Out of Cyprus: last few days in Panama

It wasn't until we returned to near Panama City that we realised how good the weather had been during our break in Coronado. Perhaps that's why so many people have holiday homes in that area, and go there for weekends. When we returned the family and Tim to the Logos Hope on Sunday, we learned that it had rained, sometimes heavily, every day while we had been away.  In Coronado, we'd seen a few showers, some early mornings and evenings, but mostly it had remained fine and sunny.

We left the holiday villa around noon on Sunday 12th, and stopped for lunch at a Subway, followed by yet more ice creams at Gelarto. Esther fell asleep soon after getting back in the car, and it took us around an hour and a half to get back to the Logos Hope.

We wanted to see as much of the family as possible in our last few days, so we went onto the ship too on Sunday afternoon. Had I realised how high the tide was (and thus how steep the gangway was) I might have decided otherwise - but the pull of spending more time with David and Esther was strong. Becky acquired red 'shore guest' passes for us. We went to the 'fun deck' for a while with the children, as they had been stuck in the car and were full of energy. David showed Tim some of the ship, and we ate dinner there.  Afterwards, Richard read to David, and was joined by Esther:

We wanted to get to our guest house before eight o'clock if possible, and it was supposedly a half-hour drive. As the cabin was a bit crowded with seven of us, Richard and I departed shortly after 7.00pm.

Unfortunately Richard's phone navigation application isn't totally up-to-date for Panama. It tried to take us the shortest route, which was fine until we reached a barrier, with no way to get through. Richard phoned the lady who owns the guest house, and she spoke in Spanish to the man on duty at the barrier, but all we gathered was that we were in the wrong place.

So we back-tracked and tried a different route.. only to come up to another barrier, with another gated community (perhaps something military).  This time the guard was more helpful; he spoke a little English, and called a man on a motorbike to direct us. The man on the motorbike phoned someone else who told us in English where to go... and eventually we were on the right route, free of barriers.

In all, it took us over an hour and a half to reach our location. We could have got back to Coronado in that time! We were met by a friendly lady with reasonable English, who made us very welcome. She also has a padlocked high gate and large dogs - this seems to be very common here in Panama. We were shattered and slept well.

I didn't take photos of the guest house until Tuesday morning, by which time we had changed to a smaller rental car:

There's a little outside area, which we had to ourselves as the other guest room isn't yet finished:

Inside, the room is spacious and comfortable. The kitchen is well-equipped, with a fridge, coffee-machine and kettle. We hadn't been shopping, and were too tired to go out on a hunt for a supermarket after we arrived Sunday night. But we had some of Daniel's ground coffee with us for the morning, and some cereal bars which I'd bought in Cyprus for our flights.

When I opened the kitchen cupboard, I found various things, probably left by previous guests, including a jar of Coffee-Mate. This posed something of a moral dilemma as this product is made by a company whose products we don't buy, due to many of its unethical policies. However, we hadn't bought it ourselves. It appeared to be free of any ingredients that would give me a migraine or block Richard's ears, so we decided to use a couple of spoonfuls in the morning.

Thus we were able to have coffee and cereal bars for breakfast on Monday morning.

Just outside our room was a row of what my subconscious memory tells me are Amaryllis plants, growing in profusion.  Maybe they're something else (and they're quite bedraggled by rain) but they must be stunning when in full bloom.

We were due at the Airport on Monday at 9.00am to return our ten-seater van and pick up, instead, a smaller car for the two of us to get about. Our hostess told us we should leave by 8.00am. She would be leaving at 6.00am, she told us, to get her two teenage daughters to school - an hour's drive away.  She told Richard later that she does about six hours of driving every day to get her girls to and from school.  This kind of thing is not uncommon in a city with far too many cars, although a kind of over-ground railway system is being built, which should revolutionise the traffic problems in a few years.

We set off shortly after 8.00, and had no problem getting over the bridge (over the Panama Canal). But once in the town, traffic was appalling.  And what a depressing city, full of huge apartment blocks... and cars.

It was well after 9.30 by the time we got to the airport, but since we'd had problems collecting the van originally, they weren't going to object.

Having returned the car, we had to wait a few minutes for our replacement to be available, so we embarked on a search around the airport, to see if we could find out anything else about Tim's missing suitcase. We asked at a helpful information desk, and were sent to the 'lost and found' office, which was filled with shelves of suitcases, smaller bags and other lost items.

We explained our problem and were told that if the case had arrived at Panama, it would not be in the publicly accessible area of the airport - this was for luggage that had come through Customs. They sent us to Customs.

We found the Customs people - going past randomly placed suitcases of all shapes and sizes, though mostly black (Tim's case is red), and were told that we had to go somewhere else. We went somewhere else, and a guy checked yet more luggage... and sent us to the American Airlines office.

We had to keep waiting outside there while various people checked up, and a helpful guy called Jason said they had all the details of the case and were still looking.  But he seemed to think we were asking about compensation, and told us the path to follow. We said yes, we knew about that - but really our son wanted the case more than the compensation.  He didn't seem to hold out much hope, though.

By the time we left the airport it was about 10.45am. The rest of the family had booked a taxi to the Albrook Mall, largest mall in the Americas, and one of the largest in the world. Monday is the ship day off, and it seemed like a good idea to get out somewhere; Tim needed to do more shopping to replace a few more things from his case, and Richard very much likes malls.  We knew it didn't open until 10.00am, but had been in touch with Tim via WhatsApp. He had managed to buy inexpensive phone chips from the UK that would give free data and roaming in most of Latin America, so we were exchanging messages around Panama at no cost.

It should have taken us about half an hour, at most, to reach the mall from the airport. It took us over an hour and a half. Traffic was abysmal. When we found the mall we couldn't find the multi-storey car park and ended up parking at a somewhat expensive outdoor car park (where the tariff was 4 cents per minute, up to a maximum of $20 for a day) but it could have taken another half hour to drive around the mall to find somewhere else. We were tired and getting hungry.

Tim had messaged that we should meet at the 'Carrusel' - the mall is mostly organised by animals, so we entered at the 'lion' area, and went past a section with huge giraffes. The 'Carrusel' turned out to be a merry-go-round (or carousel - we're not entirely sure what the difference is) with a food court - although the shops were all fast-food places, mostly American. But that wasn't a problem. The endless noise was draining - all the shops seemed to be playing music, and there were bright lights everywhere, and the carousel itself was playing music.

There are only two storeys to the mall, but it must be a kilometre or more from one end to the other, and it branches off in different directions.

Richard and I had burritos for lunch, Daniel and the children shared a pizza, and Tim and Becky both opted for a shop called 'Suvlas' which sold something strongly resembling a Cypriot gyro... called a 'yeero'.

Afterwards, we'd promised David a ride on the merry-go-round, and he wanted to sit in the teacup. So he, Esther and Becky had a ride.

However there wasn't much else for children. And while there were lots of shops, none of them really interested us. We wandered around for another hour or so, looking in a pen shop (for Tim) which was very expensive, and a cloth/material shop (for Becky) which didn't have anything appealing.

The children were getting tired, so after stopping for coffee and more ice creams, we headed to the car park, via a supermarket where we bought some almond milk and fruit juice. We don't know what the laws are here, but since it was only a short drive to the ship, we put the children on laps, and headed back.

We had dinner on the ship, and played with the children a little but they were tired so we departed about 7.30pm. Unfortunately we missed the turn-off to Veracruz (the place where we're staying) and ended up going several extra miles down the highway.  However this had the benefit of taking us to a large supermarket, so we stopped and bought a few extra things for breakfast. We would have liked some fruit, but the mangoes and papayas and other tempting looking produce were so hard that it would probably have taken a week or more to ripen them, and we were only here for three more mornings.

So we bought some bananas, and yogurts, and little bags of fruit and nuts that were on special offer, and headed back.  Excluding the time spent at the supermarket, it still took over an hour to get to our guesthouse - and once again we were very tired and slept well.

Tuesday morning dawned bright and sunny. We had said we would meet the family on the ship around 3.00pm when David finished at the ship school, and Esther would have woken for her nap, so we had the morning to ourselves. Richard chatted with our hostess, and she suggested driving along a causeway not far from the ship, which her husband had helped to build in recent years.

We were both suffering from quite bad mouth ulcers (canker sores) at this stage. Probably because of eating high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), a product which is restricted and uncommon in Europe but which seems to be in just about every product here. It isn't a migraine trigger, so I had eaten breakfast cereals, ketchup and one or two other items bought here, not realising it's a common mouth ulcer trigger.  Not that there's much we could have done about it unless we had cooked everything from scratch, and that's not something I wanted to do on holiday.

I had brought a small amount of coconut oil with me, but had used it all up on my first batch of mouth ulcers; we had been unable to find any more. But research online showed that it could be found in some branches of a large supermarket called El Rey. We'd been to one in Coronado and hadn't been able to find any, so we decided to check one which looked as if it wasn't too far from the ship, albeit the other side of the bridge.

Driving over the bridge wasn't a problem, but it then took us nearly an hour driving at snail's pace through the outskirts of Panama City before we finally found the supermarket and a place to park.

Happily we were able to find some coconut oil, albeit rather expensive. But by then we were hungry and there was nowhere obvious to eat. We walked over the street to an indoor mall (much smaller than the Albrook, and not air conditioned). It had a food court, but when we went in the smell was unpleasant and none of the shops looked appealing.

So we bought pastries at a small coffee house, and they filled a gap.

We still had over an hour before we planned to go to the ship, so we set off for the causeway.  It was indeed well worth seeing - it's quite long, lined with trees, and (unusual for Panama) there are plenty of roundabouts to enable cars to return at any point. It connects three former small islands to the mainland, although there doesn't seem to be anything much on them.

There were lots of boats anchored somewhat randomly in the bay, so Richard got out and looked, though by this stage it was too hot and sunny for me to leave the car and there was no shade. Perhaps, as the trees get bigger over the next few years, there will be pleasanter places to sit.

We were intrigued by an odd-looking building with brightly-coloured roof pieces, so we parked and went inside.

It's a bio-diversity museum, with sections about animal and plant life, and one big section about the over-use of plastic.  A little ironic, then, that next-door to this is a restaurant serving drinks in plastic cups, with plastic straws....

As we came out, we were struck by the contrast between this peaceful causeway and the city just a few miles away:

We arrived at the ship in time to collect David from school; a good thing as Esther was still asleep, and woke up while we were gone. As ever, he wanted books read to him, and also asked for his playdough; so he and Esther spent some time peacefully playing with that:

After dinner, he got out his racing car tracks and Tim helped him put them together. David and Daniel were both feeling chilly, so they put on jumpers - and I was very pleased to see that the Postman Pat jumper I knitted over a year ago still fits!

By the time we left the ship it was starting to rain, and by the time we reached our guesthouse it was absolutely pouring.

Wednesday morning was our last time for visiting the ship, and Daniel had suggested we arrive in time for lunch. Since it was raining hard when we got up - so bizarre to lie in air conditioning hearing rain pouring down outside! - we had a lazy morning at the guest house, catching up on Facebook (and, in my case, starting this blog post), then got to the ship about 11.45.

After lunch, when David was back at afternoon school, and Esther was asleep, we played two more Settlers games with Becky. Then the fun-deck with Esther, while Richard read to David and played with him for a while, followed by dinner, and more stories, and then a sad goodbye.

It's probably a year until we will see them again. It's been wonderful spending time with the family, and getting to know Esther properly; she's so different from the nine-month old baby whom we said goodbye to a year ago in Cyprus.

.. and in stop-press news, for anyone who's read this far, Tim's case has finally been found.  In Gatwick (UK). Where it has apparently been for the past ten days, despite his having collected and returned it to the airline in Tampa (USA) on Sunday. Perhaps the helpful Jason whom we spoke to at Panama Airport on Monday finally managed to get something done. 

Not so good is that BA called and woke Tim at 5.30am, not realising he was still in Panama, and then spent ten minutes trying to persuade him that he could collect his case when he returned through Gatwick on Monday.  

He argued that half the contents were presents for the family here, and eventually they agreed to send it to Panama, to arrive at the ship (hopefully) some time tomorrow.  This is good news, if it arrives in time, but Tim flies out of Panama on Sunday, and they won't deliver it if he's no longer here. He had pretty much given it up for lost and had stopped worrying about it up to this point. So whereas it's good if it arrives safely, in time, it's going to be another stressful 24 hours or more trying to keep track of it, with not much time left....

Out of Cyprus Summer 2018: The Panama Canal

When we learned that the Logos Hope was due to travel through the Panama Canal at the end of July, we organised our visit to see the family on dates that would take in this experience. Friends told us it wasn't all that interesting, but for those who like ships and navigation, it's a 'bucket list' kind of adventure.

So the ship arrived in Panama waters around lunch-time on July 30th. We could see dry land... but had to be at anchor for at least 24 hours. This was so that a local pilot could come on board, to check that the ship followed all the necessary safety requirements, and also to familiarise himself with the navigation systems. The pilot would be responsible for getting us through the canal the following day.

All was okay, although our original lunch-time slot on July 31st ended up starting nearer 5.00pm. We went outside about half an hour earlier and watched the anchor being drawn up, which took quite some time. The sky was quite cloudy as we set off, and caught our first view of the initial bridge over the canal:

Lots of people in the crew and staff went outside on the viewing decks, to watch our progress. Esther was in the sling Becky made last year, switching between Daniel and Becky, and I mostly looked after David. However he has many friends on the ship, and several other people kept an eye on him and explained what was going on at various points, as we approached the canal. He and I went up to deck nine - at the top, where we had a great view.

The ship seemed to move very slowly, and David was quite worried as we neared the bridge, thinking that we wouldn't fit underneath. I assured him that the pilot and the Logos Hope officials would have measured it carefully, but he was still concerned. It didn't help that there was a (joking!) announcement made, asking those on deck nine to duck as we went under...

After we were safely through the bridge, and the Logos Hope was still intact, David spotted that there were some 'different deckies':

They had come on board to help with the locks. There was a local TV crew at the side, filming the ship - so lots of the crew were waving their national flags - and the 'line-up' team were spotted waving, too. These are the Logos Hope staff who spend two or three months at each port in advance of the ship, preparing for the visit and finding out how they can best help the local people.

I was surprised by how green everywhere looked; but Panama is quite a wet country, and this is the rainy season. My only previous experience of locks was the small ones in Birmingham canals in the UK; these were similar on a larger scale. At the side little engines pulled the ship slowly along, guiding it into each lock:

This is a view of the other side - there really wasn't a lot of spare room!

By the time we were through the first lock, it was dinner time; and it started raining. So we went inside to eat, emerging half an hour later with raincoats. More people had come out to watch, so Becky put David on her shoulders to see another lock filling up:

It was beginning to get dark by this time, but this just about shows the second set of lock gates closing:

It really doesn't look like much water coming through in the middle, but the ship rose surprisingly quickly:

By the time we were in the final lock of the first stage, it was getting dark:

Richard had been tracking everything with his phone. The next stage, he t. old us, was a lake with no locks. It's apparently full of alligators (or perhaps crocodiles; I'm a bit vague about the difference) but since they can't get on board ships, and nobody was planning to swim, this wasn't too worrying. Had it still been light, I might have stayed on deck a bit longer, but it was almost pitch dark by this stage.

Richard had said he was going to stay up until the end, but since that was likely to be at least 1am, probably later, and I need my sleep, I went to bed leaving him to watch with a few other hardy people:

The next thing I knew, it was morning and we were in the port near Panama City. It was good to see dry land after six days at sea, although nobody could leave until the ship had cleared customs, and dealt with everybody's passports. Richard told me it was about 3am when he finally got to bed. The last locks were like the reverse of the first ones - going 'downhill' rather than up.

I knew the port was fairly close to the Panama Canal, but hadn't realised quite how close until I looked out in another direction and saw the bridge at the other end:

So Richard has now experienced something he's wanted to do for years, and can also now say that he's visited all the continents other than Antarctica - and he has no desire to go there! 

Out of Cyprus Summer 2018 part two: The voyage from Mexico to first sight of Panama

I hoped to blog every few days while travelling. But since we left Mexico, the Internet connection on the ship was almost non-existent. I started this post on Sunday morning, 29th July when the Internet was working better than it has done all week; this isn't saying much, but I took advantage of an hour before breakfast to check email and Facebook, and catch up with some writing. I'm now finishing it a week later, after losing some edits I attempted in the past few days. I'll keep it dated at the 29th July and hope to write a couple more blog posts in the next few days.

My first post about our travels this summer covered our lengthy journey from Cyprus to Progreso port in Merida. By the morning of Sunday 22nd we were feeling almost human. Sunday is a working day on the ship, as many teams go out to visit local churches; but for those still on board there's a church-type service which lasts about an hour and a half. Daniel was running the PA and audio visual content for the service on that Sunday. Afterwards David helped him put away some cables, and then spent some time with the drums:

In the afternoon, Daniel was off duty so we decided to visit the local supermarket, to buy some juice and fruit, and have a walk. Esther was quite cranky still, a few days after her yellow fever vaccination, but was happy to snuggle in the Ergo carrier with Daniel. She didn't want me to take a photo of her, however:

The ship was at the end of a long quay, so we had to catch the crew bus for the 4km distance - if it had been cooler it might have been quite a nice walk, but it was hot and humid and the crew bus ran a shuttle service between the ship and the port gate. We walked a few blocks, David chatting all the time as he was very excited to show us everything. So much so that I didn't think about taking photos.

We found the supermarket and Becky made some purchases, then we walked on a bit further and found an ice cream shop. Stopping for half an hour was a good decision, and Esther was much happier when given her cone:

In the evening, unsurprisingly, we decided to play a game of Settlers. We use the 5-6 player expansion board when playing with four people, something Daniel and Becky had not done for the past year. So Becky was a bit puzzled to find that two of the expansion pieces were missing from her set. Probably packed away with their other Settlers expansions in storage in the UK.  It wasn't a problem having two sea pieces missing, but a bit tight fitting it on the small table in their cabin:

We left the port in Mexico on Tuesday. We had more or less caught up on sleep by that point, so I was a bit surprised to find myself getting dizzy in the evening. Apparently this is quite common on the first day of a sail with Logos Hope; the way it's built means that it rocks slightly from side to side in an unusual motion, unlike most boats, and it's not unusual to feel light-headed while getting used to it. Thankfully this sensation disappeared within the first day.

I'm not entirely sure where the last five days have gone, as the ship makes its way slowly through the ocean. I've been outside a few times; all that can be seen is water, in every direction. Mostly pretty smooth, though sometimes it's been a bit difficult to walk in a straight line.

The days have followed a similar pattern. I usually get up between 5.30 and 6.30, take a quick shower and get dressed, then make my way to the staff lounge, near the top of the ship When possible I have checked Facebook, and one of the news sites briefly, but it's all been rather slow and some days I couldn't connect at all. So mostly I've been reading on my Kindle.

Breakfast, most days, starts at 7.00am, and the family usually arrive about fifteen or twenty minutes after that. We have cereal, perhaps fruit (currently canned, with this long sail) and yogurt, and sometimes toast, or bagels, or (once) croissants. The bakers are always up early preparing food for breakfast and lunch, and we appreciate them very much. There's a coffee machine too, offering several variations; I have decided my favourite is cafe macchiato.

We're usually finished by about 8.00 or 8.15, then David has to go up to the family cabin to brush his teeth and get ready for school. Not that this is anything like school as most of us know it. He LOVES going to school. He's in a mixed nursery/reception class of nine children, with a teacher and assistant, so there is lots of one-on-one attention. I've seen his 'wow' book - a photographic record of the past year, full of things he's said, photos of him painting, creating crafts, playing with puzzles and more. On Sunday afternoon, when Becky asked him what he would like to do, he said, with a sigh, 'I WISH I could go to school!'

He started with just a couple of mornings a week, for two hours, last September, but liked it so much and did so well that this was gradually increased to five mornings a week, for three hours each time. For the last hour the 'nursery' part of the class play outside with the older toddlers while the older 'reception' age children have an extra hour.  He'll be Reception age in September, meaning he can also go for a couple of hours each afternoon. In preparation for that, he's just started going on two afternoons per week.  He has apparently been asking to do this for a long time, and was so excited to have afternoon school on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.  He was quite tired by the end, but clearly gets a great deal out of it. He's an extremely talkative, sociable child, and without parks to play in, or places to go, the ship school provides an ideal outlet for his energies and questioning, curious nature.

Back to our schedule... three mornings a week there's a baby/toddler group which Esther goes to, and for two of them, Becky gets a bit of space to catch up on things in the cabin. So I returned to the staff lounge and read some more while Richard has been working with Daniel in the A/V department. On the morning when Becky was staying in the toddler group, I stayed too to help, and enjoyed it very much.

One morning there was a ship voyage safety briefing, which Richard and I had to go to as we hadn't sailed with the ship in the past six months. Another morning there was a 'country orientation' - brief descriptions of what to expect, what Panama is like, where to go etc.  There will be a full 'port orientation' session on Tuesday evening.

Lunch is quite early, starting at 11.45am, but David doesn't finish his school until noon, so we go to lunch after that. Usually bread, with plenty of different kinds of salad vegetables, sliced cheese and processed meats.

Esther takes a nap after lunch, usually for about an hour, and Daniel is sometimes free for half an hour or so; he's had a couple of days off during this week, which we all appreciate very much. We usually hang out in the family cabin in the afternoons, at least while Esther is sleeping. David (when not at afternoon school) likes to do activities that are more difficult with a toddler around, such as painting, or sticker books.

Around three o'clock the children have some fruit and juice, then we might go to the 'fun deck' (where there are outside toys, a slide, swings and various other outdoor activities in a safe enclosed area dedicated to children. Sometimes we stay in the cabin.

The children have a lot of toys and books, and David has an almost endless capacity for stories. Esther has been a bit cranky; she's been teething as well as recovering from her yellow fever vaccination. And shes a very determined little girl with quite a temper when she feels thwarted. David didn't really do the 'terrible twos' phase; she is starting six months early and taking his share as well as her own.

Dinner/supper starts around 5.30pm - and inevitably, as on a cruise, we organise our days around mealtimes. It's good food, provided by the hard-working catering team, although there's usually only one kind of cooked vegetable, and they're rather limited at the moment. There's usually a vegetarian option, often some kind of eggs.   Daniel is a vegetarian, as are a few other crew members, and my tendencies are that way; it's possible to be vegetarian on the ship, though not easy. It would be impossible to be vegan. Richard eats meat but not dairy products if he can avoid them; that's been remarkably difficult.

As with a cruise, it's all too easy to eat too much and exercise too little. I'm going up more stairs than usual, which is good; the first time we climbed from deck 2 (where our cabin is) to deck 8 (where the family cabin is) my legs ached and I felt quite out of breath by the final flight of stairs. Now I find it easier. Richard, whose phone takes note of steps walked and flights of stairs, shows that on most days he's been going up about 35 flights in all.

After dinner it's back to the family cabin, with more stories for David while Becky puts Esther to bed. Then David is usually asleep by about 7.30. After that we've played a game a couple of times. One evening there was a gathering in the dining room for married couples where we played a different game. Becky had to bake cakes a couple of evenings, and last night Richard did a talk about his work and ministry, which was well received.

Today we should arrive near the entrance to the Panama Canal, and will remain there at anchor for about 24 hours. A pilot has to come on board and check the Logos Hope for safety, then - all being well - we travel through the canal on Monday afternoon/evening, and should arrive at the port of Balboa in the early hours of Tuesday. 

Out of Cyprus Summer 2018: the first three (plus) days

I had intended to write more often. So much for good intentions. June began with a week's visit from some very longstanding friends, and continued with the usual round of increased temperatures, decreased energy (on my part), games with friends and cake. In July we had a replacement outside shed built, Richard launched his new (to him) Kingfisher yacht Liza, and we wound down the supplies in our fridge in preparation for a month outside Cyprus.

Last year our son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren set off for a couple of years on the floating bookstore ship Logos Hope. Daniel works in the A/V department. In the first six months or so they travelled around several of the Caribbean islands, doing some aid work after the devastating hurricanes of last summer, and also selling inexpensive books, giving presentations and seminars, and offering whatever else was needed by local congregations.

In the past three months they have been in Mexico; tomorrow the ship sets off for Panama, and will - in a few days - go along the Panama Canal. While we're told this is not, in fact, a very interesting experience it still appeals to Richard so we planned our trip to include this. We couldn't leave before July 18th as he was providing PA for a concert and the 19th was our 38th anniversary. We really didn't want to go through the US to get here; it requires a temporary visa (Estia) even to go thrugh aiports, and any time he goes to or through the US, he gets stopped for 'random' extra searches.

Happily, we found reasonable value flights to Mexico City direct from Heathrow on the evening of the 20th, so we planned the trip around that. To get to London we booked an early flight via Blue Air which went to Luton; that gave us plenty of time to travel across London via National Express.

So our day started rather early, even for me, on the 20th. All the packing was complete, so we set alarms for 4.30am. Our friend Sheila collected us at 5am and we checked in at the airport immediately. I had packed some fruit for breakfast, and we bought coffee at one of the restaurants inside the security area.  I decided to take photos at every stage of the journey...

Blue Air, despite being a budget airline, offers free food and drinks on most of its flights. I knew from experience that I would not be able to eat most of the food as it contains nitrites and other nasties which would give me a migraine, so we had brought some cereal bars with us. But while Richard ate both our frankfurter-type sausages, and baked beans, and a croissant and roll and crackers, the only thing I could eat was the bread roll and some cream cheese.  Even the jam said it contained a migraine-including additive.

But I enjoyed the rest of the fruit I had packed and a couple of cereal bars. And the free fruit juice on the plane was nice.

We arrived at Luton four and a half hours after taking off; I had never been there before, and Richard only once. Our National Express coach was booked for 11.20am but we had paid an extra ten pounds for the ability to get on any available coach going to Heathrow for up to twelve hours before or after. The coach station was outside, and rather confusing, but a helpful young man in uniform knew all the schedule and gates, and told us the next coach to Heathrow was at 10.50.

It wasn't a pleasant wait. Several people were smoking, including some with large metal tube things - we assume electronic cigarettes, although I had thought they were made to look like ordinary ones. I gather this is not always the case. I had also thought they were supposed to produce less smoke, making them safer for those around.  This certainly wasn't the case. I watched at least three people take puffs on these large tubular things, and there was a huge amount of smoke. Perhaps it's not as dangerous as that from ordinary cigarettes, but it was just as disgusting, and there was considerably more of it.

We almost didn't see our coach when it arrived, as it wasn't at either of the stops where it should have been, but the next one along. We heard a 'final call' for Heathrow, so presented our tickets to the driver. He took one look, then pointed out that we had booked for half an hour later.  I explained that we had paid extra to take an earlier or later coach, and he said yes, but we still had to make the change at the ticket office. Otherwise, as he pointed out, we could have printed off dozens of these tickets and distributed them to other people, who could just get on any coach. Unlikely, but I suppose possible.

However the wording on the back made no mention of having to re-book or officially change the time, and a coach official standing next to the driver said she thought we were correct; so she made a note of our details and said she would change it herself.

What struck me, as we travelled through London suburbs, was the dryness of the grass everywhere. We knew it had been warmer than usual in the UK, with very little rain. But I was shocked to see grass like this everywhere:

Our flight was from Terminal Five, but the coach didn't stop there. The driver told us to get off at the main bus station at Heathrow, and then get the free train to our terminal.  We eventually succeeded in doing this - it wasn't a regular monorail type train, as we are more used to at Gatwick, but an Underground service.

Our son Tim had arranged to meet us for a few hours in Heathrow airport, and it was wonderful to see him waiting for us when we finally emerged from the train at Terminal Five. It was about 12.30 UK time but we were very hungry, as Cyprus is two hours ahead; so we found what seemed to be the only reasonable restaurant, and had a leisurely lunch together.

In the afternoon Richard and Tim went out of the airport for a couple of hours while I stayed with the luggage and read. I was very tired by this stage and had no wish to go anywhere! So tired, in fact, that I didn't take any photos then, nor of our rather high-class flight to Mexico City, in a 'dreamliner' aeroplane. Even with economy seats, it was more comfortable and quieter than most flights, with pleasanter lighting. Two meals were provided, plus extra water as needed and - unusually for me - I managed to sleep for at least four or five hours, albeit not very deeply.

We arrived in Mexico City at 3am local time, and had a few hours to wait there. Our luggage had been checked right through to our final destination, thanks to a very efficient and helpful Mexico Air staff member at Heathrow. So we sat and drank coffee, and then ate some fruit - two days in a row being hobbit-like with second breakfasts, but then our days were rather longer than usual. We exchanged fifty euros, too, and received over 1100 Mexican pesos in return.

Our second flight, which departed at 7.50, was only about an hour and a half. But even that provided a drink and a cereal bar, and a daytime view which looked much better in reality than the photo:

Merida is quite a small airport, and we didn't have to go through any security as it had been an internal flight. As we walked to the exit, we were startled to see what looked like huge lizards; apparently iguanas:

We had been told that we could either get a taxi from Merida to Progreso, costing about 420-450 pesos, or an Uber, costing around 300-400.  Since 400 pesos is less than 20 euros, and the journey is 50 minutes, we had decided to opt for a taxi. We emerged from the airport to be greeted with several drivers offering services... we asked one what the cost to Progreso would be and he said, '650'. We shook our heads and asked someone else. He told us it would be 750.

We went to ask at the official airport taxi booth, and they said it would be 950! So we went back into the airport to try to call a Uber. We were quoted just under 400 and three of them were heading our way. Unfortunately, the first one simply drove past despite our waving at him. The second one slowed down, but then the airport taxi drivers started shouting at him. He eventually explained to us - in pretty good English- that Ubers were not allowed in the taxi area, or anywhere else in the airport.  So we would have to make our way out, which was quite some way. We had luggage, and the weather was hot and humid.

While Richard was speaking to the Uber driver, the first taxi driver who had approached us came up to me, and asked what we had expected to pay. I said, '400-450' with a shrug. 'Oh,' he said, 'My friend will drive you for 450'. I was a bit dubious that this might be an unofficial taxi (we had been warned only to get official ones) but they took us to the official taxi booth, and we paid in advance there, and were driven in one of the white airport taxis. The driver was good and the journey was under an hour.

Our daughter-in-law and grandchildren were waiting for us by the entrance to the port; the final journey was 6km along  a narrow road in the crew bus to the ship.  There were people queuing for the book fair and shows on the Logos Hope, but we were able to go in by a staff entrance. David, who is four, was very excited to see us, and showed us our cabin on Deck Two. Then it was time for lunch - usually ship lunch is bread, cheese or processed meats, and lots of salad. David didn't stop talking...

Our granddaughter Esther, who is nineteen months old, wasn't too sure about us. She was only nine months old when we last saw her, so has changed from a just-crawling baby to a lively, quite feisty toddler. She wasn't feeling too well either, as she had to have a yellow fever vaccination a couple of days earlier, and was quite clingy with her parents.

However David more than made up for her reticence with lots of cuddles, assurances that he loved us very much, and was looking forward to seeing us, and then - as always - we read him lots of books in the family's cabin (rather a nice 'suite' with two bedrooms and a bathroom).

After lunch Esther went for a nap, and Richard and I did too, setting an alarm for two hours. It was so nice to lie down after around 36 hours of travelling and we fell asleep almost immediately.

Esther was miserable after her nap, so we all went to the 'fun deck', a place with toys and swings; she's very fond of swinging, and spent most of her time there, growing more cheerful as she swung.

Jet lag when flying West isn't supposed to be too much of a problem - and on the whole I've found that to be true. We were very tired, but that was due to lack of sleep, as much as anything. Richard fell asleep at 8pm that night, and I managed to stay awake until 9am.  I then woke briefly a couple of times in the night, eventually getting up shortly before 6am. Richard slept until 7.30.

We're now settle in, less tired, and loving spending time with the family.

Faraway Families...

One of the hardest things about living as an ex-pat in Cyprus - or, indeed, anywhere else - is being far away from our family.  Bad enough when we moved here fifteen years ago, saying goodbye to relatives and friends, changing our lifestyle, getting used to a new culture.  But that was nothing compared to the pain of saying goodbye to our sons when they - for different but excellent reasons - both left home, when they were nineteen. 

This month seems to have been particularly poignant, thinking about loved ones in the UK.  We missed an important family birthday at the start of the month: it was great to spend some time chatting on Facetime:

But obviously not the same as being there in real life.  We're missing another family get-together for another special birthday this weekend. 

Worse still, in a sense, is not being around when we might be needed. When relatives are taken to hospital, we feel  helpless, unable to do anything from this distance, other than to pray... and breathe a sigh of relief when they return home. 

A few days ago I felt helpless again when our younger son Tim was hit by a car when crossing a road in the evening in heavy rain. He said it was only a relatively minor hit, but still - a speeding car which knocked someone down and sped away is a terrifying thought for any parent.  I was overwhelmingly thankful that it was not a split second earlier, that he was on his way to a small group where he could be looked after and given some ice, and that he seemed to be reasonably all right the following morning, which is when we first heard about it.  Unfortunately he's still in pain nearly a week later; nothing is broken, but he has badly pulled ligaments. I wouldn't be able to do anything if I were there - but it's hard being so far away. We're looking forward very much to seeing him for a few weeks over Christmas when he comes to visit. 

As for Daniel and Becky, they are even further away, as they have now gone to spend three months on the ship Logos Hope. They had also hoped to come to Cyprus for Christmas, but just three weeks ago were asked if they could fly out to join the ship at the end of the month.  They departed on Monday evening, and arrived in the Philippines this morning (which was late last night, Cyprus time).  It was a long, long journey and they are very tired, as well as somewhat overwhelmed with the tasks ahead of them.  I was extremely pleased to receive an email from Daniel this morning, letting us know that they had got there safely. 

Feeling a bit morose, I looked through my photos to choose the one which I placed near the start of this email.  And noticed, of course, many pictures of local friends. I thought about Easter, when two couples who have become close to us came to lunch, and last Christmas when our other good friends came over for the day.

And then I saw this, taken recently, which reminded me that although our own children are grown up and our blood relatives are all far away, there are some lovely small people who live close by, and who have pretty much adopted us as part of their extended family:

This sounds like a cliché and I hate 'religious jargon'... but can't think of a better way to put it: we are very blessed.