Sunday, November 7 - At sea off the coast of Africa

Well, I’m onboard the Ovation and spent my first night at sea in two and a half years. On Friday after my arrival in Lisbon and transfer to the hotel, the Four Seasons Hotel Ritz, I was completely exhausted. I lay down for a doze (I wouldn’t call it a nap) and when I got up an hour later I intended to get cleaned up and then dress and go exploring a little. That didn’t happen. By the time I showered I was so tired that I ordered room service, for the first time in my entire life, and then crashed for the night. Saturday morning I awoke to a gorgeous sunny, albeit cold day. There was a lovely breakfast buffet and then it was time to pack and get ready for my pickup to the ship. A word about the hotel. It is a beautiful old grand hotel which has been renovated recently. It’s in a great location and from the roof, where the fitness center is located with an outdoor jogging track, there are spectacular views of the city. Does it count as exercise that I walked around the track to take some photos? I think I’m going to count it. The plaza of the Marquis de Pombal, a central plaza in Lisbon.

Around 12:30 my car and driver came and we went off to the port. As we drove through the city my driver told me that things were getting back to normal. Portugal has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world. Check-in was easy. They did ask to see the results of the PCR test I had done at home. Then I was on the ship and my suite was ready. It’s quite spacious and I will survive there for 23 days. At 5:00 PM we sailed away. It was spectacular! The sun was setting to the west as we headed west down the Tagus River. That river is the longest on the Iberian Peninsula rising in mideastern Spain and flowing generally westward for 625 miles before emptying in the Atlantic near Lisbon. Setting sun behind 25th of April Bridge which looks a lot like the Golden Gate Bridge in color and is also a suspension bridge

The Monument of the Discoveries with Prince Henry the Navigator leading other Portuguese explorers. We sometimes forget that at one time the Pope divided the world between the Spanish and the Portuguese.

There was a nice sailaway party on deck, a little chilly though. After that there was a gathering for solo travelers. The assistant cruise director hosted and I met three nice ladies. We went to dinner together and laughed a lot. Two of them have done two world cruises already and are booked on another for 2023. I’m not sure I could stay on a ship for that long. After dinner which lasted quite long I was off to bed. I’m still catching up to the time differenmce. We were four hours ahead of the east coast but I think we’re now five hours different for the time being since you changed last night. Anyway, today is trivia and some of my new friends and I will form a team. There are some lectures today and I’ll see if they interest me. If not, I’ll write some more in my journal. Be well everyone.