May 9 - 14, Sailing the North Atlantic

This week was one of the quieter weeks of the trip. A lot like the seven day trip between Walvis Bay Namibia and the Cape Verde Islands. We took in the presentations of several guest speakers in the mornings. Lunch was in the Lido or the Britannia restaurant. A good place to meet and talk with other travelers. Dinner was in the Britannia at the early seating. The evening was spent in the theatre enjoying a number of very good shows. A couple of evenings before dinner, we attended the Captain's Cocktail Party or the World Cruise Party or the Party Party.

I spent several afternoons arranging for three of our larger bags to be sent from New York to California by DHL shipping. It sounds simple but there is a lot of paperwork to be filled out and inventories created. One afternoon was spent in the theatre with The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and their presentation of "The Bard On Board". All in celebration of the 400th Anniversary of Shakespeare's death.

The rest of the time was spent doing the same thing we did just before arriving at Southampton. Packing bags. Only this time, we had to pack for a flight home. I also made an early morning run to one of the shops to buy an additional suitcase for items that just would not fit in the other bags.

The night before New York was just as hectic getting the bags into the hall and making sure we kept clothes to wear off the ship.

May 8, 2017, Monday, Southampton, United Kingdom

It is a three days sail from Madeira to Southampton. That is not near enough time to pack everything into our many bags. We have been on the Queen Elizabeth for three and a half months. We have been collecting stuff, all sorts of stuff, along the way. Now we have to find a way to put all that stuff into something just so we can get off this ship and onto another ship.

Our around the world journey is a two part trip.  Three and a half months on the Queen Elizabeth, New York City to Southampton and a one week cruise on the Queen Mary 2 from Southampton to New York City. The night before we arrive in Southampton, we move most of our large packed bags into the hall passageway so the stewards and crew can move everything to the lower decks. There, everything is loaded on pallets ready to be moved onto the dock in the morning. We get up early, have breakfast in the Lido buffet and return to the cabin to finish packing. Now the hard part. We end up with about four carry-on suitcases and another four or five bags of stuff. These we had to move ourselves to the designated waiting area. After a wait of a little over an hour, our group gets the call to disembark the ship. Another bag drag through the ship and onto the pier. There we meet up with the rest of our luggage which is located in a very large hall. Actually, spread out in a very large hall.  A half hour later, I had found all the bags and we made our way through British customs and onto our bus to take us to the Queen Mary 2.

It was just a short bus ride from the Queen Elizabeth to the main terminal where the Queen Mary 2 was docked. It was about this time that I realized that I had lost track of one of our bags. Not just any old bag but the bag with my CPAP machine and the computer. We pressed on through the terminal, we had gotten a "go to the head of the line" card on the Queen Elizabeth. In less than an hour, we were through the line, had our room cards, and were walking aboard the Queen Mary 2. We dropped the bags we had with us in the cabin and I went down to the pursers desk to report the lost bag. We then went up to the Lido for lunch and to catch our breath.

We then decided that we would just wait and see what happened to the lost bag. So we went back off the ship and walked to downtown Southampton to see the sights. On the way, we saw a taxi that was not being used. We decided to take it back to the Queen Elizabeth to see if we could find the bag. The taxi took us to the pier and then waited while we went in to find thee bag. We met several very nice people who listened to our plight. At the information desk, we talked with one lady who had even gotten a call from the pursers desk of the Queen Mary 2. At that point, we realized that the situation had probably been taken care of. Took the taxi back to the center of town and found the mall in the center of town. Spent a couple hours in the mall, spent a few pounds to keep England green, and walked back to the ship.

When we arrived back at the cabin, the bags were all there including the "lost" bag. Life was good again. We got back into the usual ship board routine. We had dinner and then a show. I think we also crashed early this evening.

May 4, 2017, Thursday, Funchal, Madeira

Our last stop before we reach Southampton.

We have been to Funchal before, ten years ago on our first trip around the world. We have taken the cable car up the hill to Monte and the wooden sled down the hill on city streets. Been around the town on the bus, with a stop at Reid's Hotel for lunch and stopped at several wine shops. So, we did not do any of those things this time.

In the morning, we walked off the ship and took a shuttle bus to the center of town. Everyone was busy setting up for a local festival but it was a good chance to see the downtown before things got too busy.

In the afternoon, we took a ship's tour up into the hills above Funchal. First stop was an observatory (observation point) and coffee shop overlooking Funchal. A beautiful place to see the city, the harbor and the sea beyond. After a half hour of seeing the sights, it was back on the bus.

Our driver took us up a very narrow winding road into the mountains above Funchal. Two large buses could pass on the road but you could not add a piece of cardboard to the mix. Our final destination is a hotel at Eira do Serrado. Then there is a fifteen minute walk to Pico do Serrado, where there is an overlook of a deep valley and the village of Curral das Freiras at the bottom. As the story goes, the hamlet was so remote the Santa Clara Convent nuns used it as an escape from the pirate raids during the 16th century. After a round of pictures, it was back to the hotel for a round of wine.

Back down the mountain and to a high overlook by the sea at Cabo Girao. This is the location of the second highest sea cliff in the world. From the glass walkway at the top of the cliff, you can look straight down for 1800 feet. From there, the trip back to the ship was all down hill.

In the square in the middle of town

Some of the beautiful Jacaranda trees

The Portuguese discoverer of the island

The main street of Funchal

Looking down on the city and harbor of Funchal

Another view

The road up into the mountains

The village of Curral das Freiras

The village and more valley

The hotel at Eira do Serrado

More of the valley

Cape Girao and looking 1800 feet straight down

Funchal in the distance

May 3, 2017, Wednesday, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands

The oldest tree in town

Our tour today is a four hour bus tour of the north shore of the island of Tenerife. Our ship has docked on the eastern side of the island in the harbor at Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Tenerife is a volcanic island so everything is up and down. To get to the north shore, we go up and over the mountain, passed the airport and down to the village of La Orotava. This is an old town with many old buildings built in the old Spanish style. Lots of hand crafted wooden balconies and such. We visited the Casa de los Balcones.

A view of the village with the sea beyond

One of the older buildings with balcony

Sandra with a couple of manikins

The balconies from the courtyard of the home

The wooden beam is part of an old press, olive oil or wine?

Sandra and Mount Teide in the background

Some items in one of the stores

Street scenes

Just a beautiful spot in the middle of the city

Fireworks in the distance. 

Down by the harbor of Puerto de la Cruz

We had some free time in Puerto de la Cruz but just when I found a camera shop that I really wanted to visit, time was up. Back to the bus to return to the ship. As we sailed out of the harbor, there was a really great sunset. You will have to trust me, I did not have my camera with me.

April 30, 2017, Sunday, Mindelo, St. Vincent, Cape Verde Islands

After seven straight days at sea, seeing nothing but a fifty mile circle of empty seas, we finally woke up to the sight of land in the near distance. We passed a number of small islands on our way to the harbor at Mindelo. Cape Verde Islands is one of the small groups of islands that the Portuguese sailors found on their voyages down the west coast of Africa. They were trying to find a marine route to India and the Spice Islands of Indonesia. Their journey took them around the Cape of Good Hope. The same area that we passed by a week and a half ago.

The islands and Mindelo were one of the places that sailing ships stopped for fresh food and water. Later on with the introduction of steam ships, the port also became a coaling depot. With the shift from coal to oil, none of the ships stopped and the islands took a severe economic decline. 

Our day was taken up by a ship's tour on one of the local buses, guided by one of the local young men who spoke very good English. The entire tour was around to town of Mindelo from the waterfront to the center of town and back to the ship.

The other pier at the harbor



The harbor at Mindelo

The band stand in the center of the plaza at Mindelo

The main administrative building in town

The main street in town, not too busy, but it was a Sunday

One of the quieter corners of the plaza

Looking across the harbor at the eastern part of the island

The Torre de Belem, a replica of the original in Lisbon on the banks of the Tagus

Another street scene on a quiet day

A dance troop in the center courtyard of a school. As in many cultures, individuals can not train to fight. However, many of the dances are in reality stylized fighting, just no contact between individuals.

Accompanied by the music from one stringed instruments
 

The dancers worn different colored sashes just like a Judo black belt 

Everyone had a good time

A different style of dancing

We could have stayed long than we did



Our ship, the Queen Elizabeth, and one third of the Cape Verde Navy

One of our high lights of the tour was a stop at the home of one of the islands most famous singers. Cesaria Evora was a grammy winning singer. She passed away in 2011.