Last time I'd been in Gibraltar, I'd been unable to venture far from the ship due to my back.  Today I was going to explore, as well as try and find a good place to see my bambina from.  First of all, I noticed Sapphire's linesmen waiting so I asked if she was about to leave, as the port site listed her going at 2pm.  They said she was, so was an hour earlier.  Once she'd gone, it was back on the ship to slap on the sunscreen I bought to prevent sunburn on sunburn then my big adventure, snapping my bambina on the route.  It was a shame the dock bit was fenced off so no decent bow shot.  I mainly did a circle, having no idea where the hell I was going, but safe in the knowledge all roads led to shippy.  It was a Bank Holiday, so many places were closed.  Pubs and Morrisons were open.  Dance teachers, Maureen and Jeffrey were heading back to the ship while an American asked if we were on what was known as Main Street.  I had to tell her I was a tourist myself.  I would have liked to explored more but my back was beginning to twinge on the home straight so definitely didn't want to push things.  I was just pleased with the progress from December, though my feet were killing me.  

A couple of refreshing Cokes in a pint glass upon my return as a fuel bunker came alongside then something from afternoon tea to take back to the cabin.  Turned out the Malibu stocked onboard was a waste of money as I got more sunburn after all plus blisters on my chest.  It's ridiculous.  Factor 30 was the maximum they stocked and Ambre Solaire and Boots protected me from burning and even heat rash at factor 20 so either this had been on the shelves a hell of a long time so lost its effectiveness or was just generally crap.  Quiz and we got our drink prize from last night.  Lauren decided it would be Scattergories, which several of us didn't understand so we lost, probably because we had four on our team to Carol's five.  Six of us went to dinner - me, Carol, John, Carolyn, Jerry and Bruce.  We were supposed to sail at 7pm but we were still bunkering.  

The Captain came on at 8.15pm to say we would be going in the next five-ten minutes but still nothing happened.  I dashed upstairs and wished I'd popped back for a cardie as it was getting nippy.  The fuel bunker had detached itself from us but needed the help of a tug to get clear then we threw our lines about 9pm.  What is it with people when they KNOW you're taking photos but walk right in front of you not once but back and forth, looking at you as they do it?  Grrrr!  For the first time since the bus to the ship, I saw Miriam who had sat next to me.  She was having a wonderful time.  Apparently it was going to be a bit bouncy to Cadiz.

Cadiz and it was the first time I'd been here.  We led the way for callers as Celebrity Equinox was in dry dock.  I hadn't seen her since Naples the day after disembarking in Civitavecchia after the maiden voyage.  I had done a similar itinerary on her except from Southampton so some of the ports on this cruise were the first time for me back then.  John was on deck doing his daily Tai Chi so concentrating on that.  We were followed in by Hamburg and Sea Cloud II as the sun came up.  Mick was coming up to snap as I was going to breakfast but then he found me to say MSC Sinfonia was coming.  She was meant to be doing Black Sea cruises and in Piraeus so totally unexpected and hadn't been on the port schedule before I left.  I gave up on my food rather than choke.  Once she was docked, I decided not to push things with my back after Gibraltar and go back to bed.  

At 9am there was an announcement from the Captain letting everyone know they would be continuing the essential engine maintenance from Cartagena and a few minutes later, the aircon went quiet.  An hour later, there was another telling everyone about the crew drill.  How come stuff like this is broadcast in the cabins but when they are calling a passenger, especially before sailaway, it isn't?  That's not a criticism at Voyages of Discovery because every cruise line I've sailed on is guilty of that.  The drill ended at 11.15am and I managed half an hour's kip before going to lunch where I sat with Peter and enjoyed his company again.  Since the gangway was back at deck 3 instead of the very high 5, I went for some photos of the ships.  After I got back, there was an announcement in the corridor they were testing the PA system and alarm then proceeded to play pan pipe versions of well known songs before turning the alarm on.  No good testing these outside the cabins only.  As I waited for Sea Cloud II to sail, I phoned home then grabbed some afternoon tea stuff to take back to the cabin.