I don't mention work in this entry!

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Lisbon: I had a couple hours to walk around so I started in the direction of a monument I had seen on arrival. Turns out it was a little bit of a further walk than I had envisioned… After getting slightly lost and buying a 6 pack for 2 euros I found myself back at the ship. But not before I had walked 7 kilometers… Every time we enter or leave Lisbon harbour we have to go under the 3rd longest suspension bridge in the world. We normally clear it by 6 or 7 meters. But this time due to the very big tide we had less than 4 meters of clearance. The pilot was very concerned and stared at the camera facing the stack until we cleared it.

Vigo, Spain happens to be the biggest fishing port in Europe. Because of this it has become somewhat of a tradition for all the deck guys to throw some money together and go buy a bunch of fresh fish whilst in port. Then we have a little bit of a get together, sing some karaoke, have a few drinks, and just have a good time in general.

Gibraltar is a port I had wanted to get off at since the first time we went there. I’ve always been intrigued about it for some reason, not sure if it’s the fact that it’s the closest to Africa I’ve ever been, there are apes up on that rock, or that it’s technically another country I’ve been to. But none the less a friend and I headed up The Rock the other morning. It wasn’t a clear day, but that was probably a good thing as it was much cooler than usual. But half an hour into our walk we were both dripping with sweat regardless. Nearly all the way to the top a couple of apes sprinted down the trail toward us. Now these Barbary Apes are clever little bastards, and they have a history. The English brought them back from Africa and now it’s said that if the apes cease to exist in Europe the English will fall. Because of this, they are now fed by the park that they reside in. When we got to the top apes were everywhere. I mean everywhere; sitting on posts, stairs, on the road, ripping up weather stripping from cars, and taking peoples stuff. We decided to take the cable car down and check out the city. I bought a local Barbary Beer made by the Gibraltar Brewing Company. Turns out it was the best beer I’ve had since leaving Canada. In hindsight, I wish I had bought more than one.

Every once in a while we have national theme nights in the mess. Last one was Italian; Lasagna, Pizza, etc. But the other day was had a Germany themed night! Schnitzel, Spaetzal, Weisswurst, Saurkraut, and even some potato salad that reminded me of food back home.

Cagliari: In Cagliari I got off the ship with a couple of the first officers to go and have lunch. Expensive as it was, it was an AMAZING meal. 25 Euros got you an appetizer, first course, second course, a side, desert, plus a coffee or an after dinner drink at the end. The appetizer I had was a plate of lobster meat, first plate of food was a horse steak, then some mega prawns and calamari followed by some roasted potatoes, dessert was some gelato, and it was all washed down with a shot of Limoncello. Not to mention that previously mentioned Barbary Beer is now number 2 on my list after having the local beer of Sardinia.

A few random facts:

I see dolphins or whales almost daily whilst on the bridge.
I have approx 50 days left.
I only have 1 more seaphase assignment to do for school!
Morocco is somewhere I’m going to travel to in the future.
A submarine surfaced only 2 miles from us the other day.
My roomie, the engine cadet has gone home. The new one hasn’t shown up yet, so I’m bunking alone!

Comments and Emails appreciated as always gbeier@gmail.com
Mailing address available by request.

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