Day 14 - Safe Harbour

We had a very comfortable run overnight. When I got up at 07:00, we were just south of the westernmost tip of the Isle of Wight. We should be snuggled up in Southampton before things get ”interesting”.

We joined Jane and Trevor for breakfast and finished with a group photo with our waitress, Julie.

After that, we went along to the theatre for the last of the talks by Linda Sage. This one was “Criminal Profiling” and explained the background to the technique and the reality of how it is applied in the UK. Unfortunately, halfway through the talk, there was a medical emergency as someone collapsed in the auditorium. The talk was suspended while medics were summoned, and the chap was taken away to recover. The talk continued, but it was clear that people were still concerned for the chap.

We met up with Jane as we left the theatre, and after a brief chat, we headed off in separate directions. They went to walk on the deck, and we returned to our suite to complete our packing. As we finished, we were pulling into Southampton Water. We stood in the misty gloom watching as the tugboat, like a good sheep dog, helped ease us up to our berth.

We met up for lunch at the buffet before returning to our suite to continue reading on our Kindles. Watching on the “Mast Camera”, we saw Iona coming into a berth in front of us. She was due into dry dock and a refurb after their cruise, so didn't really have to worry about the weather that was sweeping in.

It was a dreadfully dull afternoon, weatherwise. We made the most of this by reading our Kindles (I finished another book). The mist drifted in and then dispersed several times. It looked as if the ship at the end of the dock was disappearing completely.

We all met up for a drink before going down to dinner. When we sat down in the restaurant, there was a bit of a party atmosphere.

We settled down for our meal. Di chose melon (as usual) while I had Golden-fried Salt and Pepper Squid with Sweet Chilli Dip. Trevor had some credit left on his "on Board Credit," so he bought the drinks to ensure that he was as close to a zero balance as possible. I was way beyond my limit because I had bought the Internet package while on board. For our main dish, Diane chose the. Roasted Chicken Breast with Sauce Chasseur, I chose the Murgh Mahkni (butter chicken), which was superb. Before we left the restaurant, we made sure we had photos with "Papa" Jose and "Lheny", our waiters.

We made our way to the Arena theatre. Simeon Woods was on the bill. Again, he was superb, though I did think the flute was over-amplified and that was causing some distortion. Unfortunately, young sound engineers don't understand that volume and quality are not the same thing. (I did, of course, mention this to the Ents Manager).

Leaving the Arena, we headed for Havana, where the Headliners were performing a show called "Made in London". This was an opportunity for their vocalists to exercise their vocal chords without worrying too much about choreography. The music was all based on its London heritage - Fleetwood Mac, Adele, Elton John, Phil Collins, Ed Sheeran, and so forth. It was a good way to finish the cruise.

We retired to our suite and Diane finished her packing. It was nearly 23:30 before we went to bed.

Day 13 - Run for Home

As explained yesterday, though we should be in port at La Coruña and visiting Santiago de Compostela, we are in fact running for home to try and beat the incoming Atlantic storm. This is expected to cause serious weather in the Western Approaches and P&O have decided that safety is their primary concern and we aim to arrive in Southampton ahead of the worst of the weather. 

Overnight, we sailed north, passed the north westerner of Spain, and entered the Bay of Biscay. The sea was a little lumpy, but not uncomfortable.

We met up with Jane and Trevor over breakfast. As usual, we sat and chatted and were among the last to leave the restaurant. After a quick comfort break, we headed for the Arena Theatre where Linda Sage was giving the third of her talks. This one was “Life in Prison,” discussing what it is really like inside the prisons, rather than what is portrayed in the media and on TV dramas. Obviously, we may have more of an insight than most, having heard stories from Pete and Zoe about what goes on, but it was still a very interesting talk. The theatre was full, so it had stimulated a great deal of interest.

I went straight back to our suite and sat down with my Kindle; Diane had stopped at the shops as there was a clearance sale today. She wasn’t far behind me, not having found anything of interest. As the morning wore on, I moved back off the balcony and decided to start packing my “washing”. I allow this to accumulate in a large drawstring bag during a trip, then sort it all out before going home. That’s now done (with the exception of clothes for today, tomorrow, and overnight). The main packing will be done tomorrow.

There is a pizzeria on the ship, and after two weeks, I had still not tried it. For lunch, I nipped up to deck 15, forward, and grabbed a few slices of their pizza, then swept through the buffet to collect a baguette for Diane, before returning to the suite. The pizza slices were very good, with a delightfully thin crust. A good dusting of chilli flakes improved them further.

Now, I should point out that each day there is a full schedule of "things to do" on board, should you wish. There are talks, presentations, dance lessons, shows and goodness knows what else spread across ll the public venues on the ship. There is no excuse to ever be bored on board. We, however, enjoy the peace and quiet of reading on our private balcony on the stern, overlooking the wake. If we wanted to be sociable (or do missionary work with the passengers from up North), we could, but we like our peace and quiet. (We get a daily bulletin, called Horizon, detailing all the activities and shows for the following day - this gives us plenty of time to plan).

We had a gala get-together before dinner this evening. This was an opportunity to meet the Captain and some members of the crew. This is usually done as a “Welcome” party at the start of the cruise, but the weather was such at the beginning that they had to defer it to the end of the cruise. The Captain was very entertaining in his address and informed us that we had steamed over 4,000 nautical miles, with 2,981 passengers and 1,189 crew. The galley had served over 160,000 meals, and during the cruise, we had six weddings, two Captains, and 940 cruise virgins (first-timers). At the end, I stopped to shake his hand (touched elbows, actually) and thank him for the cruise. We then made our way to the restaurant for dinner. Di started with the Smoked Salmon Mousse, and I had the Galician Empanadillas de Polo to start with. These were delicious and had a wonderful tangy sauce. For the main course, Diane chose the Sirloin of Beef Stroganoff, while I chose Roasted Gallina Piri Piri (a chicken dish). Dinner was excellent, and it would have been easy to just sit there chatting all evening.

There was a show to get to… we had the second show from Manuel Martinez. We thought he was good when we saw him the first time, but he excelled this time and had the whole audience both enthralled by his tricks and rolling around laughing from his interactions with the audience and his stories. I particularly liked his reference to the seal colony around the pool and all the flesh that was on show. He was truly talented and worth watching out for if he tours at all.

We left the theatre and made our way to Havana, where there was a tribute to Glenn Miller. We watched for a while, but it isn’t really Di’s sort of music, so we headed back to our suite. Soon after getting back, there was an announcement that a helicopter was inbound for a medical evacuation, so the decks were closed, and people were warned not to go out to their balconies because of the downdraft. We just hope the guest is successfully treated.

Day 12 - Adrift again, heading north

I was up just before 07:00, but sat and read on my phone in the dark so that I didn’t disturb Diane. 

We had been doing a steady 16 knots overnight, and the seas were a lot calmer than the last few days. We had a very lazy start. Though I was up early, we didn’t go up to breakfast until 10:00, which meant we went to the buffet rather than the usual restaurant.

After breakfast, we went straight to the Arena Theatre for the second talk by Linda Sage. This one was about “Women Who Kill”. The talk gave us an insight into the psychology and background of seven of the most notorious English female murderers. It was a fascinating talk, and there were plenty of asides regarding ladies in the audience making notes. At the end, we went to join Jane in the Red Bar for some morning coffee (Jane wasn’t interested in the talk, so she left the rest of us to it). When we left the Red Bar, we headed for the shops. The midday bell sounded, and during the announcement, we were told we had sailed 304 nautical miles since leaving Cádiz and we were currently 60 nautical miles off the Portuguese coast. As the announcement finished, Di and Jane wanted a good mooch around the shops, so Trevor and I stood in the Atrium chatting while they mooched.

After a bite to eat, we returned to our suites where we could sit in the warm sunshine on our balconies reading our books. (I finished another one.) I also sent an email to our chauffeur to let him know what time we would be disembarking on Saturday… and have already had confirmation.

Jane and Trevor came in at 18:00 to help us deal with a bottle of champagne we had been keeping in the fridge since we first boarded. Thirty minutes later, all dressed to the nines, we made our way to dinner. As we sat down, there was “Bing bong” and the Captain made an announcement across the ship. He had been monitoring the weather and the predicted Storm Amy, which is due to hit the UK on Friday or Saturday. In consultation with the Met Office and P&O Head Office, they decided to skip our stop in La Coruña tomorrow and make a run for Southampton with a view to arriving on Friday afternoon ahead of the storm. We will still disembark on Saturday morning. This seemed like a sensible decision and means we should get a far more comfortable couple of days than we would have on the original schedule. I have no doubt some morons will complain, but anyone with more brain cells than their shoe size will accept it without question.

We got around to ordering our dinner. Diane started with cannelloni of poached and oak-smoked salmon with a vibrant avocado mousse, which she thought was lovely. I chose the crispy braised lamb bonbon presented on a rich bhuna sauce; this was also superb, and I could have licked the plate clean of that bhuna sauce. After that, we all chose the classic beef Wellington with traditional mushroom duxelles. Again, the plates were scraped clean. It was delicious.

In the Arena Theatre tonight, we had another show from Tanya Edwards. This was much better than her first show and featured not just soul, but also blues and disco. Also, she didn’t chat quite so much, which gave more time to the music. It was a good show.

We left the theatre and had a very brief stroll on deck before returning to our suite to read before going to bed. Sorry that there were so few photos today, but you can only take so many photos of a ship’s wake on a clear day! But then, I looked out over the balcony as we got ready for bed, and saw the moon shining straight over our wake.

Day 11 - Cádiz and Jerez

We arrived in Cádiz just before 06:30. We were up and about as we had an early excursion and needed to get some breakfast. Being so early, we had breakfast in the buffet instead of Epicurean. This meant we could be in and out in about 30 minutes. We returned to our suite to collect our gear and headed for the gangway. We had a short wait but then were directed to our coach.

On the dot of 8:30 we set off from the port and made our way through the morning mist, across the river and the Salinas (salt pans) to the town of Jerez de la Frontera. Our guide, Alba, was very interesting and had a wealth of information, history, and stories to keep us informed for the whole journey. 

When we arrived in Jerez, the coach gave us a tour of the town before we were dropped and guided around by Alba. Jerez is a charming town and it was a real pleasure wandering around and seeing the magnificent buildings and churches - and, of course, the Alcazar (though we didn’t have time for a tour). We did get a chance to stop and wander by ourselves for a while and found a booth outside the main market where we all enjoyed a coffee and some churros. It was a bit rushed, but there was more on the agenda.

Back on the coach, we headed across to Cádiz. Again, we started with a coach tour of the city to get our bearings and to ensure we saw the main sights. We were then dropped back near the harbour and started our walking tour. Leaving the bus, we headed for Plaza de San Juan de Dios; this is an irregularly shaped plaza because it once was bounded by the embankments of an ancient arm of the sea that used to cut through this part of Cádiz. Over time, it developed as a commercial area, especially with the growth of trade with the Americas. The plaza was sited just outside the original city walls, next to the Puerta del Mar (sea gate), which allowed access from the port. One end is dominated by the Town Hall, and the Baroque tower of the Church of San Juan de Dios helps frame the space. We walked through the Puerta del Mar, and Alba started to explain about the native stonework. Unfortunately, workmen were renovating an hotel behind us, and every few minutes, another barrowload of rubbish was ejected from the top floor down some plastic chutes. This drowned much of her commentary, so we moved on, through the Arco de la Rosa, to the Plaza de la Catedral. 

This was a wide open space in front of the huge Baroque Cathedral (Catedral de la Santa Cruz sobre las Aguas - Cathedral of the Holy Cross over the Waters). Because construction took so long, the cathedral shows a mix of styles: baroque, rococo, and neoclassical. It was built in a period when Cádiz was experiencing a “golden age,” especially because the trade with the Americas was booming. Wealth flowed into the city, and people wanted grander architecture to match its importance.

We took photos and heard more history from Alba, but would save a visit for later. We continued the tour down small roads leading off the plaza and through the quaint shopping streets lined with small independent shops. It was really quite charming. We continued as far as the flower market and then looped back round to the Cathedral Square via another route through the streets. Just off the square, we stopped for a beer (included in the excursion) before saying a fond farewell to Alba. We had the afternoon to ourselves.

We walked back to the Cathedral, paid our entry fee (well, strictly speaking, Trevor did), and then downloaded the audioguide to our phones. As we walked around, signs identified which audio commentary described the chapel, carving, or area where we were. It worked very well and was informative without becoming boring. The Cathedral was huge, with three naves and a huge vaulted crypt. There are 16 chapels around the walls. We spent a long time wandering around and taking it all in. Leaving the Cathedral, Jane and Trevor headed off in one direction, and we crossed the square to get some gelato. Wandering the streets and alleys, we were looking for a particular shop we had passed earlier during the tour. As we zigged and zagged, I saw Simeon Wood coming towards us. I stopped him, and we said how much we had enjoyed his show last night. He was very gracious and stopped to chat with us. In the end, I think we chatted for the best part of an hour, and then, because of the time, we walked back to the ship with him.

We had a quiet hour in our suite before preparing for dinner. The ship cast off just after 17:30 and started on the 600 nautical mile trip north to La Coruña. We decided that we weren’t needed on the Bridge, so went down to dinner. We started with the Gambas Pil Pil, which was delicious with its huge, succulent prawns. For the main course, Di selected the Grilled Beef Sirloin Steak. She wasn’t totally happy with this as it was a little chewy. I selected Paella, which was quite delicious. The entertainment tonight was the Headliners, again. Like last time, this meant that I skipped out from the restaurant early and made my way to the theatre to grab some good seats for the show. As it happened, I got there so early that the doors were not yet open. Even still, a queue was forming.

I grabbed four prime seats that ensured we had a good, uninterrupted view of the stage, then settled down to wait for the others to turn up and the show to start. The offering tonight was called Unbelievable. It was a “brand-new magic and illusion show” with dancing. The show was quite excellent with some brilliant illusions. Few (if any) were new illusions, but they were all performed brilliantly and it was impossible to see how they were achieved. I must say that I think we all thoroughly enjoyed it.

That was it for the day. The next show in Havana wasn’t until 22:15, and we couldn’t be bothered to wait for that, so we called it a night and returned to our suites. It had been a brilliant day and Cadiz has found its way onto our “must return” list.

Day 10 - Adrift off the coast of Africa

The “Grand-class” of cruise ship that is Ventura may be optimised for Caribbean and Mediterranean cruising, but its design doesn’t lend itself to Atlantic swells. Overnight, we have been fighting our way north against a 45-knot headwind and some significant swells. We have been making 18 knots, but the ship was very twitchy. We had to put our clocks forward by one hour during the night so that we are on the same time zone as Spain.

We had a leisurely breakfast, then made our way to the Arena Theatre. Today’s guest speaker (they have had them most days) was Linda Sage. She has clearly had a very interesting career as a psychologist working within the Criminal Justice System. She was giving the first of three talks on serial killers, sex offenders, and murderers. The theatre was full. Whether this was people with a genuine interest, people taking notes, or psychopaths basking in their cleverness and anonymity wasn’t clear. Whatever, the underlying interest, she had a very engaged audience. The next talk in the series is “Women Who Kill” - again, I will be watching for anyone taking notes or recording it on their phones.

After the talk, we stopped off in The Glasshouse for a coffee. The front of the ship was getting quite a bashing and was far more noisy than we had been experiencing at the stern. We enjoyed our coffee and then headed back to our cabin, where we sat on the balcony with our Kindles and several magazines for a few hours. It was delightfully warm, and the sea was slowly quietening down after the overnight skittishness. By 16:00, the sea was starting to wake up again and became quite choppy.

It was formal night again, so we dressed up in our finery. Di had a last-minute change brought about by the choppiness of the ocean and her original plan for higher heels than usual. She decided that she didn’t want to fall off them and break an ankle, so there was a change of shoes and associated outfit. We had dinner as usual in the Bay Tree restaurant. Di and I both started with the Crispy Pork Shoulder with Fennel and Mustard. Though I enjoyed it, Di was less keen. For the main dish, Di chose the Prime Fillet of Beef Medallions drizzled with a Rich Red Wine Jus, which she thoroughly enjoyed. I chose the Pan-fried Sea Bream Escalope with Baby Caper Dressing, which was wonderful.

In the theatre, after dinner, we had a show from Simeon Wood, who was a flautist but played seven different wind instruments (including an NHS walking stick!). He was immensely talented and quite droll. He put on a superb show, and again, we look forward to another later in the cruise.

It’s an early night tonight as we have an early start in Cadiz tomorrow.

Day 9 - Lanzarote

We sailed overnight, arriving in the port of Arrecife at about 07:15. By 08:00, they were letting guests leave the ship for a day on Lanzarote. 

The weather forecast, starting at 22C, was expected to reach 28C, but with some cloud and a breeze picking up during the afternoon. From our position on the stern of the ship, we could see from our dock along the east coast to the south and across the strait to Fuerteventura on the horizon.

We left the ship and started to walk into Arrecife. We had no specific target, just a general walk and mooch around. 

The route from the Cruise Terminal took us through the marina where there was an impressive little selection of shops, restaurants, and even a supermarket. (Gratuitous picture of Flamingo for Kim and Ellie). 

Being Sunday, these could well be the only shops that were open. (We heard one couple bemoaning that it had been a 45-minute walk into town and everything was closed; what do they expect, it’s Sunday!). 

We continued our walk, sticking close to the coastal promenade. 

We found our way to the Arrecife Gran Hotel & Spa. This is a 17-story modern hotel remarkable because of its height and the green glass with which it is clad. It seemed like a good spot for a drink, so we asked if there was somewhere to grab a coffee and they directed us to the Blue 17 Roof Top Restaurant. 

We were shown to a corner table with a view across the south of the island and west across the city. It was a magical spot. We sat and enjoyed a Weissbier each, and watched the world go by (and the flights arrive and leave the airport nearby). We finally dragged ourselves away from the view and started the walk back to the ship. We stopped in at a clothes shop in the marina and both managed to find something that suited our tastes and budget.

Have taken our gear to the room, we headed for the buffet. We had evidently hit a peak time. While we were able to get a table, it was bait for a scrum to get the food. Indeed, I checked with Di whether it would have been considered poor etiquette to yell “Get you fat, Northern arses out the hell out of my way and stop dithering, you moronic old Trumps; some people are trying to get food not sight-see”. Di confirmed that this would not be considered good etiquette, so it probably just as well that I held my tongue. One of the observations I have made on this trip is the weight difference between the guests from up North compared to those from down South. It sounds ridiculous but I can almost guess someone’s accent by looking at them, and their size difference is such that many seem to have their own gravitational field. (I’m surprised the ship doesn’t need to make more use of deck cranes to save wear and tear on the gangways).

Sail Away was at 17:30 (give or take) and involved reversing out of the the harbour and a sneaky handbrake turn as we turned north on the next leg of the adventure... the 590 nautical mile trip to Cadiz. The Captain has warned that we may get some "motion" as we fight through the trailing effects of ex-hurricane Gabrielle which is made landfall in Portugal today. (He suggested that those in the cheap cabins near the waterline might have to row harder to ensure we make Cadiz on schedule).

 We met up for drinks before dinner and then proceeded to the restaurant. Tonight’s menu was as good as usual. Diane started with the melon, and I had Deep-fried Sesame Crusted Halloumi; we followed with Pan-fried Gammon Steak and Charred Golden Pineapple Rings for Diane and Crispy Panko-crusted Plaice Fillet with Brown Butter Caper Sauce for me. It really goes without saying as to how good it was.

The show in the Arena Theatre was a vocalist from the West End stage called Tanya Edwards. She has recently been touring with Soul II Soul. It was very popular and the other loved it. Me, not so much. I don’t find that soul music moves me. It doesn’t make me feel like clapping along, or tapping my feet. It just washes over me. She is performing again later in cruise and I’m sure we will go along to see her again.

We are definitely getting some "motion" on the ship tonight. We decided to head for our cabins after the show.

Day 8 - Gran Canaria

We left Tenerife at 22:30 last night and sailed at a leisurely pace throughout the night. We arrived in the port of Las Palmas in Gran Canaria at 06:30 this morning. 

Other than the lights from the harbour, it was still pitch black. What wasn’t apparent until later was that the port is an ugly container port, but in the pre-dawn blackness, with lights on the working vessels and cranes, it looked quite attractive. Once the sun was up, it looked very different. From our balcony, I counted 14 ships in the inner harbour or waiting outside the breakwater to come in.

We went up to breakfast a little earlier than usual as we had an excursion booked for 10:00. While we were eating, we heard an announcement from our Captain (James Brown) to say that he was departing the ship on leave… and going on a cruise through the Mediterranean on Aurora. He then announced his replacement and welcomed him on board.

We disembarked just before 10:00 and climbed onto our coach. We didn’t have far to go, but the port is certainly not a simple walking distance from the town. We stopped in the old part of town (Vegueta) and our guide, Diego, walked us through the alleyways and squares, explaining the history and the architecture. 

One of our first stops was the covered market, where the locals purchase their vegetables, cheeses, fish, and meats. It was a riot of colour and smells and an enjoyable interlude. 

The next proper stop was at the Casa de Colon (Christopher Columbus Museum). This is located in what used to be the Governor’s House and tradition tells us Columbus stayed there in 1492 while one of his ships was repaired. The building is a huge mix of architectural styles and is built around a peaceful open courtyard. 

There are exhibits related to Columbus’s voyages and a mock-up of his cabin. There are ship models of La Niña, La Pinta, and Santa Maria. There are ethnographic displays and upstairs is an impressive gallery of paintings (some owned by the Museo de Prado). It was a very interesting interlude. 

From the museum, we went to the main square dominated at one end by the Cathedral of Santa Ana and at the other by the Casas Consistoriales - the old town hall. Whilst the Cathedral is an imposing building, there is nothing attractive about it. We didn't get the opportunity to have a look inside.

We didn’t spend long in the square as we had to cross to the “poor” quarter where we were stopping for a light snack. We sat down at two ranks of tables and were served a soft drink, a beer, or some wine. Then, when everyone was served, they dished up tapas of Canarian potatoes in a fiery red sauce. Entertainment was provided when one waiter tried to juggle a tray of drinks and ended up decorating the pavement with shards of glass and pools of beer. It was further enhanced by me dropping some of the hot sauce on my stone-coloured chinos and my polo shirt. As I write, both are now soaking in the vague hope that they may wash out. 

We returned to the bus and were taken to the Botanical Gardens. We had about 30-40 minutes for a quick look around but hardly scratched the surface. They were quite impressive, with extensive stands of the native shrubs and trees. We were soon ushered back to the bus and taken back to the port.

Once back on board, we both had a nap, accompanied by the sirens and alarms of the working port.

We sailed away from Las Palmas soon after 17:30 and did a sneaky about-turn in the harbour so that we could sail straight out of the entrance rather than reverse up. We stood on Jane and Trevor's balcony watching the world go by and chatting about the success of various sports teams during the day— the England Women's Rugby win over Canada, the significant lead Europe had in the Ryder Cup over the Americans, and some of the day's football results. We went to the Bay Tree restaurant for dinner at 18:30 and took our places at our usual table. Di started with melon (though it wasn't on the menu), and the rest of us had grilled sardines on toasted ciabatta. For the main dish, Di selected the lasagne al forno, while I had Texan beef brisket chilli. Whilst nowhere near hot enough for me, the chilli was very tasty indeed.

The entertainment tonight was advertised as a comedian, Manuel Martinez. In fact, he was more of a witty magician. Hailing from Cuba, he switched from Spanish (his opening was all in Spanish) to English. He was excellent, working the crowd mercilessly and constructing some long-running jokes/tricks.

It was quite clear at the end of the show that the audience were eating out of his hand and loving every minute of it. We were delighted to hear that he has a further show later in the cruise.

We all called it a night after the show. Jane and Trevor have an early start, tomorrow, and a quiet evening suited us well, too.

Day 7 - Tenerife

We covered about 117 nautical miles overnight from La Palma to Tenerife. We looped around the northern part of the island, and at 6 o’clock this morning, we docked in Santa Cruz.

Jane and Trevor were up early. They had an excursion across the northern side of the island, but as we know Tenerife so well, we didn’t really bother with an excursion for today. We had a leisurely breakfast and slowly got ourselves together, ready to have a wander around Santa Cruz.

Leaving the ship, we walked along the promenade towards the auditorium, then crossed into the city and started to zig and zag through the walkways and streets. It was while we were walking this first stretch that Diane realised she had left the ship without her hat or her sunglasses. I volunteered to go back, but said we could just pick up a cheap pair of shades or a wide-brimmed hat. This gave us an objective— we needed to find suitable shops. 

We headed for the Mercado Municipal Nuestra Señora de África. It was 2006, the last time we had been there, and we couldn’t remember what we would find. Well, it wasn’t sunglasses. 

There were ceramics, there was a vast fruit and vegetable market, and there was meat and poultry. As tempting as it all looked, I wasn’t convinced that they would enhance Diane’s looks. We marched on. The next stop was El Corte Inglés. They sold everything. At a price. We wandered around but couldn’t find anything at a price we were willing to pay (given that these would just be a stop-gap). 

We left and crossed the road to a shopping mall called Nivaria (the ancient name of Tenerife). There we did find some suitable sunglasses, and after stopping for a delicious coffee, we headed back.

Our target was the older part of town and specifically the Teatro Guider. There was a wonderful bronze face mask that I had remembered from the last visit. (This is more than the girl in the coffee shop, who didn’t recognise the photo, and tried to send us entirely to the wrong place.) We stopped at the Teatro and took some photos, then moved on to Iglesia de la Concepción. 

The church is regarded as the mother church (parroquia matriz) of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and is often called “la Catedral de Santa Cruz” even though it is not a cathedral. The original chapel on this site was built by the Spanish conquerors shortly after they arrived. The construction of what became the church began around 1500 under Father Juan Guerra. The architectural style is Canarian Baroque, with elements typical of colonial architecture in the islands. 

We went inside and wandered around, marvelling at the incredible statuary in the side chapels and the stained glass. At 13:00 we were all turfed out and the church was closed (Our Lord was having lunch, apparently). 

We walked from there to the Plaza de España. Plaza de España is the main square in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and one of the most emblematic places in the city. Its significance is historical, cultural, and civic. The square was built in 1929 on the site of the Castillo de San Cristóbal, a fortress that had defended the port since the 16th century. The castle is notable because from there, the defenders of Tenerife repelled Admiral Horatio Nelson’s attack in 1797, during which Nelson lost his right arm. The current look of Plaza de España comes from a major redevelopment in 2008 by the famous Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron (who also designed the Tate Modern in London). At the heart of the square is a large artificial lake/pool, symbolising the Atlantic Ocean and designed as a calm reflective space. Scattered around the square are a number of incredible statues representing fallen soldiers: the statues stand as sentinels, holding swords, symbolising both military valor and civic duty.

We left the square and headed back to the ship. Trevor and Jane had returned from their excursion, but we didn’t get time to chat as they were heading off for a walk. We grabbed a cold beer and sat in the buffet with a snack. We got talking to a couple from Cardiff about travel, photography, photo books, backups, family, and heaven’s knows what else. We headed back to our cabin for some Kindle time and a rest on the balcony (though it got too hot for me, so I went inside).

We have been tracking Zoe throughout the day as she drove from home across to Ottery St Mary to pick up a new car. It's good to that 280 miles later, she's virtually home. We had also monitored Kim, and she seemed to be stuck in traffic on the Chichester bypass, when we looked.

We met up for dinner. We were surprised that, though we went down to the restaurant early (it doesn't open until 18:30), it was already filling up. We suspected that this was because the headliners were putting on a brand new show this evening, and everyone wanted to get across to the area to ensure they got a seat. (We had a plan for that.) Diane had some melon as a starter, and then chose Traditional Beer-Battered Haddock Fillet (Jane and Trevor also selected the haddock). I started with Hot Crispy Pulled Pork and Apple Bonbon. I followed this with Char Siu Pork Fillet Medallions with Japanese Ponzu Dressing. This was absolutely delightful.

This was where our plan kicked in. I am not a great one for desserts, so I left the others to choose their sweets while I nipped to the other end of the ship and snaffled four excellent seats in the Arena. The Arena was filling up fast and there were ushers spotting the odd vacant seats with more than 20 minutes to go. Di, Trevor and Jane arrived and took their seats. (I was told that I had chosen well.) The new show was called "Beyond Reality" and was sensational. It was a backdrop of digital life, with lasers, VR headsets, suits with lights that changed colour and each part could be switched on and off in time with the music and action. We were told specifically that we were not allowed to take any photos or use any recording devices (hence no images for the blog). Apparently, they are so paranoid about the copyright that they are not even allowed to send images to other headliner troupes in the fleet. As I said, it really was sensational but almost impossible to describe.