The Canary Islands

Hi Readers

Well I confess to being the slackest Blogger of all time!
Here I am taking a year off and thinking I'd have all this time to write, and I'm probably worse than ever at getting posts done!!
My plan was to add something every day, but that was wishful thinking for sure!!

I just can't believe how quickly my days fill up with various tasks, but it's all worth it.

So, back to what this post is meant to be about!

On our recent overseas trip we started out on the ship from Barcelona and headed to Casablanca for a day, just amazing.

The next few days were spent visiting the islands of Gran Canaria, Tenerife and Funchal off the coast of West Africa. A few days at sea here and there which was fine, as we always found something to do on board.

One of my daily rituals was to hit the gym, because the danger on board a cruise ship is that it can be seen as a floating feedlot!!! Food and drink is on tap 24/7, and believe me, people do make the most of it!!

On our first day we didn't really know what to expect, but we quickly realised that we wouldn't fit into our clothes, or the plane home if we ate like many of the other passengers.

The buffet had fantastic food, and there was never a shortage, so why on earth do people need to load up two plates to overflowing? Some of the guests were rather large, and this way of eating wasn't really going to help them much at all.

And around the pool! Even though it was sunny, and around 12-18 degrees most days, people would be putting their gear on deckchairs around the pool first thing in the morning, thus 'shotgunning' them for the entire day. And even if it was cool (which it often was) that didn't matter. Off come the shirts and on go the pencil thin bathers, and it's a day laying on the deck chairs gorging on food and drink which was usually within a few metres reach.

I'm not being critical of them, they are entitled to spend their time any way they like, just as we did. It was more the way many of them acted towards others, particularly the ship crew who suffered the rudeness of many of these passengers constantly.

But all was not bad, as we made friends with a number of couples from various parts of the world, and it was always nice to sit with them at shows, run into them on shore or just at bars on board.

Our biggest thrill was in making connections with a number of the ship's crew who not only provided excellent service, were just beautiful people to start with. We learnt so much about their own lives and stories, and it was rather sad saying goodbye to them as we had discovered so much about them as people, and not as staff.

Now for the Islands...

The photos and videos will say more than my words, but in a nutshell...

• Travelling into the mountains on a bus. the road was cut into a mountain, and I could touch it out my window. When we looked out the other side we could barely see any of the road, as the bus was often travelling on the edge of a steep drop to the valley below.
• Going up another mountain by gondola, and the American bloke we were sharing it with wouldn't sit still, and kept moving around and making it wobble. I'm not the best with heights, but I was ready to throw him out!!
• We also took a wicker basket toboggan ride in Funchal. This was on a street in the city, and basically it was a large washing basket on skids that two men pushed down the street, drifting from side to side in order to maintain a safe speed. There were other people stationed at intersections to warn us about traffic, and at one stage a truck was right behind us and overtook us. It was fantastic!!
• There were two people on board the ship who wore the most outlandish clothes and bling, and their hair was something to behold. Definite head turners. Think of the movie "Coming to America" and the daughter's boyfriend who sold the hair treatment, 'Soul Glo'. We nicknamed these two 'Soul Glo' and just laughed every time we saw them.
• BINGO- I've never played it before, but had a few wins, collecting more than $200 US which was then put straight off our account. Winner Winner!
• Hypnosis. Yep, I did it. The hypnotist said he needed 20 people, and at the show he was struggling to get even 10 volunteers, so up I went. I am still a skeptic, because I was totally alert throughout and was just doing what he said to do. At some stages I couldn't understand his thick accent, so did nothing and sat there with my eyes shut. Occasionally I'd peek open and see what the others were doing and join in, but I could have easily just did nothing. At the end I was told that I had to scream out "I believe in fairies" when I heard a certain announcement. When the time came I was expecting the announcement, and was wondering whether I should do it or not. Another bloke had the same instruction, so when I heard him start off I just joined in and did it too. I told Jen it was all rubbish ( or words to that effect) and she was just laughing too hard to believe me!!  As I said, I'm still a skeptic, maybe I wasn't totally 'under'?

Now let the pictures tell the stories...

After a hair raising bus ride up the mountain, we were treated to these amazing views.

Putting our life into the hands of the toboggan drivers in Funchal.

One member of 'Soul Glo' leaving the ship. Check out the look on the face of the American guy we met earlier on the trip!!

"Soul Glo" leaving the theatre. Can I mention how hard it was to get a subtle photo of them!!!

Cashing in at the Bingo!!

Overcoming my fear of heights at Alicante Fort.



And below are some shots from my time on stage under 'hypnosis'!!

You be the judge!!

Well Readers,

I will try to be a bit more regular ( yeah, I know, I've said that before!!).

I'm on long service leave at the moment and I thought I'd have all this time up my sleeve, but my days are just racing away, there is always something that needs to be done.

The start of this week is really busy as I have a a big job to get done early in the week that has taken quite a bit of preparation.

I'm also looking at trying to get some miles on the motorbike and catch up with some friends who I've been meaning to visit.

So Readers,

Until my next post...

Cheers!!

p.s. Be Brave...Leave a comment!!!