Vegan Cruise – Day Eight
By the eighth day of the cruise, I would have been happy to remain on the open sea, but it was another disembarkation day – this time to another Canary Island. I knew that others we met on the cruise were staying on board, as they had been to this island before (Arrecife) and thought it was much as the one we had just visited. But our group decided to investigate further, and we left early once again for the shore. Rather than the double decker buses we encountered on Santa Cruz, this island had a white tram that looked like a kid’s choo-choo train that moved us about the city. Despite the nature of these cruise stops and the influx of tourists, this island did not seem prepared to meet this demand. There was, however, a street market that proved somewhat interesting. Best of all, it was adjacent to a large park, so the youngest grandson and I escaped the shoppers and played amid the playground equipment, the fountain, and the other kids. There was a giant saucer that was like a group swing, a merry-go-round that spun gently, and plenty of brightly colored things on which to climb. The group lost interest early on, but my son, the boys and I all walked to see an old castle that was not too far from the park and market.
The castle door was locked but there was an old cannon and a memorial plaque, so we had a few photo opportunities there. The boys enjoyed walking along the shore and the little one loved playing in the sand. Best of all, I took one of my favorite photos on the city, seen from the point on which the castle stood. It was also a reminder of the temporary status of our visit, of our way of life, and of life itself. Things change, and we were only here to move a few stones and leave our small mark. We took it in and left our footprints behind. The magnetism to the Canary Islands seems to be due to the warmth they offer many from the northern parts of Europe who are searching for respite from the cold. I remember when hosting Danish exchange students years prior, they had all enthused on and on about Spain, and how it was their favorite place in all the world.
Back on the ship, we enjoyed our regular buffet options (for me, another salad) and looked forward to our final meal together in the restaurant. To my dismay, I was given my least favorite meal for the third time! This time, however, it was proceeded by tiny potato pancakes (very good) and accompanied with some flat bread, which made the meal one that I could appreciate once again.
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Thanks for the vegan updates on your NCL cruise. My wife and I just finished a 7 day on Celebrity cruise and they were VERY accomodating to vegans! My wife and I complained that there was TOO much food on the ship for us
To be honest, the people at our table HATED their food (meat was dry and rubbery), while my wife and I loved our food!
Glenn, this is really good news! Did you contact Celebrity beforehand to arrange for the accommodation? Even with doing so, NCL struggled to feed me, but I so appreciated their willingness to try.