Malaga. This is a beautiful little port city with some great ancient fortifications and very interesting downtown and port areas. But it will always be associated in my mind with illness and loss because the day that started so well ended in disappointment in the infirmary.

Jett’s illness was unabated in the morning and we had agreed that she would see a doctor if she wasn’t better. But I didn’t get down to client services to find out how to get medical attention until 9:55 am and learned that the infirmary was closed between 10 am and 4:30 pm when the ship was in port. So I went into town and Jett went back to bed.

I spent about 4 hours in Malaga. I had attended the port talk aboard the ship but had forgotten what the main attractions were, so I just started to wander. It didn’t take long to find the cathedral, which is huge. It also charges an entrance fee and I was feeling both cheap and cathedraled-out after Fatima, so I skipped it.

I also skipped the Picasso Museum. I recalled that the museum contained mostly early works, before he became a cubist. Some people I talked to later said that there were some cubist paintings there, so I have a tiny bit of regret for not going in.

I spent most of my time in the Alcazaba, an 11th century Moorish palace and fortress. It is huge, beautiful and well worth the uphill walk. However, I couldn’t find my way back, so I ended up taking the elevator to the street.

At the base of the Alcazaba, in the heart of Malaga, is a Roman amphitheater dating from the first century. I treated myself to a cup of toffee caramel ice cream (not very creamy but very tasty) while admiring the ruins.

I made my way back to the ship on foot, first through a nice waterfront park, then along the marina itself. The surprise was the presence of The World, a “residential cruise ship” or “the largest yacht in the world.” We had read about this ship. It is basically a floating condo where the cheapest unit runs about $5 million, plus a huge HOA. The cool thing is that residents can have pets and ports are chosen by vote of the residents. Very cool to actually see it.

I then continued on to the beach – our first and only glimpse of an actual Mediterranean beach. Then back to the ship to take a nap, then go to the infirmary with Jett.

Which is basically where our cruise ended. Jett went in thinking she had pneumonia and was shocked to learn that her blood hemoglobin levels were so low that they didn’t even register. The doctor insisted that she get to a hospital for treatment ASAP, which meant in Cartagena the next morning and not, as we would have preferred, in Barcelona the day after that. The doctor said that her condition was very serious and “could turn on a dime.”

The most optimistic view was that she could get to a hospital, get an immediate blood infusion and return to the ship by the 1 pm departure. However, as I learned later, she would not be let back on board unless a doctor completed a “fitness to sail” form which certified that she was healthy enough to travel. Even without knowing that, it seemed highly unlikely that we would be able to reboard in Cartagena, so the most optimistic scenario would have her being treated and released the next morning and we would be able to scamper up to Barcelona to continue the trip. In any case, we had to act as if the cruise was over, which meant that I had to go back to the cabin (after a wonderful dinner with our tablemates who were very distressed to hear of her illness), pack up and be ready to disembark at 7 am.

I got to bed around 2 am and got, maybe, 3 hours of sleep.

I am told that Columbus embarked on his trip to the New World from Huelva, Spain, the port city for nearby Seville. I hope he had better weather than we did – cloudy and cool, with a little drizzle. The gloomy weather was compounded by Jett’s continuing illness, which is now less fever and more cough. She once again spent the entire day in the cabin and, except for trips to get food and drink, I was there with her.

I had considered taking the free shuttle into Huelva, but met our neighbor in the hallway when I was returning to the cabin with tea (yes, she is drinking tea instead of coffee, which shows how sick she is). They took the shuttle into town but didn’t even get off because it was Sunday and almost everything was closed.

So… another bad day. If she doesn’t improve by tomorrow we will have to go to the infirmary.

Day 12, Saturday, was the day of our scheduled trip to Fatima. But Jett remained too sick to leave the cabin, so I went alone. Well, not alone, exactly. I was accompanied by three other couples and a very nice young tour guide and driver. On the 90 minute trip north to Fatima he kept up a steady stream of informative chatter which included such nuggets as it takes a cork tree over 40 years to produce income. And that once they are 6 years old they are protected as national treasures which cannot be moved or removed until they die of natural causes. Which, of course, causes many cork trees to be killed before age 6 and many others to be poisoned to death surreptitiously when they are located inconveniently.

Fatima was interesting, but without the suffocating pathos that I witnessed many years ago in Lourdes, France, where doomed people went to find miracles. The most striking thing was the path from the new cathedral to the old cathedral (well, not quite – actually to the open-air chapel where nearly continuous masses were held) that was marked by white marble. This downhill path – over 200 yards by my estimation – was a route taken by penitents on their knees. Painful to watch and, I am sure, far more painful to traverse.

The new cathedral was huge, with over 7,000 seats. The altar was backed by a huge abstract scene in gold leaf, with an odd little red and black cutout in the lower right corner which was meant, I believe, to represent hell. It was impressive, if a little cold.

The old cathedral was much smaller but more to my liking. It featured the crypts of the three children who, in 1917, witnessed the apparition that made this little town world famous. Two died young, in 1918, of the Spanish Flu. The third lived a long and reverent life.

I also visited the museum which contains the many artifacts used in the annual celebration and the ones left there by visitors, including Pope Paul VI. There was a tour, but it was in Portuguese, so I didn’t get much from the talk.

We stopped at a supermarket in Fatima to buy food for lunch, which we ate in the minivan as we drove back to Lisbon. I got edam cheese, chocolate croissants and water, plus a large bag of Lay’s potato chips, all for less than $6.00. I was amazed as I expected prices to be sky high in a town visited by 9 million tourists every year.

We finished the day in Lisbon, visiting the Lisbon Cathedral, taking in the sights from an elevated vantage point and getting a sample of Lisbon’s famous custard pastries (superb!). We also got drive-by glimpses of the President’s residence, a Roman aqueduct, the Belem Tower and the Monument to the Discoveries.

When I returned Jett had rallied a bit and I got her out of the room long enough to grab some dinner in the Lido Cafe. But she still isn’t well. If she doesn’t recover on her own we may have to visit the ship’s infirmary.

On Day 10 (Thursday) we awoke with the ship docked in Funchal, Madeira, an island off the coast of Morocco which is owned by Portugal. We had nothing planned for the day, so after a leisurely breakfast we left the ship just to feel solid ground after more than a week at sea. I had no real expectations and no plans for any specific sights to see, so we boarded the free shuttle to downtown and simply strolled around for a bit. We dined at an inexpensive restaurant near the harbor and had some sandwiches served on some of the most flavorful mini baguettes that I have ever tasted. A real treat, particularly after a week of bland breads on board the ship.

I took a lot of photos but we bought nothing other than lunch. Until we got back to the ship, at which point Jett found a small cork purse that she simply had to have. So we laid out 30 euros (about $40) for a purse.

My impressions of Funchal… very pretty, very clean, very affordable. I enjoyed the few hours there very much. I did not have any Madeira wine, but I did have a glass of “poncha” at lunch, which is like an alcoholic orange/lemon drink. I am told that it is made from passionfruit, but it tasted like orange and lemon to me. It was okay but I won’t order it again.

The day ended on a sour note with Jett feeling sick immediately after returning to the ship. The illness rapidly developed and she skipped dinner that night. I went to the dining room alone and had a french onion soup with shredded beef – a first for me. I had spaghetti puttanesca for an entree (good) and something forgettable for dessert. I tried to attend the late show, but it was canceled due to high seas.

Yes, high seas. The ride into Madeira was a bit bumpy, but the ride out was worse. As soon as we left the harbor the ship began to rock violently. The captain said that 30 mph winds were forecast to hit the port side all night and the following day and the resulting roll was too much for the dancers. Show cancelled.

The evening was uncomfortable for me and worse for Jett who remained very sick. The following day (Friday, Day 11) was worse. The captain reported that the winds were even worse than forecast, topping 45 mph sustained – gale force winds. We stayed in our cabin all day and I barely managed to avoid upchucking. Jett remained feverish and generally miserable. The winds calmed a little in the evening, but the ship still lurched about. Not a good evening.

The days are starting to blend together.

The big event for me on Day 8 (Tuesday) was my first beer on board (not counting the beer tasting on Day 2).

I read on the aft deck for much of the afternoon, finishing Speaking in Tongues by Jeffery Deaver (described in the previous post). I worked on the second puzzle in the late afternoon and it was nearly complete when I left.

I had a jumbo shrimp cocktail and french onion soup for appetizers, both mediocre. The entree was a seafood macaroni, which was interesting but I wouldn’t get it again. We watched more Downton Abbey after dinner.

The seas on Day 9 (Wednesday) were the roughest yet. The ship rocked-and-rolled pretty energetically. The good news was that I felt fine. No seasickness whatsoever. I was even able to read on the deck without discomfort.

The captain gave a presentation at 9 am on the work done during the two weeks of dry dock work that immediately preceded our cruise. Unfortunately, I didn’t see the notice for this talk until I got out of bed at 9:30. However, I learned a lot about the work done from others who attended. As expected, the Deck 10 lounge and coffee bar are brand new. Also, I correctly surmised that our mattress was new. But so is everyone else’s – every passenger mattress was replaced. That was 17 cargo containers of mattresses.

I got to the port talk before dinner, but discovered that it was the same talk that I had heard a couple of days earlier. So I skipped out and instead went to the service desk to buy $200 worth of euros. The current exchange rate is $1.34 per euro.

Dinner was formal and we actually attended this one. Good thing because Dave skipped it, so if we hadn’t shown up Jeff and Judy would have been all alone. We all had the filet mignon (excellent) and I had a lemon mousse with a custard sauce that was the best dessert yet.

The sun returned for Day 6 (Sunday) which proved to be the most sedate day yet. We seem to be falling behind the clocks, which advanced another hour (3 hours in total now). We rose too late to make the Sunday brunch in the dining room, which began at 11:30 am. Instead we had our usual coffee (black Americano for me, cappuccino with a shot of espresso for Jett) and lounged on deck, in or near the sun for most of the afternoon. I spent only an hour on the current puzzle and did not visit the casino at all, instead investing some time in the less expensive pursuit of reading.

Due to the time change, our 8 pm dinner started during the most spectacular sunset yet. The photos I took were through glass, which dulled them a bit and introduced some reflection of dining room lights, but they captured the beauty nevertheless.

Dinner was not all that interesting, which is surprising given that this was an evening when the Holland America “culinary council” exhibited their favorite recipes. I had a potato soup which was okay, but not hot enough, a jumbo shrimp salad which seemed more like an appetizer than an entree, and a pear crepe which was very tasty and very small. I left the dining room feeling less than full and, for the first time, ate something at the late night buffet. I was planning on just taking some dessert to the cabin, but we passed the pasta station and the garlic reeled me in. I ate a small plate of ziti topped with a custom marinara sauce with capers and pesto. Delicious!

We then played Hand, Knee and Foot in our room, while Season 3 of Downton Abbey played on the TV. We finished the game (which I won, coming from behind) at 2:30 am, further evidence of our bodies falling behind the clocks.

Day 7 (Monday) was another bright, sunny, cool day with rolling seas. I engaged in the usual activities: jigsaw, casino (another $20 loss – down $65 now), some reading, some hanging out in the smoking area on the Lido Deck Aft. I also spent some time on our balcony, taking advantage of the sun. The big event was the team trivia contest. My team – 5 people, including 2 retired physicians – got 14 right out of 16 questions, just one behind the two winning teams. But the annoying aspect of that is that one of the questions we missed was a medical question – what is the medical name for heartburn. Both physicians had never heard of the term so one has to wonder where the question came from.

We also watched more of Downton Abbey, completing Season 3 (poor Matthew!) and watched The Greatest Showman before bed. It was good enough to keep us both awake to the end, which for us is high praise.

Jett had steak at dinner while my entree was a cornflake-crusted haddock which was pretty tasty. The real star of the dinner for me, though, was dessert: banana tatin which looked like a scoop of vanilla ice cream atop a honey bun. But the “bun” was a baked half banana, curled into a circle and covered in a caramel glaze, resting on a thin biscuit. Yum!

First I will report two technical successes. Due to the impending Hand, Knee and Foot training session, we needed to print a set of rules and some scoresheets. So I took the laptop down to Deck 1 where there was a “business center” with 3 computers and a printer and inquired at the service desk how to use the printer. The answer was to log into my WiFi account, which meant that someone using the computer could use the printer only if they also bought WiFi time, which I found surprising. As I had an account already, that was not an impediment. But I didn’t appreciate using my precious minutes trying to figure out how to configure my laptop to communicate with the ship’s printer. Between setting it up and printing the documents, I used about 20 minutes of WiFi time – about $8.

The printer also ran out of paper one page short of completion. I again waited in line to request paper and the service agent returned with 3 sheets. I smiled and said that 3 sheets would be sufficient for my purposes but the next person would be back to ask for more. She then gave me about 100 sheets.

I also took the opportunity, while at the service desk, to inquire about the television. They were surprised that I was having difficulty and assured me that there was no ship-wide outage. She filled out a service request.

Nothing happened with the TV until after lunch, but after Jett called to jack up the urgency, a repair guy appeared within 15 minutes and fixed the problem in another 10. We now have movies again! We watched The Darkest Hour and more Season 1 episodes of Downton Abbey.

I visited the jigsaw puzzle several times – morning, noon and evening. The noonish visit was aborted because about 8 people were swarming around the table and I didn’t want to be a 9th. So I went down to the casino and lost about $50 in about 50 minutes. Not a good day at the slots. I am now down $20 for the cruise.

We met a few more interesting people in the smoking area and heard a number of complaints about the ship. Most surprising is that there were no cigarettes for sale on the ship – the stock of cigarettes was left on the dock in Ft Lauderdale and is being flown to meet the ship in Barcelona. Thank God Jett brought enough to last her until then. But some folks are going to be mighty unhappy. I can see a black market in cigarettes forming.

It is rumored that the stock of yeast was also left on the dock, meaning that the breads at dinner are going to be unleavened. The grumbling is that the ship should never have left if it was so poorly supplied. The people who are complaining are veteran (and loyal) Holland America passengers who are saying “never again.” This might be a poor cruise for the company business.

The most interesting person we met on Day 4 was Sabine, born in Bolivia of a Dutch father and a German mother, raised as Catholic while her brother was raised Lutheran and married to an Afghan Muslim. She describes herself as a “citizen of the world.”

The weather deteriorated dramatically. The balmy weather and calm seas were replaced with gray skies, light rain and a rolling ship. I put on my anti-nausea wristbands for the first time.

The Hand, Knee and Foot couple were no-shows.

We dined with our regular dinner buddies, except Bob who was absent for the third straight night. We think he will not reappear, which led to a discussion of how to find a replacement. The thinking was that we needed to find a pretty young woman for Dave. That should give Jett something to do for the next few days.

Day 5 (Saturday) continued cloudy, cool and damp, though not so rainy as Day 4 and the overcast started to break up as sunset approached. I again spent some time on the jigsaw as it neared completion, but was not present when the last piece was placed. No time was wasted in destroying it as when I returned around 4 pm a new puzzle – also 2,000 pieces – was already underway. Another foray into the casino netted another $25 loss. The winning first day is a distant memory now as I am down about $45.

I ate very lightly, skipping breakfast entirely and having only a Dive-In hot dog (with saurkraut!) for lunch. I have sampled both the Dive-In burger and hot dog now and they are good, but not exceptional. The hot dog is better than the burger.

Dinner for me was pot roast, and it was excellent. It was preceded by a seafood soup and was followed by a mango cream horn – a pastry filled with a mango-flavored concoction. Both also excellent.

We went to bed immediately after dinner (around 10 pm) but didn’t go to sleep until much later as Jett had a bout of extreme abdominal pain.

A poor end to an otherwise good day.

I think it took me 5 days to realize that the ship changed the rugs at the bottom of every elevator every day, keeping everyone informed of the day of the week. I was at first amused at this silliness, but soon began to realize how useful it was. Days blend together on a long voyage.

The first full day at sea was, as expected, quiet. At breakfast I tried the buffet scrambled eggs (terrible), bacon (good) and lox (excellent). I then, while waiting for Jett’s cappucino to be made, joined in on the attack on a 2,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. In the afternoon I attended an “international beer tasting” event that was somewhat disappointing as none of the international beers were unfamiliar (Becks, Stella Artois, Grolsch and Blue Moon) nor were they from any of the countries we would be visiting. I did, however, learn a few things about beer (e.g., ale is “top brewed” and lager is “bottom brewed”).

I sat with a couple, Marty and Judy, at the beer tasting, had a lovely time getting to know them and discovered, at the end of the event, that they are our neighbors. Small ship.

I read up on Barcelona (Rick Steves Mediterranean Cruise Ports, a wonderful guide to most of the cities where we will be docking, but excludes Portugal and most of Spain). I was amazed at the detail of the advice he provides: the Barcelona section is 98 pages long!

Both Jett and I chose the prime rib at dinner, which I thought was excellent but Jett thought was just okay. However, the spinach bacon salad that Jett accidentally ordered (she got two different salads – not sure how that happened) and passed off to me was terrific. I had Dutch apple pie for dessert, which was also very good, while Jett chose a chocolate mousse cake infused with hazelnuts which she judged to be excellent.

We hit the hay early and watched several movies: Downsizing with Matt Damon, which I thought was pretty good but Jett fell asleep, and the first half-hour of La La Land with Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling – the Best Picture of 2016 – which I didn’t like at all. Maybe I will change my mind when I finish it. If I finish it.

Day 3 began with a breakfast featuring “eggs blackstone” – a concoction similar to eggs benedict but with Canadian bacon. Not bad. While Jett slept on I made my first foray into the casino and left $30 richer. Yes, I won money at the casino – a rare event for me. I also attended two informative talks about Portugal. The first was all about the available shore excursions and I left early as I have no intention of paying for tours of either Funchal (in Madeira) or Lisbon. The second was about the cities themselves and was much more interesting. I learned that in Funchal it is possible to take a cable car to the top of the 2,000-foot mountain overlooking the city, then ride back down in a wicker basket sled guided by two men. The narrator’s advice: ask to see the soles of their shoes before booking the ride, because those are the only brakes you will have. The idea sounds intriguing, but the narrator also noted that the ride leaves you far from the port and it is either a 45-minute walk or an expensive taxi ride to get back. I will probably pass. Instead I may find a bar where I can sample a couple of local Madeira wines.

We skipped dinner in the dining room on Day 3 because it was a formal night and Jett was not eager to dress up. Nor was I. Instead we “roughed it” in the Lido Deck buffet where we both had beef tenderloain (very tasty). After dinner we played Hand, Knee and Foot under the stars until a sudden shower drove us inside. As we began play a couple stopped by to ask us what game we were playing. They actually stayed to watch a hand and we made a date to teach them the game on Day 4.

As we began to play cards we discovered that Jett failed to pack the scoresheets. We had to make do with a blank sheet of paper. One of my Day 4 chores will be to find a printer where I can print a few copies.

The day ended on a downer as we tried to watch a movie and found the entire DVR operation to be unusable (“connection busy, try again later”). We are praying that this is a temporary situation because doing 24 nights with no movies for late night entertainment would be nearly unbearable

I can see the headlines now: “Passengers Mutiny Over Faulty DVR.” It will go viral.

The process of embarkation – passing through the passport check, filling out health forms, checking in and receiving our on-board “keys” – went very quickly and we were aboard the ship in less than 30 minutes after our bus arrived at the dock (at 12:47 pm, to be precise). But the process contained an element of angst, too, as I realized (actually, Jett realized) that I had printed only one boarding pass. Jett, rather accusingly, said “Where is my boarding pass?” My rather weak response was “this is what the printer gave me.” I had a vision, as we were going through the line, approaching the registration desk, of giving the agent my story, getting a cold “what an idiot” stare and then waiting an interminable time while the agent somehow got the second boarding pass printed. I couldn’t do it myself because a cruise dock is not like an airport – there are no self-service kiosks. Still, I wasn’t too worried as I knew that I had completed all of the online pre-departure tasks and that Jett’s status as a registered passenger was securely recorded online. But I didn’t know how much trouble – and recrimination – awaited me when we reached the desk.

As it turned out, there was no trouble and no recrimination. All we needed to produce at the desk was our passports. The trouble, if there was to be any, would have been earlier in the process when we had to show passports and boarding passes to “security.” But again, the cruise dock is not like an airport. The cruise dock security is not TSA; it is a bunch of hired hands who are mostly concerned with passports. Security here did not care about the details of the boarding pass – there was no checking of names or dates or ship; I just waved my one boarding pass in front of him and that was sufficient.

Makes me wonder whether the boarding pass was needed at all.

Once aboard we went straight to our cabin – a “junior suite”. It isn’t the largest cabin we have ever had, but it is quite nice. The king size bed is very comfortable, with 6 pillows. The TV is the largest we have ever had on a cruise – my estimate is 60 inches. And the bathroom has his-and-her sinks and two showers. We will inevitably contend for its use, but it is very large and very nice.

Oh – a balcony with two very comfortable chaises and a table. If the weather cooperates, I will spend a lot of time out there. Watching the ocean slip by.

A couple of nice extras: bathrobes and a powerful set of binoculars. I can sit on the verandah, dressed in a bathrobe and scan the horizon for approaching pirates. Maybe I can be the first to yell “land ho!” when we reac Madeira.

We freshened up a bit, then walked up one flight to the Lido Deck to grab a quick bite from the never-ending buffet and to find the smoking area. Sadly the “smoking lamp” was extinguished as the refueling of the ship was not finished, but Jett wasted no time finding “smoking buddies”, all of whom were jonesing for a smoke. We bided the time chatting with Jack and Carol, two almost-full-timers (they have a condo in Mexico for the winter but travel the US and Canada the rest of the year in their Class C RV). We also, later, met Mary who reminded us both of Kathy Bates. We took to referring to her afterwards as “Molly Brown” as she was very like the Unsinkable person depicted in Titanic. Of course thinking of the Titanic is exactly the wrong thing to do on embarkation day, but it was unavoidable.

After the required lifeboat drill at 4 pm, we returned to the Lido Deck for the “sailaway party.” On every other cruise this has been an energetic party with dancing and a steel band. No band at this one, just overpriced drinks and lots of people taking photos as we pushed off from the dock. I think we have found the first difference with a transatlantic cruise: more sedate music (chamber music seems to be the big thing, with a blues band being the only “rock” option). I think it is going to be a relatively quiet crossing. Yes, there are a few children on board, but there are absolutely no kids activities. Advice: if you want to cruise with children, steer away from transatlantic itineraries.

It turns out the the one side of the rear deck area is the only smoking area aboard the ship. On other cruises there were typically three: the Lido Deck, one side of the Promenade Deck and a Cigar Bar. Only one area on this ship, which had Jett cursing. And it is outside, so if the weather turns chilly (as I expect it will), she is going to be very unhappy. But that day is not today.

While Jett was chatting with her smoking buddies I was sent in search of a cup of cappuccino. I found it at the coffee bar in the back of the Explorer’s Lounge, a fabulously opulent lounge on the top deck, overlooking the bow. It has a fantastic vista, very comfortable chairs for socializing, tables for playing cards or doing jigsaw puzzles, and current real-time displays of location, speed, wave amplitude and temperature. Time, too, which is more complicated than it sounds. We will be going through five time zone changes and onboard the clocks are adjusted at 1 pm. You need to pay attention or you could be late for an afternoon appointment.

Our dinner companions are Jeff and Judy, Bob and Dave. Jeff and Judy are Canadians, as is Dave, but Dave is also Scottish, with dual citizenship. Bob is from Alabama. The dinner conversation was lively and varied and only briefly skirted into politics and religion – topics which I am careful to avoid. The food and service were also very good. The highlight of the meal for me was dessert – banana crisp which was like apple crisp, but with bananas. Delicious.

Dave and Bob are both single and are not a couple. We have not yet determined whether they are gay, widowed, divorced or simply prefer to travel alone. Mary, who I mentioned earlier, was also traveling alone and in her case she volunteered the reason: she and her husband are taking some “alone time” which she is using to reflect on her marriage.

We did not attend the evening entertainment and instead went to bed after lounging a bit on the Lido Deck. It was a lovely evening. When we returned to our cabin we discovered the wide variety of movies that the ship makes available on demand, including many recent ones, such as this year’s Best Picture, La La Land.

So far, so good.