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We had a few hours before dinner on our first afternoon aboard so we decided to spend some time back in the city. We took the long walk through the working container terminal, dodging huge vehicles, and we arrived at the bus stop outside the gate. The local bus took us to central Barcelona where we enjoyed the atmosphere as we rambled up La Rambla.
Hmmm … I returned a lot quicker than General McArthur!
Our first night on board was fascinating. We watched the skilled workers moving mountains of containers with great precision and timing. Eventually we succumbed to the need for rest and we had a comfortable first night's sleep.
On our second day the ship was not due to sail from Barcelona until the afternoon so we decided to do a bit of sightseeing.
We walked through the terminal area to the security office and we caught a taxi to La Sagrada Familia and Parc Güell, both designed by Antoni Gaudi.
Gaudi's most famous work, La Sagrada Familia, is a huge basilica which began construction in 1882. It is still under construction and so exterior photographs of the building usually include a shot
of a crane or scaffolding. There are various estimated completion dates ranging from 30 years to 80 years so I guess that means tourists will continue to capture the development of construction aids! I thought the cathedral seemed a ‘mish-mash’ of styles but certainly spectacular.
Parc Güell was commissioned by Eusebi Güell as a place for the aristocracy and was started in 1900 and complete by 1914. Gaudi's design created interesting and decorative spaces within the park using his trademark unusual shapes and extensive use of mosaic tiling. Inside the main gates there is a house where Gaudi once lived which now houses a museum.
Both these attractions are not to be missed if you are visiting Barcelona.
When we returned to the ship a large team of French fire-fighters from Marseille had boarded the ship and we began preparations for a full scale fire drill at sea. Suddenly every cabin was full and the stairs were full of fit young men taking two steps at a time as they travelled from one deck to another. Clearly they had been told to leave the lifts free for the senior officers and the passengers ... all two of
us!
Eileen joked about possible roles as injured or trapped passengers needing to be rescued by the burly fire-fighters but our involvement was to be much simpler.
The crew met for their briefing with the captain and then it was our turn to be reminded of the fire alarm procedures. After clarifying a couple of points we headed back to our cabin to enjoy a bit of freedom before we sailed at 4:30pm.
Watching the ship leave the berth was fascinating. It started with the rumbling of the main engines kicking into life, giving the whole ship a slight throbbing feeling. I noted that the Captain was pacing and walking about in anticipation of the manoeuvres to come. Once the pilot was on board we started backing out from the wharf. The pilot executed a three point turn assisted by the tugs, and we cruised down the channel.
We were on our way!
The pilot departed and soon after .... the alarm went off and it was all on!
We headed to the bridge armed with a drink bottle and a good book to combat possible boredom and we watched the drama unfold for
the next three hours.
The Captain was communicating with his officers and crew, the fire-fighters and the onshore team as the imaginary fire escalated and eventually was contained. At one point I thought we may have an accompanying life boat launch but it didn't get that far. It was very different to the office fire drill!
The late dinner was quick for the fireman and it was reasonably quiet around the table because they had not yet completed the exercise. There was still the review and evaluation of their performance before they could fully relax for the evening. Meanwhile, we retired to the comfort of our cabin for our first relaxed evening at sea.
All-in-all we thought it was an interesting event to observe and we were impressed with the teamwork from all concerned.
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