Almost Horta

Almost Horta

Mother Nature humbles us.  We, thinking we are masters of our fate, make plans only to find out that we never received an okay from Mother!  Shortly after our departure from Hamilton, we hit rough seas and strong winds and for the next four days had to travel away from our intended route, which would have brought us to Horta yesterday, April 22^nd.  Instead we are going directly to Lisbon without a stop in the Azores or anyplace else for that matter.  We are not terribly concerned but there are folks on board who have friends and family in Horta and they are deeply disappointed.  Even more disappointed are those who booked this cruise to deepen their already leather-like tans.  No sun for five days and the natives are restless!

I thought I was so smart to bring seasick medicine with me since I am susceptible to mal de mer.  I got something called Bonine and chewed the first tablet as we were leaving Hamilton. The directions state to then take one a day every day thereafter.  Things went fine and the motion did not bother me and we had a lovely dinner and dance session.  That night, however, I had hallucinogenic dreams that included waking up and thinking my skin was being bitten by red ants.  Cindy checked the package in the morning and there was a little item about not taking it with alcohol!  Now they tell me.  All is well; I’m not taking anything and weathering the storms and seas just fine.

Unfortunately the food on board is fabulous.  I have been religious about walking seven miles each day and only having two meals, but I do detect just the slightest tightness around the waist as I button my pants.  Last night we special ordered seared duck liver and it was melt-in-your-mouth perfect.  They will make anything you request (some things require a day’s notice) and will substitute anything with anything else, very accommodating and professional.  We did a tour of the galley with the French Executive Chef, what a great visit.  It is controlled chaos and they manage it perfectly, getting everything right and serving everything hot and fresh.

Two more days to Lisbon and we think in the future we would enjoy cruises of between eight and ten days; twelve seems a bit too long. Perhaps had we broken it up for a day in Horta twelve days would have been perfect.  We are meeting our friends Ed and Carole in Lisbon and will spend four days with them touring the greater Lisbon area, which should be grand fun.  Cindy and Wm