Saturday 28 April 2012
Our last day on Arcadia - Friday 27th April
Well, well, well, we woke this morning to our last day of our cruise and a wet and cold Southampton. Not much to see in Southampton so no photo. Out arrival was followed by the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth Cunard ships. The temperature is around 11 degrees which is a bit fresh. The frustrating aspect is that it is cold outside but very hot inside so you are putting coats on and off all the time. We had a very busy day yesterday on the ship – my last art class, and we both had hair appointments plus finalising all our photos plus having to pack and put our 4 suitcases our before bed which meant that we had to have a small bag to put our toiletries, pjs and anything else in. I am now wishing I had packed a whole lot less and know next time I will definitely be doing that. The upside is that you know whatever you have has to be packed not quite as bad as packing as I had to try everything on to check that they still fitted!! The other positive is that still do fit!! I went up to the gym to weigh myself this morning before disembarking and I have put on approximately 2.5 kilos which is not that good but could have been a lot worse. Peter woke this morning not feeling the best suffering from bad griping pains in his stomach. He has been complaining for most of the day and in fact still is at 10pm. We walked off the ship about 9am which was quite civilised then entered this large arrivals hall that was full of suitcases. The amount of luggage that some people had was unbelievable. We had a car hired through Thrifty who came and picked us up and took us back to their office. We were on our way in a brand new VW Golf with only 40ks on it to travel the UK or part thereof. The weather did improve with bursts of sunshine and a few quick showers but generally not too bad.
We travelled through Southampton and Winchester enroute to our prebooked accommodation in The Bourne Valley Inn, an old English pub in St Mary Bourne.
After checking in and having a rest we went for a walk and what a beautiful little village this is although the streets are very narrow and not ideal to be walking on. We came across another little put where there were people sitting out the front in the sun having a late afternoon ale but we (Peter) had not bought any money so we had to go dry! Maybe tomorrow as we are here for 2 nights.
Our dinner in our accommodation was very enjoyable and the best meal we have had in the last 7 weeks… veal with a white wine and mushroom sauce and nice fresh vegies and all for 9.95 pounds each…. Bargain!!
Peter is busy planning day trips tomorrow so will sign off now as I need some sleep.
Love to all
xo
Thatched roof houses
The houses were interesting in that they are all very well groomed including the gardens and the hedges which have all just been newly clipped. The blossom trees, tulips and daffodils are amazing. The windows in the houses have all their blinds open and they are all right on the footpath with displays of ornaments and all sorts of things on full display for everyone to see plus whatever else you may be doing inside as there really is no privacy. Very quaint indeed.
The local church - St Peters
The church bells were ringing for over an hour. Not sure if this is a daily ritual or they were practising! You would either love them or hate them if you lived anywhere close by but we could hear them all over the town on our walk.
April Cottage on the right
Notice the height of the doors… they are so short you have to bend over to get in through the doorway.
Thursday 26 April 2012
Vigo
There were lots of little squares like this one in Vigo with lots of open air dining areas but a lot were closed for lunch which doesn’t really make sense.
Vigo - Wednesday - 5th April - Anzac Day
We arrived into Vigo about 8am to a cold and drizzly day. It was raining and the visibility was very poor. We were booked on a ship’s tour that left at 9.45am to Bayona La Real, an old historical fishing village. We set off pretty much on time to a high hill which gave a good view over the city and harbour… it would have been a lot better on a sunny day as it was a very misty outlook. Our guide did not stop talking from the minute we got on the bus until we got off the bus at 1.30pm. I must say he was very informative and a bit of a comedian at the same time… very entertaining with a dry sense of humour. After roaming around snapping this and snapping that from every possible angle we set off across the city to the motorway to head for Bayona La Real which was about a 30 minute drive away. We first went to a 16th century fortress, Castillo de Monte Real, that is now a very upmarket hotel and function centre… perfect for weddings. The views across the harbour were great although misty and after checking out the canons we were treated to a very nice morning tea which included wine in the main function hall which was quite elaborate and adorned with lots of tapestries and art. Just as we were getting ready to leave the skies opened for a brief but heavy shower. This was quite unexpected as we had had no rain to that point. By the time we all got out our umbrellas the rain had stopped and we did not have any more rain for the rest of the day. We then walked back to the Old Quarter which is on the waterfront and consists of narrow cobbled laneways and magnificent old building which consist mainly of seafood cafes. We had about 45 minutes free time here where we just walked around the laneways. Very quaint indeed. We then headed back to the main part of Vigo to wander around the streets. We had to be back on board by 4.30 so we had about 3 hours to take in the local scene. Vigo is noted for its very good seafood so we headed to the Oyster market where we had a dozen oysters and some white wine while we warded off the hawkers trying to sell us fake watches and perfume. It was exceptionally cold sitting in the market with the temperature sitting at around 12 degrees. Unfortunately most of the shops were closed as they close for lunch from 1.30ish to 4.30ish but from what we saw the clothes and shoes looked to be quite good and very cheap. We arrived back at the ship about 5 minutes before the cut off time so we did make the most of our day in Vigo.
As this was Anzac Day there was a service on board the ship which about 50 people attended but we forgot about the service and basically rested when we got back as Peter still has his cold and cough and I felt like I may be getting it. To be honest I could have crawled into bed and forgotten about dinner but we didn’t want to let our dinner companions down.
Some facts:
- The harbour is 32km long by 5km wide
- Known for its granite buildings
- Currency is Euro
- Part of Spain
- Fishing is one of the biggest industries
Tomorrow is our last sea day which means it will be a packing day and getting last minute photos etc
xo
Wednesday 25 April 2012
Madeira - Monday 23rd April
We arrived to the beautiful port of Madeira on a clear and sunny day right on time at 8am. I had arranged a private tour to take us up the mountains and over the other side of the island. It started in the south then we went west then north then back to the south where the ship was docked at Funchal (pronounced Foonchow), the capital. We had 6 other passengers that had asked if they could join us which worked well. Our guide, Miguel was there to meet us when we were left off the ship around 8.15am. I think we were the first passengers off the ship which was a first for this cruise and any other cruise come to think of it!!
We headed out in a very comfortable Mercedes minibus along the narrow roads hugging the coastline. The houses here are built up very steep mountains which are very close to the coast with the land being very heavily terraced so they can grow their produce. Some of these houses have NO road access so have to park their cars at the top and walk up and down the hill whenever they want to go out… sometimes over 400 steps…. Imagine that with groceries!! The people that live here are all very fit and healthy as the average wage is not very much at all so they grow most of their food. Our first stop was at a quaint fishing village at Camara de Lobos. The fishing boats were all very colourful and the fishermen were very loud. In the day they hang around playing cards as they fish at night. Next we visited the second highest cliff in the world… Cabo Girao. There was a lot of construction taking place at the viewing area at the top of the cliff as they are building a new glass platform that overhangs the cliff!! That would be scary!
We then drove to Ribeira Brava a very picturesque village at the base of some very steep mountains. At the top of the mountains we stopped at Encumeada for a view to the water on both sides of the island. It was noticeable colder at the top of the range which called for a glass of the local Porto (?) wine which is made of a lemon and honey mix. We then drove across the Paul da Serra which is a plateau across the top of the mountain range which then leads you to coastal town of Porto Moniz. This town was named after the original family that settled in the area. There are a number of lava swimming pools on the edge of the ocean that are free to swim in but not heated. This is where we had our lunch stop at a café overlooking the pools and the ocean. It was quite windy and not that warm outside. Our lunch was the local fish which is cooked and served with a banana that had a sweet glaze on it and a side salad which was quite nice. Firstly we had the choice of soup and we also were served dessert, tea or coffee and red and white wine all for 11 euros each. Not bad value. After lunch we then headed for a couple of waterfalls then made our way back to Funchal via a stop at a small village at the base of the mountains. This was the area that was greatly affected by massive flooding in Feb 2010 where over 40 people died and over 200 houses were destroyed.
Once back at Funchal we had a quick tour around before we were dropped off at the waterfront where we only had about an hour to roam around this beautiful capital. The day before they had a parade to celebrate a flower festival where they had a carpet of flowers running the length of the mall area. The flowers were still in good shape and it was certainly noticeably hotter here than up in the mountains. We managed to have a good walk around and really loved Madeira and would love to come back for a longer stay. It is only just over a 2 hour flight from London. We really enjoyed our tour with Miguel and would thoroughly recommend Happy Tours.
Tomorrow is a sea day and I intend to do our washing in preparation for our time off the ship which is approaching very quickly now.
Vigo is our next stop and our last before we arrive in Southampton.
Love to all. xo
Arriving into Madeira just as the sun was rising.
This is the Holland American Ryndam in the background. There were at least 3 other cruise ships visiting the same day.
The local fish
Apparently this fish is long and black a bit like an eel… very ugly with a pointy head and very long fang teeth. I think they called it cat fish…. They say to eat before you see them otherwise you would never eat it as they are that ugly!
Levadas
These water canals are called a Levada. They are the main way that water is transported from the top of the range to the villages at the bottom all by a series of canals and gravitation. There is also a very small track next to the levadas which are commonly used for bushwalking.
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