I can’t remember where I read that comment, but it springs into my head every time I’m in a plane.
Everything went like clockwork. The plane was on time we were seated staring out at a dark, wet and grim looking Glasgow Airport but soon we were beginning to taxi and then we were flying. The longest flight we’d been on in quite a few years. Still, the worries were there. Did I lock the back door? Were all the back windows closed? Oh what the hell, we were going to a few new countries and a lot of places we’d not been to in a long while. Just a case of lying back and enjoying it.
Sooner than I thought, I felt the plane begin to decelerate as it started its approach into Palma airport. Everything was going to be fine.
After the traditional first Holiday Beer at about 10:30am we went on a wander around the ship, our ship. Lots of places looked familiar and some didn’t . It was a slightly smaller ship than our previous Tui Discovery 2, but that would turn out to be an advantage. I needn’t have worried about the temperature. This was ‘shorts and tea shirts’ weather.
We went for a walk around the shore area and I caught sight of an aircraft carrier. The first I’d seen in a long number of years. I asked a Police man if it was an old ship, but he said “No. It’s real. It’s for the War”. That sort of took me back down to earth. You forget that although there are hundreds, if not thousands of folk arriving or leaving these cruise ships, there is a real and definite undertone of threat there too. We made an unspoken decision to put I to the back of our heads and not speak about it again this cruise.
On the way back from our walk, we found a ‘Cherry Picker’ being used to wash the windows of the top deck of the ship. I wondered if the bloke at the top had his “Working At Height” licence. It must be a wonderful view from there.
The day was a bit of a blur. We did go for a walk outside the ship and also around the inside. We had lunch in one of the restaurants and had a few drinks too. There was the usual ‘Sail Away’ party on deck after the final late arriving folk were checked in and we spent a fair amount of time watching the goings on.
Eventually we agreed we’d had enough and went to bed. We’d been up since about 6am and it was now about midnight. Time for a bit is shut-eye … after one more glass of wine perhaps.
Tomorrow is a sea day with the chance of a dance class.