Wednesday, 24 April 2013

Oriana - Day 5 - Malaga


Day 5 Malaga

Finally – landfall. I was up on deck at 7.30 am to watch us arrive at Malaga. Although I have been here twice before, I have always done tours so, as we only have half a day, we are just going to explore. The sun was just rising as I watched us enter port. Costa Deliziosa arrived shortly after us and sped on ahead to berth first – or perhaps we were holding back to see she didn’t hit us !
 
 
There was a free shuttle to the main dock gates which were a very short walk to the Cathedral and centre of the old town. All around us parakeets were gathering twigs and building nests in the palm trees. We wandered through the narrow Spanish streets, going first to the Cathedral. A service was in progress and we were the last allowed in before the main doors were shut. I am not a fan of the Continental style of Cathedral as a rule but have to say this one was stunning. Since we only had a morning here we didn’t get that far but I liked what I saw and would love longer to explore. I left Caryll to find a WiFi café whilst I returned to the ship. Now someone tell me why – when in the UK we are so H&S conscious - someone decided to build a sloping brick path near the pick-up point with tiny 2” steps in it!  Of course I tripped, although fortunately managed to catch hold of the handrail before I fell.
 
It was now a lovely warm and sunny day. In other words – proper cruising weather – although not very Christmassy! After a quick lunch (in the MDR of course) I went and sat on deck and sunbathed and watched the 175 sailaway until shuffleboard at 3pm. Now the decks are drier I found my form and won today’s tournament with partner Alan. A quick visit to the cabin revealed our Peninsular badges on the bed (the champagne arrived last night!). In view of the weather – the prom deck beckoned and with the glassy, calm sea, it was easy to spot several pods of dolphins, some of which were playing in the wake. I



It is casual/60s/70s tonight so it didn’t take that long to get ready and we went to Andersons for a pre-dinner cocktail. I have to admit I miss the usual nibbles (suspended during the Noro precautions), but it is probably doing me a lot of good!  In fact generally, by only being able to eat in the MDR at specific times it is doing wonders for my diet. However I was getting a bit fed up with the lack of flexibility caused by not having the buffet, BUT, as I was having a drink and waiting for the others, the Captain came over the tannoy to say the Conservatory will open from 6.30am tomorrow, albeit with food being served to us. Wonderful! Now we are into warm and sunny weather I love to eat breakfast and lunch outdoors. Dinner was superb again as is becoming usual on this cruise – avocado and feta salad, yellow fin tuna and a tart. After dinner,  I felt like a change and went to the casino. That was a good move since I went with £10 and came out with £55! Let’s hope the weather tomorrow will be as good as today, although I seem to have left all my sleeveless tops in the reject pile back home!

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