FRANCE - ANZAC DAY

FINALLY SOUTHAMPTON 

disembarkation from Aurora was very organised, but let me tell you, once we were in the terminal it was so chaotic, trying to find bags, very little help from the frazzled staff. Once we were out of the terminal, the chaos extended to the roads, it took Rob & Doug 4 hours to reach us from London.

The Eurostar from London to Lille in France only took 90 minutes. The next morning we picked up our hire car - we drove round & round & round the car park trying to find the exit - everything was in french, we thought 3 months will pass & we will still be stuck in this carpark. Finally we figued it out & we hit the road - Driving on the opposite side of the road is fun (not) I was sure we were going to be killed everytime we turned a corner & drove onto the wrong side of the road.

On the way to Amiens we stopped at Arras for lunch & a bit of sight seeing.

Cliff was very excited with his beer

Here they come, walking down the street, they get the funniest looks from everyone they meet

Anyway, we finally made it to Amiens to attend the 2015 ANZAC ceremony in Villers-Bretonneux. 

3am we were at Amiens train station along with hundreds of other Australians waiting for our coaches to shuttle us to the service. While we waited the buildings were lit up with Australian flags. When we boarded the bus we handed out the "poppies" Nanna Connor made to other Australians travelling with us. A mother & her 2 young daughters were very excited to have received them - Good work Nan.

Even though it was cold, rainy & windy, the dawn service was very moving, compared to what the Anzacs went through, our morning was a walk in the park. 

The local towns love Australians, there were flags everywhere

Even wooden kangaroos in front of the town hall

Doug & Cliff about to enjoy a local pub

Rob gave the local Gendarmes (police) some of her homemade Anzac cookies which they enjoyed.

Au revoir France (for the moment) and hallo Germany - Baden Baden here we come.

PONTA DELGADA - THE AZORES

The Azores are a remote Portuguese, volcanic archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean. The island of Sao Miguel is known as the green island & this was our stop for the day.  Approx 4 hours by plane to Boston & 3 hours to London. Ponta Delgada the capital, it is old, full of character & appeared extremely clean.

Todays tour was Crater Lakes. We made our way along very well maintained roads with our first stop being a pineapple factory  - it was set amongst beautiful old houses covered in ivy.

 

This plantation had 14 greenhouses each holding 640 pineapples. Ponta Delgada export 1.5 million pineapples per year - a big trade for a small island.

Enough on pineapples - where's the lake??

Finally on our way, we passed beautiful countryside, azaleas & hydrangeas lined the roads, rock walls divided farms & properties, it was lush, green & the view of the lakes truly beautiful.

They lay in the centre of an extinct volcano, one lake looks blue, the other green - this was the kind of scenery we were hoping to find.

Coastal views

Back in town it was quiet with very few people - The streets were practically deserted - it was Sunday & in this country almost every shop is closed, people go to church & then spend the day with their families. We wandered cobbled & mosaic streets lined with whitewashed houses with balconies & there were churches on almost every street 

We came across a little cafe for lunch  - massive size meals, wine served in pretty little blue & white jugs & friendly staff.

We came across another little bar - Cliff just had to stop & sample local beer served in aluminium cups & a local sangria for myself.

This was an island you could spend weeks exploring - it was fantastic

But sadly time to leave.

The end of our cruise is upon us and let us say we have had a wonderful time cruising - your days are your own - you can do as much or as little as you like, we have met some wonderful people and it has been a truly memorable experience. 

We are now looking forward to catching up with Rob and Doug to begin the next chapter of our land-based  adventure.

Cheers everyone xxx

AT SEA

2 days out from Ponta Delgada & it was a cards & quoits afternoon.

Cliff & I played Euchre with Mick & Jenny - Yes finally - Mick & I beat Cliff & Jenny.

Then it was Wales-v-Australia in quoits with our welsh friends Richard & Marilyn, Sandy & Pat & Aussie friends Julie & Steve. A good finish to the game - a tie.

Then suddenly "Houston, we have a problem" 

The Captain made an announcement - some of us may have noticed black smoke & that we were no longer moving. We had lost an engine & they were working very hard to get it back on line.

All power & air conditioning was lost throughout the ship - but it didn't worry us as we were on deck having fun. Finally they restored the engine & we were off again.

We sat around enjoying a beautiful sunset

ANTIGUA - CARIBBEAN

We docked in Antigua just after the Holland America ship 'Maasdam' docked - with 2 cruise ships in port there would be plenty of business for the island. 

Once again we were swamped by taxi drivers & tour guides all offering to take us around the island. We decided to go with "Ninja" as he seemed less pushy than the others. So with 6 of us on the tour, off we went to explore the island. Ninja was a very happy person - he honked, waved & shouted hello to lots of passing cars & people walking down the street, he stopped at a local fruit stall so we could taste the locally grown mini bananas - the flavour was delicious.

The town of Antigua was authentic - although the casino didn't look like it would entice many gamblers from the ship.

It is a poor island with the main industry being tourism - they also make their own rum.  The town itself & the houses in the suburbs are run down & garbage in the streets doesn't seem to be a problem for them. This cruise has been an eye opener - it truly makes us appreciate our way of life in Australia.

The views changed dramatically with the lifestyles of the rich (& maybe the famous) with yachts, launches, resorts & beautiful beaches.

A local police station with sheep wandering up to the front door.

We passed some beautiful resorts. 

Turners beach was pretty with colourful markets right on the beach.

A great view from the bar

Cliff enjoying a local rum with Mike from our tour group (when you purchase a drink they do not measure the alcohol, they stop when it reaches the top.

the beautiful warm blue water of the Caribbean sea.

When we got back to town we had lunch at Hemmingways cafe - food & drinks were expensive.

It was a half day holiday as it was the first day of the cricket test match, West Indies -v- England. 

Most of the shops had closed but the markets & bars were still open. Cliff bought himself a very handsome hat!

We made it back to the ship with only 15 minutes before cut off time - we had a great afternoon sampling the local rum & meeting lots of friendly people.

Staff dancing around the pool at the Sail away party - Farewell Antigua.

5 days at sea with next port of call "Ponta  Delgada" then Southampton - where has the time gone