Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia, Spain
Summary: This week marked the end of my Mediterranean cruise. After returning home, I spent the rest of the week in pain with swollen legs, resting in front of the television and slowly recovering.
Monday, 6th March
This morning, I woke up in another port, Málaga, Spain. It was my first time visiting Málaga and I spent a few hours wandering around it with Helen, a aldy I met on the MSC Lirica.
Tuesday, 7th March
Today, I woke up in Alicante at the end of my cruise. After leaving the ship, I spent the day with Helen. We walked around, had some lunch and then went our separate ways — Helen to the airport for her flight back to Scotland, and me to the bus station to catch a bus home to Los Alcázares.
Wednesday, 8th March
I woke up in a lot of pain. My legs had become very swollen over the last week. I had noticed them getting worse as the cruise went on, but I didn’t want to miss any of the places I was visiting, so I pushed through with a mix of painkillers and cocktails. Now that I’m home, the cocktails have disappeared, but the pain remains.
I definitely put on weight while away, cooked breakfasts nearly every day, nice lunches on sea days and great dinners every night. I spent a few hours sorting through my holiday photos, but most of the day was spent with my feet up in front of the television. My knees were struggling to support me, so I used my disability scooter to get lunch from the chicken shop and stopped at Mercadona for rolls and a few bits for the week.
Thursday, 9th March
Today was another day of resting with my feet up. My legs are still swollen, and my dodgy ankle is clicking and scraping when I walk. There’s no point seeing a doctor yet, he’ll just tell me to rest until the swelling goes down.
As if the bad legs weren’t enough, I seem to have caught a bug. This meant shuffling to the toilet more times than my legs appreciated. In the evening, I watched Sporting Lisbon vs Arsenal in the Europa League. It was a chaotic game, Arsenal went 0‑1 up, then 2‑1 down, before finally getting a 2‑2 draw. Still in pain, I took some painkillers and went to bed early.
Friday, 10th March
I woke around 09:00 after sleeping very well. The swelling in my legs had gone down a lot and my stomach was settling, but I didn’t want to risk doing too much. I reluctantly told Kate that I wouldn’t be able to attend Martin’s birthday meal tomorrow. Sitting in a cramped restaurant for a long time would be painful, and I didn’t want to risk passing on a stomach bug.
The day passed slowly, and I watched some television before going to bed early.
Saturday, 11th March
I stayed indoors again today, apart from a trip to the chicken shop on my disability scooter to get some lunch. The good news is that my stomach bug seems to have gone, and the swelling in my legs has gone down again.
I finally had the energy to unpack my suitcase this evening and sorted my washing into piles ready for tomorrow.
Sunday, 12th March
Today was spent washing all my dirty clothes and watching films. The strangest film I watched was Operation Fortune, a spoof‑style film with a few big stars. It took me ages to work out if Hugh Grant was really playing the arms dealer. It was a different role for him, funny and odd, and I wondered if the voice had been dubbed. Jason Statham, however, was exactly the same as he is in every film. Good entertainment overall.
The Arsenal game finished Arsenal 3, Fulham 0. The match was over by halftime and could easily have been a bigger score. Arsenal were brilliant, and Fulham had no answer to the slick passing. The win kept Arsenal five points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League. It was great to see Gabriel Jesus return from his knee operation. Hopefully he can help push us to a Premier League title and maybe even the Europa League.
On a side note, I wonder if the surgeon who operated on Gabriel Jesus’ knee would be interested in coming to Spain to work on mine. I could be fit for the opening game of next season if he works quickly.
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