Travelogue 3: Cruise on Legend of the Seas

We are home at last, but what a great trip it was. After 9 busy days in Barcelona, we boarded our Royal Caribbean ship on October 30, beginning five more days of an intense and full schedule. We had four ports of call: Alicante, Malaga, and Tenerife, all in Spain, and Madeira, Portugal. These days we were up early with a quick breakfast, then out the door for adventures in new places. I was ready for those long days at sea as we crossed the Atlantic to Florida. I needed the rest!

There were sights of beauty in Alicante:
  
Old castles and famous people (Picasso) in Malaga:
   
Madeira’s impressive city on a hill and a little village nestled in a valley amid steep crags:
  
Square pyramids and volcanic peaks in Tenerife:
   

On the ship, our Halloween costumes were a big hit, especially with the crew.

Our days crossing the Atlantic were made especially happy due to new friends, thanks to an online forum I joined before the cruise. I got to chat with others who would be on the cruise with us and arrange to meet them in person once we were on board, or earlier in Barcelona. We had a blast losing grandly at trivia every day. At least we never came in last!
 
These are great people and I already miss them. Thank goodness for Facebook!

Rick and I did our best to stay healthy by shunning the elevators and putting in three miles on the track as often as possible. We managed to log six or more miles every day, carefully balanced with too much rich food, ice cream, and daily shots from the bar. (We got to keep the glasses). Flush from our second place finish at ping pong doubles, we decided to tackle the rock wall:
  
I rang the bell! This was fun, and I’ll probably do it again, but one thing is for sure: I’m never doing this without a halter. No way, folks.

I also hosted a book discussion about Worlds Apart. The discussion meandered to my other books, as well. This was a fun group. Most of them don’t usually read SF or fantasy, but they were good sports about it, and some of them may even read it more often!

I could go on all day, but I’ll be merciful. Now it’s onto laundry, emails, and groceries. I’m happy to be back in my kitchen and happy to be eating my own food again. I didn’t gain any weight, thank goodness, but it’s time to return to restricted calories and good, simple food.

Except for the upcoming holidays, of course.