Tenerife

More memories. Jane and I first came to Tenerife in March 1977. Jane was pregnant. We stayed in the dreaded Playa De Americas at the Hotel Tenerfe. We spent most of our time by the pool, but after about a week the worlds worst ever air disaster happened at Los Rodeos Airport in the north of the island.

We realised something was wrong when half the hotel’s staff disappeared. We later discovered that they had gone north to help. Those old enough to remember it, will recall that there had been a bomb explosion at the airport on Gran Canaria and flights were diverted to Tenerife. There were so many planes that some were parked on the runways including the Pan Am and KLM 747’s involved.
By the time the Gran Canaria airport was opened, it was foggy in Tenerife. The Captain of the KLM 747 thought he has cleared to leave and hit the Pan Am plane killing nearly 600 people.
We were due to fly home about a week after the accident, but as the airport was closed, everyone had to be ferried to Gran Canaria to get home.
We have been back to Tenerife for golfing holidays on a number of occasions since.
This time we were docked in Santa Cruz, in the north, and as we approached the town we found that we had joined the Tenerife Marathon. The whole Waterfront area was packed with runners and their supporters. It was sunny and hot, but that didn’t appear to deter those taking part. It was a great occasion. 

Jane inevitably wanted to find the shopping area. I tried to avoid it, but failed. There were the usual mime artists in the main street, but by far the best were 3 girls in a box with just their heads showing. They were hilarious, making weird and frightening noises as people passed, particularly if they did not donate!

After returning to the ship, Jane decided to have a rest and I decided to eat. I found a table with just one person sitting at it, and when I sat down realised that it was Murray Walker. He was delightful with plenty of stories to tell. It is clear that although he made his name with motor car racing his true love was and still is motor cycle racing.
While we talked, other passengers came up to talk to him. Did he remember this? Did he remember that? He said he did, although I wasn’t so sure. But he still has a fantastic memory for dates and places and people, despite his 91 years. He certainly doesn’t look that age.

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Gran Canaria

We spent our honeymoon in Las Palmas on the island of Gran Canaria all those years ago. And we also used to come to the island for Easter holidays when Louise and Michael were small. We usually stayed at the Costa Canaria Hotel in San Augustin.

We also had a wonderful holiday with the Holts in Maspolomas when Katie and Louise were toddlers. That place made headlines last week when a boatload of refugees from Africa arrived on the beach amongst a group of naked gay men, who quickly scattered, fearing that the boat people might be infected with ebola.

When Jane and I came to Las Palmas on the maiden voyage of Queen Mary 2 – our first cruise together – in 2004, we decided to locate the honeymoon hotel and were somewhat upset to find that it had been converted into what looked to be a rather run down apartment block!
This time we thought we would take a taxi to the south of the island and find the Costa Canaria, but before leaving the ship I looked at Trip Advisor which revealed that the hotel was in the middle of major renovations. There were some very disgruntled holidaymakers who had sent in negative reviews. So we decided to give the south a miss.
We wandered into Las Palmas and were about to watch some traditional dancing in the square, when the heavens opened. We scurried to a cafe with large umbrellas outside. The dancers fled and we eventually ventured across town, but the threat of more rain curtailed our exploration.

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Murray Walker

The sun is shining and the 8 metre waves and Force 8 gale have been left behind. We are some 200 miles from Lisbon and will be on our berth in Funchal, Madeira by 0800 tomorrow.

Today we were entertained by the legendary voice of F1 and motorsport – Murray Walker. He was due to speak at 1100 this morning, Wednesday, but the start was delayed as they tried to shoehorn into the theatre the masses of people who wanted to listen to him. He was brilliant, telling plenty of stories about the personalities of the motor racing world and a multitude of tales of his gaffes while commentating. He is of course renowned for his faux pas, many of which he told against himself.

He also revealed that during the eleven years that he commentated with James Hunt for the BBC, if the Grand Prix was outside Europe, the two of them sat in the BBC studios in Shepherds Bush. They watched the race on a small monitor, pretending that they were actually in Japan or South America or wherever the racing was taking place!
On checking Wikipedia I have found that Murray Walker is 91 which I find amazing. He seemed much younger. He is giving one further talk later in the voyage and will also be taking part in a Q&A session.
Tonight if the Commodore’s Reception in the Queen’s room. Jane will be trying out the latest piece of equipment made for her by a volunteer from a charity known as Remap. She has found it difficult at cocktail parties to drive the wheelchair when holding a wine glass and canapes! Her OT recommended Remap.

Remap is a National charity and has a number of volunteer engineers who are in the main retired, but who love making things for people with disablities. They will design and make bits of equipment that are not available on the market. Mike, who lives about 200 yards from us, was asked by the charity to contact us. He discussed what was needed, made measurements, prepared prototypes and within a fortnight had produed the finished article, which will have its first trial tonight! Mike’s workmanship was exceptional.

The volunteer gives his time free, the charity bears the cost of materials and the charity survives by recipients making donations where they are able to do so. Remap has a website which has links to Remapedia where examples of their work can be found. I am sure there are many people who could benefit from the expertise of their engineers. They have the equipment and the machinery and the skills and are looking for nice projects! Please be generous, if you can, if you do make use of their engineer’s skills!

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Canary Islands

This is not easy but we will get through it! Five ports in five days. We are not trained for it. We like a port and then a few sea days to get some rest and build up the stamina with plenty of food and plenty of Malbec for me.

This is some sort of marathon. I should have studied the itinerary more carefully! So after Madeira and a lovely day in pretty Funchal we sailed away and woke up in Lanzarote.
Many of you know the island. Some of you have stayed there. We were intending to travel to the Western end of Lanzarote, but after being shuttled to Arrecife, we found the old town delightful and mooched around the back streets.
It was sunny and hot but we had to get back to the ship to get ready for a formal night and dinner at the Captains table. The Deputy Captain Simon Love was the host. He is the man who went to sea as a young man, but after marrying decided to go ashore and join the family business. Some 18 years later he was persuaded to return to sea and after retraining he joined Carnival. He must be well on his way to a command in the not too distant future.

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Off again on Queen Victoria

Remembrance Sunday – 9 November 2014. We are excited to be joining Queen Victoria again for two back to back cruises, the first to the Canaries and the second to the Western Med.

Linda is again housesitting for us which is great for us and hopefully it is for her as well.
Ian Gordon kindly drove Jane and her powered chair to the ship in the adapted Vauxhall, while I accompanied the luggage in Mark’s smart new Mercedes. Sunday was a beautiful sunny day and we were on the ship within 90 minutes of leaving home.
The last time that we boarded a ship on Remembrance Day was in 2008. It was for QE2’s final voyage to Dubai. 
You may recall the story. It was nearly 11.00 am when I remembered that a small plane was due to fly over the ship and drop a million poppy petals. The only way to see the sky was to get ourselves out of the terminal. I ran, pushing Jane in her wheelchair, and we arrived at the exit just in time to see the plane and poppies.
When I returned to the terminal, Sandy Gravestock (a friend from Mudeford days in the early sixties!), who was in charge of the ‘meeters and greeters’, scolded me, pointing out that I was the only person in the terminal building not standing to attemtion for the two minutes silence!
We have 3 days at sea before our first port – Madeira – which strangely was our last port back in April, but more of that later.

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They think it’s all over – well it is now!

The last 3 days from Madeira to Southampton passed quickly.

On Friday evening we were at the Senior Officers Cocktail Party – always a jovial, relaxed occasion, but this time tinged with a little sadness as we realised that the epic journey was coming to an end. The real world was looming.
We were lucky enough to have been invited to sit at the Commodore’s table in the Britannia Restaurant for dinner following the party. The last formal dinner of the World Voyage. Dinner was hosted by Commodore Christopher Rynd and his Australian wife Julie. The Commodore chooses to seat himself at the side of the table and I was placed at the head of the table. If only I had had a uniform! It was a lovely evening and Jane, sitting alongside the Commodore,  behaved immaculately!

The Commodore is the senior captain of the Cunard fleet. He was appointed in April 2011. He has an interesting background.  Born in New Zealand, his father was a vicar with the Mission To Seafarers, and as a result Christopher Rynd was brought up in Singapore, Sri Lanka, Fiji and Samoa. 
He began his career with the Union Steamship Company (a NZ shipping company). By coincidence my father (an Englishman) started his career at sea with a NZ shipping line – the New Zealand Shipping Company. The Commodore eventually moved to P&O and Princess before joining Cunard in 2005.
Initially he commanded QE2 and later took QM2 on her first World Voyage. He clearly enjoys the Queen Victoria. He is a very personable man and happily chats to passengers as he takes his frequent trips around the public areas of the ship.
After dinner on Friday we were entertained by veteran comedian Tom O’Connor of British TV fame. He was brilliant and kept a packed theatre highly amused for an hour.

When Jane and I set out on this 4 month World Voyage we were not sure whether we would be able to cope with such a long period on a ship.  We have both loved it, and are sad to be leaving our second home. Frankly, we could both have done with another couple of months!
As I spent the last day packing, I thought about the highlights. The initial list (I might add to it before I publish this when I get home) is
Rio
John McCarthy 
Montevideo
Cape Horn
Pitcairn Island
Tahiti
Fiji
Brisbane
Sydney
New Zealand
Honolulu
Roger McGuinn
San Francisco
Panama Canal
Hoots Gibson and Rhea Seddon
Aruba

Would we do it again?  Yes we would!


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Madeira

We are back in Europe!  Madeira was sunny but a bit nippy when we tied up at 0800.  Last time we were here it rained heavily all day and we were unable to leave the ship.  There were mud slides, massive flooding and houses and dogs were washed into the sea.

This time the Atlantic crossing was gentle with no big seas or winds. An uneventful passage but there was plenty happening on the ship.  Jane took control again in the jig saw department. We had some new table companions for dinner – John and Pat Thompson stayed – but as Jim and Liz Burnett left in Fort Lauderdale we were joined by Bernd (Bernie) Hochstadt and his wife Leah Smith Hochstadt who spend their time between Berlin and New Jersey.

So Funchal was our final port. Cunard had organised a wheelchair friendly tour so we took it with 2 other couples. Scenes of Madeira it was called. A small coach with a lift and a guide and a driver proved to be just what was needed. We set off from the ship at 0930 and started to wend our way up the mountain. It was very steep.  After Monte, we pressed on and up to Poiso at 1400m and then turned right to Santo de Serra.

The journey took us through an area of forest that had been ripped apart by fire last year.  We had a number of stops for photos and at Santo we had a comfort break and coffee at the Golf Hotel overlooking the course that hosts the Madeira Open each year.  It appeared to be in excellent condition but there were very few people playing.

From Santo we wended our way down slowly to Machico on the east coast and then to Santa Cruz and the airport.  We probably all know about the Funchal airport and its reputation as one of the most dangerous in the world.  We drove under the runway, which has been constructed on stilts, and despite the runway being 2780 m it looks very short.

When the new runway was opened in 2002 a jumbo apparently landed on it and didn’t fall off the end.

Our group returned to the ship for lunch. They had proved to be very good company Marg and John Moxon from Parramatta, Sydney and Jenny and Fred from Brisbane. Marg and John are travelling round the UK starting in Eastleigh, Hampshire.  Her father grew up in Southampton and she has plenty of relatives in the area.
Baron Finkelstein – Danny Finkelstein of the Times – has arrived on the ship to give a lecture or 2 so that should be good and Tom O’Connor is also aboard and due to perform tonight.  Jane and I have an invitation to sit at the Commodore’s table for dinner, after the Senior Officers Cocktail Party tonight so it will be a fairly hectic evening!
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The Last Leg

On Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale, there was a large disembarkation, including all those who had boarded on 12 January in Ft Lauderdale.  Theirs was a 94 day voyage that qualified as a Full World Voyage!  In the main they were US citizens.

There was the usual horrible delay in getting through the US immigration formalities to get ashore.  The delays led to various degrees of unpleasantness by a few Brits. Some questioned why there was a separate lane for wheelchairs when that line moved more quickly than theirs!  Horrible people.  

We made a quick visit to Macy’s and Jane picked up some amazing bargains – 75% off and then another 10% for being a foreigner!
We now have 7 days at sea, a visit to Madeira and then 3 more days at sea before we are home.

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Astronauts

It is not often that you get to shake hands with two astronauts in one day.  Well I did it yesterday and today in the Lido Restaurant.

Captain Robert “Hoot” Gibson and Dr Rhea Seddon were guest speakers on the ship on the segment from San Francisco to Fort Lauderdale.  When the list of speakers was circulated I thought it odd that 2 of the 5 speakers were former astronauts. I then found out that they are married to each other!

They met when they were both selected for the first Space Shuttle Astronaut program in 1978. A class of 35.  They married in 1981 and between them flew in 8 space flights. Hoot Gibson flew 5 and was Mission Commander on 4 of those flights. Dr Rhea flew on 3 space flights and was one of the first 6 women to be selected for the Astronaut Program.  She was with NASA for 19 years.

Hoot Gibson had been a fighter pilot, attended the Navy Fighter Weapons School “Topgun” and the Navy Test Pilot School before being selected as an astronaut. 

It was not surprising that he became a fighter pilot.  He revealed that both his parents were pilots and that his mother had decided, when at University, that she wanted to learn to fly, so she and 2 girlfriends clubbed together and bought a plane!
Hoot’s final space flight was the first mission to rendezvous and dock with the Russian Space Station Mir.  He went on to even greater things with NASA and was Chief of the Astronaut Office.
After 19 years with NASA, Dr Rhea became a Medical Officer in Nashville, Tennessee and then a Professor at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

They have 4 children, two of whom were born during the time that they were both astronauts.
They spoke in the Royal Court Theatre separately on different days and were both inspirational. They both spoke without a note and had exceptional powerpoint presentations. Plenty of film and brilliant photos they had taken from space. They were very modest and humourous and today, together, they spoke to a packed theatre, in a Q & A session.

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Grand Cayman

“Attorneys at Law” the sign said.  I thought It was another jewellery store in the shopping mall but I was wrong. It was a very impressive office, but this is Grand Cayman.  Packed with 554 Banks plus Trust Companies, Insurance Companies and all sorts of financial institutions.  I decided to leave the lawyers to their own devices.

This is a smart place and very much geared up to the cruise industry as well as being a tax haven. We knew that other cruise ships would be in port and as we sailed into George Town, Grand Cayman, the Ruby Princess and Brilliance of the Seas were already at anchor.

 Queen Victoria
We anchored and the tenders were made ready.  It was a beautiful day and passengers were quickly making their way ashore when yet another cruise ship appeared, the Disney Fantasia. So four ships were at anchor, all fairly close to the shore.

 Disney Fantasia
You can walk around the town in an hour. Apart from a small chuch and small museum, both overlooking the water, the rest of the waterfront at ground level consists of jewellery outlets and touristy stores. It is great fun and when 4 ships are in port there is plenty of bustle.

Prices for watches and gold and silver all appear to be really competitive with 25% savings on UK prices.

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