Someone is missing a sock

The previous cruise had more British passengers than TSH and Diva had ever experienced on a Silversea cruise. However, on this leg, there are far fewer and the majority of passengers seem to be American or Australian.  Maybe it’s just a first night thing, but the guest at the next table showed that he was a wine connoisseur by declining the offered white wine after tasting but accepting any provided it was French, without any further tasting.

In Quebec City again, there was the episode of the glasses case and the sock. Whilst visiting a waterfall (higher than Niagara) one of the fellow travellers discovered when she returned to the bus that she had lost her glasses case. Other people in the group said that they had seen the lost case back at one of the waterfall viewing places. After a few minutes and just before the tour bus was due to leave our hero decided to go back and look for the missing case. His wife confidently predicted that her husband would return with the case and whilst every one else waited impatiently, there was much loud speculation about whether or not he would find it. When he returned some while later his comrades applauded enthusiastically as he clambered onto the bus with an object in his hand.  The object turned out to be a sock!

A further walk round the lower old town revealed many more attractive streets and shops.

Because of the unusual itinerary, there have been fewer sightings than usual of other cruise ships. But in Quebec there is a Holland American ship and Celebrity Summit.

The captain comes clean

At the captain’s farewell party, he admitted that an anchor had indeed been lost. Part of the fastening was damaged in the storm, so that on leaving Qaqartoq, the rope was pulled up – no anchor attached to the end. So the officer lied, probably under orders.

Immediately after docking at Quebec, there was much toing and froing with vans and cranes as a replacement anchor was fitted.

Quebec is a beautiful city – open and clean with many impressive buildings as well as small interesting streets. TSH and Diva decided they could live there but have decided not to. The blue sky and pleasant temperature definitely helped. It was the first port where there was no tender, no shuttle bus and no need for raincoats or vests.

In the afternoon, TSH had his first ‘beer on deck’ of this voyage.

Montreal was equally attractive – fewer grand buildings than Quebec but a very impressive cathedral. Most time was spent in Old Montreal, which has cobbled streets with a lot of artists’ studios and a large square with market stalls and street performers. The continuing warm sunny weather and blue sky helped.

The day in Montreal  was strange. Early morning was full of people getting off the ship, saying their goodbyes and checking their arrangements for onward travel. The afternoon brought a new crop of guests, still in their travel clothes, with large travel bags and still-anxious faces. TSH and Diva were among the 30 or so guests staying on from one voyage to the next.

Whales

In Gaspe and Baie Comeau, transport was on school buses – black and yellow stripes, like on the Simpsons. These are both partly French areas, with BC almost completely French speaking. TSH and Diva had a good long walk through a residential district, calling in at Eglise Ste Amelie.

Whale(s) could be seen by the side of the Silver Whisper for most of the afternoon.

Every day now, there is more autumn colour, so there is real hope for an excellent display before home-time. Some people are getting ready for home-time, as the first cruise heads towards its close in Montreal. But TSH and Diva are not attending the Captain’s farewell, as they are travelling on to New York.

The other thing that’s changing by the day is increasing signs of money and modern life. More tarmac, more stone and brick buildings, more shopping malls. In Greenland and Newfoundland, life is obviously hard, dominated by the weather and the land. Baie Comeau is recognisably part of the 21^st century. Whilst cruising, you don’t understand anywhere in detail, but you see how a region has developed and how it connects together. And the closer you get to the power, the more money there is around. But there is still no mobile phone signal in Canada.

The ship is the same as ever.  One morning, one of the waiters was singing cheerfully. The cleaner always tells TSH and Diva to ‘enjoy your dinner’, as he goes in to clean their suite for the second time that day.

TSH has been keeping count. Gaspe had 1 horse, 2 chickens, 3 cows, many gannets and cormorants  and a train engine.  Baie Comeau had 1 steam engine and a squirrel.

One of the anchors is missing and the rumour on board is that it had been lost at sea in the storm. TSH asked a ship’s officer but he said it had been removed for repair, which is not as exciting.

Blue sky and sun now as well as smooth river sailing – who could ask for more! Well, champagne and more whales for sail-away.

Newfoundland

The forecast for the night spent starting the crossing of the Davies Strait was ‘optimistic’ (the Captain’s words the following morning). Diva was awakened by a mighty crash as the stabilisers operated even more loudly than usual. It turned out that the waves were higher, the wind stronger and the swell greater than forecast. By morning, things were calmer, but the Captain was already making ‘we might be late at Corner Brook’ noises, because of the lack of speed through the storm.

Strange lights in the light were eventually identified as lights along the Canadian shore-line – the first inhabited shore-line for many days. There have been six days at sea instead of the planned three, Silver Whisper has missed two ports and had half-length stays at two more. This has meant more Tai Chi training sessions than are normally possible on a busy holiday.  But in the St Lawrence river and its estuary, there should be no more significant delays.

Corner Brook was a welcoming port, with someone playing guitar and singing ‘Your Cheatin’ Heart’ on the quayside. No idea why. Part-way through the excursion, tea and snacks were provided at a local church hall by ‘ladies of the parish’ who had made cake and sandwiches in their own kitchens. The crab sandwiches were excellent. They were also selling handicrafts, including knitting and quilting.

Before taking the excursion, TSH and Diva had their traditional ‘at least once in a cruise’ burger on deck. It was the first time it seemed possible and although Newfoundland is much warmer than Greenland, coats and woollies  were needed.

The terrain is much gentler than either Greenland or Iceland, with rounded or flat topped peaks no higher than about 1000 feet. No snow capped  jagged peaks here. The climate ranges from about -10C to about 25C. The interior is wilderness and the coast made up of bays and coves, a bit like parts of Cornwall.

Some leaves have already turned colour, in some cases to a vivid red, although these are the exception and most are still green. There are plenty of rowan berries around.

No phone signal in Canada yet.

Journey justified

The approach to Greenland presented a stunning panorama. Completely smooth sea and a view of rows of high jagged peaks. The colours ranged from black rock through shades of grey and cream to snow white, highlighted by shafts of sunlight. There were no apparent flat areas to be seen, as everywhere was steep slopes. The first iceberg drifted past the ship. A shape could be seen on the horizon, and TSH used his zoom lens to verify that it was another iceberg.

This part of Greenland is below the Arctic Circle but some definitions would include the whole area within the Arctic region.

TSH took a picture of a small brown bird which had hitched a lift on the Silver Whisper.

The ship slowed down because of the increasing number of icebergs, one of the largest of which appeared to be blocking the entrance to the Prince Christian Sound. We were all reassured because there is an ice pilot on board, assisting the Captain with the safety of the ship. Also, the water in the Sound is very deep everywhere, so there is no problem with finding the correct channel.

Just before entry to the Sound, a number of whales appeared. White ones appeared to be floating on the surface but darker coloured ones could also be seen on the surface at times and a lot of water spouts dotted the water around the ship.

Lunch was taken on deck as the ship sailed for six hours through spectacular mountain scenery and innumerable icebergs. The bergs were a variety of shapes and textures, like sculptures in an outdoor park. Many were smooth white, with a metallic shine, but a few were rougher, with a regular pattern of ridges.  It was (sorry) some of the Texans who appeared on deck in shirt sleeves for the outdoor lunch. They lasted outside for less than two minutes. TSH and Diva each had about four serious layers of clothes.

At one stage, a small iceberg disintegrated just in front of the ship and the speculation was that the ship’s heat had caused this to happen.

The general scenery, below the snow line, consisted of steep rocky surfaces, a bit like Wastwater screes, punctuated with the occasional glacier. It all looked extremely inhospitable but in one place where the Sound widened out and a few waterways met, there was a village whose means of transport was solely on the water. The village looked typically Scandinavian, with brightly painted wooden houses.

Like in a well organised firework display, some of the best was left until last, and the Silver Whisper exited the Sound through a large number of larger bergs.

Everyone on board agreed that it had been a spectacular day with ideal weather. The only thing missing was a polar bear. And one woman was hoping to see a penguin (!!). TSH took 400 pictures.

During the night, the ship’s spotlight could be seen in constant operation, scanning for icebergs. This is really continuing the Titanic theme which began in the exhibition in Belfast, or earlier this year in Cherbourg, which was Titanic’s first port of call after Southampton.

The next morning was when TSH and Diva set foot on Greenland soil, in the small town of Qaqortoq. The houses here were also brightly coloured, but this settlement is large enough to have a school, church, supermarket and more police than you ever see in a UK town of much greater size. No trouble was apparent so maybe they were there because of the ship. A lot of 4 wheel drive vehicles for a place with no roads out.

The captain has cancelled his dinner with guests tonight. Many large bergs are expected and he wants to be on the bridge with the ice pilot. No weather forecast for the Labrador Sea yet.

Two doctors

There were two doctors. The one who looks after any sick passengers or crew – TSH and Diva thought he was even more brutalised than most  (Diva has a medical phobia). So absolutely no plans to be ill. The other was an orthopaedic surgeon who lived in Brisbane but originally studied at Liverpool University, like Diva did.

The Denmark Strait between Iceland and Greenland was too choppy for Tai Chi but nothing like the early part of the voyage. Early on Saturday, exactly one day late, the coast of Greenland came into view. Snow-capped mountains. New territory, just as the early explorers saw. But their vessel was nothing like the Silver Whisper.  The Arctic Chard (TSH) and fragrant lamb curry (Diva) were especially good last night.

What itinerary?

Progress is very slow, so more time at sea. The captain gave a talk about the weather and its effect on navigation. He seems to know what he is doing. The cookery demonstration was given by an Indian chef, who showed us how to make chicken tikka massala.  The best question afterwards was: ‘I have never heard of fenugreek. Where can I buy it? I live in central Florida.’ Clearly never heard of Google, yellow pages or the information desk at the supermarket, either.

The continuing storm and strong head winds meant that Silver Whisper arrived in Iceland 12 hours late. It was so good to see the land and sleep through a calm night. So the visit to Iceland was one day later than planned. The next priority is that we get our days in Greenland, so to get the trip back on schedule, Anse aux meadows in Northern Canada has been cancelled.  That means missing the museum about the Vikings who are thought to have been the first people to cross the Atlantic from Europe.

Reykjavik is a small but pleasant city, with a combination of old painted wooden buildings and new glass ones. The new Harpa building, housing the Opera House,  convention space, shops and bars, is stunning and worth a visit inside and out. TSH and Diva didn’t feel the need for a visit to the Blue Lagoon, geysers etc as its only a few years since they did all that, so they enjoyed several hours walking around the city, without the time pressure of an excursion. Departure is late afternoon and the cushions are back in the glasses cupboard.

Dinner with the Doctor tonight.

Its all about the ocean

In the night, there was a force 10 gale with wind speeds in excess of 100k per hour (is that a hurricane?) and 35 ft waves. Sometimes you could see the waves wash over on the top deck, which is deck 10 on Silver Whisper. So the ship travelled along and occasionally there would be a great lurch and then the bang of the stabilisers and the vibration. This is when some people might get thrown out of bed and injure themselves. But not TSH and Diva, who are tough people and dosed up on Stugeron. They are also mid-ships on deck 4, the most stable part of the ship. The main effect is that Diva is retreating on her ambition for a future world cruise and anything that involves trans-oceanic.

The baby butler has never been to sea before. Anywhere. And they send him to the North Atlantic. And he doesn’t know how the laundry system works.

This really belongs in her studentat60 blog. But Diva is disappointed with her latest MA assignment result. 64. Which is pretty much her average so far.  A merit but not a distinction, in spite of help from the learning advisor. Not good enough.

During the day at sea, most time is spent in the suite, to stay as stable as possible.  The policy of not paying for a balcony has been proved right. Who wants a balcony in these conditions?

This all sounds horrendous. But the staff are impeccably dressed and attentive and continue with excellent food and drink. And the classical muzak played quietly in the dining room goes on. All’s well with the world.

Butlers and more Belfast

There have been some issues with the butler, who is young, keen, new and totally ignorant of how things should be done.  TSH and Diva had a chat with the housekeeper, to say he needed more training and help. They must have noticed the Anniversary cards. After dinner, TSH thought he was in the wrong suite because it had halved in size. The butler had closed the curtain between the sitting and sleeping areas. Behind the curtain were balloons, candles, champagne on ice and an Anniversary cake.More candles in the bathroom. This was all just after a good dinner!!  A knock on the door brought the butler with the butler manager, who delivered a red rose.  They have apologised in style.

The bonus morning in Belfast gave an opportunity to go into St Ann’s cathedral and glance into St Peter’s, where a service was in progress. A look inside City Hall, which is lined with light coloured marble. A shuttle bus back to the ship for lunch and sail at 14:00.

The scary bit is that the orchid is in the wastebin (to stop it falling over) and the cushions are in the glasses and drinks cupboard (to stop things breaking). Projected height of waves: 15 feet. But we are going in the opposite direction to the storm so we should be coming out of it.

Itinerary Change

La Terrazza is back to its old self – calm and relaxing. During dinner there was an announcement from the captain. A massive storm – hurricane level – was forecast and would make the journey to Stornoway ‘uncomfortable’.  And then it would be impossible to go ashore safely. So…. The Whisper would sail to Belfast for the planned stop but then stay overnight to shelter from the worst of the storm. Then it would set off direct for Iceland, through the tail end of the storm and then out of it. So no Stornoway and no stone circle.

Two of the people on board told TSH and Diva that two years ago they did a similar voyage which was supposed to take 4 days at sea to cross to Canada. A storm meant that this missed all the ports except the disembarkation and were at sea for almost 8 days continuously. Please, no.

The Belfast Titanic exhibition is one of the best. Exhibits of the social history of Belfast, building up to the design, build, launch and fit of the Titanic. The voyage detail until that night.  And then the aftermath – search for bodies and the inquiries in UK and US. A 2 to 3 hour unmissable experience, in which you learn quite a bit about Belfast generally.

The extended stay meant there was time to take the shuttle bus into the city and walk around the centre, looking at City Hall, the Opera House and the Waterfront.

Its TSH and Diva’s 12^th wedding anniversary and they are storm –bound in Belfast. As unpredictable as the wedding day when they were clamped.

Getting started

The Silver Whisper waiters remember TSH and Diva and the new maître d’ already knows them by name, so it’s a good start. Food as good as ever.  On the other hand, the butler service requires refinement. The actual butler was away training, so the greeting was by two eager but obviously inexperienced room stewards. The requests were for champagne, shiraz, warm water for Diva’s interdental gadget and plenty of still water. The first two arrived OK. Eventually boiling water arrived complete with a cup for drinking it, which was perhaps an understandable misunderstanding.  Even later, a large bottle of distilled water arrived. No idea what they thought it was for or where they got it, but top marks for effort.

At the safety drill, Diva always tests the light on the lifejacket. They specifically tell you not to do that but how else do you know it works? But now they have some new lights which allegedly come on when in contact with water. How would that work? And how would you know it was working? TSH suggested  a test involving wearing the lifejacket in the shower but that seemed a bit drastic and the test did not take place.

A bracing walk along the waterfront and through the town in Falmouth, with the weather just the same as when TSH and Diva were last here – grey and drizzly but no actual heavy rain.  TSH took lots of pics.

The rumour on board is that a massive storm is heading for Stornoway and that as we are possibly due to anchor and tender so it won’t be safe and we will miss out the port. Bad news in itself but what does this mean in sea sickness terms?

The Whisper was in Dublin until the evening, so TSH and Diva were able to go around the city on their own, taking in the Guinness Storehouse, O’Connell St, the Post Office and Trinity College, with views of Dublin Castle and the Cathedral en route.

On the crowded bus to Guinness, a friendly Irishman who helped with finding the right bus stood up from his aisle seat to allow Diva to sit on the empty window seat, as he was getting off first. Before he could get his seat back, TSH (oblivious to what was going on), took the elderly man’s seat, forcing him to look elsewhere for a scarce seat. Diva did not recover from the mortification for some hours.

Diva drank her first ever Guinness. Not a whole pint – just the little taster. In spite of much tuition, involving clouds of vapour, a white room and a transfer to a dark ‘velvet’ room, she didn’t really get it and will be sticking with cab sauv rouge.

The other Guinness fact is that 14 tankers of it were lined up on the quayside when we arrived. (Information courtesy of TSH)

The most interesting part of Trinity College was the stunning library, with an exhibition of the Book of Kells.

La Terrazza for dinner.

439

How spooky is it that we have the same room number in the Grand Harbour Hotel that we will have on the Silver Whisper? Hotel mediocre but good meal at Ennio's last night with TSH's son and fiancee. But why does Ennio spend all his time trying to get you to buy extras and sides? Yes, we know why, but its not worthy of him - its like a cheap chain - and he's selling good quality food at highish prices.

We paid for a 'town view' room but we can see the cruise terminal and Whisper is there in the distance.

For the afficianado: Winston Churchill and Lord Nelson were together on the Watercress line yesterday when TSH went train-spotting. With Cheltenham.

Last preps

Hair(s) done, fridge cleared. 2 suitcases packed and the only question is how many more are needed?  Still to pack toiletries, 'needed in Southampton' and coathangers. Yes, I know that one's mad but neither Diva nor TSH can bear to be without unlimited coathangers.

Diva unsettled because 'last taught module of the MA' mark not posted yet. Its not due til next week but a good result before sail away would be good.

Still to pick up hire car. Fish and chips from local pub tonight.

Four sleeps to go

It's nearly time for TSH and Diva to set off again. Clothes are being selected and deselected as weather forecasts change. How many vests? How many T shirts? What about fur hats? There is scope for the weather to vary from 0 to about 23 degrees C. The itinerary is printed off, with helpful information about all the places to be visited. 21 ports in 6 countries.