Timeline: May 12 – Palamos

On Board – not a great fan of cruising but at least you don’t have to unpack and pack. At least that’s what everyone says. The downside is that I don’t think one ever feels 100% on a ship. That pea-brain is always trying to rebalance. After a day or so you get a bit used to it. Good weather helps a lot.

Docking in Palamos and disembarking, Mary and I take a stroll around the island until we find a cafe with internet. I ask the proprietor if he has internet and he looks at me with a bit of disgust and wants to know if I want anything else. Guess he was concerned that I just wanted to use the internet. He has obviously had a bad experience with us tourists. Anyway we manage a cappuccino and a sweet…and are able to get on the web. (This will be a daily occurrence…what is wrong with us??)

Not much to see in Palamos but a church with a black Madonna and a little shopping street. It is quite charming however. There’s a lovely view from the park and we managed our own walking tour. We did have some great scallops (with the foot attached – yummy) and a cheese plate…and the usual glass of wine.

Speaking of wine (and this is a common theme) there were a number of drunkards on the ship. One couple, Harry & Margaret, a British couple, cruise all the time. They basically stay on the ship and sun bathe. Of course they’ve been together for 40 years, so everything’s a bit old hat it seems. As it turns out, they are one of many couples who never disembark. Many of the passengers are “cruisers” and have been on umpteen cruises. Average age ~ 60??

At our evening dinner at the Thomas Keller Grill onboard, we had an encounter with a couple of Trump voters (from North Carolina, of course) who took the Fifth when asked about it. I did get my dander up but restrained myself somewhat…well maybe. Harry, of Harry and Margaret, was in his cups and kept trying to stir the pot. He was moderately successful as I couldn’t bear to associate with them the remaining trip.