Spirit of Adventure blog

Although we had more space to manoeuvre on our departure than we did on arrival in Cadiz, I never let my guard down. Departure went well as planned and once we have disembarked our pilot and headed out to open sea on the South Westerly course towards the Canary Islands, I felt like having a cold drink on my balcony while playing my guitar. Then I thought, maybe I should rather go to the gym first as I have been trying to keep fit.

The intention was good, however the outcome wasn’t. I opted for the rowing machine. My usual rowing exercise consists of a 4.2 mile row (equivalent to the length of Oxford vs. Cambridge race) and on a good day I tend to complete it in under 27 minutes. Took of nicely, good pace, passed mile and a half mark and then felt a stabbing pain in my lower left back. Great success!! I went to see our Doctor Henry who examined me and gave a shot (not in the arm). What I originally thought was a sprained muscle, turned out to be a sciatic nerve. Painkillers, rest and sauna for the next couple of days until it calms down.

On our way down to Cadiz, I was thinking of the topics and stories for my blog during our stay in the Canaries. I spoke to Judy, our Explore Ashore Manager, who suggested several great tours that were offering mountain and volcano climbing. Well, not this time. I did pull a prank on Doctor when I asked him to give me another shot just before we head out to climb the volcano in Arrecife. He gave me a nice look followed by: really?!?! and then we both burst out laughing.

Guests seemed to really enjoy our selection of ports, but I had to be happy with the view. However, I was able to complete the last two books in the Thomas Lourdes series. Next one to read is the Fairy Tale by Steven King, newly published on his 75th birthday. I do hope it will be a light read as, apart from Gunslinger and the Dark Tower, his last book I read was Insomnia, given to me by a childhood friend as a challenge. The book was science fiction/horror that infused such a level of paranoia which made me react to every sound while reading it. Once was enough. I mean, how scary can a fairy tale be…. One way to find out.

Kind Regards
Captain Franko Papić