After a good night’s sleep I awakened early, turned the handle and pulled open the small window, read for a bit, and drifted back to sleep. I was awakened an hour or so later by a man shouting in a loud voice in the street below. So much for mellow tones. It was time to get moving anyway, so I went downstairs to see if Genny was up. She was rising as well so we prepared for the day.
We had deliberately packed in a way that would limit having to open multiple suitcases, with everything we needed for evening and morning in the small purple rollaboard bag. That made it easy to pack up and be ready for our ride with Fabrizio to the port shuttle bus.
People sometimes ask if we are afraid while traveling. We do everything we reasonably can to eliminate circumstances in which we should be fearful, so unless there is a surprising threat of some kind the answer is typically no. We read, talk with other travelers, prepare, maintain awareness, and pray for protection. We travel in the same imperfect world in which we all live, so things can happen, but traveling – or living – in fear is not necessary. I do realize how incredibly fortunate I am to be able to say that when there are so very many who cannot, and I am deeply grateful.
On the practical side, one item I carry is a doorstop. Just a simple one will do but I have one with an alarm as well. Just travel with the battery out as it is easy to accidentally turn on in the suitcase. How do I know this?? Fortunately I figured it out before the bag was checked on its first trip.
Breakfast for me was my favorite pastry from the day before and coffee (a typical Italian breakfast had it been a croissant).
Genny nibbled on an old lemon coconut granola bar. Bet she was wishing for the Nutrigrain bar Terri and Steve brought on the day they took us to the airport!
We locked up, I dropped the keys in my pocket to be sure to give them to Fabrizio, and took the elevator down to meet him at 10:20. “Please be sharp” were his morning instructions. He arrived slightly late in his small grey van, greeting us with “Ms. Mary Turner, Ms. Mary Turner” and “Ms. Geneva Collins”, hurrying to get us to the port about 5 minutes away so he could pick up his mother and go to the coast. “Sunday is family day for Italians”, said he.
After being dropped off, we found our bus, loaded our bags underneath, climbed on, and proceeded beyond security to the ship terminal. On the way in I received a message from Fabrizio, “MS. MARY TURNER – THE KEYS!!!!” OH no!! They were still in my pocket! He decided we should hold onto them for next year when he expects us back :0), but I’ll mail them when I get home.
After arriving at the terminal we deposited our bags, took a long escalator to the top floor of a large terminal, checked in by scanning our passports and looking into a camera, were given a group number to board, and waited to be called.
The wait was only minutes and we finally boarded the “Nieuw Statendam”, found our cabin, placed our wallets and passports in the safe, and ate lunch. We spent the rest of the afternoon finding our lifeboat muster station, watching the lifeboat/safety video, exploring, unpacking, and preparing to eat again. There is a lot of that on a cruise ship! For the rest of the evening and the next day, we’ll fill our time with a combination of activities or just sitting and watching the ocean slide by. The waters have been so calm it feels like sailing on a lake.
Our first stop will be Tuesday in Olympia, Greece. I hope to post pictures from the home of the Olympic Games!
Until then,