Today, we sailed south on the Mediterranean towards Cadiz.
I slept very well last night, as I always seem to do onboard. I think it is the gentle rocking that sends me off to sleep. I woke around 6 am to use the bathroom but went back to sleep after. I awoke again at around 7 am and eventually got out of bed, showered and went for breakfast at 7:45 am.
I was very disappointed to find the advertised fixed seating and breakfast menu did not exist, that the seating was a free-for-all, and that the restaurant was only serving a small buffet. Because the restaurant was set on a couple of levels, it meant that carrying food up and down different levels on a tray to find a table was difficult for me, so I went to the buffet on one of the upper floors for breakfast.
The buffet selection was a bit better; there was better seating near the windows available, and it was all on one level. I got myself a tray of assorted foods and sat down to eat breakfast. As I sat there, my new friend, Mal, walked past and joined me for breakfast. I got myself a glass of orange juice and then got coffee, which, after being told last night, I couldn't have; I am told I can have it on my drinks plan. We sat chatting until around 9:30 am and then walked down to one of the bars to take part in the music quiz.
To show off, I ordered another coffee from the waiter, and we sat there talking until the quiz started. We thought we had done quite well, but we were wrong, getting only 4 out of 10. After the quiz, we walked to the pool deck at the back of the ship and sat talking. I checked where we were on my phone and found we were directly east of La Manga in the Mediterranean. I took a selfie with the Spanish coast in the background before we left the deck.
I went back to my cabin to rest my leg for a bit as it still ached a bit, but I arranged to meet Mal for the 11:30 quiz in the bar. I rested my leg and typed up some notes on my laptop before going back out to meet Mal.
The quiz was another music quiz, which we did slightly better at this time, scoring 6 out of 10, but I think there were around five teams with 10 out of 10 who then took part in a tiebreak.
At noon, we walked down to the restaurant to sit at our assigned table for lunch. We were told that it would be free seating again but were directed to a table with other people. It was at least table service at lunch, and after scanning the code on my phone, I was able to order what I wanted for lunch.
For my starter, I had what was described as marinated prawns in Carpione with polenta crouton. It was a posh name for four small frozen prawns on something very bland but palatable. My first course was mushroom soup with bread floating in it. Again, it was okay but quite bland and not as good as my homemade soup. My main course was described as a grilled pork neck with chimichurri sauce. I enjoyed it, but it was just a thin pork fillet with chips. My dessert was described as Pear Toffee, milk chocolate mouse, caramelized pears, pear brunoise and honey cream. It was very nice, but in my world, it would have been called a chocolate mouse with a pear slice on it and a small drop of cream on top.
After dinner, I went back to my cabin for a couple of hours of rest to give my legs time to recover from all the walking the past few days.
In the afternoon, I met Mal at the main bar and did a couple of quizzes. Gail joined us for the second one, and in a tiebreaker, we won. The prize was an ice cream to share between us. After the quiz, I finished my beer and then returned to my cabin to put my feet up.
At 7 pm I went down to the restaurant. Gail and some other guests had invited me to join them for dinner, but there was no one there when I arrived, so I sat at my assigned table. Just after I sat down, two ladies who were at the large table where I was seated moved up to sit with me. They were mother, Ann and her daughter, Rosalea. I was happy to have such lovely ladies join me. A short time later, Mal joined us, and we chatted throughout dinner.
For dinner, I had seafood salad as my starter, followed by black bean soup. My main course was also very nice. It was veal in a mushroom sauce. The meal was followed by a dessert called Smeraldo, a pistachio cake with lemon curd, mascarpone cream and pistachio mousse. The meal was washed down by continually topped-up red wine.
During my conversation with Rosalea, it seemed we would be going on a couple of the same excursions and that I would have a beautiful companion when I went ashore in Tenerife and Brazil.
After dinner, I returned to my cabin briefly and found out that, once again, the excursion to the National Park that had been changed and then re-booked had been cancelled. This time, they explained why, though. Because of the wildfires a short time ago, the whole park has been closed down for safety reasons. I later learned that this was again untrue and that the excursion was cancelled for other reasons that I was never given.
I went along to the theatre to see the Flamenco show at around 8:45 pm, and when I arrived, an excellent violin player was entertaining the gathering people. She was fantastic, and I hoped to hear her play again before I left the ship. Gail, Dwight, Tessa and Mal soon joined me. I loved the flamenco. It was a terrific show, and I had a great view of it from my seat near the front of the stage.
When the show finished, I went to the Moliere lounge bar at the back of the ship on deck 5 to listen to the music there. As I arrived, I was joined by the people I had been sitting at the theatre with, and as I looked for a seat, I saw Rosa and Ann waving to me, and I joined them. I enjoyed the music with a cocktail and a couple of beers. I sat chatting with Rosa and Ann until about 12:30 am when they retired to their cabin. I moved to the piano bar and listened to a Brazilian pianist singing. He was outstanding, and the only other person there was an entertainer onboard. She sat close to him with a drink but sang along with him, and she had an incredible voice. I finished my beer, went back to my cabin and went to bed.