Welcome to Falmouth, England. Sort of.
Every passenger whether staying onboard or going ashore had to go through a face to face immigration inspection today by the UKBF. (I had to look it up...United Kingdom Border Force). We were all assigned times and even though we were to arrive at 7:00 AM today, my scheduled time wasn't until 9:45.
The officials boarded late but the process went faster than expected and I got in ahead of time. Officials took a quick look at the passport, ship personnel had us scan our Medallion, handed us a card saying we had been cleared, and we were on our way to go get a tender ticket.
But no one was going anywhere yet. The fog horn blaring all night was a signal things were going to go a bit awry today.
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| Can you see the one lone tender out there? |
All those folks on all those shore excursions which should have left at 7:00, 8:00, and 9:00 were waiting. And waiting. And waiting. It wasn't until 10:00 when the fog cleared enough to launch and load the tenders.
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| Yes, there was land out there! |
When the Captain announced the journey each way was going to be 45 minutes I decided to pass.
90 minutes on a tender
+ at least another 30 minutes in loading and unloading
+ probably 30 or more minutes waiting in line
+ a short day anyway
= not enough time to leisurely explore Falmouth on a scooter
I’ll be back here again later this summer so I was okay with it and decided to stay onboard and take a little rest with the balcony door open. Listening to the lapping waves while breathing the cool damp sea air (as opposed to the frigid Arctic air) put me right to sleep. It was the rest my body needed.
Let's be honest, it's the rest my body is needing every single day. They say I should be getting better any day now and I'm definitely better than I was at my sickest, but I'm still so very tired. And the darn missing taste and smell is getting frustrating. I'm taking advice from all over the ship as some of the crew who have been with me this past month are trying to help me heal as well. The buffet is keeping me stocked with big bowls of lemons. Straight fresh lemon juice is the key to getting the taste buds activated, one says. Lukewarm water with fresh lemon says another. Lots of vegetables says another. Another tells me every time I take a bite I need to train my brain to remember what it tastes like - and toilet water thoughts are not an option! I've been following it all. My cabin steward keeps me supplied with pool towels and blankets so I can sit on the damp balcony, bundle up with blankets, and get fresh air. He's also given me a warm fuzzy blanket I use to take my frequent naps on the bed. And he hand delivers the Princess Patter every night even though I haven't made it to one activity.
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| Someone is out there living life today |
Despite my Super Sensational Solo Summer Adventure not exactly going as planned I'm still happy to be here and can't think of a better place to heal than on a ship at sea.
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| We received certificates for our Arctic Circle Crossing |
Tomorrow we're in Southampton where this cruise will end and another will begin. Some passengers will be leaving, others joining, and many will be staying on for the next journey like I am. There were several excursions available to London tomorrow, but since I've spent several days there before I went ahead and cancelled mine. It's a long drive and I need to save my energy for higher priority ports on the next cruise. To Norway!
Time zone changes so far: I think I missed one when I was sick so I'm giving up trying to keep track.