Our Wander Years

TC2 Day 12: Malaga, Spain

Posted on April 26, 2023 by Sparky

This was the second of our 4 ports of call. I have bittersweet memories of Malaga. It was where Jett, on the TC1 transatlantic trip, went to the infirmary and was diagnosed with a critical hemoglobin problem. We had to leave the ship the next day, cutting our dream TC1 trip short. This day went better.

We got a late start, thanks to staying up to 3am – the result of 6 days of losing an hour. Marlene thought I should have rousted her out of bed. I thought she needed the sleep. In any case we didn’t have time to do anything other than walk into town (a 30-minute walk), visit the Alcazaba Palace, get some gelato, do some window shopping (and some real shopping at a thrift shop) and walk back to the ship. But even the walk was interesting. It is along the beach. And Marlene found a group of young schoolchildren – middle school age – who were eager to chat and practice their English.

Marlene, always the kid, found a playground too.

We spent a couple of hours in Alcazaba, mostly taking photos. On the way out we spotted a parrot in a tree. I didn’t know that Spain had parrots but there was a bunch in Alcazaba.

Alcazaba is very scenic, both inside and looking out over the city.

Marlene found a thrift store (or did it find her?). We made it back to the ship on time, though, leaving bargains begging.

Scenes from the streets of Malaga (and the thrift store)

I can’t remember what we had for dinner. I think this one was forgettable – some tough veal piccata. But we got some photos and attended another fine dinner show, this one an 80’s revue.

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TC2 Day 11: At sea

Posted on April 26, 2023 by Sparky

I am WAY behind on my blogging. TC2 ended this morning and I have 4 days to catch up on. I have had connectivity problems, both on the ship and on shore. I am now sitting in a cafe in Barcelona at 11:30pm using free WiFi.

This was our last full day at sea. As a result we spent a lot of time in the casino. As expected, my winning ways did not continue. I ended the day down around $70 for the cruise. Or $7 per day. Can’t complain.

i realized that I had not posted any photos of our cabin. So I have included one here, for posterity. It is a bit messy, which makes the photo authentic. It is a standard balcony cabin. For whatever reason, Marlene prefers to not use housekeeping, so the steward has been in the cabin just once in these 11 days, to change the sheets. That means no cute towel animals.

We had a lot of professional photos taken on board but we didn’t like any of them very much (sorry, photo guys!) There was one, however, that was amusing enough that we sneaked a photo of the photo. We appear to be levitating in the Azores. While there have been moments in this journey when we felt like we were walking on air, it never actually happened.

The main travel feature of the day was our passage through the Strait of Gibraltar, leaving the Atlantic and entering the Mediterranean. But it happened at night so we saw very little except lights on shore. But as neither of us has ever been to Africa, even seeing the lights was a bit special.

Dinner was formal – a fact that we missed. Marlene, who always dresses elegantly, fit right in. But I looked like I had missed the memo, which was entirely accurate. But others were even more slovenly than I. Small comfort.

The evening show was a 50’s musical revue. Very well done, as all the shows have been. It included a segment featuring the Glee Club – a group of passengers who met daily to practice their songs. They were not as good as the professional staff, of course, but kudos for the effort.

Marlene and I had a small connection to this group. We wandered into their third rehearsal, thinking it was karaoke. Oops.

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TC2 Day 10: At sea

Posted on April 23, 2023 by Sparky

Another day at sea. The ocean was choppy so the ship rolled a bit. We lost another hour of sleep – our 5th – so we got up late and barely made it to breakfast before the buffet closed at 11am. We spent some time in the casino, of course. I am still, inexplicably, ahead, though by less than $100. Marlene is down. Way down.

We attended a special event for “diamond” and “platinum” passengers. I am not sure what is required to attain that status. I am merely “gold” but came as the guest of Marlene who is “platinum”. We met Donald, who was taking his 52nd transatlantic cruise. Some people spend a LOT of time on ships.

After dinner we attended a variety show by Jonathon Timpanelli. He was terrific, belting out tunes by Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Dean Martin and others. Then we saw a comedy show with a comedian whose name escapes me. He was funny but, in my opinion, not as funny as Lance Montalto.

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TC2 Day 9: Ponta Delgada, Azores

Posted on April 23, 2023 by Sparky

After 8 days at sea we finally saw land again. We docked in Ponta Delgada in the Azores Islands. This is a modern and fairly large city so we didn’t find any ruins or ancient homes. But we did find a nice harbor and a shopping area where we could buy some trinkets. And a couple of dresses for Marlene.

It was a cool, mostly cloudy day so the photos are not postcard quality. We didn’t eat lunch on shore but did buy a couple of fresh-made pina coladas which were very tasty. And saw a very picturesque carriage. We also got some walking exercise, finally, as we walked into town from the pier, along the harbor and past the 16th-century fortress that guarded the harbor.

Marlene with pina colada and the creator

I watched A Man Called Otto under the stars at night. It was very chilly – around 60 degrees – but I wore my hoodie and didn’t freeze. Good movie.

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TC2 Day 8: At sea

Posted on April 21, 2023 by Sparky

Our final day before landing in the Azores. It was a bit cool – low 70s – but was a very fine day overall. We had leisurely meals and met some nice folks. In the afternoon we spent nearly 2 hours in the hot tub, talking to some lovely women, plus one son. We lost a bit at the casino (up around $50) then went to the comedy club for a very funny show by Lance Montalto in which Marlene was highlighted for her laugh, which is infectious. A good day.

The only problem was that the internet was down all day (which is why I was so tardy posting TC2 Day 7). But it turned out that the internet wasn’t actually down; I had just been logged off and didn’t notice it. A Guest Services person helped me get back online late at night.

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TC2 Day 7: At sea

Posted on April 21, 2023 by Sparky

A full week at sea. Today we did some trivia – poorly again. And played some slots, with mixed results: lost in the afternoon, won in the evening. I think I am up about $90. Dinner was preceded by a presentation of the officers, with our favorite band, the Sea Surfers, providing some nice dance music. We got up on stage, along with the dance instructors and a few other brave passengers. The ship was rocking a bit, which made keeping time with the music a bit of a challenge.

Because it was a formal night, the dinner was special. Marlene had lobster tail and I had Beef Wellington. Delicious!

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TC2 Day 6: At sea

Posted on April 20, 2023 by Sparky

Another lovely day sailing the Atlantic Ocean. We lost another hour on the clock (a cumulative 3 hours now) and slept in late. After breakfast we stood in line again for the caricatures – Marlene wanted individual ones – and watched the Latin dance class while we waited in the Atrium Lobby. But we barely made the cut and settled for one for Marlene.

We had lunch and did some trivia, doing poorly. We also did poorly at the casino in the afternoon after Marlene’s caricature sitting. I had some very nice pork for dinner and we got one of the waiters to take our photo. Then back to the casino where… drum roll please… I won $581 on a 50 cent bet. Can’t beat that. I split it with Marlene but even after losing some of that I still ended the evening up about $100 for the cruise.

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TC2 Day 5: At sea

Posted on April 20, 2023 by Sparky

Another fine day at sea. The weather was beautiful and the ocean was calm – “like glass” according to Marlene. I did a lot of reading, finishing Chasing the Dime by Michael Connelly, and we managed to snag one of the slots for a caricature. That wasn’t easy. The “sign-up time” was posted on the calendar as 11:45 am, but we went down on Sunday at 11:45 and learned that to have a chance we would have to arrive before 11:15. We got in line Monday at 11:10 and got the last slot of the day, at 3 pm.

We killed time by having lunch and going to the casino (down $45 now). But we got the caricature done at 3 pm, had a nap and went to dinner. One of the perks of Marlene being a gambler is that we got a free bottle of wine at dinner. Marlene doesn’t drink wine, so I had it all to myself. A very nice sauvignon blanc from California.

The theater show was “Love and Marriage” where 3 couples of varying marriage lengths – 5 weeks, 10 years and 57 years – guessed the response of the other to provocative questions such as “What was the name of the husband’s last girlfriend before you were married? And what hashtag would you use to describe her?” The couple married for 57 years had an exact match – the full name and #townwhore. It was all very funny.

We then finished the evening at “Carnival Quest” which was an R-rated scavenger hunt with teams of 5 to 9 passengers. One of the requested items was “3 unused bras” and women actually disrobed to remove their bras. It is amazing what people will do on a cruise that they would never do at home.

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“Chasing the Dime” by Michael Connelly

Posted on April 18, 2023 by Sparky

The technology in this book is a bit hard to swallow – literally – but the story is compelling and is very well-written. Connelly never disappoints.

The story begins with the CTO of a cutting-edge biotechnology company, Henry Pierce, moves into a new condo and begins getting mysterious calls on his new land line. It becomes obvious that the person who had the number before was a female sex worker. He could have just gotten a different number – and he soon regrets that he didn’t do that – but he wonders what happened to her and why she gave up the number. He starts pulling on that thread and soon finds himself embroiled in a murder mystery. Embroiled to the point where he becomes the prime suspect.

Meanwhile, his company is on the verge of securing some critical venture capital that will enable it to “chase the dime” – develop cellular computer technology that would allow a powerful computer to fit on the face of a dime. He is also trying to get over the painful breakup with a former co-worker. All the pieces of this puzzle seem to fit together eventually. Or do they? Things are not what they seem and Henry needs to figure out the truth before he ends up on death row.

A bit implausible but a fine read. 8 out of 10.

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TC2 Day 4: At sea

Posted on April 17, 2023 by Sparky

We are now nearly halfway to the Azores with a lot of water under our hull – over 17,000 feet. This was another fairly quiet day. Lots of reading. Some casino time, too. I am now officially losing, but only by about $20. We both had tilapia for dinner. Very good. We saw another theater show after dinner – “Getaway Island” featuring many tropical songs. Very nicely done.

After dinner we danced a bit. Marlene even did some line dancing. Not me.