And I'm back! :)
All my good intentions about writing seemed to fly away again as we arrived in Tenerife and got busy with all the things there are to do here. I've been keeping a list in my head of all the things I need to tell about and it was getting so long, I knew it was time to write again. I guess the one month anniversary works . . .
Anyhow, we had a great, relaxing Christmas here on the ship. I would say that there were less than 200 people on the ship (when in Africa we average about 350-400 people) so that made for a great atmosphere of community and family. I had spent the week before Christmas madly making about 15 dozen cookies to give as Christmas presents and Marcel and I spent Christmas Eve afternoon putting everything into bags with pretty labels and bows. I have discovered baking again here in Tenerife and between Chex-Mix (thank you Mom for the ingredients) and cookies, I have been spending many hours in the Crew Galley. The Christmas Eve service was early this year to give people a chance to go out and do other things in the evening and after the service we had an amazing dinner. I love the holiday meals here on the ship - Easter, Christmas - the Galley and Dining Room staff do an amazing job making things taste good and look amazing.
All my good intentions about writing seemed to fly away again as we arrived in Tenerife and got busy with all the things there are to do here. I've been keeping a list in my head of all the things I need to tell about and it was getting so long, I knew it was time to write again. I guess the one month anniversary works . . .
Anyhow, we had a great, relaxing Christmas here on the ship. I would say that there were less than 200 people on the ship (when in Africa we average about 350-400 people) so that made for a great atmosphere of community and family. I had spent the week before Christmas madly making about 15 dozen cookies to give as Christmas presents and Marcel and I spent Christmas Eve afternoon putting everything into bags with pretty labels and bows. I have discovered baking again here in Tenerife and between Chex-Mix (thank you Mom for the ingredients) and cookies, I have been spending many hours in the Crew Galley. The Christmas Eve service was early this year to give people a chance to go out and do other things in the evening and after the service we had an amazing dinner. I love the holiday meals here on the ship - Easter, Christmas - the Galley and Dining Room staff do an amazing job making things taste good and look amazing.
(our new stockings from Benin and our foot tall Christmas tree)
Tradition on Mercy Ships is to leave presents outside other people's door sometime in the night of Christmas Eve. I have to say, it was a lot of fun to run around with Marcel at midnight leaving cookies outside doors and to watch the little piles outside doors grow larger. We slept in Christmas morning and then went up to brunch around 10.00 - again, the food there was amazing. Not only was there every kind of breakfast food, there was a whole table of fresh fruit beautifully set up -- and for people who have been eating green oranges, pineapple and mango for the last 10 months, grapes, strawberries, pears, apples, kiwis and mandarins are a very special treat. I took some later and made a great fruit salad that lasted us for about 2 days.
Presents were opened when we got back down to the cabin and the rest of the day was spent relaxing and watching movies. That evening most of the ship went down the road in the port to a special Christmas concert that Santa Cruz has every year -- I guess it is televised all over Spain. It was great to sit and listen to the classical music - it was been awhile since I have been to a classical concert - it sort of reminded me of sitting on the lawn at Blossom in the summers. Fireworks at the end of the show and a nice walk back to the ship made for a end to a nice day.
Presents were opened when we got back down to the cabin and the rest of the day was spent relaxing and watching movies. That evening most of the ship went down the road in the port to a special Christmas concert that Santa Cruz has every year -- I guess it is televised all over Spain. It was great to sit and listen to the classical music - it was been awhile since I have been to a classical concert - it sort of reminded me of sitting on the lawn at Blossom in the summers. Fireworks at the end of the show and a nice walk back to the ship made for a end to a nice day.
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