Tuesday 21st June - Peter's not well

This morning Peter woke, and it was obvious he wasn't well.  He said he was shivering when he woke, I started getting worried.  He had a tickly throat too, and I thought he felt a bit warm.

He had a shower, "to clear his tubes",  and because he knows I worry about these things, he said, "OK, I'll do a Covid test, just to prove to you that I don't have it!"

Famous last words!

Two lines across the test and we had to work out what to do next.  It was about 8.10am, and we were supposed to be in the craft room in 20 minutes for registration.  Peter tried to ring Rolando, but couldn't get through, so he rang the medical centre.  

They sent a guy to test us both, he said he'd ring us with the results.  Rolando rang back, we explained and asked Rolando to get his art suitcase from the store. The medical centre rang and told us Peter was positive but I was clear.  Housekeeping rang, we needed to pack up our suitcases ready to move into an isolation cabin. A knock at the door, there was othe art suitcase. We packed.

Eventually we were moved, guys in white hazmat suits arrived to take our suitcases, and the corridor appeared to have been closed, no passengers anywhere.  We were taken to the service lift at the end of the ship, and moved down a level into a "isolation cabin" near the rear of the ship.  Menu's for lunch and dinner were left and that was it.

So we've been here for the day. It's been pleasantly quiet, we've been on and off the phone sorting out little problems such as not having key cards, disembarkation, luggage etc.

Curiously, Peter got an email from one of the Art Class passengers "thank you for the classes, sorry you are not well, etc".  We decided they were fishing for info, so he's not gonna reply until we are off the ship.  We are pretty sure the rumours will be flying, especially amongst the entertainers...  it gives them something to talk about.

So we will miss all the goodbyes, and "the can I have your address" stuff, but we are not too worried about that, Peter is easily found on t'internet.  Tomorrow we will be the last to disembark, so as not to contaminate the rest of the passengers.  More white hazmat suits!

Then it will be homeward bound, I am looking forward to my kettle, my bed, and a tesco's delivery. All is good in my world.

Monday 20th June - Sea Day

 Old guy appeared to sign in for classes.   Wondered where he'd got to.  Turns out he had Covid - 9 days in isolation

Tia back running craft classes

So Peter didn't have a good day day.  After a really bad night with indigestion, he was shattered, he also had a bit of a tickle in his throat.  At dinner l he could hardly keep his eyes open, so afterwards, we came back to the cabin, and he slept whilst I watched "Grumpy Old Men"

Sunday 19 June 2022 - Lisbon

I don't know why, but I don't have a blog post for this day. So go to Peter's instead:- Riding the lift in Lisbon

Saturday 18th June - Sea Day

So here we go with another sea day.  Not much news

Fearn from the opera quartet has joined the art class, she is doing both morning and afternoon sessions. 

I found out from Charlewin that the lady yesterday is fine.  Apparently it was an epileptic fit.

And after dinner, we went to the Supper Club to listen to Coral and Sam - we love the peace in there. 

It wasn't peaceful at the end of their set however, because one of the dancers, Genie, came in to do her very first ever singing set, and she was supported by every member of the entertainment team and a few passengers.   The supper club was full.  She was good as well.

Friday 17th June - Medical alerts

So it's a sea day, Peter and I got up to run registration for the art classes as per normal, but Tia and Gerry are not about today.  Tia isn't well.  I know that the last time I saw her, she had just thrown herself down on a sofa because whe wasn't feeling well with her indigestion problems, so I assumed it was a continuation of that.

Once Peter's class was up and running, so I sat in the library as usual, ended up talking to Hazel and Phil.  Just after they left, I looked up to see the young lad who makes coffee n stuff in the library, Charlewin, helping one of the passengers.  He normally does. She sometimes has difficulty standing, and he makes sure she is on her feet and stable before she walks off. 

Except this time she wasn't getting up.  She seemed to be shaking, saying "I don't know what's the matter with me".  She was obviously in distress, he wanted to call the medical centre, but he was holding her up.  Of course I dashed over to hold her whilst he made the call.  She was shaking, eyes closed.  I'm saying to her, "Just relax.  Don't be scared.  Help is coming."  He's telling her to breathe in, breathe out. Nice and calm.  

It didn't take long for the medics to turn up.  Charlewin told them that she'd had a seizure, and they hurried her away.  I hoped she would be OK.

Then as we tidying up the class after the morning session, there was a code Alpha up on deck 14.  We found out during lunch from Joanne the pianist that a guy had passed out up there.  Due to the heat we thought, easy done with too much alcohol. 

But maybe it was a little more than that.  As the afternoon wore on, the Captain first announced that we would have to turn towards Spain and prepare for a Helicopter evacuation, before following that with a series of anouncements calling staff to prepare and telling us what to expect.  The helicopter seemed to arrive in no time, and the patient lifted off and taken away before you could say "The irony is that is is quicker to get a helicopter ambulance to a cruise ship with a full medical team in the middle of the Mediterranean than it is to get an ordinary one to an old guy who's had a fall in England".  (It took about 8 hours I think, and he died).

Everybody assumed that the helicopter evacuation was as a result of the Code Alpha on deck 14.  I was hoping it wasn't the lady in the library.

After all that drama, we decided to spend the evening out.  It was either opera in the playhouse or guitar classis in the Brittania Lounge.  We should have chose the opera.

Thursday 16th June - Cagliari, Sardinia

We couldn't see Cagliari at first, because of the massive Virgin ship alongside us.  Ugly grey, and  looking more like the proverbial block of flats than ever, it dominated our view as we woke.  I should have taken a picture, but never mind.  We noticed all the cabins had hammocks though.  Nice.

We weren't in a rush, Peter said he had a vague memory that he liked Cagliari, so we were expecting good things, but once it again, it was hot, and gonna get hotter.  We were also feeling a bit lazy after our walk yesterday, so we took it easy, caught the shuttle bus that would take us across the port around 10.

Immediately across the road from the bus, we found what looked like some grand government building, which happened to include the tourist information office.  Hoping to get an idea of good places to visit, Peter was given a map, but not a lot of information.  So we set off walking.

Maybe it was the heat, maybe it was yesterday's walk, but it didn't take long for me to start feeling worn out.  After resting on a bench in Piazza Constituzione for a bit, we made our way on towards the old town.  I think, if I'd been able to see the city and not the Virgin monster, I would have seen that the city is built on a hill.  As it was, I found out by having to walk up it.

 

 

Well, not all walking.  There are a couple of lifts that can help.  The first was marked on our map, near the Elephant Tower, and takes you up the equivalent of a couple of stories high.   We took advantage of it, and found the Elephant tower, which, unsurprisingly, has an elephant on it.

If you go through the gate and look back though, you'll see that the elephant tower doesn't have a back.  A bit like an open dolls house, you can see all it's innards, which are mostly stairs.  For a small fee, you can take a tour up the stairs, but these are at set times, it finding the guy with the tickets is difficult apparently.

 

 

Once up there, we quite liked wandering the streets of the old town, which continues to climb up hill.  The were narrow and high, the buildings full of character and interest.  We found a church, an art centre, and eventually, the cathedral.

We also found a cliff drop behind the cathedral. A nearby terrace allows you to see from the top across the city as it extends outwards, and a lift will take you the fast way down if you want to the to the sports pitches below.

 

After the cathedral, we thought we'd try to ge to the archeological site and ampitheatre we could see on the map.  We sort of got lost trying to find our way, partly because we were trying to save ourselves walking up and down hill.  Eventually tho', we managed to work our way to the corner of Via Fra Nicola da Gesturi and Via Anfiteatro, just above the roman archeological site.  That's when we decided a well earned break was due, and found Luchia's.  A small cafe catering for the locals.  Beer for Peter, lemonade for me.  Sitting in the shade.  All  was good.

Then it was off to the ampitheatre.  It looked so promising from above, but as we followed the road around and down, it became obvious that it was closed.  So diappointing, cos it looked brilliant. 

 

After that, it was back to the ship to cool down and eat choc chip cookies in the Living Room downstairs. 

And finally, just to finish the day, a lovely sunset

before watching Albert the Magician battle with microphone glitches and a drunk "assistant" but still manage to pull off a really good show.  I've got bored with magicians after seeing loads of them on Britain's Got Talent, and I was pleasantly surprised with Albert's performance.  I had never seen his tricks before.  Bravo!

Back to work tomorrow.  It's a sea day and Peter will be running his classes.

You can read about our next visit to Cagliari here:- Tuesday 25th April - Cagliari, Sardinia, Itialy

Wednesday 15th June - Mount Pelligrino, Palermo, Sicily

I'd seen it on a walking blog, checked it on Maps.Me, and as the ship docked last night, we saw it from our balcony.  Mount Pelligrino.

At 1,970 feet, it's not really a big mountain but it dominates the port.  You can drive up it, or if you are feeling slightly nuts, like we were, you could walk up the path used by the pilgrims visiting the chapel devoted to Santa Rosalia at the top 

We knew it was going to be hot, so we didn't expect to be able to get to the top, but we thought we'd see how far we could go, so after breakfast, we left the ship at about 9.45 (we never rush anywhere), and turned right out the port.  

We'd sort of been warned by Hazel, the port lecturer, who said in her lecture that if you turned right it could be a bit "gritty".  And it was.  Lots of rubbish piled up on the streets, manic cars with loud complaining horns, push bikes and mopeds everyhere, and the streets and buildings a little tatty and run down. There were trees full of purple flowers though, and their perfume sat on top of the warm busy smell of the city.

It was a mile and three quarters, or 45 minutes walking,  to get from the ship to the bottom of the hill, but there it was, exactly as described in the walking blog I'd read last night.

 

The path is paved or cobbled all the way up, making for an easy route, which it needed to be in the heat. The sun was already high, and we were grateful for the shade offered by the occasional tree.

It really was hot going, and constant breaks were needed.  Bodhan, the pianist on the ship, overtook us  on his mountain bike. 

And we loved it.  The countryside around us was varied and interesting with trees, plants and cactiiT the odd lizard crossed our path and the views were stunning.

We'd already decided that we'd walk until 12.30.  No matter where we were at that point, we'd take a take a break, eat the fruit we'd brought from the ship, and then go back.  At 12.30, with the brow of a hill just ahead I persuaded Peter to go just a tiny bit further.  And I was pleased I had, we'd reached a point where we could see over the other side, and Sferracavallo, a port town on the other side. 

Sferracavallo

 

We rested under the shade of the tree, where a passing Sicillian family stopped to say Hi.  They were curious about the mad English people on a ship who just suddenly decided to climb the hill. 

As expected, going down was much easier, and also much faster.  Much faster in fact than we'd calculated.  We had gone through a lot of water though, and were not looking forward to the walk back through town, expecting it to be a bit of a slog.  It was.  But buyin a couple of ice cold bottles of water from a shop we passed, and guzzling them within minutes sort of made it a little better. 

We were back at the ship by 3, well in time for Covid testing, so a quick cold shower was in order before heading to the Living Room for cold drinks and cookies. 

The rest of the day's highlights included Peter throwing icecream all over himself, the Crew Show, which was OK, and popping in to Joanne who was playing piano in the supper club.

Cagliari (pronounced Cal-i-arr-i) tomorrow, and more heat.  Peter seems to have a vague memory that he liked the place, so I'm looking forward to it.

Tuesday 14th June - Sea Day

It's a sea day.  We spend a lot of time on the balcony during sea days, usually enjoying a cup of tea before breakfast and between classes, watching the sea do nothing more than ripple, with the odd gently wave. 

Today our sea watching rewarded us with lots of dolphins, a single, large flying fish that flew on for ever, and three turtles, just below the balcony.  The bridge beat us on that one though, they'd seen nine.

Classes were running as usual, and then we got the announcement that we were going into Palermo early, so basically an overnighter.  We were of half a mind to go out after dinner, but didn't have that much enthusiasm for it, and ended up in the Brittania Lounge with Bob and Annette, listening to the band playing movie and tv show theme music.  

We have a walk planned tomorrow, and I'm really looking forward to it. 

Monday 13th June - Syracuse, Sicily

Oooooooo!  We like Syracuse.

The only thing we knew about the place was that it had an old town so when we got off the ship, we turned left and headed for it. 

In actual fact, the old town we were looking for is actually the island of Ortigia.  I say island, - it's very, very close to the mainland, and attached by two bridges, and you wouldn't really think about it until you looked on a map.

We loved the atmosphere of the area, the tall buildings and narrow streets lined with little interesting shops which displayed their wares tightly against the walls.  

Our aim was just to wander and take a look at the main attractions which are:

The Temple of Apollo

 

The remains included a couple of columns still at their complete height, with the remnants of the ceiling they would have held up.  I tried to imagine what it would be like walking between those columns. Amazing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The Fontana di Diana

 

Cattedrale della Natività di Maria Santissima

 

 

 

 

We noticed, both outside and inside the cathedral, that it seemed to be built using the foundations and columns of a previous building.  I've just checked, and this was previously the 5th century BC temple of Athena.  So these columns are around 6-7000 years old!

In the square outside the catheral were various busking musicians, the most memorable of which was a monkey playing the xylophone.  (Actually it was a well designed puppet.) Peter has that photo.

 

We took a look at the Fonte Aretusa - a natural spring of fresh water, right alongside the sea. Amongst all the fish was a humongous coy carp (not in the picture though).

 

Amongst the market stalls and I spotted and bought a black pendant, something I had been looking for for a while.  The stall holder told me it was Obsidian from Lipari.

The heat was building up as we made our way to the fort at the end of the island, but decided we were all castled out and left it this time.

It took us a while, but we eventually found our way to gardens alongside the Arethusa Spring for short break. We had fruit and water from the ship to bring our fluid levels back up, and we set off again to walk along the other side of the island.

 It was here that we found the locals using rocky platforms for sunbathing and swimming.  As we were getting hotter and hotter, I was quite jealous.

We worked our way back to the bridges, and found a cafe.  Vanilla icecream and beer for Peter, mine was a coffee and cream concoction which was absolutely delicious. 

We had hoped to to visit a cone shaped cathedral on the mainland, but as always, the heat is exhausting, and we decided we'd leave that for another day. 

Yep.  We like Syracuse.  Hopefully we'll visit again someday.  

 

Sunday 12th June - Taking it easy - sea day

It's another sea day, and the routine of classes runs as usual.   We spent a little time talking to Cynthia and Jeff Chandler at lunch.  He's not a fan of Peel Talent.  

It was a formal night, and since we were all togged up, it seemed appropriate to go to the show.  It was a Queen night, titled "We are the champions" - there were some good song mixes and blends there, but I'm not sure about the show as a whole. 

We finished in the Supper Club, listening to Sam and Coral with their gentle accoustic vibe..

Tomorrow is our first Sardinia port, Syracuse.  I have no idea what to expect.

Saturday 11th June - Bodrum, Turkiye

Another Turkish port which research tells us does not have a lot for us to be interested in. 

Like Kusadasi yesterday, Bodrum is for shoppers.  Except, unlike Kusadas, the atmosphere is much more relaxed.  You felt that you could go into a shop, look at stuff and not be mobbed quite so ferociously.

Another thing about Bodrum is the boats.  Ken Lennox, a keen sailor, has told us that Bodrum is one of the key places for wooden boat building.  Apparently they are called gulets, they can be made of steel or wood, they are everywhere in the bay, big, small, fun, or sleek,  and they are beautfiul.  Most of those in the bay are for tourists, taking passengers out for a few hours or a few days. 

I couldn't resist these, they are the sterns of a couple of tourist gulets.

 

And finally there is a fort.  It isn't described as a fort per se, the call it an underwater archeological museum.  The fort was built by the Knights of St John - who were constantly upgrading and improving it for 100 plus years before the Ottoman empire took it in the 1520's.  As you go around, you see constant reminders of this in the form of shields and emblems carved into the stonework throughout the castle.  I heard someone mention there are summat like 250 to them.

Veiw through the fort wall, the bay is full of these gulets.

 

As I said before, the fort is now used as museum to display the items from in shipwrecks found  in the Aegean Sea.  One display shows a life size model of a ship from 1077 AD, and how it would have looked when it sank.  We were quite impressed by it.

We were also quite impressed by the Carian princess display.  They found a complete sarcophagus, undisturbed.  The display shows a reconstruction of how the woman buried there would have looked, her treasures, and her bones.  (Peter got that picture).  They're pretty sure they know who she is  - (a historic queen), but they can't prove it. 

Looking out from the castle walls gave some brilliant views of the bay too,

Up and up through the twists and turns of the castle, we headed for the highest tower.  The place was like a maze, and it took a lot longer to explore than we imagined.  By the time we'd finished, and started heading for the exit, we were worn out.  Any plans to head for the ampitheatre up the hill were quashed, and we took a slow stroll back to the ship.  

The easier atmosphere of the shops made us consider buying Peter a couple of new shirts.  This part of Turkiye is known for it's "genuine fakes".  Labels such as Dior, Chanel, Ralph Lauren, Lacoste and so many others surrounded us.  Turns out that genuine fakes are not as cheap as Primark.  €35 a shirt was a little more than we planned, especially as Peter couldn't get a black one.  The salesmen was dead cool about us walking out with nothing though.

These brightly coloured shapes are actually wind and solar powered lamps - used for the restaurant tables next to the bay.

As we got to the marina near by, Peter decided it would be an excellent place to do a little bit of  painting, and quickly produced two brilliant drawings of the boats in the marina.  I also decided I wanted to buy some turkish delight, so we walked to town and back, again.

Finally back on the ship, it was good to relax in the cool air conditioned Living Room on Deck 5.  (Ideal place for a cool beer or a coffee, with excellent chocolate chip cookies available too). 

Tomorrow is a sea day which will be a bit of rest as far as I'm concerned.

A rather beautiful white peacock.  There were two of these in the fort.  Lovely.

Friday 10th June - Kusadasi - Turkiye

We loved how the houses had been painted on the hill, very pretty. 

Hmmmmmmm. Kusadadi.  What should I say about Kusadasi.

Well, research told me that there would not be much for us - with our love of country, hills, rocky coves and wildlife, Kusadasi did not seem to have much to offer, very much a tourist haven, it's mostly about the shopping, and boat trips,  and cafe's.

We set off after breakfast, left out of the port to see what the town had to offer and my attention was captured by some old looking wall.  From what I can make out, it is called the Okuz Mehmed Pasha Caravanserai, and is used as a hotel.  Except it didn't seem to be a hotel when we walked in.  It had a really nice atmosphere, cool in the heat, with an exhibition of art and paintings, some of which we really liked.

Back into the street, we came across a map that seemed to show a sort of tourist interest route.  Taking a photograph, we thought we'd follow it.  That proved a challenge to far, we got lost amongst the streets, and gave up in the end. 

We decided to head for Pigeon Island and the fort on it, which meant we would have walk through the shopping area.  Not a pleasant experience.  Even if I wanted to buy something, I wouldn't.  The shopkeepers were quite persistent, almost aggressive, trying to capture your attention, and insisting you should interact with them.

They did not seem to understand that this is entirely the right way to put off potential British buyers.  We got out the other side, and sat on a bench on the waterfront, relaxing after the onslaught, but even then there wasn't any peace.  A man approached with cards.  He said "Hello" we said "No thank you", he said, "Why you don't want to talk to me, I only said Hello".  I sort of got mad, and explained, with controlled anger, that we were sick of being pestered and just wanted to be left alone.  I didn't swear, and I was very polite.  But he got the message.

Next was Pigeon island.  A pleasant little fort, free to walk up and around in, with views across the bay.

By now, as there wasn't really anywhere left for us to go, (although Peter wanted to walk up to the Kusadasi sign, I was just too hot), so we were looking for somewhere for a cool drink.  Whilst up in the fort, I'd spotted some sun loungers at the bottom, and decided to investigate.

Views over the bay, The Saga ship Spirit of Adventure on the left.  Note the parasols and boardwalk at the bottom of the cliff.

Well, we now know where we will go if we ever go to Kusadasi again.  As you approach the fort, there is a bar to the right.  A board walk leads from the bar, around the edge of the little island to an area of loungers, with steps leading into a marked out area of safe water, which is just perfect for a swim.  

Peter and I sat at the bar, looking out at the boats, swimmers and fishermen, and watched the island folk and tourists be island folk and tourists.  A couple of drinks each, a massive pile of chips, and tons of mayo, and once again we felt like relaxed visitors.  Very content.

Back on the ship, we are still undergoing daily covid tests, and today we are still Covid free.  Tomorrow is another Turkish port.  I'm hoping it will have more for us than today.