Shaken and stirred in Antigua

The view that lasted only about 2 minutes this morning

As we set sail from St Lucia yesterday evening there started a little playful banter between the two P&O ships in port. The mighty Arvia versus the mini Aurora. As we were leaving port, tradition is that we sound our horn (sorry, whistle…though it sounds like a horn). Then, not wishing to be left out, Arvia joined in, only it was 10 octaves deeper and certainly resonated throughout Castries. I reckon Arvia’s captain then got everyone worked up because the whole ship turned out to watch our departure. Pretty much the whole capacity of passengers and crew. It started getting a bit rowdy with Oggi, Oggi, Oggi being shouted on Arvia, with the responding Oi, Oi, Oi. Perleasssssseeeee! We’re not in Benidorm guys. When we spoke to Steevan later in the evening, he informed us Arvia was at 94% capacity. It looked like a medium-sized town on the water. I wouldn’t go on it, literally if you paid me. It looked absolutely chocker and certainly not my idea of a fun holiday.

St Lucia by land and sea

Exotic flora in the Botanical Gardens

Last night’s Caribbean menu included Baked Banana Wrapped in Bacon with Rum Sauce and a Chilled Pina Colada Soup with Citrus Biscuit. They really were going for it and, on balance, the meal was good - that’s the second in a row! It was topped off with half of a nice bottle of Campo Viejo (the rest tonight, methinks). 

The island of Rihanna’s houses

Our driver and guide, Tiny

Anything can happen if you go into it with a positive mental attitude. We trotted off to the restaurant. We were not crammed in at dinner last night and to be fair, our meal was actually OK. We were served in a leisurely fashion and everything was relaxed. We raised a glass to dad whose anniversary it was yesterday and reflected on the couple of months we’d lived with him before the cancer’s grip finally got the better of him. We’ve mentioned him a lot on this trip simply because he would have been so interested in the workings of things, the mechanisms of things and also the cultures and environments we’ve been to. If we think of him and talk about him, he lives on…in our minds at least. Simple.

A day at sea and farewell to Captain Love

Enjoying a glass in the Glass House

Our exclusive invitation to the Library Suite was, as we suspected, a selling opportunity, although quite gentle. We arrived along with a gaggle of other people who had likewise been invited and who also were after the free glass of pop. Anything to get something out of P&O! It was the sail-away for us leaving Aruba port and we watched as the island rapidly slipped into the distance. We had already decided that we would be back there again at some point - great place.

Manicured Aruba

Casibari Rock Formations

Last night we tried The Beach House for the first time…on this trip. We’ve eaten in it before on other P&O cruises. The menu seems to be aiming at the American grill style of food with largely a meaty sort of fayre, but there were a couple of prawn and veggie options too. It’s next to the cafeteria so didn’t really provide us with any huge expectations. There’s a cover charge for this dining experience, just to give it that edge of being something different from the normal restaurant. We were offered inside or outside and of course, chose outside. 

An active sea day … and a mystery

Sunset over Cartagena as Aurora pivots for takeoff

It never ceases to amaze me how the ship is wielded in and out of port. Yesterday’s manoeuvre was not the most complex but still involved reversing the bulk of Aurora from its berth in Cartagena port, out into the open harbour, turning it sharply to the right as it backed up under the watchful eye of a large tug. Once clear of the jetty, the ship then pivoted around its centre using its side thrusters until it was aligned with the marker buoys that showed the way out to the open sea. At the same time as all this was going on we were rewarded with a beautiful sunset where the sun dropped rapidly behind the skyscrapers and lit the sky with fire. Magical!

Cartagena by land and sea

High speed skyline from the speedboat

Last night I noticed what an increase there was in people now going to The Glass House for drinks and meals. Earlier on in the trip, we were amazed at how few people there were, compared with the ratio of staff. I guess folks feel the need to utilise the areas they’ve already paid for in the price of the trip. However, from our point of view, if we’re frocking up and going out for a date-night Celebration meal, then we want it to be special, not just the usual restaurant where the food is mediocre at best.

Recovering from all the excitement

A lively sea

Like so many other evenings in recent weeks, we were fairly tired even though we had not strayed far from our cabin. The view sailing by all day was just so exciting and I think we were both overwhelmed by the sights and sounds of the Panama Canal transit. We showered and went to Anderson’s for a glass of something nice and then on to the restaurant for another fairly mediocre dinner. Neither of us wanted what was on the menu and we felt we were getting dining room fatigue! It’s hard to raise enthusiasm for the food when it’s either overcooked or poorly presented … or both. However, we look to the positives: the plates are always hot (even when you have salad) and the portions are not huge. So, we headed back to our lovely cabin and stargazed on the balcony for some time and then had a read before turning in. 

The Panama Experience - part two

Sunrise as we head for the canal

As we were on our way back from our trip yesterday, I suggested to Nick we had a quick freshen-up and then take the shuttle bus into Panama City. It looked amazing and as per normal, I wanted to max out our time. We didn’t have to be back on the ship until 10pm, so we could see Panama at night. Awesome. “Let’s see how we feel when we get back” I am learning that what that actually meant was “are you utterly bonkers woman, all I’m good for is a lie down in a darkened room.” After several days of not being terribly hungry, it felt like yesterday I was hoovering up everything going. I think the heat and sheer sensory overload seem to do something to the brain that advises time-out is needed and you end up a bit weirded out. Sure enough, when we got back to the ship, even I was in agreement that the thought of going out into Panama City was indeed, a bonkers idea. Dinner was nothing to write home about (oh and here I am writing home about it) followed by a quiet night in. So much for my bright ideas of going out on the razz in the big City.

The Panama experience - part one

Tassels in a coach!

Even though we had been to the Glass House for the wine tasting we couldn’t stay away and we had a pre-dinner glass of pop before heading down to the restaurant. Having fallen asleep at least twice on my book, we turned in around 9:30 with the alarm set for 6:30am. It was going to be a big day!

A sea day with (a lot of) drink

Crossing the equator, 30 seconds later

With a layer of body lotion, sun cream, Deet and then even more sun cream, there was, unsurprisingly, an even thicker layer of grime which had to be shifted when we got back from our trip yesterday evening. I hadn’t eaten much at lunchtime on our trip, quite simply because it was just too hot to eat. Neither of us fancied going out last night, so we continued wading through the massive fruit bowl Steevan had left for us. There were no shows of interest, so it ended up being a moany-groany-sighy-dressingowny sort of evening wallowing in a very bubbly bath and hunkering down.

Midday in the rainforest, near the equator - what could possibly go wrong?

A building near the artisan village

Not much to tell about last night as we ate a short dinner - one course - went to bed and read our books until time to sleep. We were prepping for our trip to Machalilla National Park in the morning. 

So up early and onto the bus where our guide told us that Ecuador has two seasons: the rainy season and the very rainy season. They expect well over a metre in annual rainfall and the green nature of the countryside bears that out. Our trip to the rainforest was going to take longer than we thought because a high tide had washed away part of the highway so we sat back to let the miles slip by. 

First day in Manta, Ecuador

A quiet Corona, complete with lime and salt rim, before the very noisy lunch

This time, the remainder of the pop was carefully distributed, without any spillages. It’s a shame the sunsets are so early now (6.45pm), as by the time we’ve got our act together and frocked up, it’s generally an hour later. However, it was still lovely to sit in the dark on our balcony, chewing the fat, as the sea drifted past us. There is something rather brochure-esque when you’re glammed up, sipping something lovely and watching the sunset. I guess if we want all of that, we’ll just have to get organised earlier in the evening. 

Two good reasons to celebrate

Valentine's menu - click to open and read it

After Gabrielle had posted her blog yesterday evening and we had consumed the chocolate strawberries (oh, yum, by the way) we steadily prepped for our Valentine’s night out. Given that neither of us had felt that good, really since we came back from Atacama, this was the first real effort we had put in. The powers that be had ordained that, for this auspicious occasion, we would be able to buy Taittinger Rosé at a £10 discount per bottle. Guess what? We grabbed two! So once scrubbed and primped, we decided to pop a cork. We’d not had a drink for two or three days - horrors - and so it was something of a shock to the system to have alcohol again. 

Love is in the air

Flowers from a "mystery man"

And then the Captain’s announcement came. I hasten to add, at the point at which we should have been casting off and sailing into the sunset. We weren’t going anywhere. It sort of felt like rubbing even more salt into the wound. Think about it, (First World problems I realise) but here we were, in a country, able to look but not touch a small slice of it, but being told we had to hang on for several hours more. Having rocked up in Callao at 8ish yesterday morning, we had waited and waited all day for fuel only to be told it might arrive by 11pm with the hope we may leave by midnight. For those old enough, you’ll understand the phrase “at this point I must have lost my presence of mind”. 

Some gentle moaning and groaning … and sleeping

Kraken near Aurora

A strange incident yesterday as I was going to sleep. An offshore camera picked up this picture of Aurora as it passed the notorious Nazca Zone where lines of force and strange effects converge. With a roll call later on it was discovered that four of the larger passengers and two crew were missing and part of the antennae had gone AWOL, leaving no trace behind. Cue spooky music. 

A quiet sea day

Our wake as we travelled past Peru's coastline

I think word has got through to the tour guides that they have to get us back to the ship when instructed. We made it back with 15 minutes to spare yesterday. I get that they want to give us our money’s worth and they believe the ship won’t go without us. Not the case, as we already know. Being in the desert had been tiring and draining and something of a sensory overload. It was warm with a gentle breeze in places, but we were constantly being warned about the UV. So naturally, we piled the sun protection on, only for the fine sand and dust to stick to us. So, after we set sail, a lovely hot bath was the order of the evening. As we left the northernmost part of Chile, we immediately travelled along the coast of Peru. Not surprisingly, it looked pretty identical. I felt the need to ponder our time in Chile. The positives were they were hugely friendly and welcoming, but the downside is they really need to sort out their road safety.

Up into the Atacama Desert to Codpa Village

At The Guardians

Yesterday we spent the late afternoon reading and writing. Then to the Glass House for prinks and dinner with a wine flight. As it was formal night and we were all dolled up, two people referred to Gabrielle as a fairy in her pink flowery party frock. She then went on to be a fairy godmother to Janice with some relationship advice. 

A peaceful day on the high seas

Enjoying the roar of the wake

No dramas, just observations in today’s account. After our busy three days on land, it was rather nice to know we would be back at sea for a day. Last night we had a swifty prink at The Glass House and a lovely chat with the staff to find out what they’d been up to for the day, a simple meal in the main restaurant and then back ‘home’ for our viewing pleasure and a quiet evening.

Petroglyphs, desert, winery and the TransAmerican Highway

Enjoying a morning glass of wine (or two, or three)

A quiet meal yesterday evening before retiring to bed. The BBC iPlayer app decided that it didn’t like being wherever we were in the world and so we were not allowed to watch the next episode of This is Going To Hurt. Frustrating. 

“Place of Calm Water” as Coquimbo translates, dawned grey and drizzly which is fairly normal along the coast. The name was a slight misnomer when the tsunami hit in 2015 and devastated four city blocks with a 5-metre high wave. 

Valparaiso, Chilean wine and a double apology

Heroes of the Chilean people, remembered in their main square in Valparaiso

After our fairly less-than-satisfactory excursion yesterday, we returned to the sanity and cool of our room with a message of apology from P&O, basically saying it wasn’t their fault that there was utter chaos yesterday, it was the fault of the port authorities. Well, at least we had an apology eh?! Our balcony was bathed in evening sunlight, but our view was heavy-duty cranes. Not exactly the romantic pictures as depicted by the cruise brochures. As we’d had a large lunch, there was no need for a meal last night, though we both felt in need of a bath to remove the heat from the day. Nick finally agreed that the boat does actually move when we’re in dock.

San Antonio, Santiago and the queue that kept on giving

San Antonio port before dawn

After the excitement of the bridge visit we needed to gather our thoughts and reflect on our experiences. Gabrielle wrote her blog post and then we got it posted with relative ease, considering we were 40 miles off the coast of Chile. 

We headed out to deck 7 - the Promenade Deck - and set off for our seven laps. There were very few people around and there was a marked contrast between the starboard side which was in shadow and deserted and the port side which was bathed in early evening sunshine. The sea rushed past us, literally at a rate of knots and, do you know, all was well with the world. A simple dinner, a quiet night and early to bed prior to a 5:45am get up. 

Bridge privilege

The big girl pants moment

It was a Glass House type of evening last night. Well, we hadn’t had our fix of the lovely Janice for a few days and she’s always a delight to interact with. Then off to dinner in the restaurant where, yet again, there was a commotion on our arrival. Not due to what either of us was wearing, (on this occasion) but a fantastic display from 10 or so Commersons dolphins leaping around not far from the ship. No one cared that their dinner was going cold, we simply couldn’t miss this bit of nature. No evening entertainment interested us, so a “quiet” night in was planned. But before that, after a fairly bland meal (for me), we decided to give Raffles a go, as it has to be said, I rather fancied another glass whilst watching the night finally close in. Book reading and series-watching features when we’re not doing the late-night entertainment. If you haven’t seen it, we’ve now finished watching Bad Sisters. It’s dark humour and gleefully murderous. So our quiet nights in now are watching the series This is Going to Hurt.

Sea states, theatre treks and cruise ship living

Reading in the warm sunshine

As yesterday evening progressed, so the seas got more heavy and the weather closed in. The scheduled acrobats were postponed until this afternoon as the stage was deemed too unsafe for precarious balancing. We were not to be deterred though and Gabrielle, with trusty bands, braved the rigours of dinner really well. We were alarmed to see that nearly all staff have taken to wearing face masks and it’s evident that there are some cases of COVID-19 on board. This will come home more strongly if they decide that guests have to wear masks in the public spaces - here’s hoping that doesn’t happen. At the same time as all this, there was no internet since almost immediately after posting last night’s blog post, because the ship would not stay in the same orientation for more than five seconds at a time. 

A confused glacier and Nick on one

The Pio XI Glacier

Posh frocks and James Bond suit ready, we set off to Anderson’s for our evening perambulate and more to the point, an alcoholic beverage. Anderson’s reminds us of a sedate, rather stuffy Gentleman’s Club, so isn’t our first choice, but I wanted a specific drink which they don’t serve in the Glass House. 

Strong winds, plate tectonics, forensics, black smoke and more glaciers

The Amalia Glacier

We were late back from our trip yesterday evening, so we were all behind hand with getting ready for dinner. We missed the Beatles tribute band at prinks then after dinner couldn’t be bothered for another theatrical extravaganza. The wine had seemed stronger than usual and so we bedded down - actually I fell asleep while reading - and the ship bounced through the open waters of the Pacific. 

Heavy seas, grey water and a challenging hike

Touching the foot of the statue on Hernando Magellan's memorial

I started my blog session from my bed of pain. I’d been holding it together, though it was touch and go. I stoically gathered together last night’s attire in readiness to go to the restaurant. I’d already declared to Nick that he’d be drinking on his own. As we started coming out of the fjords and heading briefly back into the sea, a force 8 made movement around the ship pretty tricky. I then started returning to my original whiter shade of pale. Ooohhhh sounds like a great name for a song! Spray was flying past our balcony and we’re on deck 10.

The cruise that keeps on giving ... and maybe a looming problem

Glacier-spotting at 5:45am

Last night we decided to opt out of the world and had omelettes and chips in the cabin. We didn’t even go out to the gaucho show, but stayed at home, reading. There comes a point when you just have to stop! Then it was off to bed because the Captain had notified us that Chilean glaciers would be visible on the starboard side (our side) from 6am. So alarms were set for 5:45am.