The final word?

Home again, naturally

As we slowly progressed with our return back to the UK yesterday, there was an all-pervading gloom of mist and murk hanging in the air. There seemed to be no definition between sky and sea, just a grey vastness. Ahhhh, welcome back home. Throughout our trip, I’ve found it sometimes hard to concentrate on reading as I’ve also wanted to just watch the sea and be mesmerised by the enormity of it and also because I’ve wanted to watch out for marine life. 

Our last full day at sea

Controlled chaos as we packed

As we pulled away from the quayside in Vigo, Gabrielle tearfully declared that she wanted me to promise that we would do this again. It’s been a surprise to both of us how much we have enjoyed being on this ship and the excitement and exhilaration of the exotic places we have visited. As it comes to an end we can only reflect on a great time with so many highlights it’s almost impossible to remember them all. And that’s why we wrote this blog. 

Final landfall before Southampton

Statuary on the waterfront in Vigo

After our day in the sun yesterday, we decided that exercise was the order of the afternoon. Pretty much everyone had turned in for the day as the sun had grown weaker in its intensity. There were only a few folk doing the prom walk.  We started off at a fairly gentle pace as it was pretty hard going with the large swell still. As we got used to the roll, our pace improved and we did our 7 laps. 

Big seas, great show and annoying music

The Headliners make a splash on stage on Aurora

Another feature of our wonderful internet is that, if the bathroom door is open, it doesn’t work. Seriously! Many’s the time either of us has shouted “Sorry,” as we went into the bathroom and interrupted a vital online transaction. And being online had been important as we hammered across the watery wastes at 20 knots with Vigo at 299 nautical miles away. The sea was rolling big style with lolloping great peaks and troughs making the ship sway from side to side and up and down. The south-westerly wind was blowing us north-eastwards and helping to create a following swell - apparently the only type of sea that Aurora doesn’t cope with very well. 

Reasons to be grumpy: parts one, two and three

Gabrielle in grump part two

It has to be said that I found myself in a bit of a grump yesterday. Whether it was due to so many days at sea, not looking forward to going home, but in another way so looking forward to simple things, like a room not moving, a decent brew, our food, seeing family and friends. Maybe it was the whole combo of emotions. I realise we can’t stay in this bubble forever and reality needs to return. However, it didn’t stop me from feeling a general “grumph” about things.

Laundry, lunches and loopy Internet

A flight of wines in the Glass House

The evening began with rain. Was this a forerunner of what would greet us at home or, worse, at Ponta Delgada? The sky lowered and the rain dropped off the balcony archway onto the seating below. This is really the first time that we’ve seen proper rain for months. And so we headed to, you’ve guessed it, the Glass House, for dinner as the main restaurant menu was uninspiring to say the least. 

A lazy day at sea

A rather bumpy sea

After all the fun and excitement of the fashion show, I wasn’t half hungry. Not boring food hungry you understand. Nice, treat sort of hungry. I hadn’t had one of their pretend clotted cream teas for weeks and yesterday seemed the perfect time to sample one of their scones again. They’re only little and were just the sustenance I needed. Then on to the monthly Hadley Zoom call. We started this during COVID as a means to try and keep tabs on dad and we’ve continued with this tradition since then, now keeping tabs on each other. It was lovely to see my sibs and this time away has really brought home to me that importance.

Fashion frenzy

Gabrielle's outfit for the Fashion Show - not her choice but she made it work

We decided that we needed a night in with room service because we were tired and wanted a night off the sauce too. This even though there is half a bottle of pop in the fridge and the remnants of the previous night’s red wine too. Tomorrow’s another day, was our reasoning. Once Gabrielle returned from her rehearsal for the fashion show we ordered two mushroom and cheese omelettes with a side order of fries. And it was delicious. The room service food is top rate and worth having. And a good part of the menu can be ordered at any time, day or night. 

Perfecting my pout and strut

Practice glamour for the fashion show?

Late afternoon yesterday, I got the phone call from my new agent, Monica, checking in with me that I was still ok for my starring role in the fashion show. Oh Lord, I don’t think Sindhu does a “healthy version” curry. Oh well, my claim at being small to medium in size might have to change to XXL.

Entertaining ourselves and being entertained. Or not.

Gabrielle with the lovely Janice

We’d been without Internet all day day-before-yesterday and yesterday and it became something of an inconvenience. Apart from the fact that we were unable to post our blogs, we lost touch with the UK at a time of political uncertainty (Brexit and Partygate, again) and in circumstances where we were unable to let anyone know why nothing was happening. And so, there we sat, heading into the North Atlantic and adrift, Internet-less. We couldn’t even check our Premium Bonds!

First of six days at sea

Sunset  as we left St Maarten

It was lovely once the other two cruise ships had left St Maarten last night, leaving us the last to leave. If the truth be told, I wasn’t fussed about going out last night. We had been informed slightly late in the day that there was a change of schedule for our departure from St Maarten and we would be leaving 3 hours later than published. This was due to the issues with docking and re-berthing that the ship had to do and quite a lot of people had been stranded on the ship and were therefore late getting off. I thought it might be nice to simply reflect on an amazing day and get a simple room service in. Nope, Nick wanted to be entertained. So recognising that the key to a successful marriage is compromise, we did as Nick wanted! We’d checked out the dinner menu on our way back from our trip and felt it looked ok. And ok it was. This is now the fourth decent meal on the trot in the restaurant. What’s going on? Long may it last.

Villainy on the high seas

Sunrise over the Aida

48 hours without Internet - sorry for the hiatus, but nothing we could do. Warning! There are images of drinking and of elderly people leaping around like lambkins in a high-speed racing yacht in this article. 

We made the mistake of going into the Glass House last night for a glass before dinner. A mistake? Well, because we are so well known there, (can’t think why) all the staff want to talk to us: How was your day? What did you do? Are you going out tomorrow? And of course, we respond with: Did you manage to get some shore leave? How was it? Are you getting off in St Maarten? By the time you’ve done this with half a dozen of the lovely team there, your drink has become warm and you’re thinking you better get to dinner before it congeals! It’s lovely to have that level of attention and they are so friendly that you don’t want to stop that chat happening - it becomes part of the evening’s socialising.