Thurs Nov 21, 2024
Hi Gang! We had our first and only sea day of this cruise and it was very relaxing, enjoyable and educational! We started off by sleeping in which is always good. This bed we have is sooooo comfortable!
After a quick breakfast, the first stop was to the theater for the speaker series with the topic “From Goths to Guernica – A Short Tour of the History of the Iberian Peninsula”. She covered a ton of history! Due to Spain and Portugal’s location, they were at the heart of the world trade routes which fostered exploration, conquest and empire building. The Greeks and Phoenicians (from current day Lebanon) came here to trade wine for silver. The Roman Empire conquered the area and divided it into Spain and Portugal. The basque region however was never taken over by Rome.
Trajan and Hadrian were both born here. Roman rule here soon declined in the 5th century when the Visogoths took over in Toledo. By 795, the Muslim Moors take over the peninsula. In the 10th century they make their capitol in Cordoba and also build the great palace of Alhambra in Granada.
In 1469 Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile marry and lead Spain. In 1492 Columbus gets their blessing and funding to find the “new world”. In 1494 the Treaty of Tordesillas divided the world between Spain and Portugal. In 1516 Charles the 1st of Spain, a Hapsburg, became the Holy Roman emperor. In 1556 Charles the 1st’s son Phillip II takes over the crown. He wants to spread Catholicism so he marries Mary the 1st of England who is Catholic. They have no children so Elizabeth the 1st eventually takes over. The Spanish armada is defeated in 1598, Phillip the 1st dies and Spain weakens.
In 1700 Charles II dies with no heirs and so the Bourbon French family takes power. In 1789 the French Revolution happens. In 1807 Napoleon invades Spain and installs his brother Joseph on the throne. In 1808-1814 the Iberian Peninsular war breaks out which pushes the French out. In 1873 the first Spanish republic starts and fails and the monarchy takes back over.
In 1898 the explosion of the USS Maine in Havana starts the Spanish American war. In 1910 Portugal becomes a republic. In 1914 the Spanish flu pandemic strikes Portugal and Spain. In 1926 Portugal starts the 48 year rule under dictator Salazar.
In 1936 Francisco Franco sparks a coup starting the Spanish civil war. Nazi Germany and fascist Italy join the war. During that war Guernica lost 2,000 people and there are mass graves of people buried on the island of Mallorca where we’ll be tomorrow. (I’m hoping our tour doesn’t go there!).
In 1969 Franco says Juan Carlo will succeed him. In 1978 Spain adopts a new constitution. Portugal in 1949 becomes a founding member of NATO and joins the EU when it’s created. Today Spain has become the 4th largest economy in the eurozone but it has the highest unemployment. Whew… that was a lot of history!
After the speaker we went to the Q&A session with the captain, Alessandro Zanello. He is 50 years old and from Italy and has been working as a captain for twelve years. His father was a captain so his first steps were on a cruise ship. He explained how this ship runs on LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) which makes it better for the environment. He also said that Pilot boat captains (the ones that board cruise ships to guide them into port) are needed in all ports except going thru the Panama Canal.
His schedule is that he works 3 months on the ship and gets 3 months off. He lives in La Spezia, Italy. His favorite port to sail into is Sydney, Australia and that the French Polynesian area is his favorite destination. He said that you do need additional captain testing and certifications to cross the Drake Passage to Antarctica. This ship took two years to build but 4 years from design to completion. It is truly a beautiful ship!
By then, of course we needed to eat again so it was off to lunch! In honor of me they had a seafood buffet! Lobster, crab legs, stone crabs, shrimp, etc. So yummy! After lunch we chilled for awhile then went to our second and final cooking class (yes, they let me back in near the hot equipment!).
This class was entitled “Island Flatbreads: A Coca-Making Masterpiece. Coca is the Balearic Islands (where we’ll be tomorrow) version of pizza. We made two, one called Coca amb Trampo (trampo is a salad of finely chopped onions, peppers, garlic and tomatoes put on top of the pizza) and Coca de Sobrassada y Miel which consisted of just chorizo sausage, cheese and honey. Both were really tasty!
After the class we chilled for a little then had to get ready for an early evening of fun and entertainment. I’ll provide another update later tonight after dinner. Hope everyone is having a great Thursday!
The Wandering Italian 