is an air of coming to an end on the ship. People are exchanging contact details, starting to say goodbyes to staff, planning and booking next year's cruise and all that kind of thing.

So today we have done an art class, where we painted a misty Mount Teide in the clouds, using a number of our newly acquired water colour skills.










Our p.m. highlight was been to the Theatre for a ticket only concert with Collabro, 5 young men who sing songs form shows like Les Mis, Chess, Lion King, and were winners of BGT in 2014.  I didn't know, and today was the first time I had ever heard them. Not sure quite how they got the Aurora gig, but very glad they did.  They have lovely voices, and because they sang Circle of Life (links to a performance in Manchester's Bridgwater Hall) had me crying with the first high note, and then of course I couldn't stop and had to use my scarf to get rid of the snot and tears! Really wasn't expecting that.


But tonight we didn't get involved in any theatre entertainment, only our own.  Comedians can be so annoying! Anyway Brian Conley thankfully not just a comedian,  is on board and we spent so much time talking to our table mates tonight that we missed him. We will catch him next time, and before we do we can listen to what people said about him tonight.  Instead we have watched a bit of telly - an old episode of Ambassadors, done a crossword and a quick blog.

Until tomorrow, good night all xx

22/4/2016 Funchal, Madeira

We had a morning arrival in port, around 9, and first impressions were looking very good, high cliffs, hills, terracota roofing.

Once off the ship and in town we could see it was just like Portugal, black and white mosaic tiles as pavement, terrace bars, all the European outlets, but with a climate like Tenerife and lots of bananas! We used the morning time to spend catching up on Facebook, uploading pics, drinking lovely strong coffee. We went back to the ship by shuttle to have lunch and then came straight out again to catch the Yellow Bus for a 90 minute round trip with multi-lingual commentary, just like London.


The trip was the blue route and took in Camara Lobos and Cabo Girao. We found it so good we stayed on it twice, mainly so the hundreds of nuggets of info had time to get into our heads! What have we learned? - a lot of historical information but the accurate discovery dates and discoveries have already left me (13th and 15th centuries). There was the usual uncomfortable part about colonisation, I never like hearing about how one or other European power of the past plundered all the wealth of the countries they "discovered". Every now and again though the commentary mentioned something like a national drink with European influence, like a mix of lemon honey and absinthe!  So it wasn't all bad. Anyway Madeira is now home to 250,000 people mainly of Portuguese descent with a smattering of British and German residents. It is known as a holiday resort for former British Prime Ministers notably Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher.



Funchal is famous for its Reids Hotel, which still also popularly does afternoon tea. This was a possible excursion we didn't take. The island is also renowned for bananas, grown on terraces lining the whole of our bus route.  Several unusual sculptures and fountains were pointed out with interesting commentary along the way too. A stunning coastline, winding roads up into the hills, various palms and cacti.  There's a daily ferry to the other island, Porto Santo, and it was recommended as a day trip, but we just didn't have time.  I have pictures of them all and will add them as soon as I can!



Then it was dinner, a table for two for the first time this cruise, next to the window on the starboard side, so we could see everyone getting back onto the ship after their hard day's tourism. Our entertainment for the night was a little bit different.  At 9:30 we listened to Clare Bonsu again, this time in Carmen's lounge. She performed Eta James, Dusty, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles and another Shirley Bassey song by popular request. She's good, does drama, has a big range and can switch styles really easily.

Then up on deck 8 where the children's pool and kids club are situated a local group came and danced with massive feathers, and very stylish bright green and orange feathery boots! This was followed by the kind of firework display we get in Glossop on November 5th - it was big and went on for ages, and was launched for a small boat alongside the cruise ship.  This was in aid of the cruise coming to an end, and Funchal being the final port.





Next stop Southampton, but not until we have done 3 days at sea. Bye for now! x

21/4/2016 Gran Canaria

We had only been here in Gran Canaria once before, and I think it was 1999-ish, a beach holiday, when we first started holidaying as a couple. That trip started well but our enduring memory is one of being chased by an aggressive timeshare salesperson, threateneing us because he didn't like our mode of declining. We both ran away (we could in those days!) and escaped to the safety of a public bus. We were quite shocked, so I suppose understandably we chose not to return, until now, and we came because it was on an itinerary developed by P&O.

                

Surprisingly we have been filled with good memories today.  The part of the island we could see from the port was rugged and very different. Today wasn't a day for doing much walking, so we just sauntered off the ship through security and into a shopping centre, park and sunny terrace cafe for another snack, drink and wifi connection home. We did this twice, either side of lunch.  Khachik also visited a local supermercado and happily managed to find some 1€ cartons of vino tinto.

That's all we've done today. Tomorrow will be Funchal in Madeira, final stop before our 3 days at sea to Southampton. So I will say bye for now and will be back on tomorrow.

20/4/2016 Tenerife

20/4/2016 Tenerife
At midday we arrived in the beautiful Santa Cruz, Tenerife, so we did a grab and go sandwich before we headed off on our excursion of the Northern Island, up, up, up winding round those narrow mountain oftain single track roads, down , down, down to what was described as the end of the road at La Roqua, for rough coastline, black volcanic sand, and then to a delightful restaurant for bread, cheese olives wine/water.  After the snack more up, up, up to the Pico de Ingles and the views of two different landscapes on the same island.  The mist was just starting to come down so we had a truly informative lesson about the trade winds, the effect on the landscape, more economy, geography and history before returning us to the ship around 5.




Now that was interesting.



Too early to eat, and as we were not leaving until midnight we decided to find a cafe with free wifi, and what a delight to make contact with home after all!  So that was that, including a bit of Spanish football, tapas and beverages until 9, back to the ship for dinner and bed. A good day all round.