Cruisin'

Onboard the Galaxy, on the Western Mediterranean
Dec. 7, 2009

It's been such a luxury -- and no small culture shock -- to go from very basic, budget travel to life on a cruise ship. The kids are just beside themselves with excitement -- and the boys (including Mitch) are certainly doing their best to make sure we get our money's worth from all the restaurants!



Our most exciting meals, of course, have been in the formal dining room. During our last five months of campground living, we have all been discussing how manners appropriate at a picnic table might not cut it "at the Captains' table". I am proud to say that the children have found their "Captain's table manners", and actually love the glitz and glamour of gettting spiffied up evey night to go and eat. If they had their way, it would be a formal night every night! We have a female waitress -- the only woman among dozens of men -- she's a Serb named Tamara and terribly strong to be hauling around those enormous platters of food. Cachell is very enamoured with her, and Tamara is shocked that the kids don't want the kids menu but are eager to try all the strange and gourmet foods. Lochlan has happily tucked away a Cornish game hen and significant amount of crab and salmon!



Ports of Call
Dec. 11, 2009

When we booked this cruise we were excited by the possibility of dipping into Northern Africa for a few days; it seemed a safe way to introduce the children to that exotic (and unstable) continent. We are very disappointed that they have changed the itinerary to exclude Africa; it is "Feast of the Lambs" at this time of year, apparently, which can involve sacrifice of animals in public venues... and Celebrity felt that this might be too upsetting for passengers. You would think they would have done their research better... these last minute changes meant we stopped in Cartahenga, Spain on a Sunday, when the whole place was shut down, which was a big let-down. We were interested to see Gibraltor but it was largely unaccessible as the tram up to the rock was closed when we docked!!! (Again, really poor research on the part of the cruise line.) But that strange little bit of Britainia on the southernmost tip of Europe did let us shop for some essential bits and pieces in anticipation of celebrating Christmas in Puerto Rico!

We knew the Canary Islands, off the western coast of Africa, were on the itinerary, but having spent a week in Gran Canaria when Lochlan was a baby (we all got food poisoning and were sick as dogs the entire time!), we weren't really eager to explore them further. The Canary islands are pretty much just big volcanic rocks in a hot setting... they are a huge destination spot with sun-loving Europeans, but really have little to offer but weather. On most of the islands, even the beaches are man-made.


Having said all that, we were on Tenerife today and it was quite interesting. We rented a car so we could drive up the volcano. The geography itself was really beautiful, but the best part of it for us was literally driving so high that we emerged from the thick, rainy clouds that have been following the ship ever since we left Rome. We hadn't realised how desperate we were for the sun until we burst through the cloud... and what an amazing thing, to be perched at the top of the world in sparkling sunlight, with a thick layer of cloud spread at our feet!

And the volcano was so different and fun to explore... we didn't go all the way to the cone, but went for a hike across the moonscape of lava rock at the base of the summit, instead. Walking on the volcanic rocks sounded like walking on glass -- it tinkled and clinked beneath our feet, and was a great place to play.




The Galaxy
Mid-Atlantic
Dec. 12, 2008

We're on our second full day at sea. It's a bit eerie looking out across the water, in every direction, and seeing... nothing. If I wasn't a child of big skies it might make me crazy!

In terms of eccentricities, I have always been a bit afraid of the water -- and yes, I think it is a result of my Dad exposing me to "Jaws" too young! I have always been particularly nervous of the idea of the Bermuda Triangle, so it was with absolute horror that I read the daily "local history" the ship provides yesterday, and it was all about the centre of the Atlantic Ocean called the Sargasso Sea, which is noted for inexplicable shipwrecks and disappearing craft of all kinds!! WHY WERE THEY TELLING ME THIS?! Turns out we have to pass right over a chunk of it -- and yup, the Sargasso Sea includes the Bermuda Triangle! Fortunately, our ship will not be passing over that; the Saragasso is bad enough. Eek!! The Sargasso Sea is also called the Sea of Lost Ships (more terrified squeeking!), and sailors have been talking about it with dread for centuries. Essentially, it's a large patch of warm waters surrounded by cold and turbulent Atlantic waters; because of the drastic change in water temperature, the weather above it is often much more temperate, which can lead to a complete loss of wind. A becalmed sea is a nightmare for sailors, and on the Saragossa vessels have been found shipshape but totally deserted -- or filled with skeletons. The Saragossa is named because its entire expanse is covered with a kind of seaweed called saragassum -- which is unusual because seaweed usually grows in shallower water, near shore. Poor old Columbus saw the saragassum and thought land must be near; in fact, it is many miles to the sea floor and still hundreds of miles from land . (Still squeeking!!) For smaller propeller boats, even today this seaweed could get entangled and destroy their engines.

The spookiest part of all this is that large, modern ships with large propellers and engines should not be troubled by either "the doldrums" (lack of wind) or the saragassum... but a number of cargo ships have never been accounted for after entering the Sargasso. Add in the missing aircraft over the Bermuda triangle, and it's enough to make the hair stand up on the back of my neck!! We wanted the adventure of an ocean crossing -- but I hope the excitement won't be more than the 12 metre swells we had on our first day out from Rome!! If you're reading this, I guess we made it through without becoming another statistic