2011 Africa/Asia/Med Cruise
This cruise will visit Africa, Asia and Europe round trip from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. If you click on the pictures you will see a larger version.
Monday, May 23, 2011
#42 At Sea, Westbound Crossing
Thursday, May 19, 2011
#41 More Pictures
#41 Funchal, Madeira, Portugal
May 5 Funchal, Madeira, Portugal. We've been here before but were glad to be stopping again. It's a lovely place with nice people and very good facilities.
Funchal is named for fennel, the herb. The city is 500 years old. It's built on a very hilly section of the island that is cut by deep ravines; consequently the roads go every direction with only a very small section of the city right next to the ocean that has anything near rectangular blocks. There are many bridges spanning deep craggy ravines and roads that run along the edges of those same valleys. Most intersections are odd shaped; often three to five streets intersect. Traffic would be a mess except Maderians are the most patient and polite drivers I've ever seen. The only traffic law I saw being broken was jaywalking and I'm not even sure that's illegal here. Even then the jaywalkers were very careful to cross quickly and only when no traffic is coming.
The people are very friendly and open. They smile at you and nod. If you give them a 'bon gia' (good morning) or 'boa tarde' (good afternoon) they smile even bigger and respond. All the walking up and down hills keeps them in shape. There are flowers everywhere; a mixture of tropical and temperate plants that you don't usually see. In the suburbs and countryside the hills are terraced and the 5 to 12 foot wide terraces are used to grow bananas and grapes. It's so steep that the walls holding up each terrace are usually as high or higher than the terrace is wide.
Many of the sidewalks and plazas are cobbled with mosaics in white and gray stone. Sometimes the figures are just geometrical; sometimes they are people, animals or symbols. It's a nice touch. When I first saw this type of sidewalk I thought they were small tiles but then we came on some that were under repair and saw that they are actually long, rectangular stones set on end, true cobblestones.
Several streets have been closed to traffic and are lined with shops and cafes. Most of the closed streets are completely lined with cobbles. The main street by the ocean is Avenida do Mar. It has the marina, port and some recreational facilities on the ocean side and shops and restaurants on the shore side. Right at the intersection with the main street going up hill they have two very exclusive restaurants, Pizza Hut and Micky D's. Both were very busy by the way.
On the seawall opposite the docking locations, visiting ships have painted memorials to their visits. Some are very simple affairs and some are quite elaborate. One was by a US Coast Guard Cutter, the Dallas and another by the crew of the Prinsendam in 2006.
Madeira is noted for its wines. They say they have four styles made from four different grapes, sercial (dry taste, light color), verdelho (medium dry, golden color), bual (medium sweet, dark gold color) and malmsey (the very first grape brought to the islands, sweet, chestnut brown). I am here to tell you that all the wines, regardless of their description, are sweet by our standards. It was very popular in colonial America because, as a fortified wine, it won't oxidize in the bottle and could be safely shipped to the new world.
One of Diana's favorite activities anywhere in the world is here, the basket sleigh. Since Funchal is built on hills with the city center along the ocean getting into and back from town was a problem especially for older folks. To add to the problem the upscale part of town, Monte, is far up the hillside. Sometime in the 1800s an army officer with an invalid wife designed a wicker basket sleigh on wooden runners that two men could use to glide her down the hill. Going up they used donkey carts, which proved to be unsafe going downhill. Today they use these sleighs as a tourist attraction.
Before heading up to Monte we drove out of town and high up into the hills to a viewpoint over Nun's Valley. This area was so isolated that up into the 1950s people would be born here and die never having seen the ocean. That's a bit odd as the ocean is only about five miles away. The mountains between here and the coast are so steep and rugged that the trip took days. In the 1950s a narrow winding, steep and very dangerous road was put in but as most of the villagers did not drive it made little difference. It was easier to get food and merchandise into the town. About 25 years ago a major road-building project started making it easier to get into the valley by digging tunnels and widening the road. It's still quite a trip in a large bus but cars and small trucks have a pretty easy time. Providing of course they don't meet a large bus coming the other way.
They've opened a hotel and gift shop at the foot of the trail you walk up to get the good view of Nun's Valley. They welcomed us with a cherry brandy and a piece of cherry cake. Most fruit brandies are either too sweet or so strong the fruit of origin is unidentifiable. This one was not. The cherry flavor was readily apparent and, while it was not weak, the alcohol content was not overbearing, as in grappa and the like. Thus fortified we headed up the trail for the good view.
It was a little too late in the day for a good picture of the valley. It's very steep on all sides and the little village sets on the small flat space in between. It's a pocket valley in that it's surrounded on all sides by mountains, there's no way out but up. The sun was very bright on two walls of the valley but the village was till in the shade with the other two. The contrast was extreme on only a lot of Photoshop work will salvage a picture even worth looking at of the whole scene. The sunny mountainsides could be photographed on their own, as could the village and the shady mountains but not the entire valley. It was a nice stop and a chance to see some very rugged country. The ride down the narrow road was as interesting as the ride up.
Because Funchal is built on many ridges running up the hillsides from the coast bridges abound in the city. One bridge, although not very long is probably 400 feet above the valley floor at the center. The drive across town from the city's edge to Monte is very interesting also. The view from the bus varies from about 4 inches from a stone retaining wall to a wide ocean vista.
After arriving in Monte we walked about 200 yards to a hilly street where they have wicker sleighs. It was not quite our turn for the ride so we walked us some stairs to check out the local church, the Church of Nossa Senhora do Monte (Our Lady of the Mount). This Portuguese Baroque church, completed in 1818, has the typical white and gray color scheme created when the flat parts of the volcanic rock walls are stuccoed and whitewashed. It has twin towers and a porch with the typical three-arched front (one arch for each member of the trinity).
The church is the principal pilgrimage site on the island. A local story about the appearance of an apparition of Mary nearby, coupled with stories of flood victims being miraculously rescued by a passing ship, have created a deep veneration of the statue of Mary that rests on the church's main altar. On Assumption Day, the day the Roman Catholic Church celebrates Mary's transport to heaven, pilgrims climb the 74 stairs in front of the church on their knees before entering the church to honor the small fifteenth century carving.
The church has one additional famous resident. Emperor Charles I of Austria, the last emperor of the Austria-Hungary Empire, is interred in a simple black metal coffin in a small side chapel. One might reasonably ask how the emperor of a powerful and vast empire might come to be interred in a small church on a remote Portuguese island. An excellent question, I'm glad you asked.
Charles I of Austria (aka Charles IV of Hungary) renounced participation in public affairs 1918 but never abdicated his crown. He may have set a record for 'royal lasts'. He was the last ruler of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, last Emperor of Austria, last King of Hungary, last King of Bohemia-Croatia, and the last King of Galicia and Lodomeria. He was also the last monarch in the famous line of the Habsburgs. A very impressive list of lasts. In 1921 he tried twice to regain his power but failed because he lacked support. Later that same year the Austrian parliament cancelled the Pragmatic Sanction ending the rule of the Habsburg family. After the second attempt he and his wife Zita, were taken into custody and transported to Madeira for exile. Not quite as isolated as Saint Helena, the very remote South Atlantic island where Napoleon was sent after his escape from Elba, but distant enough to insure that Charles would not mount a third attempt to regain his throne. Early the next year he caught pneumonia and died. He was interred in the church here and he's still there despite several attempts to have his remains moved to the Habsburg crypt in Vienna. Another odd fact is that both his and his wife's hearts are not on Madeira but are in the Loreto Chapel of Muri Abbey in the South Tyrol of Italy.
I never cease to be surprised at the things I discover while traveling. Sometimes the most remote places have connections to prominent and important events and people.
On either side of the church entrance there's a picture composed of glazed ceramic tiles called azulejos in Portuguese. In the fifteenth century the Moors taught the Spanish how to make glazed tiles and the Portuguese learned from them. From their beginnings as decorative accents on buildings in Portugal, their use expanded and soon they were covering entire buildings with multicolored geometric designs. This became very expensive and by the twentieth century they were again used as decorative accents. The two applications on this church's porch are moderate in size, 9 tiles wide by 8 tiles high (about 36 inches by 32 inches). One shows the last supper at the moment when Jesus offers the cup of wine. The other shows Mary appearing to the locals in the story that resulted in the building of the initial chapel where the church now stands. This technique of painting representative scenes directly on tiles was not begun until the sixteenth century and not perfected until the late seventeenth century. That period and the eighteenth century were the 'Golden Age' of azulejo art. These two scenes are done in the typical blue/white style of Delft china. They're signed by Manuel Souza Pereira and dated 1936. During the Art Nouveau movement of the twentieth century azulejo art had a resurgence that is still alive.
The square in front of the church has a great view of the harbor and city. The Prinsendam was easily the largest ship in port today, a status she does not often enjoy. There's a statue of Charles I of Austria there and he sure has a view worthy of an emperor.
Groups are starting to arrive at the wicker sleigh starting point so we descended the 74 stairs and joined the line. The ride is about a mile, about half the distance they used to travel when they were used as transportation. The last part of the trip would be through the heavily traveled streets of Funchal, not a very wise idea.
Two men dressed in white shirts and pants with straw skimmer hats alternately pull and ride the sleigh down the hill. They each have a rope hooked to the front of the sleigh's runners. They use this rope to whip you on your way and then each jumps on the back of one of the runners like the musher on a dog sled. They ride until the sleigh starts to go to slowly and then they jump off and whip you ahead again. Most parts of the hill are steep enough to keep the sleigh going quite nicely but occasional flat spots where a street crosses the road cause them to jump off and give you a boost. You probably never go faster than about 20 mph but they make the sled slide sideways and if you seem to be having fun they'll take you very close to the walls along the street and fast around the corners.
It's fun and Diana wants to do it every time we're here. They slow the sleigh by making it slide sideways. I could smell the wooden runners heating up. To help with the friction, the pilots (I thought about calling them drivers, guiders, pullers and even mushers but settled on pilots) carry grease soaked rags that they place on the street and drag the sleigh's runners over. The ride only lasts about 10 minutes but it's a unique experience and Diana loves it. I have to admit, I like it myself.
Our next stop was an embroidery shop. These places are somewhat unique. They design and produce embroidered items from wine bibs to large tablecloths. In the shop we visited they design the patterns and then produce the templates used to mark the pattern on the cloth. The templates are then painstakingly traced with a punch that produces the transfer paper. They wash and prepare the cloth and transfer the design's template to the cloth by placing the transfer paper on it and rubbing it with a sponge wetted with a water soluble blue solution. Once the cloth is marked with the pattern they use the water-soluble liquid to mark the colors to be used on the pattern.
The cloth and thread of the proper colors are then packaged and delivered to ladies all over the island that do the actual embroidery and any other sewing needed. For example, they make blouses so in addition to the embroidery; the blouse has to be assembled. Once that is completed the cloth is returned to the shop and washed again, ironed and put in inventory. The only additional processing here involves cutting the material away from some of the design if the embroidery surrounds a space that's a hole. The ladies who do that are really under pressure. They work with very small scissors and have to trim the cloth very close to the sewing but, of course, can't cut the embroidery threads. They work using lighted magnifiers and it's tedious, exacting work.
The finished products are beautiful. Some of it has so much of the material cut away it looks very much like lace. The shop has a retail outlet and the finished products are not cheap. The work is extremely well done and probably a good deal but I don't think I'd look that good in an embroidered blouse. Diana, however, did and we bought a simple white blouse with white embroidery. Very classy!
We decided to leave the tour downtown as they are heading back to the ship from here. Last time we were here we got tickets to the 'Hop on, Hop off' double-decker bus that circulates the city. That was fun and it gave me a pretty good idea of where things are in town so since the day was very pleasant we decided to walk.
The sidewalks and pedestrian streets are all cobbled here. The cobbles are white and the same gray color as the stone used to build the older buildings. They work designs into the walkways that are very attractive. Some are geometrical but others are representational. One popular subject is the caravel type sailing ship used by the Portuguese for exploring in the 1700s. It really adds a lot to the public spaces.
On our way across town we came upon a somewhat unique sight. Apparently this weekend is a flower festival and the median of the main cross-town street is being lined with flowers. The display takes up about 2 to 4 feet of the center of the median and consists of greenery and flowers laid out in various designs and patterns. They use flowers from daisies to orchids and the display goes on continuously for blocks. Well, it is interrupted by cross streets but where the median is uninterrupted, so is the display. Parts of it were done but other parts were still under construction. First they put down a base of greenery that lays flat on the sidewalk. Then they put metal forms on top of the greens to help place the flowers to create a pattern. Some areas are done freehand without a form. It looks like a very colorful carpet of flowers going down the street and it smells pretty good too.
After that it was back to the ship to prepare for our 4PM sail away. The location of the city should make this a pretty one. And it was!
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
#40 Flamenco Pictures
#40 Cádiz, Spain
May 3 Cádiz, Spain. We've been here twice before but it's a great city so it's always fun to come back.
Cádiz (Ca'-dis) is on a small peninsula that juts out into the Bay of Cádiz. If your shoulder were the mainland, if you extend your arm, Cádiz would be on your fist. It's the home of the best flamenco, at least in my opinion, and sherry.
Once again our friends the Phoenicians were the first settlers, this time followed by the Carthaginians and then the Romans. It was a thriving port in Roman times but became a forgotten backwater under the Visigoths and the Moors. Under Spanish control it became important again as the starting point for many of the voyages to the newly discovered Americas. It claims to be Europe's oldest city. Cádiz in on the Costa de la Luz (The Coast of Light). It's just outside the Mediterranean Sea before the Strait of Gibraltar. On the other side of the strait past Gibraltar on the Mediterranean is the Costa del Sol (Coast of the Sun).
Politically Incorrect (but accurate) Historical Viewpoint: It has become popular to point out that since there were already people living in the Americas, the Europeans didn't discover anything. How many times have we all had to endure a lecturer, documentary filmmaker or newscaster whining, "Those Europeans didn't discover anything, people were already there." Well that's such a load of horse pucky that you could fertilized all the farms in Kansas for the next hundred years with it if you could just get it in a cart and ship it there. Those manipulative, agenda driven hacks are counting on us to be ignorant or gullible enough to believe them and parrot back their drivel on command. Get any competent dictionary and look up the word discover. Never mind, I'll do it right here. To discover: 1. to see, get knowledge of, learn of, find, or find out; gain sight or knowledge of (something previously unseen or unknown): to discover America (I was so pleased to find this example in the dictionary) ; to discover electricity (this is not in italics as it is not my opinion but taken directly from the dictionary). Notice that although electricity has been in existence since creation we can correctly say it was 'discovered'. Various European explorers were the first of their continent to see, get knowledge of, learn of, find the Americas so they definitely 'discovered' America under definition number 1 (the meanings are usually listed in order by common use in the dictionary). 2. to notice or realize: I discovered I didn't have my credit card with me when I went to pay my bill. Definition 2 really doesn't apply except in the sense that they did 'notice' the Americas. 3. To notice or learn, especially by making an effort: got home and discovered that the furnace wasn't working. Those pesky European explorers certainly made 'an effort' in learning of these lands so I think they would qualify under definition 3. 4. To be the first, or the first of one's group or kind, to find, learn of, or observe. Again, they were the first of their group or kind to find, learn of and observe the Americas so they would qualify as the discoverers under definition 4. It's fairly easy to see that in every sense of the word discover the European explorers did in fact DISCOVER the Americas. Definitions 1,3 and 4 clearly fit and only one has to apply to qualify your use of the word as proper. Is it any wonder I grow weary of the sloppy mental processes that pass for thought in the mass media of the USA. We should be outraged and yet most of us sit passively by and let our culture be corrupted by these nonsensical notions. None of us should tolerate fools lightly. Unfortunately I don't speak out as often as I should but I am getting better as I get older. There now don't you feel better? I know I do.
Sir Frances Drake attacked Cádiz to try to gain control of trade with the Americas. Cádiz was among the few Spanish cities that withstood the siege of Napoleon and the country's first constitution was declared here in 1812. Cape Trafalgar is nearby. Today there's a nice lighthouse almost at the cape's point but in 1805 it was the site of one of the most famous and important sea battles in history. It was just offshore here that my hero (I hear you all groaning, "Oh no, not more drivel about that pesky Nelson. Sorry!) Viscount Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson whipped the combined Spanish and French fleets, a loss from which neither empire ever recovered. Despite being greatly out numbered and completely out gunned (the combined French and Spanish fleet not only had more ships, their ships, individually, had more guns) the inventive and bold Nelson damaged, captured or sank a great portion of the fleet. In those days ships were power and the French and Spanish were unable or unwilling to reenter the naval competition that had been going on for over 200 years. Unfortunately, to inspire his men Nelson insisted on being in his full dress uniform on the deck of the lead ship, rather than direct the engagement from a command ship at a safe distance. A French sniper in the rigging of one of the enemy ships saw him and he was mortally wounded. He refused to die until the engagement was over and the enemy was completely vanquished. He was put in a cask of rum for the voyage home to England and at his funeral; his men drank a toast to him with that rum. To this day in the English Navy rum is referred to as Nelson's Blood. We visited his tomb in the crypt of St. Paul's Cathedral in London and stayed in a hotel just off Trafalgar Square. Don't tell me I don't honor my heroes.
This time we've decided to take a walking tour of Cádiz and see some flamenco dancing at a small club. Since we are docked across the street from downtown I thought our walking tour might just leave from the ship but they are including a drive around the new part of town first so we had to climb on a bus. We encountered a sculpture in the center of a traffic circle right downtown that looked like an open padlock. The open end of the hasp was shaped like the nib of a fountain pen. The intended message is that the pen can unlock the chains of mankind and the monument is dedicated to the institution of the democratic reforms that ended the grip of the military on the government of Spain. It's a fine image as far as it goes but I'm afraid that it's somewhat naïve. It was also a stroke of the pen that sent millions of people to concentration camps and death in WWII and countless atrocities through the ages. It's the selfless and wise use of the pen that makes the difference. Despite the problems with it's message, it's a very interesting sculpture and certainly inventive.
We drove past several schools that had knots of students outside waiting for classes to begin. These scenes are interchangeable almost anywhere in the western world. If it were not for the name of the school being in Spanish you could not differentiate these kids from the kids in any Flyover Country US city in the early spring. California kids dress differently at least in SoCal where I lived for so long.
Our first photo stop was at the beach near the Castillo de Santa Catalina (Saint Catherine). The tide was out and many of the small boats were grounded. It made a nice picture with the fort in the background. These forts were built to protect against the raids of pirates like the dreaded pirate Drake. Of course in English history he's Sir Frances Drake but to the Spanish he was a dastardly devil. Funny how that works out sometimes. Drake was one of the prime players when Elizabeth I took on and burnt the Spanish Armada. I'm pretty sure that the Spanish, and for that matter the French, are not too fond of my personal hero Lord Nelson but since he never raided civilian areas they don't hate him as much as they do Drake.
The Spanish in Colombia tell a story about Drake that I'm not sure is true but it's a good one anyway. Apparently Drake sailed up to Cartagena Colombia and sent an emissary in to tell them that if they brought all their gold and silver to the wharf and turned it over to him he'd let them go in peace. They claim that's what they did and he sacked and burned the city anyway. Could be true, could be false or the truth might be somewhere in between.
We went in and out of the old city wall several times during the trip, sometimes through arches that were added to ease traffic flow and sometimes through very narrow original openings. We did drive by the main gate and tower that are no longer in use. There's a very wide arch through the wall to accommodate the large amount of traffic in and out of the city.
We left the bus at almost the same place we had boarded it and walked across the street into the old city. The old town is filled with beautiful Eighteenth Century buildings.
Pop Quiz: I used to love to hear the groans when I said those words to my college accounting students. (What I didn't tell them until after the quiz was that I didn't grade it but allowed them to grade it themselves and keep it as a reminder of which areas might need a little more study.) So here's the question. Which years are included in the Eighteenth Century AD? Well I never said it was going to be hard.
Answer: January 1701 AD through December 1800 AD. Remember no year 0 and the First Century was 1 100.
The Congressional Building looks a lot like Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia, maybe you know it better as Independence Hall. Not all that surprising as they were built in the same era, very neoclassical, columns and all. The version in the Pennsylvania Colony is much less ornate because the artisans and materials for the carvings and external decoration were not readily available in the New World and the cost to add those touches would have been astronomical.
In front of the building they have some flower arrangements that look like giant, about 7.5 foot tall, gumdrops. One stand was done in horizontal stripes of color while the other was one color. They were very attractive and Diana had to have her picture taken with one of them.
After entering the old city through a very small gate in the wall we passed the Hijas de la Caridad (Daughters of Charity) Convent of Saint Vincent de Paul. These nuns were active here in the city for 137 years but the convent was closed in 2009. The city now owns the very attractive building and has plans to convert it to use as a museum.
The stroll through the narrow streets was very pleasant. Everything was built in the 1700-1800s and the homes and public buildings were very attractive. After passing through the Pink Arch (Arco de la Rosa. Rosa is one of those 'part of speech and gender' dependant Spanish words. As an adjective it always means pink, as a feminine noun it means rose and as a masculine noun it means pink again. Since in this case it modifies Arch, it's pink arch instead of rose arch. I'm writing about this as a reminder to myself as I always forget to check gender when translating Spanish and Greek.) we entered the older medieval walled quarter of the city. Dating from 1100 to about 1350 many of the structures have been updated and modified since they were originally constructed. Some of the original façades have been carefully maintained and are wonderful to see.
The Plaza de la Cathedral is a bit unusual as it has two large churches on its perimeter, the Cathedral on the south side and the Santiago Church on the west side. One thing that's also a little different here is that the Baroque (1600-1750) Cathedral that was altered to neoclassical style (1750-1920) by the time is was completed. The neoclassical style had some staying power and it wasn't until the advent of Art Deco that it was finally muscled aside as a dominant style. The Santiago Church is definitely Baroque and was started in the style's sweet spot, the year 1635. The Cathedral, on the other hand was not started until 1776 at the end of the Baroque Period. Construction continued for 116 years. During that period rococo (1650-1800?) elements were added and it was finally completed in the neoclassical style.
From the Cathedral Plaza we visited the Flower Square, San Antonio Square and Plaza de la Mina on our way across town to our ultimate destination the La Cava Taverna de Flamenco.
When we were here last time they brought a folkloric group onto the ship to perform and I think it was the Quadro Flamenco La Cava. Now I would never have remembered that but I travel with pdfs of all my old travel journals on my computer so I can look things up in them. The note I made about this group was that it was the best flamenco I had ever seen, and I've seen quite a bit. I don't know if the Taverna is related to that group or not but maybe I can find out.
The taverna wound up being a very small place with a T shape. The small stage is where the bars of the T cross facing toward the long bar. Everyone gets a very good view of the action. We were treated to some tapas, olives, bread, manchago (from La Mancha) cheese and thinly sliced, air cured ham (probably Serrano) all delicious.
When the dancers, two ladies, one man, a male singer and a guitarist walked on the stage my question was answered. It's the same group we saw two years ago on the ship. The male dancer and one of the ladies were the same but the singer, guitarist and the other lady dancer were different. We agreed that the man was the best we had every seen but Diana and I had disagreed as to who the best lady dancer was last time. I was happy to see that my favorite lady was back. It's a phenomenon that I can't really explain but male flamenco dancers are uniformly thin, and I do mean thin. Conversely, female flamenco dancers are also uniform but they are usually substantial women at least from the waist down. From the waist up they may or may not be substantial but they are never thin. The dancing was fantastic. Again the male dancer was the undisputed king of the dance. His work was athletic, graceful, powerful and dynamic. No one in the audience or on the stage could take their eye off him. It was not hot in the taverna but when he finished his shirt looked like it had been dunked in a bucket of water. At flamenco you can shout 'bravo' but the real shout is 'ole'. He got plenty of both from us and from his fellow performers. The ladies were both excellent. Again I thought the blonde dancer in the red/orange dress was the best and Diana agreed. I would not have been at all surprised if she like the other lady better, it was that close. It was a great show, the group was every bit as good as I remembered.
On the walk back to the ship we passed through the Plaza de España, a large square across the street from the port. It is dominated by the Monument to the Constitution of 1812, a huge marble structure with a multitude of statues. It was erected in 1912 to mark the Hundredth Anniversary of the constitution, which was issued in Cádiz. We waited directly across the street from the pedestrian gate to the port that's about 20 yards from the gangway. HAL had a bus pick us up and drive us to the vehicle entrance to the port, about a mile in distance and drive us to the parking lot near the ship's pier, a walk of about 10 yards. We all got a good laugh about that. I almost skipped the bus ride but I took it anyway because I thought it would be great to have the shortest bus ride ever in Cádiz.
Back aboard I went up to the lido to have some tea and maybe a snack. I met some friends up there and we sat and watched the comings and goings in the port. The only excitement we had was an ambulance that showed up we thought to disembark an ill passenger from the Prinsendam. After a very long time we discovered we were wrong. There was a lady already in the back of the ambulance that was going to sail on the ferry to the Canary Islands. Why she had to sit in it for so long I'm not sure.
Because we are not leaving until 11PM they had another deck BBQ. This time they brought out the giant paella pan and that's a huge attraction for me. I love the stuff and again the ship's chefs did a great job.
After dinner we went to the folkloric show Thom has gotten on board. It was Cuadro Flamenco La Cava again. The man and my favorite lady were still with them but two younger dancers accompanied them. Most excellent flamenco dancers seem to be older, 30-45. The younger ones may be more limber and energetic but the expression isn't mature enough to be great. They can really move their feet but flamenco relies more heavily on posture, arm and head position, facial expression and manipulation of costume (especially for women) than most dance styles. At least it seems like that to me. The young just haven't had time to develop all that. The men hold their jackets and use them as part of the dance but the women, with their long dresses, fitted at the top but two layered and full at the bottom, really use them to great expressive advantage. The show was excellent. I'm glad we saw them at the taverna because I think Flamenco is like basketball. You need to do it on a wooden floor that has some flex for it to be really good. The stage at the taverna had that; the stage on the ship does not. The rock hard surface changes a lot of things about the mechanics of the dance and is probably way harder on the legs. Consequently the dancers were working way harder for less result.