Well, here we are at breakfast, waiting for the doors to open and it is dark…like night time. We know that we are on the correct time for the area we are traveling, but it doesn't seem right. And to make it worse, the clocks are due to go forward again tonight to be on the correct time for Gibraltar in two days. Even the reminder cards we got tonight said we will be on Mozambique, Botswana, and Libya time. And these countries are on the east coast of Africa aren't they? Something tells us someone has made a mistake or we are missing something?
We were supposed to be docked before 8am, according to Captain Frank. But unknown to us, the MSC Splendida was on her way to Arrecife, Lanzarote as well, and they stole our pilot we heard. They sped past us, and docked first, then we waited for the pilot and entered the harbor to dock second. Since we will have a free shuttle to town, it really doesn't matter where we dock. The only thing we know about the island of Lanzarote is that 55,000 people live here, and it is smaller than the island of Tenerife, yesterday's stop.
Some of today's tours were Hidden Lanzarote for 4 hours and $70, while Jameos Del Agua and Mirador Del Rio was also 4 hours for $80. Trekking a volcano park was 4 hours for $80 and Cesar Manrique & Canary culture was 4 hours for $90. Last but not least, there was the best of Lanzarote with lunch and a camel ride for 8 hours and $150. Camels in the Canary Islands? Really….
While processing yesterday's pictures, there was another crew drill. But this one was short-lived as it ended 15 minutes after it started. We left the ship around 10am, and boarded a waiting shuttle that took us to Marina Lanzarote about a 15-minute ride. Walking across a tidal lagoon, you could see fisherman's cottages, tapas bars, and palm-lined walkways. This area also offers a myriad of shops, a Carrefour food market, pharmacies, and restaurants as well as the cultural heart of downtown Arrecife. As for us, we did not walk that way.
Turning left, we followed the main road that led to the town and seaside of Arrecife. The weather could not have been more perfect with sunny skies and a pleasant cool breeze. This will probably be the last port that we will enjoy the warmth of the sun and temperatures in the high 70's. And that is one of the reasons so many Europeans come to these islands during the cooler months of the year.
It seemed like we walked for miles to reach Castillo de San Gabriel where a stone causeway leads to the fortress and military museum. From there, you can see the sweeping views of the harbor and city. We did walk the length of the cause way two years ago, but today we just took photos. On Avenida La Marina, there was shopping, hotels, restaurants, bars and cafes all the way to the tallest hotel in town - Arrecife Gran Hotel & Seafront Promenade. In fact, this hotel is the tallest building in all of Lanzarote with ocean view rooms and rooftop dining. It is also located right next to El Reducto Beach and Boardwalk. This beach has golden sands, but don't be fooled. This sand has been imported from the Sahara Desert, since most all of the beaches are volcanic black sand. The rather shallow waters of this huge cove are protected from the ocean swells and are perfect for sunbathers and swimmers. It was also clean as a whistle. In the middle of this beach are restrooms, also well-tended. Since we paid them a visit, we made it a point to walk on the soft sand, so we can say we stepped on the sands of the Sahara Desert. That counts, doesn't it?
Continuing past the beach, there was a garden with a fountain, but we could not locate a name. There was a seaside walk along the seawall with manicured gardens and interesting educational signs along the way. One of those signs mentioned the sea life in these waters. They were whales, dolphins and loggerhead turtles. They are commonly seen from the Cape Verde islands to here and beyond. Now we know for sure those were the turtles we saw a few days ago. And that explains the dozens of dolphins we spotted and this afternoon, three whales were on the starboard side as we sailed away from Lanzarote. That is frosting on the cake to see this wildlife on these cruises.
At the end of the walkway was a structure that we recall is a disco nightclub. The parking lot is on the side, and across the road was a most beautiful colonial-style building. Once again, we could not locate a name, so it may be a hotel or a summer palace. If we had a city map, it would have been marked, but the information center had run out of those maps. They advised us to go to another info center, but we never saw another one. That was about as far as we could go, keeping in mind we had the same distance back. Did we mention there were designated bike lanes about all the way around this island? They were well utilized along with some electric scooters and some folks in electric wheelchairs. Henk and Christel had passed us on their dual bike at the beginning of the trail and then they flew by us on our way back to the shuttle. Bet they were able to go for many miles.
What was on our minds now was lunch, so that was where we headed. Two years ago, we came across one of the nicer Italian restaurants on the seaside avenue. At that time, we had ordered an extra-large pizza, thinking it would be regular size. Well, it took up most of the table for two where we sat on the railing. Some of our ship buddies happened to be enjoying glasses of wine there and teased the heck out of us with such a big pizza. We do recall that it took some time, but we did finish it.
Today, we decided to keep the Hawaiian pizza medium size, which was still a 12 inch pie. It was perfect with the chilled glasses of El Equila draft beers. A nice breeze had cropped up, and we lingered long enough to share a dessert of a chocolate muffin with a side of vanilla ice cream. Our waitress tried to explain the chocolate filling that melts when it is warm. Then we realized she was describing what we know as the chocolate volcano they used to serve in the Pinnacle Grill. Why that popular dessert was removed from the menu is beyond us. All aboard was 4:30pm, so we had no choice but to continue our hike back. The last time, we waited too long, and the line for the shuttle went on forever.
Back-tracking, we took photos that we missed on the way here. If there was more time, and we had the energy, we might have strolled over the lagoon bridge to check out the many shops. At this point, it was SO not worth it, and we continued to the shuttle bus. Lucky for us, the bus was close to full and it finally left about 15 minutes later. About half of the passengers were crew.
We arrived back to the ship by 3:30pm and relaxed on the veranda in the little sun we had left. It is also a great time for one of us that writes the happenings of the day while it is still fresh in our minds. It does take both of us to get the sequence correct. We were discussing the frequency of one port after another in a short time, and came to the conclusion that you may as well store the daily info in your mind like filling a blender. Then at one point, you turn the switch on, and it all comes together in one confusing episode. A funny thought, but SO true these days. Wish we had a dollar for every time we say do you remember this? Or where did we see that? What cruise was that on, or what time of year was it? Good excuse for taking a lot of photos as they seem to tell the story the way it was.
Captain Frank came on with his sail away talk after 4:30pm. He said we will have a slight sea state with swells no bigger than 3 feet. The temperature was still 73 degrees, but that would drop by tomorrow. Other changes could be more clouds with a chance of rain. Later this evening, he said the swells would increase to 9 feet with some rolling and pitching. He said we were taking a northeasterly course to the Straits of Gibraltar doing a speed of 17.5 knots. We will have one sea day to arrive there and the temperature will drop to the 60's. And we will have to set the clocks forward again this evening putting the sunrise at 7:45am.
Dinnertime had a Spanish-theme about it. One of us tried the pork skewers with different spices, but the fussy eater among us had the everyday shrimp cocktail. Caesar salads were next, then the entrees were one BBQ rib dinner without the chewy corn cob and the spinach. It's never a problem substituting other sides that are on the alternate mains. One of us had the Spanish meatballs which turned out to resemble meatball soup. Four little beef meatballs were swimming in the marinara sauce. Using the garlic bread provided, the extra sauce was eaten with the bread. It worked just fine. Dessert was one scoop of strawberry sorbet, and a torte with vanilla ice cream. There was some added diced candied fruit on the side of the cake, but we could not identify it right away. So we asked our waiter who figured it was the candied ginger. Correct, that is one extra we never have is the after-dinner cart with the sweet goodies. There is no longer a yum-yum person, but one of the it staff is there handing out the treats outside the dining room doors. If nothing else, she always wishes us a wonderful evening.
Previously, Kimberly had announced that the soul singer this evening, Vicus, was unable to do his show. He was having voice issues. So there was no entertainment, but a repeat of the afternoon movie, "Wrong Place".
With two days in a row of high-mile walking, we were more than ready to call it a day. Really need more than one day at sea to recuperate.
Bill & Mary Ann
