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SarahHben

By SarahHben,
in P&O Cruises ( UK )

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Angel57

Angel57

Posted
Posted

Am enjoying your blog Sarah. I hope that your toe is ok this morning for your day out as it can make walking very uncomfortable if injured. Otherwise you will just need to lie on a sun bed and get everything brought to you.

Take care today.

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gsmt47471015

gsmt47471015

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20 hours ago, Snow Hill said:

Puerto Mogan doesn’t seem to have changed much since I was last there in late 1990s. We are thinking of trip to Gran Canaria in early October if we can find somewhere suitable.

We also visited in the nineties and it appears as though they have managed to keep its charm and not over developed it , when we visited there was a lot of Russian investment happening  and not many brits went there, we will always remember our kids clinging on to the seats of our car as I drove along the winding clifftop  roads to get to it !!!   

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SarahHben "Live from...." Rare

SarahHben

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Morning

Thank you for your messages after I took a tumble. I was ok by yesterday morning, a few bruises but nothing bad. I left my big camera behind to give my wrist a rest. My toe had ‘unlocked’ itself too so I could walk fine. I’ve had several operations on my hands for Trigger Finger so I’m wondering if  it’s possible to get Trigger Toe maybe 🤷‍♀️

 

Yesterday’s trip was a later start so we didn’t have to rush and we’d slept in a little later. The ship had already docked by the time we’d looked out. It’s interesting how every island has looked quite different. I didn’t expect Lanzarote to be so flat.

 

We had breakfast in the buffet, had a nice chat to a couple next to us. I forgot to take something up with us to save a table while we got our food so we took it in turns. It was a bit busier in the buffet than other days and we’ve noticed that not many people are using the hand sanitiser pumps on the way in to the food area. 
 

Lanzarote has been the only port so far where it was a bit chaotic waiting for and finding the correct coach for our excursion. 
We did the trip called ‘Discover the North’.

 

Our first stop was Teguise, the ancient capital, we really enjoyed our time there. It was market day so it was busy but it was interesting to see that view with all the white market stall tents. You can tell I like photography and Mr B likes videography, we’re all about the views and what we can photograph rather than the best restaurants etc I’m afraid 🥴

The market was mainly knock off designer goods, bags & belts, ‘Louis Vuitton’ bags for €20…if only 😁

The little streets, main square and the church were very nice, pretty but in a different way to Puerto Mogan. We had opted to follow the tour guide down into the square before exploring on our own and she was great, gave us lots of historical background which we wouldn’t have know if we had done our own thing from the get go.


Our second stop was a view point overlooking Haria, The Valley of a Thousand Palms. It was hot up there! All of our tour guides have said it’s unusual to have the high temperatures that we’ve had this cruise, i won’t be going home with much of a sun tan because I’m covering up and using a high SPF sun screen.

 

The last stop was Jameos del Agua, a volcanic tunnel which was very interesting. Our tour guide explained how it had been formed. An artist had designed the surrounding underground gardens and outside space into an oasis area and also an underground concert arena, we both said we’d love to go to a music recital there, it was incredible. 
The cave had a very deep pool with tiny albino crab type creatures, my phone camera didn’t capture them well so I’m hoping my husbands video comes out better.

 

When we got back we had a late lunch in the buffet and then had a dip in the adult only pool and spent the rest of the afternoon in the Retreat. We have found the open decks and pool areas are so busy that we’re avoiding walking through them. Even if we’re going to the retreat after the buffet, we walk back down the aft stairs to our cabin from the buffet, grab a bag and then walk along the length of the cabin corridor to the forward staircase to go up to the Retreat.

 

Dinner was in Sindhu last night with menu B, it was very good. I had spiced ground beef in flatbread with onion relish & curry sauce for starter. The main we chose was the signature dish which was lamb bhuna, chicken tariwala curry and coconut prawn masala, it was excellent! for dessert I had a dark chocolate sphere with warm chocolate sauce poured over m, I think it was supposed to melt away to show the white chocolate mousse but it didn’t quite work, it tasted lovely though. 
 

We spent some time watching people ballroom dancing in the atrium, we’re not dancers ourselves but really enjoyed watching. There were 2 young lads, possibly twins, who were very good!

 

The show in the theatre was the illusion & magic show ‘Astonishing’ which we really enjoyed. 

 

The clocks went forward an hour last night and it’s a sea day so we’ve had s lie in this morning. 
 

We have the Epicurean afternoon tea booked for later & it’s formal night, other than that I don’t intend to do much other than read today.

 

I hope I’m not boring you too much.
 

 

 

 

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grapau27

grapau27

Posted
Posted
59 minutes ago, SarahHben said:

Morning

Thank you for your messages after I took a tumble. I was ok by yesterday morning, a few bruises but nothing bad. I left my big camera behind to give my wrist a rest. My toe had ‘unlocked’ itself too so I could walk fine. I’ve had several operations on my hands for Trigger Finger so I’m wondering if  it’s possible to get Trigger Toe maybe 🤷‍♀️

 

Yesterday’s trip was a later start so we didn’t have to rush and we’d slept in a little later. The ship had already docked by the time we’d looked out. It’s interesting how every island has looked quite different. I didn’t expect Lanzarote to be so flat.

 

We had breakfast in the buffet, had a nice chat to a couple next to us. I forgot to take something up with us to save a table while we got our food so we took it in turns. It was a bit busier in the buffet than other days and we’ve noticed that not many people are using the hand sanitiser pumps on the way in to the food area. 
 

Lanzarote has been the only port so far where it was a bit chaotic waiting for and finding the correct coach for our excursion. 
We did the trip called ‘Discover the North’.

 

Our first stop was Teguise, the ancient capital, we really enjoyed our time there. It was market day so it was busy but it was interesting to see that view with all the white market stall tents. You can tell I like photography and Mr B likes videography, we’re all about the views and what we can photograph rather than the best restaurants etc I’m afraid 🥴

The market was mainly knock off designer goods, bags & belts, ‘Louis Vuitton’ bags for €20…if only 😁

The little streets, main square and the church were very nice, pretty but in a different way to Puerto Mogan. We had opted to follow the tour guide down into the square before exploring on our own and she was great, gave us lots of historical background which we wouldn’t have know if we had done our own thing from the get go.


Our second stop was a view point overlooking Haria, The Valley of a Thousand Palms. It was hot up there! All of our tour guides have said it’s unusual to have the high temperatures that we’ve had this cruise, i won’t be going home with much of a sun tan because I’m covering up and using a high SPF sun screen.

 

The last stop was Jameos del Agua, a volcanic tunnel which was very interesting. Our tour guide explained how it had been formed. An artist had designed the surrounding underground gardens and outside space into an oasis area and also an underground concert arena, we both said we’d love to go to a music recital there, it was incredible. 
The cave had a very deep pool with tiny albino crab type creatures, my phone camera didn’t capture them well so I’m hoping my husbands video comes out better.

 

When we got back we had a late lunch in the buffet and then had a dip in the adult only pool and spent the rest of the afternoon in the Retreat. We have found the open decks and pool areas are so busy that we’re avoiding walking through them. Even if we’re going to the retreat after the buffet, we walk back down the aft stairs to our cabin from the buffet, grab a bag and then walk along the length of the cabin corridor to the forward staircase to go up to the Retreat.

 

Dinner was in Sindhu last night with menu B, it was very good. I had spiced ground beef in flatbread with onion relish & curry sauce for starter. The main we chose was the signature dish which was lamb bhuna, chicken tariwala curry and coconut prawn masala, it was excellent! for dessert I had a dark chocolate sphere with warm chocolate sauce poured over m, I think it was supposed to melt away to show the white chocolate mousse but it didn’t quite work, it tasted lovely though. 
 

We spent some time watching people ballroom dancing in the atrium, we’re not dancers ourselves but really enjoyed watching. There were 2 young lads, possibly twins, who were very good!

 

The show in the theatre was the illusion & magic show ‘Astonishing’ which we really enjoyed. 

 

The clocks went forward an hour last night and it’s a sea day so we’ve had s lie in this morning. 
 

We have the Epicurean afternoon tea booked for later & it’s formal night, other than that I don’t intend to do much other than read today.

 

I hope I’m not boring you too much.
 

 

 

 

I appreciate you taking the time and effort to share your cruise experience Sarah and look forward to reading them and seeing your lovely photos and  I'm sure all of your friends on here do to.

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heatherb1958

heatherb1958

Posted
Posted (edited)

Beautiful photos. 

We have visited all those places on your tour when we hired a car when we holidayed on Lanzarote staying at Playa Blanca, twice !. I don't think the island deserves it's nickname of Lanzagrotty as it is just beautiful in a unique way. The story behind Haria if I remember correctly is that the town was saved/undamaged when a volcano erupted and the lava flow by passed it. In thanks thereafter for every child that was born a palm tree was planted ... 

Edited by heatherb1958
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Holcha

Holcha

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Posted

Thank you Sarah for the beautifully written experience of your day (and of course your entire cruise). We have done this excursion with P&O twice, and I love it.  Wish we were there now.  Sitting here looking at the dull grey sky and rain, your posts are bringing a warm feeling and smile to an otherwise chilly depressing day.  Looking forward to your posts for the rest of your trip. Best wishes, Sue

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zap99

zap99

Posted
Posted
On 8/12/2023 at 9:41 PM, SarahHben said:

I’m feeling sorry for myself tonight. My big toe had locked up, it does that sometimes, so I was limping a bit and didn’t see how wet the stairs down the outside of the adult pool and I slipped down them. Hurt my forearm, wrist and pride 😳. Nothing badly hurt but I need my toe in working order tomorrow as we’re doing a cave type excursion tomorrow. 
I even forgot to photograph my food.

Anyway, we went down to Cinnamon MDR around 6:45 and we’re given a pager. We only had to wait 15 mins though.


I had an Asian platter for starter, which consisted of a samosa, onion bhaji, cauliflower pakora and a satay sauce, they were all very good.

Then I had pan fried chicken with root veg and potatoes with a small amount of garlic butter. What was on the plate was ok but it needed a gravy or jus.

My dessert was a selection of ice cream & sorbets.

We missed the 8:30pm theatre show and I don’t want to stay up too late tonight so we’ve returned to our cabin for a cuppa.

 

Lanzarote tomorrow 

Sorry to hear about your fall. Although I rarely mention it, I stubbed my big toe on that stupid coffee table on Iona. It took a year for the black bit on the nail to grow out. Apparently 99.9% of people don't kick it at night.🤣

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July morning

July morning

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Posted

I'm enjoying reading your posts as I shall be on Ventura in October with my daughter and grandson so a different type of cruise for me but looking forward to it.

My husband and I have done most of your trips on this cruise before the big C interrupted our travels I remember those white crabs and the lovely sink hole/beach.

 

 

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SarahHben "Live from...." Rare

SarahHben

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Morning 

We have arrived in sunny Cadiz, a cooler day today, highs of 28° forecast. 
 

Yesterday we had a very lazy day so not much much to report on. I ironed a blouse which is the only time I intend to use the laundry 😂 although being a sea day it was a social hub in there, quite a few people having a natter. We then spent a good 4 or 5 hours in the Retreat just relaxing & reading. It was quite windy yesterday and the adult pool was closed, I heard someone say that all the pools were. 

We really enjoyed the Epicurean afternoon tea, quite a few people near us left some of it, one table barely touched theirs. One of the desserts had a little tube of rum that we had to squeeze on top, delicious! Maybe we’re just greedy but we ate everything!

 

We then relaxed on our balcony for the rest of the afternoon. I needed to wash my hair and while I was in the shower Mr B saw 4 dolphins swim by!

 

It was formal night and we went down to Cinnamon restaurant at 7:15, we were given a pager and went to have photos taken but were paged after 15 minutes so had to go back later to have photos taken.

 

We had a lovely dinner time talking to the couple on the table next to us. We were actually served chocolates at the end of the meal for the first time in the MDR, they were nothing like the ones in Epicurean. We didn’t take any photos at dinner as we were chatting to the other couple. 
 

Celebrity Silhouette has docked opposite us this morning, it’s the first cruise ship we’ve seen since we left Southampton.

 

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