Arrecife

It is 6pm as I start to write today's journal and the Captain has just announced that we have not broken down but are intentionally drifting off the coast of Lanzarote as our next port is only 120 miles away and the Chief Engineer instructs that it is better for the engines to run a shorter time at a faster rate than a longer time at a slower rate. The Captain is informing us because he doesn't want any adverse social media comments - he is joking. He keeps us informed of all the good and bad instances of note such as the port not having a suitable gangway to hand or moving our berthing location without telling him, buses not being allowed on the jetty, etc.
Arricife was lovely. Low blue and white buildings surrounding the boating lagoon offering tapas bars. The church bell tolls indicating that it is a Sunday morning and that is why it is so quiet and restful. 23 degrees with a gentle breeze in a cloud dappled blue sky. Wow. We now understand the attraction of winter sun. This town is apart from the beach block hotels and apartments of Lanzarote and, today anyway, quite to our taste. Few shops open and no market today.
Beautiful lamb cutlets for dinner this evening and we won the evening quiz for the second night running. We'll give it a rest for the next few days before we start getting a reputation.
This evening's entertainment in the theatre was from our new cruise director who joined the ship yesterday. He thinks he can sing - well he can but insists on performing outside of his limits. I will never forget his rendition of Nessun Dorma. It compares with the last time we heard it live at the Verona opera festival 2 years ago, for all the wrong reasons. Many of the audience gave raucous or polite applause. We didn't. Why attempt this when it is too difficult for your voice and outside your range? Adam would have said that he cheated in his performance of songs from Les Miserables and Phantom. He certainly thinks a lot of himself - we didn't.Read more