There is a crack

 In Skjolden, Diva studied some movements on the water on the opposite side of the fjord. She was convinced that she was watching a pod of whales occasionally surfacing and showing a flash of white.  TSH maintained that it was a group of birds and when he saw one of them fly off, he presented this as evidence that he was right.

Food continues to be excellent. The duck in East to West is very special and the Norwegian buffet evening presented lots of interesting choices, including venison meatballs and a cocktail called Viking Scream. Diva has discovered that the cookies in the Living Room are far more to her taste than the lunch-time Grill offering of creamy desserts, so the Living Room is where they now have their after lunch tea and hot chocolate.  They are still welcome in the Living Room – perhaps less so in the Britannia lounge, where Diva accidentally tipped up the table, sending many items to the floor. The tea pot was broken and the tea bag made a serious stain on the carpet.  TSH was relieved that he was not involved in the incident.

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.

Concerned Captain

Captain Ivo is very concerned that TSH and Diva are happy and comfortable. In Atlantide one night he asked why they were not watching the football match. Diva assured him that they were saving themselves for the victory parade but alas that was not to be. When they went ashore in Akureyri, he said that Diva would be cold. She should be wearing a jacket, despite bright sunshine and relatively warm weather. She assured him that her wool cardigan would be adequate and this turned out to be the case.

Captain Ivo occasionally announces the presence of whales around the Silver Spirit but so far TSH and Diva have failed to spot them.

The excursion was excellent – the Godfoss waterfall followed by the Botanic Gardens. All in warm weather.

Transport Terror

Akureyri was the most scenic port so far, but that could be due to the effect of the unusual bright sun. They enjoyed an unescorted walk around the town and harbour.   Captain Ivo now recognises TSH and Diva. He exchanged a few pleasantries with Diva and when he met TSH he advised him to keep a watch for whales during the sail-away along the fjord.  TSH kept watch from the balcony for some time but there was only one possible whale sighting.

From Patreksfjordur, TSH and Diva went on an excursion to a bird cliff.  They had excellent close sightings of the puffins and possible sightings of seals on the rocks far below. Diva was glad she had eaten a good breakfast, as the no-choice lunch consisted of bread (fresh, excellent) and cream of mushroom soup (she does not eat cream). On return to the Silver Spirit, they had finger sandwiches in the Arts Café.

The drive along narrow unfenced roads with steep drops at the side was terrifying for Diva, especially when passing other vehicles. Fortunately the local driver was both careful and experienced. Another guest was appalled when the return journey took the same difficult route as he expected to return ‘on an Interstate’.

Light and shade

 After dinner, TSH and Diva watched a large group of more than 12 whales – presumed to be orcas – swimming around the ship’s bows. The sound of their ‘blowing’ could be heard clearly.

It has been light for 24 hours for days but TSH and Diva have not seen the Midnight Sun because of the cloud cover. Until last night, when the sun shone brightly for the hours around midnight. Until the sound of the Spirit of Adventure foghorn alerted them to what Captain Jason calls ‘the f-word’.

On arrival in Bodo, the weather was sunny for the morning walk but for the rest of the day, first one part of the view and then another was obscured. The views include snow-capped jagged mountains.

TSH is making more unescorted trips to the buffet. Even when he cannot immediately find his way back to the table he is able to remember its number. Unlike the lady overheard telling a waiter that she did not know her table number but she had left her blue bag with a decoration of pink butterflies there.

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.

To sea in a flat-bottomed boat

On the day at sea, the Circlers were treated to a French-style meal by the French chefs on board. The food was excellent – pate de fois gras with a kind of gingerbread, fish cooked simply in butter, duck with mixed mushrooms and potatoes cooked in duck fat, St Honore dessert. Everything was excellent but Diva likes her duck well-cooked rather than pink. The Captain attended and gave a speech and the Circlers toasted the crew.

On arrival at Samana, the substitute port in Dominican Republic (the original was said to be too difficult for the tender as there is often a bad swell), TSH and Diva stepped directly from Silver Spirit onto the whale-watching boat. They found out later that it was a catamaran and in the light of what they saw later it was the safest option in the area for whale-watching. It did not seem very safe to Diva, who set an early objective of the two of them returning to Silver Spirit alive.

The guide was very proud that this was ‘a local boat’ – it was flat inside and low in the water so that swell and waves often drenched the passengers. Early in the voyage, life jackets were taken out of store and when they had eventually been disentangled, they were handed out ‘for safety’. So this was officially an exciting and risky adventure. The nature of the ride can be best demonstrated by the fact that a number of people were sea sick – not Diva and TSH.

It was a long time before any whales were spotted and seeing them was quite difficult. They appeared briefly and then swam underwater to somewhere else. So all the boats in the area racing towards the spot seemed not to be a sensible thing to do. The other boats were less stable, less substantial and one of them almost collided with the Silver Spirit expedition. There were, however, some good sightings and some passengers (including TSH) saw a number of whales almost completely out of the water. Eventually most people saw whales but this was only after they had been chased by the whale watching boats (not really allowed), the outing had overrun by more than an hour and most guests were more than ready for the stability and comfort of the cruise ship.

Readers will be happy that the objective was met and TSH and Diva both returned alive.

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.