Postcard from Minerva - August-September 2011

On Friday afternoon of 19 August I left London by minicab and reached Portsmouth Passenger Terminal at 4 o’clock. It didn’t take long to ‘bump into’ the Captain and the Swan team, and I discover my friend Rutters is back on board, this time as Cruise Director! I soon embarked on Minerva and after a safety drill, we departed Portsmouth at 6pm. By 7.15 we were cruising along ‘my beach’ at East Wittering! I had a good table at dinner and afterwards had a few nightcaps with Rutters!

On Saturday morning I was up early to watch us drop anchor at Sark. After a swift breakfast I was on the first tender ashore and spent two hours walking all around the island – a really lovely morning. The sun then came out so I was on the first tender back to the ship and I spent the rest of the day on the top deck in glorious sunshine. In the evening it was the Welcome party, and at the last minute [thanks to a seasick passenger] I joined the Captain’s table and we had a fun evening. The following day was at sea – the morning was fairly dreary, but the sun came out in the afternoon, and I went to the sun deck for a few hours. We had a bit of fun as the Captain was up there too and he suddenly noticed some fin whales, so he rushed down to the Bridge and he kept the ship with the whales for about half an hour, followed by a few dolphins! That evening there was a poor Show which I watched for a while and then had a couple of nightcaps before retiring.

At 7.30am on Monday 21st we arrived in a rather damp and foggy La Coruna, but by 8.45 I was off on a tour of the town by coach, and then we drove to the delightful town of Betanzos, where we had a very good walking tour, even it was in rather damp and dreary conditions. We still had rather cool weather for our arrival at 8.30am in Leixoes, Portugal the next morning. I went on an interesting excursion to Braga, which took us almost an hour to reach. We had an interesting visit to Bon Jesus, an amazing shrine/church high up above Braga, and we then spent an hour walking around Braga itself, sadly in cool and cloudy conditions. This week I had a few early nights with very little to drink as I had put myself on some antibiotics to try and kill a nasty cough that was getting the better of me.

Wednesday was a lovely sunny day at sea and saw quite a few dolphins during the day. In the evening I met up with a new friend, Miriam, for a drink on the back deck in the sunshine and it was nice that we stayed there for our dinner. Around 8am on Thursday we arrived in Cadiz with a wonderful sunrise, and I took myself off on a short walk around Cadiz for an hour or so. We departed Cadiz for Malaga at 3pm and I spent the afternoon soaking up the sunshine on the top deck. In the evening after dinner we sailed by Gibraltar and then I watched the excellent Crew Show

On Friday 26th we arrived in Malaga at 6.30am, which I got up to watch. I heard from Captain Giovanni that we had been involved in a rescue overnight – some people in a zodiac were taking on water. I spent that day quietly on board as I have been to Malaga many times before. Sadly I got badly stung on the top deck, but hopefully with plenty of Anthisan cream it will calm down. That evening I had a lovely dinner á deux with Lech, the Hotel Director, and then listened to an excellent after dinner talk on opera with music by James Naughtie. The next day we arrived at Cartegena around 11.30am and in the afternoon I went on an excursion to see the highlights of Cartegena. It is a delightful little town and in the evening Miriam, and I went into the town for a tapas dinner and had a few drinks on the quayside before returning to the ship for departure at midnight. Sunday was a day at sea which I spent on the top deck even though it was not that sunny. In the evening I had a lovely dinner with Rutters, Miriam and Peter the Purser, finishing up, needless to say, with a few nightcaps in the Shackleton Bar.

Early on Monday 29 August we arrived in the beautiful little town of Mahon in Menorca on a lovely sunny morning. I went on a scenic drive around the island, visiting an archaeological site, El Toro mountain and church, and the pretty little town of Fornells. On return I took myself on a walk around Mahon before returning to the ship. Then I was lucky enough to be on The Bridge for a wonderful cruise out of Mahon Harbour. On Tuesday, we anchored off the port of Alghero in Sardinia. I went into the little town and spent the morning walking around the Old Town. I stopped for an Aperol Spritzer during the morning; a little later on I met with Miriam, and we repaired to another bar near to the port so that we could catch the 2.30 tender back to the ship. We arrived at the delightful little town of Calvi, Corsica, at 8am the next morning and the Captain had a very tricky manoeuvre to get us into our berth. I went on a wonderful excursion around Corsican villages in and around Calvi which was fantastic – great views and great places. On return I had a quick lunch and then walked Calvi for an hour before retiring to the top deck. In the evening it was the Farewell Party and I joined my new friends Anne and John at their table which was fun, We followed it with a few nightcaps on the back deck! The following morning we arrived in Livorno very early, and I went off on a tour of the lovely little town of Lucca in glorious sunshine. Half way through the morning I heard that my friend Nona was now very ill indeed with cancer, and I may not even see her again. After visiting a few churches to say a few prayers, I then sat and had a strong Aperol Spritzer in the sunshine.

Just before dinner on Thursday 1st there was an announcement that Minerva was going into dry dock in November for 3-4 months to have a major upgrade done and it would start at the end of November. Hence my Christmas holiday on board was thrown out of the window. Sadly I have already booked my expensive flights which will be difficult to get back. So I wasn’t in the best of moods but I had been invited to have a pre-birthday drink with my friend ‘Rutters’, so I toddled up to the Wheeler Bar to meet him. However when I arrived I was taken to the Card Room to find all my friends on board – Captain, Officers, all the Swan team and one or two passengers who I had become friendly with, and they all greeted me with Happy Birthday! They plied me with champagne for an hour then all the passengers took me off to dinner in the dining room, and that was of course followed by a few nightcaps. A lovely party, though tinged with sadness because of my friend Nona, and the major re-fit over Christmas. On Friday 2nd, my birthday, I had lots of cards and messages and then I went off on a boat trip around the canals of Livorno, as well as a tour of the Fortress. The afternoon was spent partly in an internet café and partly on the top deck. In the evening a bottle of wine and a birthday cake were delivered to my cabin from ‘the Ship’s company’ and then I met up with Captain Giovanni for drinks, dinner and nightcaps. The birthday cake was re-produced for ‘pud’ and ‘Happy Birthday’ again!

On Saturday 3rd I went back into Lucca for a tour of Palazzio Pfanner during the morning; the afternoon was spent on the top deck after another visit to the internet café. At 6 o’clock that we evening we sailed for Messina and then we had the Welcome Party and I was at the table of the Hotel Director. The next day was a quiet day at sea, except for a party for ‘Singles’ at lunch time. In the evening after a good table at dinner, I went to join my friend Barbara in her suite to watch Stromboli erupting as we close cruised. In fact we then went to the back deck and joined some Swan friends as the Captain sailed around Stromboli for two hours and we saw some spectacular eruptions. Very early on the morning of Monday 5th September we arrived in Messina in Sicily, and I went on a ‘panoramic tour’ of the City. We arrived at our final stop in the Cathedral square in time to watch the amazing Cathedral clock at midday – a gold lion roared, a gold cock crowed, angels going around Mary sang Ava Maria, and a little church rose up in a window. All quite amazing! That afternoon we sailed for Brindisi in Italy, where we arrived at 1.30pm the following afternoon. I took an excursion to Otranto, a delightful little town about an hour and a half along the coast. Later that evening we sailed for Venice.

After a quiet day at sea on the top deck, I went to drinks in Barbara’s suite with the Swan team and the Captain and officers so that was a fun party. Then very early on Thursday 8 September we cruised into Venice – sadly it was rather dark and misty but we had some pretty good views. In the morning I visited two Palladio villas which were absolutely wonderful although our guide was rather too verbose! I spent the afternoon wandering around Venice and enjoying an aperol spritzer on the Grand Canal. In the evening Captain Giovanni rather let me down after suggesting dinner ashore, which needless to say never materialised – I will say no more other than never trust an Italian! On Friday morning we arrived in Pula at 8am and thankfully managed to berth rather having to anchor. I went on an excellent tour to the most wonderful little town of Rovinj – the blue pearl of the Adriatic. I spent a great morning wandering around the town. On my return I did a quick walk around Pula before returning to the ship. That evening I heard that my friend Nona was in a coma, and she died the next morning, so a rather sad time for me.

On Saturday 10th we were in Hvar in Croatia and I took the tender in for a walk around the Town for an hour or two, and then returned to the ship for an afternoon on the top deck, although I did visit the Bridge for our departure. Quite late that evening I watched us berth in Dubrovnik and then went along to the crew show.. I spent the following morning relaxing on the top deck in glorious sunshine, and in the afternoon I went into Dubrovnik and ‘walked the walls’. It was a very good walk, albeit in very very hot weather – we think about 100 degrees! So we returned to the ship fairly exhausted! Early on Monday morning I was up to watch us cruise – for an hour and a half – through the Montenegro fjord before arriving at the delightful little town of Kotor at 7.30am. Later in the morning I did an excursion to visit Sveti Stefan, where there is a colourful hotel on a little island, and then we went on to visit the old town of Budva – not the most exciting of towns. On my return to the ship, I did swift turn-around and went off again to walk around the old town of Kotor. I also walked for 20 minutes up the steep steps to the castle, but decided that I had walked high enough when I saw someone being brought down on a stretcher, so I didn’t get right up to the castle. As it was another very hot day I thought it better to return to the ship while I was still in one piece! At 3 o’clock we set sail for Albania and once again sailed through the picturesque Montenegro fjord.

On Tuesday 13th we anchored off Sarande in Albania, but having there been before I decided to relax in the sunshine on the top deck all day which was very relaxing. In the evening it was the Farewell party and dinner and I joined two of my Swan Hellenic friends at their table for a very jolly evening. Very early the next morning we arrived in Itea and I took a stroll around the little town in the morning and then, except for a visit to the Captain to exchange photos, I spent the whole day on the top deck in glorious weather. In the evening I met up with some friends on the back deck and we stayed there for dinner under the stars. About 11pm we sailed for Corinth, where we arrived the next morning just before 7am with another beautiful sunrise. I visited Old Corinth, which was not up to much, but then we went up to Acrocorinth to walk up to the fortress, which was absolutely amazing. The climb up to the top was quite a challenge, but there were some amazing views from the top. However the climb down was even more of a challenge, as some of the cobbles were very slippery.

Once back at the ship I had an hour or so on the top deck and then I was very lucky and privileged to be allowed on the Bridge to watch us go through the Corinth Canal. As always it is a memorable journey through the Canal. Minerva only just squeezes through, and in fact we were able to touch the trees from the Bridge wing as we transited. It takes about an hour and a quarter to make the whole journey as we go very slowly indeed. Once through, I then went tried to sort out some future cruises for when the ship is back in service after its major refit, and then it time to start packing for departure tomorrow. I was just sorted in time to watch us arrive in Piraeus at 8.30pm. Then a quick dinner, finish packing, a nightcap and bed! The last morning was fairly relaxed – went to the Bridge to say ‘goodbye’ to Giovanni and then left the ship at 10.30 to catch the 2pm flight to Heathrow, and I was home by 5pm, within an hour of landing!