Grand Canary

Yes, folks, we ARE still alive. Thanks to all that have emailed/called to check, given the paucity of blog updates. Been remarkably unmotivated to log on and update the blog, however. We're in Las Palmas on Grand Canary Island right now, and will be for 4 more days, with good internet access, so we MIGHT get caught up with past excursions.

For now, though, Phil celebrated his 62nd birthday by leaving the ship for dry land, and checking into the quaint and charming Hotel Madrid. We really feel like we're in the old country - the cafe on the first floor is full of friendly people, all babbling simultaneously in Spanish, from 11am until well past 2am. Various wandering musicians, some quite good. Our room is on the second floor, with high ceilings, a balcony door that is either open to light and sound, or sound only, no heat or air conditioning, and furniture dating back to the time the building was built in the 1920's. The only improvement we were able to detect was WiFi and indoor plumbing (neither of which worked all that good). Here is a panorama shot from our balcony, followed by a view of the hotel with Margie sitting on our balcony in the lower left corner.














The church above was under construction when Chris stopped by the Canaries on his way to discover India. Wonderful museum behind the church dedicated to the Admiral. Having just crossed the ocean in a relatively small cruise ship (250 passengers), it was fun trying to imagine his voyage, off to meet dragons, savages, and who knows what else, in ships only a little bigger than what Matt is building in his back yard!

We're still finalizing our plans for the next month, but at this point it looks likely we will sail back across the pond on a freighter. Nothing's definite yet, but she might look like:













This frigate, by the way, was twice as big as Chris' largest ship. And, of course, we can only hope to be accompanied by an able crew: "Arrg, I can see the whites of their eyes, FIRE!!!"