4th August 2019

The vast majority of the Smith family set sail from Southampton for a 12 day cruise around the Canary Isles.  By saying the vast majority I mean Dad, Ian and Jane, Paul and Sally and my nieces, Eleanor, Esme and Zena.

It didn’t take long before Paul Esme and Zena were in the jacuzzi…………………..

And Jane was posing happily for another holiday snap………………

Dad was just content with sampling the gin and tonic and reading his book!

So here we all are, suited and booted for the first formal evening of the cruise. I think we all scrub up quite well, but then again modesty has always been one of my strong points!

The next few day aboard the Ventura were spent swimming, sunbathing, reading and having the occasional drink, oh and did I mention there was food available 24 hours a day?

Our first port of call was Funchal in Madeira. We arrived here slightly later than planned as there were two medical emergencies onboard that required, in the first instance a helicopter to airlift the sick passenger back to Southampton hospital; and in the second instance the ship had to be diverted to mainland Spain where a young girl with head injuries (and therefore couldn’t be flown due to the pressure change) was landed at Vigo. We were later told by the captain that both were making excellent progress!

There must be something about a pair of bare boobs that brings the child out in us blokes…..and Paul is no exception !

Here are Dad and I with the Ventura in the background. We were both surprised to find that Jane had entered us into the ship’s knobbly knees competition, but on reflection I can see what she meant!

A short walk from the ship (or in the case of Jane, Dad and myself, a short bus trip!) and we were at the cable car ready to get our panoramic view of city below! Paul, Sally and the girls take it all their stride!

It was the girls’ first ride in a cable-car and Zena was particularly excited!

And what a great view it was, although the altitude did affect dad’s knee cap!

One of the churches at the top of the hill was very colourful, it was a shame that at the moment I was about to take the photo the sun decided to hide behind a cloud, but I think you get the idea!

Eleanor was making the most of her time ashore, using the WIFI to catch up with her friends…………well OK so was I, I really don’t want to miss out !

A traditional Madieran toboggan ride is an exciting and quick way to get back to town….

However we took the more sedate cable car back down to sea level!

And here we all are, ready to head back to the ship for a bit of afternoon tea!

This little fellow made me jump whilst I was looking for a geocache in the city centre, well when I say little I’m sure he was 4 foot long!