They’ve been a bit subdued

All is well now but the last two days have been difficult. TSH has been unwell and has been under the care of the fantastic Silver Moon medical team. Their readings of his condition improved considerably when Diva remembered to tell them that his heart is not in the standard position.  Although they were almost sure that his symptoms were all caused by heat stroke, dehydration and the lack of food on long tours, they recommended he went for a CT scan in Santo Tomas, Guatemala. So TSH and Diva were put into a taxi accompanied by the local ship’s agent. They first arrived at a local hospital but then the driver discovered that they needed to go to a medical imaging centre.

The imaging centre people were helpful and efficient and assured TSH that they had found his brain and it is normal.

So it was back to the ship. Excursions and wine are cancelled for a few days until he is more stable. Diva will also cancel excursions but she will continue with the wine.

Encounter with an old civilisation

 TSH and Diva spent two days visiting Mayan ruins in Mexico and Belize. This was their first encounter with this culture and Diva was impressed that mathematicians were regarded as extremely important. Maybe back then she would have been a goddess?

One of the tours also involved tequila tasting, including some neat tequila. The most disgusting thing Diva has tasted in a long time,

Some guests climbed up the pyramids but TSH and Diva both decided that it was far too hot for such activity.

The food on board is as good as ever and the service is excellent – many waiters remember TSH and Diva and seem pleased to see them. Diva’s blue nail varnish and silver trainers have both been much admired by passing strangers.

Wildlife sightings: Iguanas of various sizes, a huge crocodile half out of the water, egrets, many black vultures. The guide said there were dolphins in the bay by Belize City earlier in the day but none were visible during the long transfer from the Silver Moon to the shore.    

A local dispute

 

Fortunately the Four Seasons provided a comfortable area for guests to wait before transfer to the Silver Moon. The authorities took a long time to clear the ship for embarkation, but the process was infinitely better than that at Athens in 2022.  After the third announcement about further delay, glasses of champagne were offered, but TSH and Diva waited until they had passed the health check and were safely onboard.  Because of the late boarding, the slow arrival of the various pieces of luggage and the need for the safety drill, TSH and Diva did not organise their suite before dinner. Clothes were hung up but everything else was strewn across the bed and various surfaces.

The following morning, they took advantage of a jet-lag inspired early rise to tidy the suite before breakfast. And before the disappointing news that there is a ‘local dispute’ near Chitzen Itza, the Mayan site they were due to visit. A replacement tour was hastily arranged but the spectacular site had been expected to be a highlight of the cruise.  

The day at sea was a welcome relaxation after the stresses of the last few days.

It is suggested that Meribek is onboard. She is a great heroine for TSH, as she was the concierge who found him when he was lost in China a few years ago.

Wildlife sightings: Flying fish (unverified. (Diva)) (Diva was too slow on the uptake to spot them (TSH)). A whole shoal of flying fish (seen by both). A small brown bird with bright yellow on the underside of its wings visited the ship.

Sunrise in Fort Lauderdale:

Timeless travel

 

Operating the lift in the Sofitel Heathrow was not straight-forward. Whilst it apparently responded to pressing buttons, it did not actually respond until the room card was swiped. So TSH and Diva travelled up and down the hotel several times, under the control of guests who had swiped. As a result, they exited the lift at the wrong floor and had to use the stairs.

TSH and Diva wanted to sit together on the 9 hour plus flight and had booked seats accordingly. But TSH’s seat had broken and the check-in desk informed him that he had been moved elsewhere. It took quite a bit of discussion before a satisfactory resolution was obtained. Their profile was raised to the level where, on embarking the plane, the steward said ‘We have heard about you’.  The BA crew were very helpful and the service excellent.

During the flight, Diva’s watch was adjusted to Florida time. Involving both of them – Diva’s nail do is too precious to allow her to pull out the control buttons. It was an hour or so later that she realised that the watch was not telling the correct time and the battery had fallen out of the back, To lodge somewhere in the innards of one of the aircraft seats.  Forever.

Miami airport was chaotic. Only a handful of passport booths for a queue of hundreds of non-US citizens. TSH and Diva eventually got to a booth with a very friendly border officer. Then the ‘system went down’ – apparently a frequent occurrence, resulting in a 15 minute delay. The people organising Silversea hotel transfers were muddled and unhelpful, resulting in a delay of almost an hour. Later they discovered that their driver had been waiting in the vicinity of the airport for 2 hours.  On arrival at the Four Seasons the Silversea reception desk was already closed and very little information available. But they made it to the welcome dinner – welcome in every sense.

The journey begins

 

TSH and Diva have made it to their Heathrow hotel and are surveying their complicated luggage strewn around the room which was originally tidy. Here is the pile they need tonight and here is the pile they will need in Florida. And here is the pile they need but must not go into the hand luggage because it is liquid. And the pile which must be in the hand luggage because they can’t manage without it. And the Camera.  They are looking forward to unpacking properly on the Silver Moon, Including the Fedex luggage, which is already in the port.

The hire car was supplied with half a tank of petrol and was to be handed back at Heathrow in the same state. Calculations before departure involved tank capacity, journey miles, fuel consumption, conversion from gallons to litres, a senior accountant and a maths graduate. A satisfactory answer was eventually found.  

TSH coped admirably with the controls on the hire car, despite it being 10 years newer than his own car, with a consequent increase in complex technology. He kept insisting that the display panel was intrusive and should be folded away (??) but Diva found it very useful for navigation. Finding the ‘park brake’ (not mentioned in the physical manual or the manual obtainable on the display screen) was a bit of a challenge. When Diva pressed a candidate button, the car leapt forward, to the immense surprise of TSH, who was at that point out of the car in a petrol station (see above). They guessed that it was not the brake.

The full English breakfast was a great way to start the journey.

Wildlife sightings: Alpacas (no, not Peru yet – just near their home in Cheshire). Red Kites along the M40, Pied wagtail at car return office.