Days 32 & 33, 10-11 May Granada Spain & another at sea day

 Day 32, 10th May- Malaga & Granada, Spain

We watched the dawn break on the starboard side out to sea you this morning, ready for our excursion in Granada, Spain. Was a beautiful morning as we pulled in to the port in Malaga, especially after all the rough seas and wind yesterday. I thought we might not have a nice day, but I have since heard that they have not had any rain since January!

There must’ve been feedback after the huge queues for our first shore day last time, because this was easy and very quick down to the theatre, got our to a group numbers and out to the buses. To our delight, Helen and Barry were also on the same tour as us in the same bus! Got a nice view from the bus of Malaga as we drove through it and out onto the highway.It is 1 1/2 hours to Granada from Malaga, which was mainly highway but lots of gentle climbing up and down. 

I think having a cold has exacerbated my vertigo as the altitude changes really hurt my ears and started the vertigo off again unfortunately. I’ve got good at sitting with my eyes closed and keeping very still! Just not what you want when you’re travelling. Anyway, we got to Granada fine and got our walking tour director lady. She took us for 2 1/2 hours walking through all the streets. A beautiful city, which seems to being built on the Jewish, Muslim and Christian communities. She took us to all the churches and cathedrals, and we soon lost track of what was what! But they were certainly beautiful and the city is so old – we learnt mostly about Queen Isabella who was I think from the 1400s, (who incidentally financed Christopher Columbus‘s voyage to the Americas). We got to go and have a look down at a couple of crypts as well with lead coffins.

It took quite a while to get around as there were a lot of queues so I’m not sure if we were late finishing, but we only got 45 minutes to go and have lunch in the square and have a look around – so really was only time for a very quick lunch – a bit of a bummer….had we known, we would have left the walking tour and gone to have a mooch around like a lot of others probably wanted as well!  but never mind it was still really good. 

We were told to meet back at the square at 2 pm and our bus tour guide came and got us and walked us to where the bus was meant to be, it was 33° by then so pretty hot,  the bus took about 15 minutes to arrive. Then we sat on it and waited for about 10 or 12 people who we found out were actually missing and had not come to the square at 2 pm, or had disappeared off the end of the line?? We waited 40 minutes, and then had to leave as the bus was clogging up the town. The poor tour guide was on his first tour since 2019  was stressing majorly, having lost so many people and had been running back and forth from the square, looking for them. Not sure what happened in the end he was on his mobile, so probably was speaking to another driver, but after about 15 minutes of driving, we stopped and they all got on.

Rather than being meek and apologetic, they got on very defensive, loud and aggressive. One of the guys told me we had taken their seat so I told him we waited for 40 minutes for him! There were no seat assignments, and they had made us all sit in a very hot bus for ages so they could sit in whatever was left 🤨. Then a “Karen” lady started going off at the tour director, and was yelling hardout at him, winding up and up and up so before I could grab Graeme, he had jumped out of the seat into the moving bus aisle, came up behind the yelling lady and put his hand on her shoulder and told her quietly and very firmly to calm down, which stopped her abruptly. The guy beside us said that he must have the magic touch! So a bit of a sombre ride back, but quite interesting the way some people behave when they know they have stuffed up and go into defence mode!

Any hoo! – was a still a good day, although I could’ve done without having vertigo both ways on the trip. Actually, one of the ladies who was a secondary school, spanish teacher went with me into a pharmacy in Granada to get some nosedrops to help ease up my sinuses. We were surprised that very few people there seem to speak English. Usually the young people do, but none of the young staff did, anywhere. We were lucky as we had lunch with Helen and Barry and because of their Portuguese, they could speak to the Spaniards easily. Really appreciate it, and again highlights my repeated thoughts whenever we travel, that I wish we had compulsory language in our schools, as we rely on people overseas so much to be bilingual.

Back onto the ship around 5:30 pm, and it was off into the Mediterranean Sea. We went to the my fair lady restaurant for dinner and then went for a stroll along the ship and found at the stern there was a perfect viewing point on deck 5, where we stayed until the sun went down – it was such beautiful coloured light a gorgeous sunset 🍀.

I had told Graeme the lady behind him was not a statue and to give her some money so he did, then she blew him a kiss, to which he returned!

Lunch with Helen and Barry from Florida. Because they are originally from Portugal, they could speak to the Spanish waiters for us all! Enjoyed a quick lunch of croquettes, and what tasted like cassava chips with a honey and balsamic vinegar, topping, washed down with a lovely local beer.

Day 33 – 11th of May, final at sea day

Just a quiet day today getting some washing done in the room and taking it easy as this will be our last sea day before 3 days of full-on tours, then off the ship. I had to laugh – I use bottled water to wash my hair since it is lightened and the desalinated ship water turns your hair quite yellow if you use it. To make it easier I get Graeme to punch a hole in the lid of a water bottle, it’s my idea of shampooing camp style ha ha! 

We are booked into our last specialty restaurant night at Chops Grill tonight and it is dress to impress night, so will make sure we are ‘smanchied’ up! When we came back Mohammed, our cabin attendant had outdone himself with our towel animal – I think it is a seal!

After dinner, we went to a concert called 4ever which are a group of opera style Il Divo singers. Beautiful voices and very shiny shoes, which I like coming from a military family!