October 16 - Cadiz, Spain

We always seem to gravitate to the oldest sections of these old cities. We struck a gold mine in Cadiz since they say it's the oldest city in Europe! We found a delightful and picturesque square with free WiFi!! (You can't possibly understand how exciting this is until you don't have it....the internet service on the ship is utterly abysmal!!) We spent the afternoon sipping coffee, sampling paella and catching up on email.... happy as lizards on a sunny rock!

The architecture is very Spanish....

....and so is the food! Yummmmmm!

I don't know why.... but we still found ourselves having to scurry to get back to the ship on time. We arrived out of breath only to hear the Captain announce that departure would be delayed. Apparently, Sir David Frost is arriving to give a presentation on the ship tomorrow and his flight was delayed. We position ourselves on our balcony to photograph him when he arrives...we're sure his driver will take the corner into the port on two wheels and will squeal to a stop right at the foot of the waiting gangway. We're certain that Sir David will jump out with tie askew and hair blowing as he makes a mad dash onto the waiting ship. We have our cameras poised and ready.... we're sure we'll have to work fast! Finally.... a black car pulls into the port at a (very) leisurely pace. The car comes to a gentle stop and nothing happens. (The better for everyone to arrange themselves along the deck rails with cameras!) When he feels that he has an adequate audience (we surmise!), he steps out of the car, hair manicured, tie not flapping, and schmoozes a bit with the officers awaiting his arrival. As he ambles toward the gangway, he raises his arm in acknowledgment of the multitudes assembled to watch his arrival.....

(NOTE TO OURSELVES: This approach probably won't work for us!)

October 17 - Sea Day

We've been extraordinarily lucky with our tablemates at dinner. Vince and Sandee are from Hawaii and he has six motorcycles, a Porsche, a vintage '61 Buick and a '69 Mustang that he is restoring. He looks like Henry Winkler and we all call him "The Fonz"! Eric and Gay are from near London, but are originally from Liverpool, so they're continuing the lessons in Liverpool slang that we were learning from Rodney and Rhona on our last cruise. "Lovely... brilliant.... I'm gobsmacked by your kecks, lad... were you squiffy when you chose them?" Can't wait for tonight's lesson! (We love being bilingual!!)

POSTSCRIPT: Yesterday's wait for Sir David Frost was definitely worth it! His presentation, "Interviews I Shall Never Forget" was a standing room only event in the Royal Court Theatre. He is the only person to have interviewed the last seven Presidents of the United States and the last seven Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom. The greatest interest from this crowd seemed to be in his interviews with Richard Nixon.

October 18 - Gran Canaria

Yes....that is Queen Elizabeth's reflection in this image at the port! Gran Canaria is a volcanic island with deep valleys, volcanic cones and craters and a picturesque landscape. According to legend, the Canary Islands were thought to be the last traces of the lost continent of Atlantis.

Many people think that the name for the islands came from its flocks of feathered friends....

.... but legend has it that the islands, when discovered, were inhabited by bands of dogs. The latin word for dog is "canis" .... and Canaria became the accepted name for these isles.

Our guide, Armando, took us to Columbus's house (no.... he wasn't home!) which is now a museum where we saw a replica of his cabin on his ship....not bad!!!!

We also went up to the Crater of Bandama where we had amazing panoramic views of the surrounding countryside. Kudos to our driver, Manolo, who safely manuevered around the corkscrew and hairpin turns up and down the mountains. (I had to cover my eyes during much of this trip!) We were surprised to pass by some caves at the higher elevations where people actually live! Apparently, there is no tax on land inside the mountains! We also stopped at a restaurant that was inside a cave.... another tax dodge perhaps???

Armando also squeezed in a stroll through some gorgeous gardens before delivering us back to the port.

October 19 - Tenerife

We entered the port of Tenerife just before daybreak.

It was a gorgeous day for the lifeboats to practice manuevers around the mothership!

The crew knows just where to go for free WiFi in every port! (This was just after the storms and flooding in the Philippines, so my guess is that they're checking on their families.)

Chuck was quite enamored of this statue in the main square!

Tenerife is the highest of all the Atlantic Islands. Here is the ship with a view of the elevation.

This band of "Guardia Civil" performed for us on the quay before the ship departed. When they shot off their muskets, it sounded like the beginning of World War III....it was LOUD!!

Our departing view of Tenerife.

October 20 - La Palma

We found La Palma to be by far the most beautiful of the Canary Islands. It is the most lush and green. It is also the world's steepest island, which makes for incredible vistas.... and scarier than ever hairpin turns up the mountainsides! (My fingernails are almost all gone!)


La Palma is also known for its beautiful flower-bedecked balconies......

....and cathedrals, too!

Uh-oh....we're wondering how we'll ever get this souvenir hat onto the airplane!!

Chuck loved this peaceful little square. It had all the basics....a cathedral.... a fountain.... and a pub!!

The vistas are so beautiful that they look fake!!

Dazzling beauty....wherever you look!

We went all the way up to La Caldera de Taburiente and hiked a trail around the crater. The rugged and eerie beauty took our breath away!

The crater is forested with the majestic and fire-resistant Canary Pine and is one of the most beautiful (and quietest!!) spots I have ever seen. (That little white spot toward the lower right corner is our bus!)

October 21 - Madeira

Madeira, the Portuguese island off the coast of Morocco, has been hyped by many as being the high point of this voyage's itinerary. It ended up being a total wash out.... quite literally! We struck out in the pouring rain for a daylong tour of the island. These island showers are always fleeting, right??? By lunchtime, it was raining even harder. Lunch was in a cozy inn with a roaring fire in the fireplace. They kept s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g out the lunch stop by bringing us wine.... more wine.... some madeira.... some brandy. The rain was still pelting the windows when we were all of a sudden hustled out to the tour bus. You might recall that in February, Madeira experienced flooding that caused significant damage and loss of life. This seemed to be a deja vu moment for the islanders as schools and businesses closed early. As a safety precaution, Cunard was requesting that all passengers return to the ship. We had gotten to a rather high elevation and the ride back down to the coast was a bit harrowing! The roads were turning into raging mud-filled rivers surrounded by waterfalls....

Yes....that's our road!

It made all those hairpin turns in the Canaries seem pretty benign.... at least they were dry and we didn't have to worry about the road washing out from under us! All were present and accounted for at the end of the day.... although we were pretty disappointed to miss our afternoon toboggan ride which covers a two mile descent down a mountain in a wicker basket! The drivers run alongside pushing and steering using their rubber-soled boots as brakes. This used to be the established mode of transport! (No wonder they drink so much madeira wine!!)

The evening's entertainment in the Royal Court Theatre was Lulu of "To Sir With Love" and "Shout" fame. KiKi Dee ("You're Still the One") also performed. (Don't tell anyone....but I've become a KiKi Dee fan....LOVE her....will be looking for her CDs....shhhhh....) It was great fun! Queen Elizabeth was rocking and Baby Boomers were dancing in the aisles!!

The ship Azura which left before we did. You can see that the weather is still hanging around!

POSTSCRIPT:

The Captain related this story to us the next day. Apparently during the deluge of rain, some members of the QE crew noticed that a dog had been washed into the sea. They notified authorities in the town who sent out a pilot boat to see if they could find the pup. Happily, the dog was rescued and is none the worse for her afternoon swim. Furthermore, she is being adopted by one of the men on the rescue boat and will be named.... what else??.... Queen Elizabeth!!

October 25 - One cruise down...one to go!

Today we disembarked from Queen Elizabeth.... but will join her again on November 8th when we will embark for a cruise through the Aegean. In the interim, we will be exploring the Channel Islands! We miss QE already, so decided to go down to the quay to wish her bon voyage!

Here is Chuck trying to get the ultimate shot....good thing we have travel insurance!!

A view we don't normally see....thank goodness!!

Ahhhh....time to relax!