Halfway across the Atlantic

No intenet service yesterday so not able to update.  Not that there is a lot going on since you are confined to the ship.  Most activies geared toward a CCRC population but we have managed to make our own fun.  Two guys who have the largest suite of rooms on board hosted a cocktal party last night for a few of us.  Let me tell you...pretty cool...huge cabin, two butlers....must be nice....afterwards we took a couple of staff that are performers in the show to dinner - we got to know them from the daily water volleyball game - guests vs. staff - guests are winning 2-0 so far.  More to come.

Trying to organize a party

Looking to organize our friends on the ship to have a hosted cocktail party.  Not looking to do anything special ...just get like minded, younger folks together to break the ice and open up conversations..

First day of the crossing

We survived our first day of crossing the Atlantic...but it is only 6pm.....the sea is blue and calm - Joe kicked ass playing voleyball in the pool - Anthony cheered on with new friends from the US, Sweeden, UK and South Africa - we relaxed and had cocktails in the hot tub.    Most of the photos have been taken with this awesome Kodak camera Atnhony reciev ed as a birthday gift - wait until you see the videos.

If the guests invite the staff to have dinner with them they are allowed to do so.  Joe made friends with some of the entertainment staff and we have invited them to have dinner with us and our fiends - John and John from Sweden.  Two of the three we invited have never dined in one of the restaurants that we are going to and their contract is up when this cruise is over. so we wanted to treat them before they went back to their homes.  They are nice youngsters from Croatia, Ukraine and Serbia.  You'll see their photos tomorrow.  They told me the crew party is tonight at 11pm on deck 3.  I think I may have the code to open the staff door....how did that happen?

Now it is downhill for Anthony until death!

We had a great day yesterday for Anthony's birthday.  Lunch in Tenerrife, a new pair of shoes, a watch and then back to the boat.  Everyone is so nice and accomodating.  Birthday cake and serenade in the restaurant, drinks on the deck with our new friends (for the cruise) (and yes they are still talking to us today!)  I'll post some photos later.  Internet access was non existentent yesterday but now in a decent window.

Thanks for the comments.  It seems we get periodic e mails on Blackberry but do not have a way to respond.

Saw the message from work - so happy the package is delivered.!  Thanks Denise and Judy.

Arlene/Armand:  looks like Nikki is very happy - thanks - Anthony is a mess about whether she'll recognize him on the return.

For all the boaters out there:  we toured the bridge - I want one of these  LOL - seas are calm but every so often you stumble a little because of the constant movement - it is OK because it gives a good excuse for when you have had a little too much!

We start our 6 days of the Atlantic crossing.  Let's see how this works out.  No arguments yet!

Check for photos later.

Last day in the 40's!

Today is Anthony's last day in the 40's.  I think half of the passengers know this fact by now!

Great day in an incredible national park with 110 volcanoes - unbelievable landscape - it was like being on the moon - we held hot rocks, saw geysers, felt the hot air from vents in the earth - then went to a vineyard where they have to dig down 3 meters to reach earth to plant vines since entire island is lava covered - the small walls are built to shield form the north winds - the day was fascinating.
 

Anthony hated the dromedaries.  I told him not to wear sandals.  Does he listen to me.......?

First formal night

A day at sea and we know many more fellow passengers - some things that can't be written here - wait for the verbal version! 

We are hanging out with a couple from Sweden that are very nice - they both are named John so we have no problem with names - they are fellow boat owners with a similar sized boat so we talk about how much money we waste.  They are in the photo with Anthony and our new friend - the 11:30pm one - Dorothy!  She was fed up with the other guests and just came up to me and said "you look like fun, grabbed me and said "dance with me".

It was a formal night tonight so I had my picture taken with our butler Andung telling him I was now dressed almost as well as him.

With our new friends we have met every single female that would be a candidate to move into a CCRC - I cannot dance another walzt for the rest of the cruise.  More to come.

Thanks for your notes everyone.  Much appreciated.  Thinking about you all.

Casablanca and Marrakech

Casablanca is a major economic and business center - not very interesting except for the largeswt mosque inthe world which we have visited before.  Marrakech is a city I have always wanted to visit.  Huge Casbah and marketplace - over 8000 vendors plus snake charmers, monkeys, donkey carts, motor bikes, bicycles, arabs, westerners, berbers, people from all of africa - the city is all painted in one color - thus the Red City - the sights, aromas - you gotta see the videos but here are some photos - we had this incredible five course lunch - the first course is seen here - you can also see what the athrooms look like.

Tangier

Cap Spartel is where the Mediterranean and Atlantic meet.  We could not see Gibraltar because of the haze.

The Caves of Hercules are where, according to mythology, Hercules stood with one leg in Europe and one in Africa and pushed the continents apart creating the Strait of Gibraltar.

I was in Tangier 29 years ago and it seemed so much livelier and vibrant back then.  It still has its charm.  For Anthony, seeing and negotiating the maze of narrow alleys lined with homes and shops for the first time is quite an experience.  Many, many comments as you can imagine. 

For some of our fellow passengers on the excursion should have chosen something more suited to their level of ability.  Climbing down the rocks to the caves, walking the Kasbah with hawkers, cobblestones, etc., climbing on and off the bus…..again….many comments as you can image.

Lisbon

We had a chance to see a little bit of Lisbon before the ship departed.

The ship is beautiful.  Our butler, Andung (from Indonesia), oriented us to our suite and offered to do our unpacking.  We went exploring the ship…first – where are the bars, second – where is the gym, third – check out the pool.

We were surprised to find a number of younger passengers.  Anthony said they were the ones that could breathe on their own.  There are at least 10 other gay couples that we have spotted.  Give us a couple of days and we’ll fill you in on specifics.  We met a couple from Athens, Georgia.  He is the CEO of the medical center there and they are trying to start up a CCRC!  I will avoid him the entire trip.  No business talk on this trip.

Not a fun flight

Even though flight to Madrid was under 7 hours – packed flight (in economy no less), surly flight attendant, broken seat, no reading light, and crying babies guaranteed no sleep.  Layover in Madrid allowed us to catch 30 minute nap.

Now I know what Facebook addicts do

Since we have a couple of hours before we board I thought I would post a note and I was thinking about all the conversations I have with friends and collegues about people who post to Facebook 14 times a day....am I turning into one of them?  No - just bored at the moment and haven't found the bar yet - when we get busy we'll forget about all of you  LOL .  Here is Anthony - already nudgy but doing fine and looking forward to the trip. 

Everyone leaves for vacation

Nikki began her vacation last night.  Our friends are caring for Nikki while we are gone.  She is going to have a terrific vacation as well.  During the week she'll be living at a penthouse residence with a huge terrace and sweeping views of the city.  On the weekends she'll be staying with our friends at their house in Newport, RI. with ocean views and an enormous lawn.  Not bad huh?  Maybe I'll rethink the cruise....

Preparing to leave on our journey

After a great season of boating in and around Boston, we will continue our adventures on the water by ___________ (pick one: celebrating, mourning) Anthony's 50th birthday on Ocotber 28, 2010.  On October 22nd we fly to Lisbon to board our ship to start a trans-Atlantic voyage.  We will attempt to blog our way across the Atlantic and let you know (you'll see photos as well) how we fare being together for 16 days.