It's been a while since my fingers last stroked the keyboard for this blog. So, the last two weeks or so, have been a whirlwind of activity. After frantically packing my bags (within the strict weight limits of Ryanair) the day before departure, I flew out of RDU on my way England two weeks and two days ago!
Started off by blasting through London for two days! Visited all the highlights of the fair city with four fellow travelers, courtesy of our own personal tour guide, Becky Glover. Listened to the melodious sounds of Big Benn announce the hour (after racing pellmell through the streets to get there in time!), took pictures with the lions in Trifalgar square, nearly got kicked out of the House of Commons (for falling asleep during the debates - oops!), watched the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace (didn't get to see the queen though), sprinted through the Egyptian/Mylasian section of the British Museum (now know the RosettaStone language program is named after an actual stone), took in a broadway show of Sister Act after a lovely dinner of fine Indian cuisine, and rode the tube (pronounced 'tewb') multiple times.
On our third day there (Thurs), one of our compatriots had to leave us to continue her travels in Madrid before meeting back with us in Tenerife. So the four of that were left slept in REALLY late and nearly missed our hotel checkout time (12p), needing some recovery time from the barrage of London and all. Then we hit the road, on the wrong side mind you. So here I went, careening down very narrow coutryside roads while sitting in the driver's seat, only, it wasn't the driver's seat. It took me quite a while to stop mentally telling Becky to "get over to the right" when another vehicle was approching.
Along the way to Becky's home place of Somerset, we detoured to Bath, England; which, when pronounced properly by Bathonians, isn't like bath in 'bathtub' but rather, 'both' - with a soft 'o' sound. We toured a little bit around there and visited a really old church/abbey, and learned some about the early Christians in England. Then we hit the local hot springs/mineral water spa! So refreshing!! We were transported into a wonderland of warm waters and hot steam rooms, and foot hottubs. Aaaaahhhhh! After bebopping around between the steam rooms, indoor, heated pool, rooftop-open-air pool, and shrivelling into raisins for two and a half hours, we returned to the car in a much more jello-y composition. As it was almost dinner (tea time), we stopped and procured some fish and chips at The Golden Chip, run by an aisian couple. After arriving at Becky's parents house (where we were staying) we consumed the feast, visited with her parents and brother, had a time of piano playing and singing (including in Welsh), then crashed into bed.
Over the next two days we explored some country lanes (all lined with lovely hedgerows), ambled through some beautiful hillsides, and hiked a couple hills. Then to top it all off, the night before flying out for Tenerife, we helped Becky throw a barn dance fund raiser. Important lesson of the night? You don't cube the cheese for Ploughmans (an English hors d' vors) but cut it into thin squares. Us poor, unknowing Americans! But at least we had a good laugh! After more frantic packing, mainly on Becky and Alainie's parts early Sunday morning, we left for the airport to fly to Tenerife.
We arrived to the ship around 4:30p on Sunday got all checked in and had a wonderful reuniting with our Gateway group. Then early the next morning (7:30a) I started scuba diving training. Normally people don't start off with somthing like this, this soon after arriving, but a wonderful friend that was already on the ship had arranged for me to go with him and four others to get certified. I have never really like water very much, and up until my Gateway training in Sept/Oct, I wasn't even able to float properly. Now, after just a four-day course, I absolutely love being in/under water. It was so amazing getting to see more of God's beautiful creatures and creations. Underwater is a totally different and beautiful world; if I had been able to grow a set of gills, I don't think I would have ever resurfaced. We were able to get the training at a much discounted rate through Mercy Ships, but there is a bit of a down side, now we all have to take some turns cleaning the intakes on the underside of the ship while we are in port, and believe me, port water is just about as nasty as water gets!
Well, I think that's all for this post. We are currently churning through the sea toward Togo. It has been a bit of a rough ride so far, lots of dipping and weaving through the waves. Thankfully I haven't gotten seasick (although several people on board have) and am really enjoying this sail.
Servant of Christ,
Sharon
No comments:
Post a Comment