Britannia Cruise 2017

Tuesday September 12th 2017

Britannia continued on a series of north easterly courses overnight and throughout the day heading towards the Iberian Peninsula West Coast towards her next port of call, Cadiz. As ever, there was no shortage of things to do during our day at sea. Ian and Penny were teaching the Samba in the morning and the White City Waltz in the afternoon. Personal trainers were available in the Gym with "Secrets to a Flatter Stomach". I went to the Gym on a regular basis during the trip. I didn't stop there obviously. In order to get out on deck from the lifts at the stern of the ship, you had to go through the Gym.

There was a Roulette tournament at Brodie's Pub/Casino, an "informative and fascinating seminar about Emeralds", and a gin tasting, which sounded fun, but you only got 4 different styles of gin for £15.

I had deliberately chosen a starboard side suite, so we could get morning and early afternoon sun on our balcony on this trip back up north, and the weather played ball. We had nice sunshine and not too much wind, so we were able to sit out on the balcony and soak up some sunshine.

This evening was the smartest of the Black Tie Nights, the Black and White evening, followed by the Black and White Ball in the Crystal Room. Mum and I decided to skip the formalities, and have our meal in smart, casual dress in the Horizon self-serve restaurant. We had a great meal, as we could help ourselves to a large portion of garlic mushrooms to start, one of our favourite things, and then move quickly onto a large portion of sticky toffee pudding with custard. My only complaint was there was no skin on the custard, which is the best part. Wednesday September 13th 2017
We arrived in Cadiz at 7.00am, Well that's what the newsletter said would happen, we didn't stir until just before 9.00am. The southern Spanish coastline stretching from the Portuguese border up to Gibraltar is known as the Costa de la Luz. Cadiz, capital of the province of the same name, is the oldest inhabited town in the western world with 3,000 years of history. Standing at the top of a long peninsula, it is one of the largest ports on the Atlantic coast of Spain. It is a major shipyard and naval base, as well as being the port of shipment for the brandy and sherry from Jerez, and the olives and olive oil from Seville.

Cadiz has been visited by the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Visigoths and Moors. By 1770, as a result of trade with the American Colonies, Cadiz was a wealthier city than London. 30 years later, it was bombarded by Nelson, and it was from Cadiz that the Spanish fleet sailed that was destroyed at the Battle of Trafalgar. It was the capital of Spain under the Constitution of 1812.

The peninsular is long but thin. From our balcony in the port, I could see the cathedral which was on the opposite side of the peninsular, so nothing was a long walk away. However, long walk had to be defined based on the fact that the temperature was 31C. It was a short walk to the port entrance, but the gangplank was very steep, so Mum decided to stay safe on board. Once you turned off the Avenida del Puerto, you were in a maze of narrow cobbled streets. You'd think they were pedestrianised, but cars were allowed, but one way only. Don't ask me how you worked out which was the right way, there didn't seem to be any signs. I headed towards the cathedral square. En route I came across the Iglesia de Santiago Apostal, which was attached to a Jesuit College. Very ornate inside, with dressed statues of Mary and Jesus.

The cathedral construction was begun in 1722 in Baroque style, and finished in the mid 19th century in Neoclassical style. I didn't get inside because there was a queue to get in and it was too hot to stand in the sun, when I had wine to buy. The local fruit,veg and meat market was very organised in a gorgeous Gothic style building, but I bought local Cadiz wine from a Carrefour supermarket. I queued up with a number of the ships off duty Filipino staff, stocking up on snacks,drinks and condoms.

It was too hot to wander over to the other main tourist spot, the Tavira Tower. There are 170 steps up to the top of the tower, and often queues. At the top, there is a Camera Obscura, which projects a moving image of the surrounding town, as if you were standing inside a photographic camera.

This being out last port of call, at 4.00pm, there was a Great British" Sail away, and a number of people had brought their own Union Jack flags and hats. The Welsh specific song was Tom Jones Delilah, and the Scots, The Proclaimers, 500 miles. That was the point I left. We could hear them from our Balcony. Rod Stewart Sailing and You'll Never Walk Alone were among those I recognised. Our departure was buzzed by two Spanish Air force harrier jets, in a Top Gun formation, and 2 Sea King helicopters. They were from the Juan Carlos 1st L61 multi-purpose amphibious assault ship, which was on manoeuvres from the naval base just north of Cadiz. Our waiters Milton and Shankar, and wine waiter Austin all asked where we'd been the night before. They'd missed us at the Black and White Black Tie do. After disembarking the pilot Britannia continued on an easterly towards th Cabo Sao Vincente traffic separation scheme.