Barcelona to Abu Dhabi: Thanksgiving on our Last Day at Sea
This is some fascinating territory we are covering on our last day at sea. You might think that we could get from one city in Oman to another in less than one day, which I why I am posting this map. You will see Salalah in the way southwest corner, near the border of Yemen, and Muscat up in the northeast corner, around the corner, across from Iran. During this day, we change bodies of water, from the Gulf of Aden to the Gulf of Oman, and we also change time zones again.
We have some view of Oman, but it is hazy. We see some fishing boats, but they are far away.
This is where I start my day.
This is a little corner in the upstairs lounge, Horizons. I had actually intended to do a last load of laundry, and was at the door the minute it opened, but – someone had gotten there way before I did and EVERY single washer was filled! Two men were right behind me, saw my stunned face, and said “Is that all yours?” Someone had figured out the laundry was open before the posted time; I knew that the laundry would be full the rest of the day and my window had closed.
We learned a lesson the very first time we cruised. We know we are close to disembarkation, and meanwhile, we have two very busy days Muscat and Dubai, and then we hit Abu Dhabi and disembark. We need to use this day for packing, keeping out whatever we need to wear from Muscat and Dubai, and our day in Abu Dhabi. The rest needs to be ready for baggage pickup.
On our first cruise, we understood the drill in theory, and we had dinner, a long wine-filled dinner with friends, thinking we would have plenty of time to pack. In the meanwhile, I came down with a truly horrible head cold. So I was feeling totally rotten, and I had had a little too much wine and I was making bad decisions. Never again! We plan ahead. We pack in leisure. It saves our marriage and our sanity.
I meet up with AdventureMan for breakfast and the spa. Hmmmm. For the first time, there are others who have figured out the spa is open early. We splash about, lounge about, and head back to the room to begin packing. AdventureMan has it all sorted out in a heartbeat and heads off to a lecture, giving me time and space to think things through. I plan to check one bag, so as not to have to drag it through five airports (Abu Dhabi, Brussels, Montreal, Atlanta, and Pensacola). It has an AirTag. I won’t need cruising clothes. But I do need to think through what I want to have with me for the next two days of touring, a last day spent in Abu Dhabi and then flying out through cold countries to get back to Pensacola.
Dinner comes, and all the Americans head for the Terrace Cafe, most of the other nationalities head to the Main Dining Room, where, we hear, service is very slow, tables are left uncleared and people are grumbling. In the Terrace Cafe, we see people piling their plates with turkey and mashed potatoes, stuffing, and gravy. We are thankful for a very fine Indian biriyani and some fabulous ginger-mango ice cream.
A lovely day to prepare for our exit, and to watch the sun go down on our last day at sea.
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