Tuesday, November 21, 2023
Well we were supposed to be spending the day in the Azores, specifically Ponta Delgado, but the captain and the harbor master agreed that the winds and the swells were just too bad to risk docking so we’re heading straight for Bermuda. That means we have five consecutive sea days. It’s disappointing but I’d much rather miss an island paradise than the wonders we’ve already seen!
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| That's as much as we're going to see! |
I had a really productive early morning, adding photos to several days’ worth of blog posts! The workings of the internet out here at sea are bewildering, the the connection disappearing at will (but not my will!) but perseverance will out!
We went to breakfast at O’Sheehans and I tried the Belgian waffle with bananas, caramel sauce, and whipped cream. Oh, and crispy bacon and my own pot of hot tea. It was nice but I won’t do it again.
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| It doesn't look bad; but I guess they know what they're doing. |
We’ve come down at the end of breakfast, so no one is waiting for our table; but the guys need to get ready for lunch, so we go back upstairs to the cabin. Nick thinks he caught a cold from the lady on our tour a few days ago who was coughing all the time. He’s going to take a nap and Ginger and I grab our goodies and head up to Spice to get the air and watch the sea. Ginger is working on a book for her grandkids for the holidays. It’s going to be so cool!! I’m learning to use Nick’s iPad to see if this is what I want to use the next time I travel! Typing takes a little getting used to because the keyboard is so much smaller; but it's manageable and might be worth it! I just have to figure out how to introduce photos since my phone doesn't see it. But that's a question for another day.
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| There is a bit of breeze back here! |
Eventually we figure we need to check on Nick, since it's been a couple of hours, and go back to the room. He sends us a message just as we're sitting down and we meet him for lunch. I have a Cobb salad appetizer and the orange chocolate mousse. I don't need an entree. Goodness knows I have had more food than any two humans should consume!
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| silky, creamy, fluffy chocolate! |
We all go back to the cabin. Nick is going to read and, maybe, go back to sleep. We're going back outside and Nick suggests the spot he had been in before lunch. It's on the side of the ship and he said it was warm (ish) and out of the wind. We find it and get comfy. The chairs are a little deep for short people, but I can put my feet up on the table and that compensates. Ginger is working on a calendar of photos of her late brother-in-law's paintings that I think will be beautiful. It gets a little chilly and she uses the table cloth she's been embroidering as a shawl!
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| These were taken less than a minute apart, it came up that fast! Ginger had just said it looked like a horror movie just before the sea monster rises up! Who knew it would be a wind monster!? |
The wind and waves are picking up and it's beginning to rain so we - and everyone else - quickly gather our things and head for the closest door. Unfortunately, people on the other side of the ship do the same thing and the doors are exactly opposite one another. As I come around the corner to go inside I feel the resulting gale force wind throw me into the wall of commemorative plaques (with lots of sharp corners and decorations) where I bounce off and plunge to the floor. There's another lady who does the same thing. Thank goodness Ginger was just enough ahead of me that she was able to avoid the collision with the wall. Two strangers help me up while Ginger gathers my things that went flying. She gets someone else's hat and another person's glasses as well. It felt like a giant's hand shoving me forward.
I was pretty sure I hadn't die but I wasn't sure what all is damaged. I know there's an abrasion on the back of my hand from one of the plaques, and at least my shoulder and hip hurt, and I'm a bit woozy and shaky and really need to sit down. There's nowhere handy to do that and Ginger helps me get to the closest chairs, in a venue called Shakers down the hall. She goes off to get me some ice while I take inventory of the damage and try to reconstruct what happened!
Ginger comes back with a female crew member who strongly suggests that we and the other lady, Linda, go to the medical facility. When we get down there the door is closed and she has to call someone to take care of us. Once she's passed us off, she leaves and I'm not even sure I thanked her.
It turns out that Linda is from Tampa! And she is a PT; you might remember that Ginger is an OT! And she has a daughter who performs on cruise ships, while Ginger has a nephew who performs on cruise ships! Outrageous! Anyway, she had damaged her wrist and thinks it might be broken, so I let her got first. I know I haven't broken anything. I just hurt.
We fill out a million forms and Ginger has to help Linda since it's her right wrist that's damaged and, of course, she right handed. Eventually it's my turn and the nice male nurse takes x-rays of my hand in two positions although it's just bleeding a bit and certainly isn't broken. And he does my shoulder and hip and gives me a breathalyzer test. Good thing I didn't have a drink with lunch! Then the doctor comes in and confirms my belief that nothing is broken or dislocated. I've just got some ouchies and I need to rest my shoulder for a day or two. He prescribes a painkiller shot (Toravel???) and gives me a tube of topical Ibuprofen and some more cream and bandages for my hand. I go back to the waiting room and find Nick with Ginger. They had called the room to try to find me because Ginger had asked for ice!
We have to wait for the security guy to come and ask questions. He takes a picture of my shoes, hoping, I think, that they will have slick bottoms. They don't. And he asked if I'd been drinking. I hadn't. And he asked if Iwear glasses. I don't unless I'm reading. Basically he wanted this to be my fault. It wasn't.
Then we go back to the scene of the event and I show him exactly how it happened, with the sharp decorations on the plaques and Nick shows him how the wind whips through the corridor even when there isn't much of a wind. Eventually he says he has enough information and we are able to leave. The whole affair took about two hours and Ginger and I both need a change of clothing and a bit of clean up. I can't remember the last time I wet my pants! I'm just thankful for the extra padding around my hip and the twenty years of yoga (thank you, Nat)! Ginger says if I'd lost that weight I was hoping for before this trip I might have flown all the way out the other door!
Soon Nick goes down to get us a place in the seating order for dinner and quite quickly messages us to come down and meet him. We are shown to almost the exact table we had for lunch! Ginger and I both want a strong drink and order Rusty Nails because we have had a hard afternoon! I order the Eggplant Caponata appetizer to honor my mother. It was her favorite! And it's delicious! And the pork loin which I so enjoyed the last time. And for dessert - the orange crepes with Grand Mariner sauce. They are little and delicious and perfect.
We sit for a bit after dinner and realize that we don't care what's going on in the ship; we just want to go to bed. I'm down almost immediately and find that if I'm careful I can find a comfortable position. I don't think I move until the next morning!
