TA Day 8. Ponta Delgada, Portugal (Part 3).

After leaving Lagoa do Fogo, we stopped at the park with the hot springs. It cost Euros 1.50 to enter. There definitely was the smell of sulfur, and the water was bubbling away (pics. 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5). The vegetation was green and lush, absolutely beautiful.

Our final stop of the day was at Miradouro de Santa Iria overlooking the north shore. It was very windy and the ocean was really crazy (pics. 6 & 7).

We passed through a little town along the shore and had the window photo op for another picture (pics. 8, 9 & 10).

We were starved when we got back to the ship so after eating we took a nap!

Tracy convinced me to go to Quest (an adult scavenger hunt) with her and Melissa. It didn't start until 10:30 so I really didn't want to. She assured me I would have a good time. I decided to go and convinced Valerie to go too. Moe decide we would be a team along with the 4 people sitting beside us. OMG, we had such a great time and actually WON a bronze medal!

TA Day 8. Ponta Delgada, Portugal (Part 2).

After we got back on paved road, we were able to see the other side of the island - the ocean (pic. 1).

We made our way down to a little village where we visited the Igreja de S. Nicolau Parish Church built in 1857 (pic. 2). It was also a "potty" stop! A lot of the homes had beautiful yards comprised of azaleas in bloom (pic. 3).

We had several photo op locations out the windows (pics. 4, 5, 6 & 7). Thanks to Jim and Tracy for being the window photographers! There are no motor boats allowed on these lakes.

We stopped at 900m for a photo op. Here you could see both sides of the island, which is only about 6 or 7 miles across (pics. 8, 9 & 10).

The newest lake is 5,000 years old, Lagoa do Fogo (Fire Lake) (pic. 11). It takes about an hour to hike down to the lake and over 3 hours to hike out.

TA Day 8. Ponta Delgada, Portugal (Part 1)

My first view of the morning (pic. 1) showed it to be blue sky, sunny and pretty calm seas - just the way we like it! The island (which is all volcanic rock) was very picturesque (pic. 2). As we were backing into port, a rainbow (pic. 3) welcomed us!

We were up early and waiting for the ship to clear Customs so we could go on the tour organized by Bill Netro from our Cruise Critics group! We were assigned Van #3, and our driver was Antonio (pic. 4). In our van was Jim & I, Tracy, Melissa, Valerie & Ian, and Sam & Audri!

Our first stop was Vista do Rei (pic. 5) which is a large crater lake. As you can tell from the pictures, it was very windy and cold (pics. 6 & 7). Tracy & I were 12ing (pic. 8)!

When we were heading to our next stop, we had to wait for the herd of cows to go by (pic. 9) - right down the middle of the road! Antonio asked if we wanted to take the dirt road or take the paved road. We were adventurous and voted for the dirt road. Little did I know it went across the top of the VERY HIGH crater wall (pic. 10) with straight down drop offs on both sides. YIKES! I was just glad I was sitting in the middle. And when you come across a tractor driving the other way, it's especially unnerving (pic. 11).

TA Day 10. At Sea.

Wow, look at my view this morning (pic. 1). FOG. It stayed like that for several hours before partially clearing then coming and going. I went to the Windjammer really for coffee and took this picture (pic. 2) looking at the front of the ship.

All 7 of us met at 8:30 for breakfast in the Main Dining Room. The french toast was wonderful. The waiter tried to take our picture (pic. 3) but didn't have good luck especially since the background was the windows.

Later in the morning Jim and I walked 4 laps around the ship which equals a mile. Here are some pictures from around the ship. Looking off the back of the ship (pic. 4); the rock climbing wall (pic. 5); the miniature golf course (pic. 6); and looking down at the swimming pool (pic. 7).

In the afternoon, Jim, Tracy & I played 18 holes of miniature golf. Jim beat me by 1 stroke and I beat Tracy by 5 strokes. It was cold and windy but we persevered and played through it! Here's another part of the course (pic. 8). You can tell the fog finally went away.

After golf, Tracy & I went to see the Loyalty Ambassador to book future cruises: 2 for Jim & I, and 1 for Tracy - for 2016!

I was back in my cabin before Ferdinand had turned down the bed so I video taped him making our next towel animal (pic. 9). He was very meticulous in explaining every step of the process. He also showed me pictures of his wife and 3 year old daughter. He's a great cabin steward!

TA Day 9. At Sea.

My view this morning wasn't bad - blue sky and partly cloudy (pic. 1). The chop did pick up a bit but it was manageable. Jim and I played a round of miniature golf after breakfast. Then it was time to do some hand washing - undies and socks. I don't like to send my clothes to the ship laundry because they use extremely hot water. So I wash in the sink and rinse in the tub and hang them out on the balcony to dry! 

I decided today was a good day to stay in the cabin. When it's cold, everyone stays inside and it's hard to find places to sit in the common areas and my cabin has 2 arm chairs with ottomans and a couch - the perfect place to watch the ocean (we've kept our eyes out for whales, mermaids and pirates - have seen none).

And of course, we had to take a nap!

We had a couple of before dinner drinks then ended up having a couple more after dinner drinks (poor Brenda, she was already in her nightgown when we abducted her from her cabin)! We tried to hang at the pool bar but it was cold and rainy so ended up at Cafe-Latitudes for awhile before heading off to bed.

TA Day 8. Ponta Delgada, Portugal.

Will be published in 2 days. It was too long for one post and needs to be broken down into 2 posts.

TA Day 7. At Sea.

I was wide awake before 5 this morning. It was still dark so my morning picture (pic. 1) was taken after coffee, 2 laps around the ship, a round of miniature golf, another lap around the ship, and finally breakfast!

At 11:00 this morning King Neptune came aboard the ship (pic. 2) for the mid-Atlantic crossing ceremony. Some of the crew were still pollywogs (meaning they've never cruised across the Atlantic Ocean) so they had to be punished by kissing the fish, eggs cracked on their heads, and spaghetti poured over their heads. Once they had been punished to King Neptune's satisfaction, he granted them shellback status (meaning they had now cruised across the Atlantic Ocean). He started with the lowest officers and worked his way up to the highest officers (pic. 3). The officer on the far right was none other than Captain Arild Hansen. The other men with the captain were John Rae, Hotel Director and Juan Luis Caranti,  Staff Captain.

By the time King Neptune got to these men, the punishment was much harder. Not only did they get the same punishment as all the others, ice water, slime and flour were added (pics. 4, 5, 6 and 7). Oh my, what a mess! But quite also hilarious!

As Topi Ylonen, Cruise Director, was finishing up the ceremony, King Neptune decreed there was one more who needed to be punished. Topi, himself. He was forced to the ground and rolled in the muck that was leftover from all the people before him (pics. 8 and 9).

We finally saw Ferdinand this afternoon and asked him what last night's towel animal (pic. 10) was. After he put the sunglasses on it, and pointed out that the two little round things were nostrils, it did look like a pig!

My suitcase was so packed, I didn't have room to bring my water bottle, so I had to buy one (pic. 11). I'll have more room coming home since I won't have 10 pounds of candy or Seahawks clothes for my Australia friends!

Jim got a Father's Day gift (pic. 12) while on board too. He looked at this globe over Christmas when we were on the Serenade but wouldn't buy it. A couple of days ago we were in the shops and he looked at them again. Today, Tracy and I were in the shops and she bought him one! Each country is made out of the gem stone that country is famous for.

Yesterday, Tracy and Jim and Ian were playing a couple rounds of miniature golf and the ship's photographer took this photo of Tracy and Jim (pic. 13).

I've learned a few tips over the course of our cruises. One is to bring magnetic clips to hang on the wall to hold papers, etc. As you can see (pic. 14), mine holds the Cruise Compass, the cruise calendar, a paper with all the cruise managers, my Seahawks lanyard with my Seapass cards, our Australian Akubra rain hats and my Seahawks beads I bought down on Bourbon Street in New Orleans!