Day 21 Monday 26th January 2015 A sea day, with lots of sea and sun, and a few clouds.

On the port side we can see more of Mexico in the distance, shades of pale lilac mountain ranges against the blue sky.  We have stayed this close to the coast since we left Huatulco and are making great progress towards Cabo San Lucas, where we will arrive tomorrow morning.   It has been 26C most of the day, with a not at all unwelcome cloudy spell allowing very comfortable time in the pool area. Binoculars at the ready, and you will be the first to know if we spot a whale!

At dance lesson we had a go at Rumba One, which we now know is a sequence dance, and then a sequence quickstep to Irish country music – sorry I have forgotten its name, but it was fast and confusing. We then reviewed the Square Tango.  So in theory if we ever did go to a dance we could join in with…..waltz, foxtrot, tango, rumba, jive, cha-cha-cha, quickstep and a few sequence dances.  My only concern would be not having a teacher to call the steps out!!!!!  It is wonderful having a professional dance teacher once a day for an hour. He’s called Jeffrey Dobinson and was himself in the first stage performance of Cats, and today he had a call from his son in the middle of the class which he took, only to find out that his son has got the part in Cats of Mr Mistophiles (sorry about the spelling), so Jeffrey was very happy and excited for him.

Art gave those who are colour blind an opportunity to come into their own with a pencil drawing of Mohammed Ali as a young Cassius Clay.  I have to say Khachik is a most talented artist, and ought really to enjoy more pencil or charcoal drawing. His work will be highly sought after in the exhibition on 29^th.

It’s Australia Day today, and as there are over 100 Australian’s on board there are a lot of things happening to celebrate the day.  Judy and Jim two of our dining partners are from a village near Brisbane, and reminded us of a Barbie on deck tonight, so we are not having the Black Tie 5 Courser, but instead open air eating.

After our trip to Cabo tomorrow there are two sea days (and one art exhibition) to San Francisco.  We have already been forewarned about the logistics of 2000 people having face to face interviews with immigration in San Francisco, so hopefully the excursions will happen without too much delay, or any hiccups.  We are relieved to say we do have the right visa waiver documents.

We are planning an independent visit Alcatraz on 30^th and have booked a 1960s hippy trip with appropriate flower power music in a psychedelic bus on 31^st.  

Time to get ready for the Barbie. See you tomorrow.

Day 20 Sunday 25th January 2015 Huatulco Bay Mexico (and of course Burns Night)

Wow, it appears there were storm force winds overnight and I slept right through them, according to the captain’s message this morning as we came into port.  Khachik said the ship was rocking and rolling so much he woke up and was compelled to watch a bit of telly instead of sleeping. By the time I woke up it was as calm as can be and the outside temperature was a very comfortable 26C, peaking at 29 at lunch time.  After breakfast we left the ship and walked to the nearest beach, and sat down to update the networks and Skype.

Huatulco was beautiful, and looked like a great resort if anyone would like to spend any length of time in Mexico on a beach holiday. Rocky sea views with turquoise water and the clearest blue skies. I got to practice my Spanish when ordering in the café, paying and saying thank you. Ha!  Just 4 and a half hours in port today and then we were off.  Heading for Cabo San Lucas, our second Mexico stop  arriving Tuesday 27^th. It’s on the Californian (Mexican) peninsular and looks idyllic.  This is where we have booked Whale watching.

Back on the ship we had a 2 hour art class painting a camel, and learning to mix more colours.  The longer class meant we missed the chocoholics buffet L, but it was all in a good cause.

Didn’t miss yoga though, my lifeline to inner calm and outer flexiness. I was so chilled I forgot my shoes and was nearly at the cabin when I had to go back for them.

Tonight I also finished the second portrait of our waiters, and I gave Vivek a painting as promised.  Lots of smiles, not sure if it was a good likeness but not to worry, if it’s the thought that counts.

As it was Burns night we had the bagpipes playing as the haggis was paraded around and served up as a starter with tatties and neeps.  The other Scottish food I tried was Clootie Dumpling with ice cream. It had to be done. After dinner I had a conversation with a young (younger than us!) couple we have got to know more and more every day, Peter and Nigel. We covered so much ground I couldn’t grasp how we did it in such a short time – including average age on board this cruise (68, we have had confirmed), what happens if someone dies on board (mortuary arrangements!), living for the moment, what our jobs were/are, how long we had been with our partner and even “What did you have (to eat)?” a bit like Barbara Royle. e now feel like we’ve known each other for ages, and i am sure we will stay in touch.

As a result there wasn’t a lot of time for deck walking between dinner and the Palladium, 1.5 before the cabaret and 1 after made 4.5 today, so we’re doing ok, and getting up walking speed.

Who knows Peter Howarth, the lead singer of the Hollies for the last 10+ years? And West End performer as Roy Orbison?  I didn’t.  I still think in terms of Alan Clarke and Graham Nash – I know, I know!  Anyway what I want to say is we both loved him. He did all the Hollies classics Bus Stop, the Air that I breathe, He Ain’t Heavy, Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress.   Two of the Hollies songs he did without the resident band, just him and his acoustic guitar, Here I Go Again, which he described as his own interpretation, a tortured love story, and Jennifer Eccles.  He also did 3 of Roy Orbison’s, “Running scared”,   “You got it” from his Travelling Wilberries era, and his first big hit in the 1960s “Pretty Woman”.  I wasn’t expecting tonight’s performance to be so good.  I even felt like going back for the later show.  He has lifted the bar a bit I would say, and stirred up a few old emotions too.

Here's a year old recording of He Aint Heavy

So, a day of highs and lows in more ways than one. Bye for now.

Day 19 Saturday 24th January 2015 Sea Day leisurely progress towards Mexico, with glimpses of whales

Last night there was a beautiful newish moon and reflection in the sea at bed time.  How good are the peace and opportunity to take time to notice. Then the clocks went back one hour again and we are now 6 hours behind GMT. Although I originally wanted to Skype lots, the window for Skyping is now mainly the morning here, to avoid bedtimes there, and then only in port when we can get better speed wi-fi.  So the blog and Facebook are doing all the work for now.

The temperature has been a consistent 28C since we got to the Caribbean, today clear blue skies are back after a cloudy start, live music on the top deck and half a dozen different kinds of music in various indoor venues.  There’s a passenger choir who meet every day for an hour and who will be performing before we get to San Francisco on 31^st.  Today at art (when painting the infamous koala!) we found out that all of our offerings are going to be exhibited in the gallery on 29^th. How exciting,  I might have to make one or two (maybe a few) of my slightly disappointing ones disappear, but I am happy that Easa, our teacher  thinks they are worthy.

Around about 2 p.m. I returned to our cabin to get into my swimsuit after lunch – and while I was there Khachik and everyone else on the Lido deck saw a hump backed whale. Sadly it had disappeared by the time I got back, but it seems they are out there and when we get to Cabo for our Whale Watching Excursion we will I’m sure get close up. As Khachik had been noticing how many really obese people there were sunbathing in tight swimsusits, I am sorry to say that I thought he was referring to someone on board when he said he'd seen a hump backed whale.

Bye for now.

Day 18 Friday 23rd January 2015 Sea Day passing Costa Rica, Happy Anniversary!

We are so contented in our little world here, travelling at less than 20 miles an hour on the Pacific Ocean towards Mexico with nothing to see but the sky, sea, flying fish and sea birds diving for them.  28C for us again.  Today we are having an at sea celebration of our wedding anniversary as its 23^rd of the month and our cruise is in honour of it.  Khachik has just happily received his first ever pair of cuff links (essential wear on a Black tie night like tonight), as he has up to now been wearing family heirlooms that have seen better days, but did the job.  Look at this lovely on board celebration.

Last night I gave my water colour painting of Blyton to Blyton, one of our waiters, he said it looks like him, so that’s reassuring.  I took a photo of Vivek, our other waiter, and in a couple of days will give a painting to him too.  Here’s hoping I can capture something he can relate to.  They are both young, and both handsome, so I think that makes it easier.

Today’s discovery is the Peninsular Club!  This is a loyalty programme our dining mates told us about last night, so we have been to investigate.  Whenever we cruise with P and O we get 10 points for every night of the cruise. We have 140 points already from our first cruise in 2009, and when we get to San Francisco we move up a tier to “Pacific” (150-500 points), when we get to Sidney we move up to “Atlantic” (501-1000 points) and by the time we get to Dubai we should move into “Mediterranean” (1001-2000 points).  Each tier has benefits, discounts, gifts, party invites and the Mediterranean tier even offers us free slippers!!!!!

We also realise that our Travel agent managed to get us a substantial on board credit which our dining mates didn’t get. So we are feeling happier about spending, even Khachik ;)

My yoga practice today felt really good. In spite of joint pain getting in the way of strength, I have managed to maintain what can only be described as outstanding flexibility, and my focus on that feels just right.  I guess in the past I might have dwelt on the pain, and got more upset about it, but I do feel great about flexibility, and the feeling deep inside that goes with it.  Pain management is quite an art form. I am unable to lower my body in charuranga dandasana (plank), and am unable to take any weight through my shoulder, or lift my left arm sideways or backwards, needing help to put my arm in my sleeve.  But there's still a lot of movement I can manage. Naproxen is reserved for special occasions, and these days seem "special".  Hope the meds last until home.

After Yoga I caught up with Khachik on the deck walk, explored all the shops and then we went for a dance lesson after a couple of days off. Today we were into sequence dancing, one was based on the Charleston, the Cindy Swing? one revising the square tango and the third a sequence Calypso.  We’re doing ok! No injuries, incidents or crashes on the dance floor. Just as long as nobody is gathering video evidence, we’ll be fine.

Bye for now. Back tomorrow

Day 17 Thursday 22nd January 2015 Panama Crossing

From about 6 a.m. today we have had a live commentary by a member of p and O staff, the port presenter Sam, of our day on the Panama Canal. She must be exhausted as its 5 p.m. and we are still not quite through.  We have been able to move around the decks taking everything in, as we moved through huge locks Gatun, Gamboa Pedro Miguel and Miraflores, where we were lifted up 85 feet (30m) and down again in two stages in canals that Arcadia just fits, into man-made lakes. There was a ship traffic jam at 9 this morning so we spent 2 hours anchored on the lake between rain forest and road before we moved on.  It is really hot, we have done 6 laps on deck 3, that’s 2 miles, but were relieved to get inside again to cool off. The air is very still and very humid. Land very green as promised and many pelicans and frigate birds, though no crocs. What a privilege to have the opportunity to go through, and to have a souvenir newspaper explaining all the history, present statistics and future plans.

I went to a Spanish revision class today and learned the words of the song La Bamba, directions to significant buildings in the town, positions for objects (above, below etc) and the names of various animals.  It’s a long time since my Spanish O Level (46 years!), although not so long since I had Contraception the Computer Game translated into quite specialised sexual health Spanish, and relatively recently travelled to Mexico using food ordering, taxi journey and hotel Spanish. 

At 3 this afternoon we both went to art and painted a seascape which was really relaxing and cool.  My colours were too bright so I am removing some of that.  Otherwise happy with it.  Khachik’s look amazing.  

Now we are getting ready for dinner as we head out of the canal into the Pacific!   Hopefully during our next two stops over the next 5 days around Mexico (Huatulco and Cabo San Lucas) we will be able to manage a few words of understandable Spanish if we get lost or require sustenance.

Bye until tomorrow x

Day 16 Wednesday 21st January 2015 A Sea Day with excitement building for the Panama Canal

In the cabin we have a telly with news, sport and a few recordings of things like Ashes to Ashes, Rev, Call the midwife.   Several of the channels are P and O’s own information and advertising channels, and one is P and O Radio.  For the last 3 days there have been three different documentaries and historical programmes about the channelling of the rocks, the politics and the final building of the Panama Canal to connect the Atlantic with the Pacific. The earliest mention was at the time of Charles V, but it was considered to be impossible.  Projects to cut through began to be considered long before 1900, and then taken over by the USA in 1905.  What a convoluted story. I can’t say I had ever taken any notice of the achievement, and certainly didn’t appreciate the risk to life, the abuse, particularly abuse of the predominantly black workforce, the working conditions or the losses of life because of building, scorpions, tarantulas, Yellow Fever and Malaria.   Until now the Panama Canal to me was just a name.

Each person on Arcadia is charged $180 to get through the canal.  The Captain said he’s received the invoice for $360,000 for the whole ship!  Apparently that includes a no claims bonus!

Highlights, apart from the engineering and general sightseeing and gasping with wonder, are going to include – crocodiles, pelicans, many different species of bird, rainforest, and much more.

But not yet, tomorrow.  The crossing starts in the morning of 21^st January and finishes in the evening, with a commentary and historical overview happening all through the day.  Panama made products are being brought on in the morning for sale in the shops.

Today has been another lovely restful sea day starting with a watercolour of a scene in Venice.  Doing this was really enjoyable, and with exception of one of my buildings looking cock-eyed a good job done by both of us.

We had a great lunch and then walked our first mile of the day on the deck.  It’s 28C so we aren’t racing.  Cloudy at times, but definitely not in a bad way.

At lunch we met someone called Mick, a retired design and technology teacher who we both found really interesting. For leisure and pleasure Mick now makes wooden furniture. Khachik was happy to hear this as most of our wooden furniture was also hand crafted in the barn.  We kept him talking for so long I think we made him late for his partner whist this afternoon.  We shared cruise stories first.  Then he talked about his own experience and compared teaching secondary age students in London, forces students in Germany and in a private school in Wakefield.  He also talked about his wife, Linda, who didn’t join him for lunch today.  I would love to meet her, she has worked in PRU’s with excluded students in a few different places, and most recently in a residential school for students for whom next stop would be a YOI. She did her Masters at Huddersfield where I did my Cert Ed, and is clearly passionate about the well-being of teenage students. I hope we bump into each other again.

Otherwise we have just been sitting with our feet up today, doing crosswords and Sudoku and finishing off paintings.  There’s another smart casual dinner tonight, so I will sign off for now, have a quick cup of tea and get my frock on ready for our next 5 course delight.

Day 15 Tuesday 20^th January 2015 – Beautiful Aruba

We arrived just before breakfast, it was 28C then and got a little bit warmer 31C  by lunch time.  I posted some pictures onto Facebook this morning from a cafe.  Aruba’s location is very close to Venezeuela, on the most northerly coast of South America.  Tropical heat.  There were a few clouds but these were probably a blessing. We have started using factor 30 now, no signs of burning or any rapid colour changes, just a healthy look with no discomfort. Phew. Long may that continue. Daily swims and hot tubs are a regular feature, and a little bit of late afternoon sunbedding and listening to music by the pool, just as the sun is starting to go down.

In Aruba we stayed close the sea, the iguanas and the cafes and just kept walking. We bought sandals for me and another brightly coloured shirt for Khachik from one of the markets today. US$ is the currency.  The shops near the port are all designer clothes, watches and jewellery stores. Very, very different from the poverty in St Lucia.

The afternoon went so quickly, and that made me think how quickly the last 2 weeks have gone for us. Glad I am writing a little every day.   Next up, a sea day and then the Panama Canal, pictures of the Panama canal.  As well as a daily publication of events and activities on board, there’s a fact sheet about each port.  Thank goodness we will be able to look back at them too, there is so much to learn, I think we might forget otherwise. 

The world cruise is divided into 5 segments or sectors. The first one finishes on 31^st January 2015 in San Francisco, where a few passengers get off, and several more get on.  I think I might have already said there are over 500 of us going all the way round, and 1500 going part/s of the way.

The blog is late tonight, I’m sorry, after tonight’s cabaret,  I have been working on a watercolour painting of one of the waiters from a photo. So much to learn and I got really absorbed.

Blyton

Tomorrow we are at sea, enjoying yoga classes,  painting and dancing  so I will report back on our on board activities after dinner. Bye for now.