Ferry

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30th April

Travel to Santander day. A lazy start as there was no rush plus the wind was picking up...a lot. Then the rain came, horizontally. But, hahaha, the big Merc was copping most of it & they were packing up & it had a sliding door on the windward side. Karma.

We left near midday & set the Dyson for Carrefour in Santander where after a wet & very windy drive, we bought some wine & had lunch. We got to the port in plenty of time where we wondered what the crossing would be like ...We left on time & after 5 minutes the ship was already rocking & rolling. Then we left the harbour...

Well, what a hoot! After another 2 minutes a tannoy announcement came on to say that the doors to the decks were locked until further notice. People were staggering all over the place, stuff was flying around as the ship ploughed through huge waves, the whole ship getting totally drenched each time it rode one & smashed into another. We went for dinner, to be greeted at the door by rolling bottles that had been thrown out of a fridge. Cathy chose beef bourginon & me fish as it was flatter & hence more stable to carry! We managed to eat it without it sliding off the table but we came close with the wine glasses. The dirty crockery trolley was chained in but half of the dishes & glasses went flying.

Back to the bar at the pointy end of the ship to watch the waves once the water had cleared the windows – incredible. Then Tom Jones walked in (look at the photo) I said I didn’t expect to see you on a ferry. He said it’s not unusual...

Many people had left despite it being early, I wonder why? One lady started sliding across the carpet in her armchair which was comical, then two other people literally toppled over in their chairs into a heap & because of the pitching they couldn’t move. The 2 bar staff were very quick to come to their aid thankfully, before I was able to move to help; the poor chap was very green around the gills. Then their drinks went flying for good measure & they decided to call it a day. Then came an announcement to say that the restaurant was now closed due to the conditions.

So to bed

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