Malaga

Monday 10^th December

The clocks went back one hour and that time was very much appreciated as we were due to arrive in Malaga at 8.00 and depart at 1.30. Not good timing for tardy Diane!

I met up with Trevor at breakfast and caught the shuttle bus with him to the edge of the port. There was a long line waiting for the bus, extending back into the port buildings. I got onto the third bus to come along!

We split up as we had separate plans and agendas for our time in Malaga. I’d been there before so was concentrating on places I hadn’t seen. I managed three churches but rapidly ran out of energy and headed back towards the bus by about 11.30. I was really dragging my feet.

I had been fascinated by the citrus fruit hanging on the tree outside the Cathedral.

I was even more fascinated by this Sock Tree in bloom. What a pity it didn’t have more ‘fruit’.

During the time in Malaga the sun had come out. I made the most of it by sitting on my balcony for 2 hours in the sun. I was actually too hot after a while, despite a change of clothes, but refused to give up any moment of sunshine! While there, I watched the staff rehearsing safety procedures with the lifeboats.

I was concerned by my lack of energy as I had a dance lesson with Volodomyr at 5.30. I had made one change in my daily routine. I normally take phenylalanine tablets (an amino acid) on an empty stomach before breakfast. I’d forgotten about them and had taken them on a full stomach after breakfast. Did this make them release whatever it is too quickly, rather than a slower release during the day? I therefore ate some chocolate (which contains phenylalanine) and had two more tablets. I also did a lot of resting, even lying down on the bed for an hour. It helped.

At 4pm I’d been invited to the Gallery for the private viewing and to meet the figurative artist Anna Razumovskaya, who had come aboard at Malaga. She’s a larger-than-life figure, dramatically dressed and full of flair. We spent a lovely hour (well, 45 minutes, as she was late) looking at her paintings and talking to her about the process. As I walked out at 5, I discovered we were just passing Gibraltar, so rushed out to look and marvelled at the fact that I’d walked down the Rock just five months earlier.

I arrived for the lesson at 5.30, only to find that the Bingo had been moved at the last minute and was in the ballroom, due to end at 5.45 but actually went on until closer to 6. Frustrating! We sat and waited. I’d invited Trevor along to dance with Nadiya, seeing a lesson involves both of them together. I wanted Trevor to run distraction, as it were. I wanted as much time dancing with Volodomyr as possible, rather than having Nadiya correct my posture minutely. That worked pretty well. However, although I’d said I wanted to just dance and practise following a partner, and envisaged dancing for a whole track, that obviously is not their way of doing things. They presented us with a short waltz routine to dance! We went over and over the same steps. Friends of Trevor’s had come in order to video me. Looking back at the video, I think I was better in the first couple of dances. Volodomyr admitted that as I got tired, my head came further and further in. What a pity. I will have to build up my stamina! Then we worked on slow foxtrot. It was lovely to dance both of those again! However, I was better at the waltz! I think I only had about 20-25 minutes instead of the 30 minutes I paid for, but I also suspect that I could not have physically lasted much longer. It was better to stop at that point. (I was fortunate that my lesson was at a time when the ballroom floor was perfectly level. I had hopes of another lesson if we did not hit rough weather. It’s very difficult to take a long step back and then feel the floor disappear under you – or to find yourself going uphill in the middle of a step. However, the seas did not cooperate.) Volodomyr told me several times that I am a good dancer and he was pointing out tiny things to make me better (like the most picturesque way to turn my head). Very nice to hear!

The four of us went upstairs to the Lido for coffee to debrief and chat about the cruise for a couple of hours and then Trevor and I had dinner at the buffet while the other two went to a show. Trevor appeared to be just starting The Throat, so decided to take it easy that night.

The Holiday Decorators were taken on in Malaga in order to decorate the ship for Christmas. It was great to see the decorations appearing gradually over the afternoon and evening and the next couple of days.

I was late to the ballroom and had to sit with a couple I’d only spoken to a few times, rather than with the usual group. Without me there to reserve seats early (each seat holding a shoe or an ipod or my handbag), they had not been able to get any together! I enjoyed the dancing. As well as dancing with Ron and Rob, I had a couple of dancers with one of the eccentric but good dancers, and a couple of the show dancers turned up so I asked one for a waltz. That was the best dance I’ve had on any night. His frame was superb and he really moved around the floor. I also had a social dance (to a waltz tune but no recognisable steps) with one of the staff members I’d been chatting to. That’s about the only dance that I’ve managed to talk throughout. Normally I’m concentrating on following. I enjoyed it.