La versión español está después de la versión inglés.
Old friends of San Geraldo’s from his university days (I’ve only known them about 35 years) have been cruising the Mediterranean on a small (90-passenger) ship with an overnight stay in Málaga. We were looking forward to seeing them again and were invited by the onboard hotel manager to join them for dinner Monday evening.
They had an unpredictable trip the previous days. Seas were rough and they were forced to skip some planned stops. But the sun was again shining and the seas were calm. Unfortunately things wouldn’t remain that way.
We received a text message mid-day explaining that the itinerary had changed again. Weather was threatening and they were going to be sailing away Monday afternoon. “How soon can you get here?” Cindy asked.
We hopped on the train and got there about a half hour before we had planned. We went onboard for drinks, complements of the hotel manager, had a wonderful visit with Cindy and Darius and two of their friends, and then were unceremoniously hustled off the ship (really, they were very gracious, but it was definitely a hustle) and we then watched the ship race out of port trying to stay ahead of the weather on its way to Cartagena.
It was a great glass of wine but it couldn’t compare to the lobster dinner I had been anticipating. Still, Darius and Cindy and their friends were worth it.
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VIEJOS AMIGOS DE San Geraldo de su época universitaria (solo los conozco desde hace unos 35 años) han estado navegando por el Mediterráneo en un pequeño crucero (90 pasajeros) con una estancia de una noche en Málaga. Estábamos deseando volver a verlos y el gerente del hotel a bordo nos invitó a cenar con ellos el lunes por la noche.
Tuvieron un viaje impredecible los días anteriores. El mar eran difíciles y se vieron obligados a saltear algunas paradas planificadas. Pero el sol brillaba de nuevo y el mar estaban en calma. Desafortunadamente las cosas no seguirían siendo así.
Recibimos un mensaje de texto a mediodía explicando que el itinerario había cambiado nuevamente. El tiempo era peligroso y iban a zarpar el lunes por la tarde. “¿Qué tan pronto puedes llegar aquí?” preguntó Cindy.
Subimos al tren y llegamos aproximadamente media hora antes de lo que habíamos planeado. Nos subimos a bordo para tomar una copa, los complementos del gerente del hotel, tuvimos una visita maravillosa con Cindy y Darius y dos de sus amigos, y luego fuimos empujados sin ceremonias fuera del barco (en realidad, fueron muy amables, pero definitivamente fue un ajetreo) y luego observamos cómo el barco salía del puerto tratando de mantenerse a la vanguardia del clima en su camino hacia Cartagena.
Fue un gran vaso de vino, pero no podía compararse con la cena de langosta que había estado anticipando. Aun así, Darius y Cindy y sus amigos valieron la pena.
Always nice to see old friends!
Debra,
Very pleasant. Too brief. Jerry and Cindy were part of a student group that went to the USSR in 1969!
looks like an interesting ship/trip. seeing friends is better than a lobstah dinner (isn’t it?).
anne marie,
Sure it is. I mean definitely.
These pictures and spring air is stirring my dormant wanderlust (well, wanderlike) . I want to take another cruise! Maybe next year for our forty-fifth. Hawaii again, with no trip to the infirmary this time. Meeting up with old friends is always nice.
Deedles,
The size of this ship made us talk again about a cruise. But Jerry could only handle a river cruise, which I’d prefer anyway. And those are even smaller. We shall see.
With BH, the bigger the ship the better! It’s weird, I’m not a people person, but on a large cruise ship I lose a lot of my inhibitions (drinking all day, maybe?). I enjoy a lot of people on a floating city.
Good that you guys got to spend some time together.
90 person limit? Now that sounds doable.
Jim,
The first cruise ship I was on was for work in 2006. That was what Royal Caribbean told me was a small one. ONLY 2,600 passengers. Not for me!
Love those small cruises so very civilized.
Larry,uffin,
This was charming. We were intrigued. But for Jerry’s sake, we would do a river cruise.
You two are good friends! Too bad about the lobster, though! 🙂
Jennifer,
Oh well. And the sea and winds have been wild ever since. I hope it’s not ruining their trip.
Only big giant boat I ever been on was an old battleship-turned museum in Charleston SC
Adam,
I was on a couple of big cruise ships for work at my last company. Impressive but not my idea of fun… being on a floating hotel with thousands of other people. A river cruise on a boat even smaller than this one would be fun.
WIth his seafaring heritage, Jerry should be a natural on a cruise, we enjoyed the anonymity of the larger ships. The floating city at sea was great fun for a week.
David:
I think you’re better in groups than I am. I seem comfortable but am not. Jerry’s similar. I don’t know how much of Jerry’s ancestry was truly seafaring (well, maybe the Norwegians, but even then). I think they just used boats to leave one place and get to another… semi-permanently.
I don’t have a phobia about it, but a boat alone in the water as a storm approaches seems a bit foreboding to me. Instead of trying to beat it, I wonder why they just didn’t wait it out in port. Maybe that had jobs they eventually have to go back to.
Kirk:
They had to skip some planned stops before arriving in Málaga. I think they hoped to get to Cartagena before they could NOT get to Cartagena.