Fish with bananas

In the morning, the Captain once more apologised for the weather being rougher than he had predicted. 'Have a drink on me! - as long as it is from the complementary selection'. 

The Restaurant Manager approached TSH and Diva at breakfast to check that all was well. He pointed out that there would be a Portuguese buffet in the evening at the Grill restaurant. This would be difficult for TSH because of his sight problems, so they were assured that pasteis de nata - a favourite of theirs - would be delivered to their table in the Grand Dining Room. It will be interesting to discover if the waiters in the GDR are aware of this special arrangement. The waiters are taking great care of them. Perhaps they appreciated Diva being very discreet when she was breakfasting with the Restaurant Manager and she had to point out that they had brought her the wrong kind of tea.

Like the Canary Islands,  Madeira is volcanic, with dramatic mountains, but its vegetation is much more luxuriant. On the quayside, there is a prominent museum dedicated to Cristiano Ronaldo (a footballer). On the excursion, the guide explained that fish cooked with bananas was a very popular local dish. TSH and Diva were served with Poncha - a traditional Madeira drink based on rum - at 10:00 in the morning.

It is disappointing that so far on this voyage there have been no sightings of whales or dolphins. But there were many camels on Tenerife - their job was to take tourists up the mountain. TSH and Diva did not ride on a camel.

3rd

On the sail away from Killybegs, TSH and Diva saw a large group of dolphins around the Silver Spirit. Perhaps not quite as spectacular as seeing orcas.

At the Venetian night on the 4^th and final leg of their cruise, TSH and Diva dropped down the league to 3^rd place. There are about 380 guests on board Silver Spirit, including 204 Venetians, which is a much lower proportion than on most voyages in the past. Dinner was with the Guest Relations Manager and the Reception Manager.

On the way into the cocktail party, Diva reassured Captain Ivo, who greeted her by name and was concerned about her welfare in the light of her failure to take a poncho and an umbrella.

In Galway, they cancelled the planned excursion and walked around the city on their own. The tender journey was a little rough at the end and they were pleased that it was driven by an experienced seaman and it was not an Officer Training Day (as has occasionally happened before).

Into Ireland

The crossing from Iceland to Ireland was via very rough seas, as Diva had discovered in advance. It was difficult to walk around without veering or staggering. Absolutely nothing to do with the wine. So it was a relief to all to reach the anchor point at Greencastle. This was nominally the port for Derry but after TSH and Diva had gone ashore via the tender, they discovered that the shuttle bus (which took about 45 minutes) did not connect with the tender timetable. They returned to Silver Spirit after buying plasters for TSH’s cut finger. Don’t ask.

Making a purchase was interesting. TSH and Diva know that Derry is in Northern Ireland – part of the UK – and expected to pay in UK currency. The advice in the Silversea chronicles was to use Euros. Which turned out to be correct in Greencastle itself, which is in the Republic of Ireland. Fortunately, TSH had both currencies in his wallet.

Whilst anchored, they were lucky to see three (?) dolphins just below their balcony.

When the technology started to reset, there were 23 messages from Silversea on the TV system all at once. Some relating to events from several days earlier.

For the first time in several weeks, there were a few hours of darkness.

Celtic Cool

In Belfast, TSH and Diva went into the city on the shuttle bus and had a short walk around the shopping area. In the evening, a local group of musicians and dancers entertained the US guests, whilst being vey lukewarm in their welcome to the English. Maybe times have not changed as much as everybody hoped. Dinner was taken in the outdoor (but covered and heated) pizza restaurant. The pizzas were excellent as usual but TSH and Diva had under-estimated quite how cold and windy it was and they were glad to be back indoors. Non-UK guests are divided. Some think that British summers are always like this and others are totally shocked at the cold and wet. The seas remain smooth.

Silversea IT systems are as bad as ever. TSH and Diva always check the TV in their suite for any messages about dinner reservations etc. So far, there had been none. Until 17 messages, some of them days old, all appeared at once.

TSH and Diva received a letter from the hotel Director in response to their mid-cruise questionnaire. It was both apologetic and constructive, so full marks to him for that one.

There was never any plan to go ashore in Greenock and the grey drizzly weather confirmed this as the right choice. Tai Chi ‘under the life boats’ was going well until Diva spotted a pair of dolphins. By the time TSH had prepared his camera and the dolphins had vanished, they had both lost their place in the sequence and the session was abandoned.

 

Unidentified Marine Phenomena

 

The second excursion was to the North Cape – supposedly the most northern point of the European land mass. Except it is on an island and there are more northerly islands.

The bus journey to the Cape was scenic but a bit too white knuckle for Diva, as it took them up steep slopes and around hairpin bends. The weather stayed clear so that the views were spectacular and it was not too cold. The first fog bank did not occur until the early evening during the sail past the Cape, as the Spirit of Adventure prepared for its return journey south.

In the evening, a number of guests spotted what has to be recorded as Unidentified Marine Phenomena. Almost certainly not of alien origin, opinion was divided as to whether the dark shapes in the sea were whales or dolphins.

The sea is mostly calm with an occasional choppiness but TSH and Diva have not needed any Stugeron so far.

The captain of the Spirit of Adventure is less formal than captains encountered by TSH and Diva in the past. He often starts ‘Hi, this is Jason from the Bridge’. On Silversea ships, there is a very strict ‘All aboard’ time. One lunch-time Jason said ‘We plan to sail about 4:30, so it would be great if you could be back a bit before that’.

On the journey to the Cape, TSH and Diva saw a herd of reindeer and animals which were either sheep or goats.

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.    

Best ship entertainment ever

On formal night in Atlantide (restaurant), TSH and Diva were given a window table and the waiter obligingly opened the blind so that they could see the sea. Surprisingly, it was Diva who first spotted what was happening. First one dark shape and then another appeared fleetingly above the surface of the very calm sea. Soon it was apparent that there was a large number of dolphins accompanying the Silver Moon. Many jumped clear out of the water – sometimes more than one at one time. Brilliant show appreciated by all. There has long been a guest rumour that a tank of dolphins is kept in the bowels of the ship to be let out by the Captain at appropriate times. When better than formal night?

In Valencia, TSH and Dive took the almost empty shuttle bus into the city centre and walked around the main squares. They had been warned that it was Sunday of a Bank Holiday weekend and everything would be closed but in fact many cafes and some tourist shops were open and there were large numbers of people around. When they boarded the shuttle bus for the return journey, it was clear that many guests were using the shuttle as a drive-by excursion, were not getting off and were quite happy to return immediately to the Silver Moon.

TSH is taking many pics but is struggling with his camera steaming up whilst he is wearing a mask.

Only 1 guest is now testing positive for Covid.

Arrival in Rio de Janeiiro

Another scenic sail-in. This time at 7:00, with cloud and mist, but not enough to hide the drama of the steep peaks and jagged mountain ranges. Silver Spirit passed Sugar Loaf mountain, with the Christ the Redeemer Statue on another peak set further away. There was loud samba music at the pier even at that time in the morning. Much of the city is modern high-rise but a hillside favela is visible from the ship.

TSH ventured onto the cable car up Sugar Loaf but Diva decided to wait for the funicular up to the statue. This latter excursion will be early in the morning after the night at Carnival – a hectic couple of days. Whilst on the ship, Diva saw bubbles in the water which were said by another guest to be caused by hunting dolphins blowing bubbles to confuse a shoal of fish.

TSH enjoyed the cable car trip up Sugar Loaf, which is about 1,000 feet high. He made sure he left the ship early enough to be on the first bus out of the port, which got to the cable car before queues had developed, so that the cable cars were not full. The views over Rio and beyond were very good even though there was some haze. At the summit, there were a number of interesting birds and lizards (or iguanas), including two that were about three feet long).

On the way back many carnivals were in progress, with very many people in fancy dress (although the amount of dress in many cases was very limited).

Too many other cruise ships to mention but Celebrity Infinity is here and there is a Regent as well.

Heading for the equator

The Panama day was rounded off nicely with a last minute booking for La Terrazza – the first on this voyage. Diva had her usual 9 starters (all tiny).

The butler and the butler manager part-rescued the reading situation by lending TSH some reading glasses from the staff store. He still needs to buy some soon but there is a plan for that.

Early morning Tai Chi on the lifeboat deck, which seems to be the only outside space which doesn’t form part of a thoroughfare or a public area such as the pool.

The first highlight of the day at sea was the sight of a school of dolphins swimming alongside the Silver Spirit, leaping in and out of the water.

The second highlight was another lecture from a Professor of Archaeology. One of the best speakers ever experienced on a Silversea ship. Diva wants to visit all the Peruvian sites and museums he is describing but it will be possible to visit only one.

Excellent sweet and sour pork for lunch made a change from TSH and Diva’s usual choice of lots of salad with fish or cheese.

Diva and TSH have been presented with small holdalls with the Silversea Circle Voyage logo.

Not many other cruise ships spotted so far. Only Celebrity Summit and Crystal Serenity.

This photoblog hopefully gives some impression of the spectacle which is the Panama Canal.

Continental divide

Early morning

Flight of pelicans

Going In

Leaving Panama

The lake