‘Whoooaaaaa!! We’re Going to Barbados!!’

20^th January, but covering 8^th to 12^th January

I was going to post this in Willemstad, Curacao, but I seemed to have problems getting Val’s laptop to link up with the Wi-Fi (again – I think it is allergic!). As I type this, I am hoping to post this in Guatemala, but who knows….. OK, latest update – the good news is that for the price of a beer (what one has to go through for this blog), I have reached the blog website, so fingers crossed….

I found a few more photos that show Funchal off rather well, so before we go on with the blog here they are.

Well, 5 days at sea before stop number 2, Bridgetown, Barbados and we have settled down into a bit of a routine, as Val has mentioned. By way of proof, here is Val playing table tennis.

For those FFs (Faithful Followers) who may remember, one of our entertainments is Yahtzee and I am pleased to advise that games 816 to 820 have been completed and there is still only about 4 games in it (I am leading, just). It presumably says something about the amount of skill versus luck involved…  And the Scrabble set has been resurrected, though it is frustrating that we cannot check anything in a dictionary.

Other than that, I am really enjoying catching up with reading. My usual reading routine is about 2 pages a night just before falling asleep and then I would have to read the last page again the next night plus one more before my eyes would close again (meaning an average of one page a day, which in turn means about a year to finish a book). Here I have already finished 2 books and am looking forward to the next one. BTW, I can’t remember who very kindly gave me The Spy and the Traitor, but thank you, it was EXCELLENT!

Our table companions and we have formed a very good friendship with much laughter and friendly banter. I think I may have mentioned that the food is excellent and the portions very sensible, so, with the use of table tennis and the gym (and the good old 5:2 diet – yes, even on holiday), I may actually be losing some of the extra that I put on over Christmas. We have all agreed to celebrate my birthday together in one of the extra dining rooms which, for a small fee, you can book a table and enjoy a rather more sedate evening meal. In our usual dining room there is a little bit of a rush as there is a second sitting to fit in after us, so Manus, our steward, is now known as Manic Manus as he hurries us along through our meal – in a most friendly manner, I must emphasise.

I had a look through our window at 0630 one morning and noticed it was a full moon, so nipped out to the Promenade Deck to get some photos….. well, it makes a nice change from the eternal sunsets!

I think Val has been so busy she has not quite finished her contribution, but I will post it anyway and she can add to it at the next blog if she wishes.

Val’s bit…

John is very good at giving you the history and a little of the interesting tourist spots.  I like to observe people and often talk about the food (surprise! surprise!). The average age of the passengers is, I think, about 70 to 75 which makes us the younger folks.  However, I think the average age of the table tennis chappies is in the 60s. I must say that the passengers on this cruise are very game and enthusiastic evidenced by the number of participants in quoits, shuffle board and table tennis – about 20 or so.  Keeps the entertainment staff busy and on their toes.  I haven’t won any of the competitions.  John has, twice, at table tennis (he doesn’t play anything else).  We get a gold star when we have won and you fill up a card with them and at the end of the cruise you get some P&O travel gifts.  Year before last John and I took home some but I think maybe not this time.

On our trip to Funchal the first thing John said, while walking down the street was “Look!  Young people!”  We were walking to the cable car ride which would take us to the tropical garden. 

We chatted to a young English couple in the cable car, freelancers, about to start new jobs. Made me think how lucky they were to be able to enjoy travelling so young.  I am curious as to how the children in the west are able to afford such luxuries whilst we in Asia have to be working to do this.  Perhaps it may be because western kids can be employed in their teens and eastern kids don’t have such opportunities.  I also think similarly about the passengers on the cruise ships.  Their Asian counterparts would not, in the main, pay for such a luxury.  Their consideration would be for saving it all up for their children. (More soon)…..

OK, that was a slightly abrupt end, but I am sure she will be back. I will post this now and try to post the next bit (Barbados), but the wifi is slow and I must not miss the ship!!