Malcolm's diary of QE2's final world cruise.

[Malcolm]

We were due in the ship's hospital at 7-45am so we'd set our alarm and booked wake-up call for 6-45am. When the call came I did not want to know, I suspect it was a relief for Paul as he hadn't slept well and was already awake. I went into the bathroom and showered meaning that Paul could wash himself as best he could whilst I got dressed and then I'd be ready to help him. It is astonishing how quickly Paul is gaining confidence to do things on his own.

Jerome, our steward, brought fruit juice, tea and Danish pastries for breakfast at 7-30am. Although Paul hadn't been told not to eat we guessed that would be a wise precaution if he was going to have a general anaesthetic. That meant I got two pastries and Paul got none!

We were in the ship's hospital by 7-45am and at the gangway by 8-00am where there was a slight delay getting off due to new staff members coming onboard. The wheelchair would not go down the gangway with Paul in it but he managed with his crutches (had he stayed the way he was he wouldn't have needed the chair in a couple of days) and there was a specially adapted car that would take a wheelchair by the ship that took us directly to the port gates. There things started to go wrong. We were taken straight past immigration and customs and were then left with the local staff that were not aware that Paul was on his way for surgery and could only help if we had booked a tour and were wearing a numbered badge.

To cut a long story short (and because they've just collected Paul's bed and told me he'll be back shortly) we eventually got a Cunard Car at about 9-15am to the "Valparaiso Clinica" where we arrived at about 9-30am (remember our appointment was for 8-30am). After various problems arising out of not speaking a communal language we got to meet the surgeon who said that he had already looked at Paul's X-rays and that an operation was needed. His intention was to operate at about 10-30 with a procedure that should take about an hour.

The cost of the surgery was One and a half million Chilean Pesos - about US$ 3000.00. The hospital would accept credit cards however when they tried to process any of our cards the machine would not work and we ended up having to pay with travellers cheques. There is a large part of our holiday spending money gone - we'll have to break into the sterling we've brought as a reserve!

Once the admission was complete it was off to a private room for them to do various tests, ask questions and get him ready for surgery. At 10-30am they came and collected him. His trolley was wheeled out with him wearing a white hairnet, an overshoe on the uninjured foot and a blue, disposable, hospital gown (the kind that doesn't meet at the back).

At 11-30am they collected his bed and told me he was out of theatre and would be up soon. That was all I heard until 11-00am when the surgeon came in and told me that the operation had been a complete success. The plate was in place, the fracture was nothing like as bad as they'd first thought and that, after a couple of days rest, Paul should be up and about on crutches. He could expect the stitches to be out after a couple of weeks and to gain normal use of his ankle within a month. He told me that Paul had been in the recovery room for about twenty minutes and that I could go and see him when I wanted.

The only thing that was better than seeing a Paul free of worry about the operation was when a nurse came into the room and said they had lunch for me (but not Paul - it was too soon after the operation). I had a nice, 3 course lunch consisting of a consommé served with a bread roll, casseroled pork with olives and onions served with boiled rice and a stewed pear covered in chocolate. Not the standard of the Britannia but still quite acceptable.

I'd finished lunch and was just adding the previous paragraphs when Paul was wheeled through. We are now just waiting for the doctor to return and discharge him. And waiting. And waiting. We waited through afternoon tea (which we both got - a bread roll, some cheese and a toffee horn served with a cup of warm water and milk into which we put a teabag - yuck) and then continued waiting until just turned 4-30pm when a nurse came to change Paul's drip again. He hadn't smoked since about 8-00am and was starting to feel the craving. He told the nurse that he didn't want the drip but wanted to put his clothes on and to go outside - she didn't understand. The whole fiasco lasted until they'd brought the doctor (who did speak English). He said that it was perfectly OK to smoke inside a Chilean hospital. Paul still didn't have the drip though. The nurses gave us a letter from the Chilean doctor to the Doctor aboard, various drugs and an X-ray of Paul's repaired ankle.

It was just turned five O'clock when the admissions assistant came in (the one who spoke a little English) and asked for our credit card again as their bank wouldn't accept our travellers cheques. We had to accompany her back to her desk to get our cheques back. We did not have a single credit card that would work in their machine and in the end the assistant had to telephone their card processor to ask advice. It turned out that Chilean card terminals won't accept the magnetic stripe on a card that has a chip (as all UK cards do) and the hospital did not recognise this and therefore did not use the chip reader. When the card was processed correctly the authorisation went through immediately. That left us with US$ 3000.00 of countersigned travellers’ cheques!

The hospital put on an ambulance to get us back to the ship. This was a journey that took about 15 minutes. Although the driver was not sure where he was going his occasional use of the siren meant that the journey was fairly quick.

We were back at the ship by 6-15pm and on deck by 6-30pm to watch us depart. Paul has found that the third rail round the ship is at just the right height to rest his leg on so he was quite happy for me to push him on deck for a while. As someone's commented the boat was late leaving (waiting for the Santiago tours to return) and we didn't stay on deck until we sailed but that was the most we have seen of Valparaiso all day.

We had dinner in the cabin and were in bed by 9-30pm and asleep by 10-00pm. It was the best night's sleep either of us has had since long before we boarded. I don't think we realised just how exhausting we'd found the day.

[Malcolm]

Back to the drudgery of a World Cruise after the excitement of the past few days. (Not quite - I still have to push Paul everywhere!)

As previously said we slept well last night. I didn't wake until 7-30am, Paul was even later. I went to breakfast (Paul didn't) and then it was off to the Tour Office to cancel Paul's tickets for Easter Island. There are three tours available for Easter Island; we felt that tour A was the most desirable with tour C the least. Tour A was sold out shortly after leaving New York, tour B was sold out by Valparaiso leaving only tour C with a few places left for the afternoon only. We had booked places on tour B for the morning and A for the afternoon. I was able to cancel Paul's B ticket with no problem, before I could cancel his A ticket someone else has already offered me cash for it. I should have charged commission on the sale! [The man who bought this ticket from us was quite slow in getting us the money and then, every time he saw us, crowed about getting the ticket. Had Paul been able to get out of his chair he’d have cheerfully throttled the man]

Once I'd got rid of the tour tickets it was back to the cabin to help Paul get dressed and then onto the spa for a pedicure. It was nice to be able to spend 3/4 of an hour having someone undo the sore feet I'd got yesterday. I can't confirm that it's like the Spa on the QM2 though. There was definitely a push to sell me something (I gave in and bought a foot scrub for US$ 60.00 although she was trying to sell me several moisturisers as well.

[I went for a pedicure with one particular thing in mind – I had a lot of hard skin on my right foot and wanted it removing. The hard skin had been there for over a year and was becoming uncomfortable to walk on. It wasn’t until I returned from the WC and went for a pedicure in York in another attempt to get this hard skin removed that I was told it was a Veruca and needed a specialist treatment. This had been completely missed on the ship]

After that was the destination lecture for Easter Island, given by Peter Crimes and good as usual. I bumped into Roger and Rosemary at that and they came down to see Paul while I went to the Pursers Office to try and sort out the travellers’ cheque problem. I was quite surprised to be told that they would accept them as payment for our account but that, if we needed the money, they would pay us cash back and we could settle our account by credit card.

I went for afternoon tea in the QGL. As usual there were plenty of tables. I asked for a scone (in the QGL scones aren't included on the normal platter of cakes you have to ask for one and then it comes served with separate jam and cream). It was the lightest scone I've ever tasted. A scone is not normally my favourite patisserie but these were wonderful. I don't think I'll be able to leave it long before I have another.

Before I came on this trip I assumed that we'd get as set of the various cocktail parties etc. per sector. We certainly got one set on the transatlantic and another on the New York to Valparaiso leg. Tonight however was the cocktail party only for those who'd joined at Valparaiso. It looks as if the number of free drinks we get will be limited.

Paul and I ate in the cabin again last night and then went on deck for an hour, just to sit and enjoy the fresh (and cool - the ship is still very hot and our air-conditioning is back at minimum again) air. We didn't get changed as it was too hard for Paul and too much effort for me! I wonder what the correct etiquette is in those circumstances. Is it permissible for an invalid and his carer not to change if they are not eating in their restaurant but are only going on deck?

[Malcolm]

My father has caught the QE2 cold. I have started my gym visits again and was just back from there when the phone went; it was mother who wanted to know if I'd take her up for breakfast as my father wasn't going to get up. I had time for a hurried shower and to make sure Paul was comfortable with a cup of tea, etc before I had to go and collect mother and take her for breakfast.

Once breakfast was over I was able to take my mother back to her cabin and return to ours where Paul had got himself up and was getting washed. He also managed to dress himself, only needing the odd thing passing or shoe lacing.

There were two lectures that I wanted to see today. The first was by John Killeen and was entitled "Why is my flight always late?" It was billed as relating to the "current issues" of air travel. Unfortunately it didn't live up to this billing and was just a monotonal lecture about the rudiments of how air traffic was controlled out of Chicago. I only stayed for the first 20 minutes and then went back to keep Paul company.

The second lecture was only slightly better. It was by Dr Peter Quatermaine and was called "Easter Island: First Impressions". Mother wanted to hear this lecture as well so we sat together. The lecture turned out to be about how records of explorations were made in the South Sea Islands before the advent of photography and featured almost nothing particular to Easter Island. We tolerated this lecture for half an hour. Talking to other people who'd also attended the lecture it seems as if it was not the lecture most people were expecting.

It's only been five days since I've done any laundry. We're not running short yet but yesterday I thought that just after the start of a sector could be a good time. I forgot about the laundry yesterday so instead went this afternoon. At first I thought the launderette was fairly quiet and not worth writing about. Not for long! About 20 minutes after I'd got there people were queuing for machines.

My first comment has to be that there were three washers out of order. There was a repair man there for half the time I was but, when I left, those three machines were still out of action.

I started thinking about some men's attitude to helping with the wash. I have seen men sitting there watching their wife do the ironing or telling the woman to hurry up and finish but I thought about the way some women verbally attack their men.

When I had got to the laundry there had been this woman sitting there waiting for her washing to finish. Once it had she set it to dry and told everyone in the room that she had to keep removing things as soon as they were dry to prevent them shrinking (?). At this point I moved through to the ironing room; she followed about five minutes later. She was joined by her husband about five minutes after that and the diatribe started. He had been asleep. She would have finished much more quickly had he been there. She could not both watch the dryer and do the ironing. It was his fault that his underpants were thick and took longer to dry than his shirts. Why hadn't he brought any thin underpants? As his underpants were so thick and heavy (I never saw a pair to verify this description) he would have to wash them himself in future.

This carried on for a further five minutes before another woman who was also ironing turned round and asked if she would be quiet and not chastise her husband in public. This gave the first woman a chance to attack the second woman. Telling her how she was disabled. She could walk but she could not stand. How her husband's actions had left her in great pain. How the second woman should keep her nose out of things that didn't concern her! At this point I'd run out of ironing by this time so I made a tactical retreat to the machine room to check on my remaining washing. There was nothing dry that needed to be ironed so I left the machines running and came back to the cabin for half an hour. (I know - I'm a coward!)

I ventured back to the launderette after about half an hour. The disabled woman had gone but the rooms were still very busy. I took the shirts that were dry to the ironing room, emptying one drier but leaving a second working. The conversation in the ironing room turned to a man who was using four driers, each of which had been set for an hour and only contained a couple of things (the example I was given was a pair of pyjama trousers and a couple of pairs of socks). When the ladies had asked (I suspect that they were slightly more forthright than "asked") that he only use one drier rather than four he had refused. They were all very annoyed that anyone could refuse them and were bitching about it as hard as they could! Several of the women in the room admitted that they used two washers and two driers (I do but I didn't dare admit it) but were told that was not the same as using four.

A couple of the ladies there then started to grumble about their husbands. How the husbands were quite happy to sit on Sun Deck and leave their wives to do all the work. How, if all the ironing wasn't finished, it would be the husbands' fault. Do you really blame the men for keeping out of the way?

I returned to my one remaining drier to find that someone had opened the door and not pushed the start button when they closed it. It was still full of damp clothes. I gave up, went back to the cabin and hung them over the towel rail.

Back in the cabin Paul has come up with a very good idea. We have missed several ports at which we had budgeted for expensive tours and are therefore below budget. Why not use the money saved to pay for sending all our clothes to the laundry? I've half agreed with him so we've agreed to send things that need ironing to the laundry but we'll still wash the things that don't need ironing at the launderette.

One thing we've found today is how poor the cabin service has been. Jerome brought our tea as normal at 7-45am but that was the last we saw of him until turned 5-00pm.

As Paul is in the cabin for most of the day we don't get the normal cabin service but our steward does come in to give us fresh ice, clean the bathroom, provide clean glasses and fresh towels, empty the bins, etc. Today we only got fresh ice brought by a man who spoke no English. Paul ordered a sandwich from the restaurant menu for lunch. When it hadn't arrived after half an hour he rang to see what was happening; the restaurant assured us that it had been dispatched from there. It finally turned up in our cabin forty minutes after it was ordered, brought by a steward who spoke no English, cold, soggy and accompanied by cold, inedible, French fries.

Paul had been due to make dinner this evening however in the end he decided that he would find it easier just to join us for a drink before dinner and then to eat in the cabin. My father decided to miss dinner altogether so it ended up with just my mother and me eating.

Sitting at a table on the other side of the restaurant was a lady who looked familiar (remember that I have eaten in the cabin since leaving Valparaiso so I assumed that any new faces had boarded there). This lady saw my staring and made a kind of half-wave. I just nodded and smiled. I couldn't get over how familiar she looked, just like Leone (Runaway on CC) but I knew that, as she was eating in Mauritania, it couldn't be her. Throughout the meal my eyes kept returning to this lady and she saw my glances. By the end of the meal I felt that I had to go and explain why I had been staring. I approached the table and the lady smiled and waved. I was taken aback - who was this person? It very quickly transpired that it was Leone. She had been invited to dine in the Britannia Grill this evening and had not liked to make too much fuss when she saw me sitting there!

[Malcolm]

I'm having problems with the wireless internet onboard at the moment. Yesterday afternoon and evening I couldn't access the network to let me log onto the internet. Any emails I'm sending have to be done trough the Computer Learning Centre. As Danielle, the Centre Manager, is ill there's nobody about to ask. If you read this you'll know I've solved the problem.

I didn't sleep well last night and put my sleeplessness to good use - I spent half the night trying to sort out my internet problems! Father still has a cold so I had to take mother to breakfast and then onto the QGL where she could read her book.

When she was settled it was back to the cabin where Paul had already managed to get washed and dressed. We first went to the computer centre to try his laptop - that connects with no problem - and then onto boat deck to sit in the fresh air. It is warm and sunny. The Pacific is a deep blue colour with no white tops to the gentle waves. The only problem is a gentle swell that could stop our getting to Easter Island tomorrow.

As Paul is indisposed I have had to make my own arrangements for getting my hair cut. I had made an appointment in the salon for 11-00am and was prepared to resist any hard sell. It cost US$ 36.80 for a 20 minute appointment - very expensive when you consider that I've been getting it for free for the past 11 years! The hard sell however was for gift vouchers for Valentine’s Day and came with suggested packages for the recipient. One package included a shave, a facial and a massage of the face, hands, arms and scalp. I didn't want it for Valentine’s Day but thought it a good way to pamper Paul after I've gone off to EI tomorrow. Paul agreed and I've booked him in for 9-00am tomorrow.

We sat on deck until lunch time and then returned to the cabin for something to eat. After lunch we watched the second lecture given by Peter Quatermaine as it was shown on one of the TV channels. The lecture was entitled "Building a Modern Cruise Ship" and was much more interesting than yesterday's although as it was delivered in the same monotone voice we were both soon asleep!

The Spa called at 5-30pm. The beautician's appointments had been rescheduled and they needed to change the time of Paul's appointment - would 3-00pm be OK? That time is not as good as we had wanted but, hopefully, it will still amuse Paul for a little while. I feel incredibly guilty that I am getting to Easter Island and he is not.

Dinner was in the cabin again. To think that I once asked why one would choose to eat in the cabin if you could eat in the restaurant! On that subject I have an apology to give to Matthew (and and everyone else who was offended by my more money than sense comment in relation to the Grills). I had a couple of poor experiences in the Princess Grill followed by a very good experience in the Caronia. Having spent some time in the Britannia Grill I feel that it is well worth the extra. I'm not saying that the Caronia is poor (and it's so long since I ate in the Mauritania that I can't comment) just that I now feel that the BG does offer a high level of service.

[Malcolm]

I worried an awful lot about leaving Paul on the ship while I went of to see Easter Island. I know just how much he wanted to see it and I found the thought of me going there without him very unpleasant I am so pleased I did - the morning tour wasn't much but id did complement the afternoon. I enjoyed it so much that Easter Island became one of the highlights of the trip.

[Malcolm]

Easter Island. It was probably this port more than any other that made Paul and I agree to come on this trip. We both have memories going back to early childhood of pictures of those enigmatic statues and the idea of somewhere so remote that nobody knew what they were nor the why or how of their presence. We were both looking forward to this port.

Despite Paul's indisposition I had decided to go on both tours we had booked. The first tour "Ancient Cultures of Easter Island" was scheduled for departure at 8-30am, meeting in the theatre at 8-15am. Luckily I met up with several CCers there so I'd someone to talk to but I didn't leave the theatre until 9-20am! The problem was tendering - there was a very small harbour with only room for one tender to get into the port at once. To make matters worse the entrance to the harbour was lined with large rocks for quite a way out to sea meaning that the next tender couldn't even get near the jetty until the previous one was out of the way.

There were about 30 people on my tour. We were divided into four groups and split between various taxis and minibuses. The tour went first to view the caldera of Rano Kau (one of the volcanos). This was no different from looking into any volcano that hasn't erupted in a while. Although it was a relatively unusual sight it was not enough to make me rate Easter Island as a must see destination.

Then it was on to Orongo Village - the site of the Birdman Cult - that was used to decide the ruling tribe each year on the island. The village was in use until the arrival of missionaries in the early 18th century but at that point had been abandoned. It was rediscovered in the 1960s and restored. Now it is reminiscent of the pyramids on Tenerife - very heavily restored with no way of telling what is original and what is supposition. The site had some spectacular views and it was interesting to see the origins of the cult.

 Then it was on to Vinapu. This was the site of three (although only two were visible) ruined ahus. Again the site was interesting but still lacked the wow factor I'd been expecting

The last site on the morning tour was Ahu Akivi. This was seven of the Moai (statues) an an ahu (the plinth). It was interesting to see the statues but the whole site looked as if it had been set up for tourists and I felt was of limited interest.

I was feeling rather disappointed. Easter Island has been somewhere I've wanted to see for about 35 years, from before a time when I even knew where Easter Island was. I thought that my expectations had been too high; that I had expected something earth shattering and no site on earth could match my expectations. As we had been so late setting off I arrived back at the harbour at 1-28pm for a tour that left at 1-30pm. I passed through the queue for tenders back to the ship; there must have been two hundred people in it. To be honest I wasn't too bothered if I made the tour or not. I had checked several times before we left the ship and been told that I would make the tour - If I did miss it I could go and see Paul (It's a pity they'd changed his appointment from morning to afternoon) and could also make a very good case for getting my money back (at US$ 84.00 each they were quite expensive).

I am so glad I did not miss the "Highlights of Easter Island" tour. Peter Crimes had said that both this and the Ancient Cultures tour were similar - they weren't!

Our first stop was at Ahu Tahai. A site with five Moai on an ahu; a single Moai and a Moai with a top knot (a red stone top that only appears on the later statues). The site also had a couple of shelters that had been used by the early inhabitants.

From there it was on to Vaihu. This was an unrestored site where all the Moai were still face down where they'd been toppled. It was fantastic to see the statues in the state they had been in before any restoration was done to them. You wonder what is being done to protect these sites - until you drive further round the island and realise that there are so many other similar sites it is not possible to protect, let alone restore, them all.

Once we were all back on our transport it was off to Rano Raraku – the quarry where the Moai were carved. We arrived in a carpark at one end of the walk through the quarry. There were a few stalls selling souvenirs, a stall selling cold drinks (welcome) and some toilets (very welcome - they were the first we'd seen today). We were told the walk would take about 3/4 of an hour and were offered the option of taking the bus to the carpark at the other end of the walk although nobody accepted. We set off on a walk that could only be described as fantastic. The quarry is on the side of a volcano although we never got to the crater. We walked past vast numbers (the quarry contains about 400) of Moai ranging from the partially complete, to those left in storage awaiting installation and those where damage had meant that they were not used. We saw the largest Moai; that was still partially attached to the rock.

The last site on this tour was Ahu Tongariki. Fifteen Moai on an ahu. This is another restored site but, despite that, is very impressive and gives a stately impression of the Moai. It was also only the second place we saw a Moai with a top knot although we had seen several top knots without Moai at the unrestored site.

On the drive back to the ship our bus got a puncture. Luckily seven of us were able to transfer to another bus in the convoy and the remaining eight were able to connect with another tour.

Meanwhile Paul had been having a quiet day at sea. He had got our cabin steward to wheel him up to the Chart Room where he could get a Ginger Beer whilst he looked out at the island. He met my mother there and then got someone to help them both into the restaurant for lunch. After lunch he went back to the cabin until it was time for his facial.

The steward took Paul up to the salon on One Deck where the assistant met him and first cut his hair. It was then necessary to move into a room in the beauty section for the shave, massage, anti-aging treatment, etc. His opinion is that the treatment was pleasant enough but nothing special. It did help pass an afternoon. My opinion was that it did make him look more youthful ( ).The effect is only temporary and its value is therefore doubtful as an "anti-aging" treatment but its value as something to make Paul feel special is undoubted.

Once I was back onboard I went to the cabin to collect Paul. The sun had been so strong today that I thought I should wear a long sleeved shirt so stop my arms getting more sunburnt. I changed my shirt and then we went on deck to give Paul his first proper sight of Moai.

We stayed on deck until we sailed (late again because of the delays tendering). Then we came back to the cabin. That gave me the first chance to wash my hands and face - the flannel came away black. I admit that I was not surprised - most of the driving had been on unmetalled roads and the clouds of dust our vans had left would have to be seen to be believed! I took my shoes off and my socks had a definite orange band that ended where the sock entered the shoe.

I had a very tiring day on Easter Island. I am so sorry that Paul missed it but am so grateful that I got to see a glimpse of it. I have told Paul that, if he can manage the flights, we will come back next February and spend a week there (combined with a week in Salvador and a week in Buenos Aries) - there is so much more to see there I don't think I would get the chance to be bored and I feel that the journey would be very worthwhile.

Some people who were on the same bus as me for the second tour commented that it was an equal of Egypt in the sites that it had to offer. I have never been to Egypt and therefore can't comment first hand, but everyone I have spoken to who saw that quarry has said just how spectacular it was.

[Once the World Cruise was over I rated Easter Island as one of my top two ports. Unfortunately at the time of updating (May 2009) we haven’t managed to get back yet and have no plans to do so]

[Malcolm]

I've just reread my notes on that second tour. They don't make it sound anything like as earth-shattering as it really was. For that tour alone it would be worth returning to Easter Island.

[Twynkle]

Malcolm

It not difficult to imagine why Easter Island needs another visit for both of you!
(I think that QE is making her maiden visit there on her  WC 2011)
There are many YouTube clips, both commercial (BBC, ITN and Nat Geog) and personal ones
Perhaps you have found them already!
A place that's been at the very top of my (QE2) wish list - sadly, not going to be possible
Rosie

[Malcolm]

I would not go back to EI on a cruise (or that wouldn't be my main reason for taking that cruise). There were not enough facilities on the island (things like tour buses, public toilets, souvenirs, etc) to cope with the QE2. As the only access to the island was by tender this also was not good for getting people ashore and back again.

I did fancy taking the QM2 to New York; flying to Santiago; onto EI; back to Santiago and then stopping in a couple of cities in South America. It would then be a case of flying back to New York to catch the QM2 back to Southampton. Unfortunately neither money nor time have made that possible yet. I can but hope

[Malcolm]

Today is another day at sea (and, to be honest, a chance to rest from the stresses of yesterday). My plan was to spend a leisurely day not doing too much and taking things as they come.

The day started with the gym at 7-00am. I was grateful for the extra hour in bed we'd got when the clocks went back. The regulars in the gym were starting to get rather concerned that I had been missing for so many days - they did know about Paul's ankle, they were just waiting for news. I found it very hard to get back into the gym routine again having missed it for quite a few days. I hope tomorrow will be easier!

Back to the cabin to shower, dress and make sure Paul was OK before I went for breakfast. Paul decided he'd stay in bed for the morning so I headed to the Crystal Bar to catch up with emails, this journal, etc. I was planning on going to the lecture at 11-00am but, before I did, the stewardess came to the table and asked if I was Malcolm Kelly; there was a phone call for me. It was Paul, he was now dressed and would like to move up to the Chart Room.

Today's lecture was Peter Crimes talking about Tahiti (our next port). I got to the Theatre about fifteen minutes early and found my mother had claimed four of the last seats in the balcony. Together with Roger and Rosemary we sat and watched the lecture. The Theatre was packed. Not only was every seat taken but there were people sitting on every step of the isles and the walkway around the back. It was so busy that Thomas was saying that if you hadn't a seat you should plan on watching it when it was televised later that day.

The lecture itself was interesting but no more so than most of his others.  The news that he is a good and interesting lecturer is obviously spreading because more and more people want to see him.

Between the end of the lecture and lunch Roger and Rosemary joined us for a drink in the Chart Room whilst Paul sorted out the transfer of pictures from their camera onto their laptop. We all went into the restaurant for lunch (mother, Paul and me just having a sandwich, my father a three course meal).

Paul and I escaped back to the cabin for an hour before it was time for a performance by Martyn Dominique who was singing in tribute to Mario Lanza. We were left with the impression that Martyn Dominique is not that good a tenor, something not helped by the over amplification demanded by the Grand Lounge.

This evening was our "senior Officers Party" and was the first time we'd got to the Hotel Managers Party in the Yacht Club. It was certainly a better venue than the Funnel Bar has been in previous years. Paul and I had to leave the party early to ensure we were back in the cabin for 8-30pm, the time we had ordered our meal for.

The clocks go back two hours this evening so it lookd like it could be a very long evening. It was; although I was falling asleep by midnight.

[Malcolm]

Pitcairn is one of those places I never expected to see. I had heard of it but I doubt I could have told you where it was until we left Easter Island. Now that I've seen it I thing that I've seen all that can be offered to cruise ships and I'm not in any hurry to go back. I would be vaguely interested to go ashore there but I don't think it could be worth the very difficult journey getting there!

[Malcolm]

Today's "port" was unexpected. It was only yesterday that we got final confirmation that we would be able to pass by Pitcairn Island and that the islanders would be coming aboard to talk about their island and to sell souvenirs.

As today was not an official port day things didn't get going until 8-00am. Because the clocks went back two hours last night most people (including us) on the ship were awake early and raring to go. This meant that the gym was unusually busy and everyone wanted breakfast as soon as the restaurants opened. This resulted in long delays - breakfast took over fifty minutes!

We were due at Pitcairn at 10-00am; the islanders were due to come aboard; we were due to make two circumnavigations of the island sailing away at 1-30pm. During this time we should all have had the chance to see the island, buy as many souvenirs as we could and attend the lecture on island life.

Pitcairn is one of those places (like Easter Island) I never expected to see. It's been in the news recently but has never made the status of somewhere I must see (unlike Easter Island). It is only within the past week that I thought I might get the chance to see it.

We got the last wheelchair space and chair on the port side of the ship which allowed us to view the first circumnavigation of the island. The island itself is small and, where there isn't a cliff, the land slopes very steeply into the sea.

The souvenir stalls were in the Grand Lounge. By the time I'd taken Paul back to the cabin the lounge was packed with a crowd four deep round each stall. The main stock was of postcards, stamps, T shirts, carved wooden fish and souvenir booklets. I didn't spend much time there. I only bought four jars of Pitcairn Honey (expensive at US$ 7.00 each) and looked quickly at the other stalls before I got away from that great  mob of unwashed (at least they smelt unwashed) humanity - My fellow passengers, not the islanders!

The lecture was a lecture about an island where there isn't much of interest. Once you've covered the island's isolation and its connection with the Bounty that's it. That must be mitigated by the comment that the recording wasn't that good - the sound quality was poor and one side of the picture was very discoloured (the other was simply discoloured) - but there is still a limit to what can be said about a small island and its even smaller community.

There was an announcement that anyone who wanted a Pitcairn Island stamp in their passport must pay US$ 5.00. I went to the pursers and arranged stamps for the four of us; just in time - by the time I'd finished at the desk the queue had gone from two or three to twenty or thirty. [Paul and I got our stamps – my parents didn’t. It took a lot of arguing with the purserettes to convince them the stamp wasn’t there and that the least they could do was refund the cost – in the end they did the least!]

We received two invitations for cocktails today. The first was from Ensemble Travel to drinks in the Yacht Club at 5-00pm. We all attended this as it was the opportunity for the Ensemble Travel reps to tell us about the tour tomorrow. They have confirmed that the coaches (there are about sixty people on this sector with Ensemble so we'll have two coaches) will take wheelchairs so that means Paul should be able to go as well as mother's scooter. It will be Paul's first time ashore since the hospital in Valparaiso and he's looking forward to it.

The second party was the Captain's reception for all Full World Cruise passengers who are dining in the Grills or Caronia. Paul felt that he'd had enough excitement for the day and decided to give the party a miss. It was due to start at 7-15pm; I didn't go until 7-30pm and there was no queue at the receiving line. I was able to walk straight up and shake hands with Capt. McNaught who recognised me, asked how Paul was doing and made several comments that not only showed he knew who I was but was aware of what was happening in Paul's case. I was very impressed. My parents also decided not to attend. This was a shame as the party was far more than the normal Captain's reception. There were far fewer people there for one thing; there was a buffet in the middle of the dance floor which included the normal selection of canapés, a side of smoked salmon, a large ice bowl of prawns and plenty of caviar. The buffet was garnished with several ice sculptures.

I got back to the cabin just in time because dinner was delivered as I approached. During dinner our invitations for the World Cruise Dinner arrived. It is to be held in Honolulu and reads as if it will be an impressive event.

Once we'd had dinner I pushed Paul outside the Yacht Club for a couple of drinks. Although the ship was well lit and there were stars in the sky there was no moon. Outside the glow cast by the ship nothing was visible.

[Malcolm]

I'm sitting in the Chart Room catching up on yesterday's notes and I've just glanced out of the window – it’s pouring down! I don't believe you should get bad weather on holiday! .......

... Half an hour later. We've just finished talking to Veronica (Adrenaline Junkie on CC). She'd come inside to shelter from the sudden downpour although by now the rain has stopped and the sun is shining again.

The housekeeper called in to see if our airconditioning was working any better than it was (apart from that one day when the a/c turned chilly our thermostat's been set at minimum for the entire trip). The housekeeper had noticed that we've been leaving our door open and wondered why. She's now arranged for someone to come and check it whilst we're out tomorrow.

It's been nine days since I last went swimming, there's been quite a lot happening that meant I just haven't made it! I decided that I should start again and went down to the pool at 5-00pm (a time when it's normally starting to get quiet). There were three people in already so when I joined it was busy. When two more got in and there was a third getting undressed I gave up - after only 22 lengths!

We had dinner in then went to the deck outside the Yacht Club for a couple of drinks (OK, 3, but only Diet Sprites!). From there it was off to an early bed.

[Malcolm]

As the 13^th was only short here's the 14^th as well

[Malcolm]

Valentine's Day and we're in Tahiti or at least we will be when we dock. We were both awake very early again this morning. I was up, showered, dressed and at breakfast by 7-00am. Breakfast service was slow (3/4 hour) so by the time I was back in the cabin Paul was up and dressed.

We've each got a water bottle (the kind meant for cyclists) to take for days ashore. I normally fill them from the cold tap before we leave the ship and they will last us an entire day although by the end of it the water does taste very chlorinated. Today I went to fill the bottles and the cold tap was running warm water; I left it running whilst we had a cup of tea - still warm. Eventually I gave up and went to fill them at the Pavilion from the drinking water bowser there. What a stroke of luck, we've now found somewhere to fill up where the water doesn't taste funny by the end of the day.

Today was the second in the series of tours from Ensemble World Explorers - tours paid for by our travel agent and that are not on the normal Cunard tour programme. From the literature the tour came across as being very good. It included lots of things that sounded interesting and fun. It also included lunch (our tour in Rio also included a lunch that was first class so we were looking forward to see what Tahiti offered).

The ship was late in clearing customs. The group assembled in the Yacht Club at 8-30am for a tour that started at 9-00am. We didn't even leave the boat until 9-20am. Once the tour was underway, about 9-45am, it was straight into a long traffic jam caused by the trimming of trees on the central reservation of the road we were on.

The first stop on the tour was the "Museum of Tahiti and Her Islands". This was not interesting. Look back at my comments about the museum in Rio. The same comments I made there would apply here.

The next stop was "Mara's Fern Grotto". Pleasant enough and less than a five minute walk from the main road. The information we'd received from Ensemble made it sound far more interesting than it actually was.

Then lunch. This was a buffet at the "Restaurant du Musée Gauguin". This turned out to be a second rate coaching stop. There were about six other coaches there; it seemed as if every full day tour offered by Cunard was stopping there. The buffet was not vast (just like their plates) and at the time I visited it had run out of all the meats except cold chicken and plastic ham. What was good about the restaurant was its setting. It was beautiful, located by the sea with several private fish ponds containing lots of large and active fish and with views down the coast.

After lunch it was on to the Gauguin museum itself. This museum has very pleasant gardens but doesn't contain a single original work by Gauguin every picture on display is a print. Even the location of the museum bears little relation to where Gauguin was during his time on Tahiti.

Our penultimate stop of the afternoon was at Vaipahi Gardens - another waterfall and pool surrounded by flowers. A very nice area but not that different from Mara's Grotto that we'd visited in the morning.

The final stop was at Marae Arahurahu, an "ancient open-air temple". An interesting site. It was somewhere the buses could pull up very close to the temple itself but it was unfortunately over restored. It was reminiscent (although of nothing like the importance of) Orongo Village on Easter Island or the pyramids on Tenerife. It was interesting enough to see but, had I missed it, I wouldn't have been that bothered.

I don't mean any of my comments about the tour to be criticisms of  Ensemble Travel or their representatives, just that I don't think that Tahiti has any first or second class sites and has so few third class ones that almost every tour is very similar. [As the cruise went on I began to feel that we had been very lucky in Rio – the tour had been good. A lot of the Ensemble tours seemed to go to second rate sights when there were first rate ones available. If there were a next time I would be more careful about taking the included tours.]

One comment I would add is that Tahiti is not a particularly wheelchair friendly place - there are ramps but there are also lots of places where levels are changed by means of one or two steps; a coarse gravel is used for a lot of outdoor paths making pushing a chair impossible; a lot of sites have no wheelchair access at all; I didn't see a single toilet with facilities for people with disabilities - not such a problem for Paul but it could be a very embarrassing inconvenience for someone.

When we got back to the ship our cabin was not just cold but icy! They've fixed our air-conditioning. Now instead of having the thermostat set to minimum and the room still being too hot it's set to maximum and the cabin's still chilly! There's no pleasing some people!

We had dinner in the cabin again and Paul fell asleep shortly afterwards. I followed him at just turned 10-00pm. It had been a very tiring day.