SEVEN DAYS AT SEA

November 29, 2017

Our sail away from Funchal, Madeira was delayed by over an hour.  First testing on one of the two emergency diesel generators – part of regular ship’s maintenance – showed a part needed replaced and that was done.  Second, there was a medical emergency on board and a passenger was taken off and rushed to a local hospital – had we sailed on time, we would have had to come back to get the guest off.  But we set sail for Fort Lauderdale at 6:30 p.m., and now we have seven days at sea.  Actually we stop at the ship’s private island – Half Moon Cay – on December 7 before reaching Fort Lauderdale on December 8.  I will be earning my keep with a talk every day for the next 7.

It was a beautiful day in Funchal today.  The weather forecast called for showers throughout the day, but it was a perfect Irving Berlin.

We walked along the water front for a good ways and then turned up into town, touring some streets and shops we’d never visited before.  And we bought some more non-souvenirs.  I will let Bonnie regail you with those items.  I tried to get her to buy a pair of cork shoes that looked like the saddle oxfords we wore when we were kids, but she said she didn’t know how her feet would like them.  Then once we were back on board, she said, “I’ll buy a pair if we get to come back here.”  Silly girl!

Super tonight was the least satisfying meal of the cruise.  We were back in the dining room tonight and ate with Irene and Tom – good company.  But my chicken corn soup was nothing extra and the Fettuccini Alfredo was too dry.  I did have a good butterscotch dessert.  Well, even a fully sighted hog misses an acorn now and then.

And now I will turn the keyboard over to my traveling companion.

TTFN

Well, my traveling companion neglected to tell you he has gotten quite fluffy and so he got a hair cut. Because he is service staff if cost only $17.50 not the normal $35. He got it really short. Not fluffy now.

We did have a marvelous day. I carried 2 umbrellas and 2 ponchos off in  case of rain and of course no rain. We did do some shopping. We found several cloth and yarn stores. Yeah. The second shop we looked into had some beautifully embroidered towels with crocheted edges. We got a Christmas theme one and a Madeira one. Very nice and I got 2 new skeins of yarn. I am going to use all of my yarn from Cadiz and Madeira to make a new afghan. It will be cool.

We walked over 2 miles today and got some gelato before we got on the ship. We found a church we hadn’t visited before and it was beautiful. We also visited the church we had been to before. We visited one store that was an organic all natural clothing store. They had gorgeous clothes. I enjoyed also browsing the stores that had all the neat cork purses. They are really pretty.

We got back on board about 12 or so and had a bite of lunch and then headed to the cabin for a nap. I crocheted for a while and then napped an hour. He had an appointment in the spa for a hair cut at 3pm. After he returned we dressed for supper and we stood on deck from 4:30 till after 5. We watched the last tour bus board about 4:35 and the last 2 people at 4:41 ( both were late). And waited for us to leave the dock. But we didn’t. Finally the Captain came on to tell us we would be leaving late.

So we went to supper. I had prime rib and a baked potato. The meat was a little dry but I enjoyed the baked potato.

The show tonight was a singer and dancer production. They have a small cast, 3 female and 3 male dancers and 4 singers. They are good and fun to watch and listen to.

When Dad was up getting his hair cut, he met the performer, a comedienne, for tomorrow night’s show. Believe or not he is from Columbia, South Carolina and he is a Christian comedienne. He is going to be in Augusta at the Journeys(?) Church on Dec 15.

Well, I am tired and a little worn out tonight so I am not long out of bed.
Any postcards Yet?

Love you all, Mom, Granny and Bonnie