May 1, 2023

Ah May First.  In many countries there is a May Day celebration.  It is a celebration of spring at its height, a day of unity and togetherness, a day for people to come together and celebrate life.  But this year climate activist spray painted a Louis Vuitton museum in Paris.  What kind of life is that?

But here on board the Odyssey of the Seas we docked at Malaga with no protests.  Your favorite cruisers had planned to walk into town and wander around.  We’ve been privileged to have visited here before, exploring La Alcazaba – a huge fort – and the Picasso Museum.  Nice streets to stroll and old churches to visit.  But we decided to stay on board because the shuttle into the city was $25 each.  Instead I slept late (8 a.m.) while my cruise buddy was awake at 6 (bless her heart – she played scrabble while I slept).  We went to the Windjammer for breakfast and then gathered our cards and drinks and went to the 270 where we snacked, played cards, had lunch, and came back to our room 4 hours later for a good 90 minute nap.

The day was very foggy – either that or very low lying clouds.  For a few minutes at breakfast (on deck 14) we could see into town and see the huge cathedral in the middle of the city and then it was gone, hidden by an opaque white stuff.  Down on the 270 it came and went and we could see another cruise ship docked near us and the cargo vessels being loaded across from us, and then they were gone, only to return in a few minutes, linger and then disappear again.  

More and more it seems cruise ships dock in working dock areas instead of a special tourist dock.  I remember in Cartagena walking off the ship and being in town in 5 minutes.  Oh well.

We were standing in line waiting to go into supper, just chatting, when our tablemate, Bill, came up and said, we’re up here.  We are enjoying our evening meals with them.  Every evening they raise their glasses of wine, we raise our glasses of water, click them and say, “Cheers!”  Then we hold hands and pray.

Tonight, one of the appetizers was corn cakes.  I photographed them, and include it below just for The Bro.  One winter back in Loch Lynn when we were snowed in for a week or so, we had corn cakes every day – I wanted them, no one else offered a suggestion (corn cakes are pancakes made with corn meal).  Finally Kyle protested and no more corn cakes.  The meal was a Mexican menu and I chose salmon with Mexican stuff – delicious (JAMM Kids, say it like Pappy Carter), perhaps the best entre of the cruise.

A good show tonight in the Royal Theater, the ship’s orchestra and the featured singers from the ship’s cast.  A good show.

Well, tomorrow we go ashore on a tour to Valencia and Albufera.  It leaves at 2 and is a 7 hour tour.  Ship sails at 9:30.  The tour includes lunch.  That means pizza at Sorrento once we are back on board.

Oh, and I finally won a game of Auction Rummy.  Score 1-5.  Coming back!

And now, here she is, the bloggeress extraordinare, Bonnie!

And at naptime I only got 45 minutes!  

Anyway. It was a lazy day. He took a bath this morning I did not. Didn’t want to. I will take a bath in the morning. I brought enough underwear (panties) for one pair for each day, so I am fresh :). I brought 6 pair of everyday pants to wear at least twice each. Socks are worn for two days. And shirts for 2 days each. There are a couple of dressy shirts and two pair of dress pants for suppers. So there you have my wardrobe for the cruise. Packing less! 

Anyway, the Windjammer was really crowded this morning. Of course it was almost 9 when we got there. It was really foggy outside, reminded me of our trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway when we drove in the clouds that covered the road. There was another ship parked just at right angles to us. We couldn’t tell what cruise line till during supper when it was leaving. It was a Costa ship. Not quite as big as ours. When we sailed away we saw that there was a second Costa ship in port.

Breakfast was one of those where I didn’t want anything. I had half a English muffin, a potato triangle and some tomato juice. After breakfast we both filled our drink cups and headed for the 270 lounge. It was almost entirely empty all day. We found a table and sat down and played cards. It was strange because we could see the container dock and the one Costa ship. The fog rolled in and out all day. Except for the crummy music that they play it was a nice place to relax and enjoy. 

For lunch I had a small salad with lettuce, tomatoes, orange slices, and croutons with honey mustard dressing. It was very good I shall do that again. I had a petite Reuben sandwich. There sandwiches are little half sandwiches. We had a caramel flan but it tasted like instant jello pudding, blah! 

The worm has turned in the card games and he won his first game. I think I am a goner. 

We got back to the room and napped. Then, we got up and dressed for supper. I had been looking at the RC app, which is finally working on my phone and now not working on his, that to go into Marseilles you had to buy shuttle tickets. We haven’t been here before so we will buy some after supper.

At supper it was Mexican night. I had poblano corn soup, it was luke warm and not good and a shrimp cocktail for appetizers. My main course was a pulled pork stuffed enchilada. There were beans and rice also on the plate. It was okay. Way too much wrap. Dessert was coconut cake. It was fair.

Now it was off to the excursions office to get those shuttle tickets. Long line. At first there were 2 people working. One couple was having a conversation not related to excursions and talked on and on with the one young lady. Eventually 2 other people came out to help and we got a pair of shuttle tickets for $19 each. It took about 20 or 25 minutes. 

Now it was time to head to the theater for the 4 singers and the orchestra show. They actually opened the doors 10 minutes early. There really wasn’t a crowd of people outside waiting due to the people who had been out. Eventually the theater was almost full at the 8 pm show time. It was a good show. Each of the singers sang at least 2 solo numbers. Some were songs you knew and could follow and others were things I had never heard and it was almost impossible to understand the words because the orchestra was too loud and you couldn’t hear or understand what the singers were saying.

We headed back to the room after the show and noticed that none of the shops were open. Usually when the ship leaves the port they open but today they were opening at 9:30 and would be open to midnight. I guess because we have a late arrival tomorrow. They are closed all day tomorrow. 

Part of our tour includes a bus ride, a boat ride ( weather permitting) ,a walking part of about 2 hours, and lunch. There are also snacks provided on the boat ride, yippee!

We have to remember to takes our Euros! We have a shopping list but the things on it  (baby powder, pringles, life savers and a deck of cards) will have to wait for another port. I did manage to get a deck of cards today at guest service. So we can take that off the list.

Well, we are back in our room. I have on my PJs and am doing crossword puzzles. We will go to bed shortly. We still have the wonderful nightly pills to take!

Love you all. 

P.S: Thanks Jen for putting some of the strawberries in the freezer. And Matt I told you no family dinners till May 15 [ we interrupt this email for words from her Lord and Master – there is take-out pizza for the 8th ] and that will be Mac and Tate’s birthday dinner. Mike and Matt’s dinner is the next Monday on the 22nd.

Mom, Granny and Bonnie

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Stay safe.  Hug each other.

TTFN