Blogs from Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Europe

In a fit of desperation after an appaling British summer, it was necessary for both our mental health's sake to book a holiday somewhere sunny and warm. October is risky in the Mediterranean, so MC made the call: off the coast of Southern Morocco deep into the subtropics... the Canary Islands! With the islands' sterling reputation and our very extreme need for good weather, it is fair to say that we were pretty agitated when we landed in Tenerife and we saw the heavy, looming clouds. There was further agitation when a minor clerical error in our car hire booking cost us 100 euros. Fortunately our morale improved rapidly and irrevocably the most predictable way: with food! We had installed ourselves in an adorable "casa rural" in Granadilla de Abona in the south and set out ... read more

Last Sunday, three friends and I went to the National Park of Tenerife. We took the local bus. There is only one going and returning each day. However, there are many tour buses. We left at 7:00 on bus 103 and headed for Puerto de la Cruz. From there were took bus 348 to the park. We arrived about 11:00. The road in the park is well paved, narrow, steep, and winding. There is a volcano at the center of the park with a cable car going part of the way up which we didn’t take. On the way to the higher elevation, we saw a forest of mostly pine trees. Don’t know how many needles or kind of pines because by the time we got to the park entrance, the terrain was desert again. There ... read more

On Monday, the tilting experiment took place. The name is a little misleading, but that is what it is called. It is a required test to measure the ship’s stability. On Sunday, there was an inspection to determine the weight off everything on ship including crew cabins. Then on Monday, all but 15 crew members were required to be off so the experiment could take place. Four buses were rented for us and we had a day at Parque Loro in Puerte de la Cruz which is about 40 minutes away on the northwest side of the island of Tenerife. In addition to the largest parrot collection in the world (so they claim), there were sea lion, dolphin and orca shows. I also saw meer cats, penguins, turtles and many other small animals (no lions or ... read more

The crew numbers are increasing. Our cabin of 6 berths is now full. The Hospitality team is now very busy. They prepare the bunks, give you the paperwork, and are the first crew members you meet when arriving. First, you are fed. Then your ID picture is taken. Next, you are given a map of the ship (With 8 decks a map is helpful.) and other papers. You are reminded of the rules (Everyone receives a copy before committing to the trip.) and it seems that there are many. However, many are just common sense. Some have to do with being sensitive to cultural norms such as, dress, alcohol consumption, etc. . Finally, you are escorted to your cabin to meet your mates. There is a curfew for those who live on ship while in Africa, ... read more

We woke to another sunny day in Tenerife. We will be sad to leave this lovely place. Last breakfast...so we decided to have the glass of free champagne on offer (well keith and Rach did, mine ended up in my breakfast and in my lap! i wish I could say it was a sudden gust of wind that knocked it over, but unfortunately it was my clumsy hand, waving around as I was explaining something!) Another omelette(poached eggs for Rach) made especially for us, feshly squeezed orange juice and croissants. Yum! Stocked up on lunch goodies as well...we are getting very slick at making our lunch rolls, wrapping them in tissue and sliding them into our nags without being seen! Keith had nabbed our seats by th pool again, and we sauntered from breakfast to the ... read more

The ship made it to Tenerife without too much bobbing around. It was much better than the trip to Las Palmas. Now more of the work is taking place inside the ship. So that is why we were able to leave dry dock in Las Palmas. They are now working on the galley, the AC, and other internal parts, etc… The families are back on board. It is nice having the kids on the ship again. Children were not allowed on during dry dock. The families stayed in a hotel. We have one more person on our team in the dining hall. She starts tomorrow. And Kevin, our team leader, is leaving on Thursday for two weeks. We can use real dishes again so that means a lot of washing. With only three on the team, ... read more

We woke again after not alot of sleep but luckily our day didn’t require much rest as it was gonna be ful of rest. We decided after yesterdays terrible yet expensive lunch down at the pool, wed steal lunch at breakie and pocket it! So we, actually quite unsubtly packaged up some filled rolls and pain au chocolat and put them in our handbags. We then went down to the pool to find that our area was all roped off for some reason so we had to settle for some not as perfect sun spots by the pool! Listen to me – so spoilt! Haha nah they were good seats! But everyone was jammed down one end of the pool cos apparantley they were having a wedding tonight down the other end so were starting to ... read more