Page 6 - 2003 - Atlantic Islands

Got back to the hotel about 4:30 and rested half an hour and then took our showers

and changed our blouses so we would also “look” clean at the get together at the bar

and then the dinner. We made it our business to get to know at least three different

fellow travelers before we went to the dinner and we both succeeded. Besides wine

or champagne or some tropical looking drink, we were plied with hors d’oeuvres and

a few announcements.

Then we went into the restaurant at the hotel and met the folks at our table. We had

particular fun meeting two of our naturalists, Marco and his wife, Patricia; they had

spent considerable time in the Antarctic and knew several of the folks we had met on

our Hanseatic expedition - David Fletcher and Klemens Putz chief among them.

The food was delicious and we were enjoying it and the conversation but we

“hollered uncle” with fatigue and came back to the room. And what a suite we have -

two bedrooms and two baths - how luxurious can you get! So we are going to try to

get a good night’s sleep and be prepared for sightseeing around the Canaries before

boarding the Orion.

Our 7:00 AM wake­up call was not resented since we had both gotten a good night’s

sleep. The breakfast buffet started at 7:30 AM and we were completely packed up

and ready to join the others in the La Foresta restaurant on time. The selection ran

the gamut from typical American fare like cereal and rolls to the more traditional

European offerings like cold cuts, cheese, cucumbers and the like. We finished up

lightly and gave up our passports to be taken to the ship for us. There we learned that

Claire Hemingway (not related to Ernest) had taken a fall last night and ended up in

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