Helping to drive the ship

 With improved (but not entirely smooth) weather conditions, the bridge tour was able to take place. TSH and Diva were instructed not to disturb the officers, not to interrupt the explanations and above all not to touch anything. When it was time for questions, there were several pointed ones about how collisions were avoided and how much damage the ship sustained during the serious incident in the Bay of Biscay about 2 years ago. The incident is still the subject of an inquiry and the officer quite rightly refused to discuss it. The Captain interjected to say that maybe they could ask the Captain who was in charge of the ship at the time - a neat way of making it quite clear that it was not him. 

Data that was provided indicated that the ship's tolerance for swell was around 9m. Also that the ship has 7m below the water and 49m above. The Spirit of Discovery is going into dry dock soon in order to be in top condition for TSH and Diva's next cruise in July.

The officer cleared up something TSH and Diva have always wondered about. When a pilot is onboard, it is in an advisory capacity and the Captain still has responsibility for the ship, the crew and the guests and hence has the final say. 

Because of strong headwinds, the Spirit of Discovery is proceeding slower than is ideal and contingency plans are being made for a late arrival in Portsmouth. TSH and Diva hope that these plans are not needed. They are scheduled to leave at the ship at 8:20 and have booked a late afternoon Sainsbury's delivery. The Captain has instructed the Chief Engineer to make all his horses run as fast as possible.

TSH ate Manchester Tart at dinner. Diva has always lived within a few miles of Manchester and has never heard of it. 

Weather woes

 The first sign of trouble was the phone call from Reception explaining that their Sunday afternoon bridge visit was postponed 'because of expected weather conditions'. Then the Captain announced that there would be 24 hours of choppy seas and he was closing the restaurant and lounge on the higher decks. Then the movements of the ship started, so it was difficult to walk around. Guests with cabins on the higher decks had items broken because of the sudden lurches. After 24 hours, the Captain extended the restrictions because the headwinds had slowed progress through the weather system. TSH and Diva have good sea legs and plenty of stugeron. 

The precautions are probably because of a number of injuries during the choppy seas a few days ago. A former Captain in the Merchant Navy fell and injured his back and there are rumours of a broken hip. 

The restaurant manager is often at the entrance to greet TSH and Diva and sometimes escorts them personally to their table. 

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.

Bananas and Potatoes

 TSH and Diva watched the sail-away from Tenerife in order to get a good view of the dramatic rocky scenery. The departure was, unusually, assisted by a tug because of the strong winds. The captain announced that the Spirit of Discovery would be taking a short detour into international waters in order to 'feed the fish'. 

In Santa Cruz de La Palma, they took a short tour which gave Diva a white-knuckle ride along the twisty mountain roads with steep unfenced drops at the side. They had good views of a massive volcanic caldera with their viewing position higher than the drifting clouds. The guide was confusing in her descriptions and her indication of which direction guests should look in was given by her raised arm which was invisible from many seats on the bus. She emphasised the drama of the route but she was the only person shrieking at the sharp bends.  She also asked guests to inform the driver if another bus was approaching along the narrow roads. Not sure what he thought of that.

TSH took many photographs to provide him with an occupation of deleting and editing in the afternoon. Another guest was taking photographs with a tablet with the sound instructions played at a high volume. 

Some guests are talking a lot about the rough seas encountered during some nights but this has not been at a level to bother TSH and Diva.

Diva's brightly coloured jacket was admired. The restaurant manager checked that TSH and Diva were happy with their lunch.

The main crops on La Palma are bananas and potatoes.

Diva has a new BFF

 On the mid-cruise questionnaire, Diva gave a poor mark for service in the restaurants. Many people are remarking on this and guessing that crew numbers have been reduced and that there are many new crew onboard. Everyone seems to be working hard but service is often slow and inaccurate. 

Maybe Diva was the only person to make a point of this on the questionnaire. She received a phone call from the Restaurant Manager, who wished to have breakfast with her to discuss the issues. This resulted in a constructive dialogue between him and TSH and Diva. He is committed to improving the service. 

TSH and Diva are now receiving a lot of attention from crew members. 

Hot rocks

On the second formal night, all the guests appeared to have made an effort to look smart and many - including TSH and Diva - were in formal dress.  Medals are encouraged and one guest was seen wearing his. There is probably a higher percentage in formal dress than is usual on Silversea in recent years. As on most evenings of this cruise, TSH drank a glass of white wine as part of his rehabilitation from his stroke.

Canapes are delivered to the suites in the late afternoon and Diva has been sending pictures of them to the family Whatsapp. Comments include: 'Is it the same garnish every day with different bases?' 'Have they run out of caviar and switched to Branston pickle because it looks close enough?' 'Ran out of Branston as well today?'

When TSH and Diva were in Lanzarote observing the 'geothermic anomalies', they were handed some hot stones from a volcanic area. Diva dropped hers immediately, as they were too hot (about 80 degrees C). But she since discovered that TSH kept his as a souvenir. He has them wrapped in a tissue but they have cooled down.

On the way back to the Spirit of Discovery' they were offered Werners Originals - a classic Saga touch. 

Rocking up to the volcanoes

The ship was very unstable during the evening and night and TSH and Diva were pleased to be dining on Deck 5, although even there a large pile of crockery slid onto the floor and broke. On Deck 12, the movement was even greater and a Code Alpha call was made after someone fell over and hurt themselves. A stretcher party was eventually needed. The evening of Irish music was cancelled on safety grounds. Diva's green jacket was well received at dinner and people asked if she was Irish. Does a fraction count?

In the morning the Captain said that the weather had been worse than forecast and apologised for inadequate warnings.

TSH had been unable to complete the previous day's sudoku - a great blow to his pride. He felt vindicated when the solution appeared with an error in it. 2 '1's in the same square indicated that there was something badly wrong with the puzzle itself. 

In Lanzarote, TSH and Diva went on an excursion to the Timanfaya National Park to see the impressive volcanic landscape. They were able to taste local wine and also attended  a talk on the health giving properties of the Aloe Vera plant.