Romantic thunderstorm

After leaving Acapulco on our first night at sea and after dinner, we rested on the balcony in the warm night-time air and watched a thunderstorm over the land. We couldn't tell we were near land until the lightning strike lit the clouds and mountains. Clear sky over us .. stars .. cumulus and mountains and thunder over the land. Breathtaking. Tough weather pictures to get tho :-)

Leaving Acapulco

Here we are leaving land and sailing away for the first time. Wow.

According to the ship's log (we are given a short version of it on the last day), we 'thrust laterally' at 17:36 on Saturday 21 February 2009 from the dock at Acapulco and set sail for Huatulco. Wow.

On the top deck was the first sailaway party, complete with steel band.

Mustering practice on Oceana

Our first (and only) mustering practice on Oceana. We used the service stairs just this once and it was quite a few floors down so in an emergency I hope there would be nice people to guide us like at practice.

Pathetically, I struggled to understand my life jacket and needed help with the velcro. So much for reading the SAS Survival Book.

The security boat arrives

We had a security boat for our stay in Acapulco, this is him arriving for work at dawn, or maybe taking over the shift, or maybe delivering breakfast.

Feb 20 2009 VID00003

Our first view from Oceana cabin A546 in port at Acapulco, Mexico. Breathtaking view, especially after so many hours couped up in a plane.

First view of Oceana from a distance

When we walked back from Acapulco old town we got our first view of Oceana from afar, it's a beautiful ship.

Discovering Oceana's promenade deck

A delightful thing about being on a cruise for the first time is that everything's new. Discovering the promenade deck was one of those moments. Very romantic, it encircles the ship and is something like a third of a mile around so people tend to take a walk or jog around it in the mornings. It's shaded in the heat of the day, and you can take a seat, order a drink from a passing waiter and watch the world go by. Either that or play deck quoites.

I just love the style, it reminds me old ocean liners taking people to a new life in America. And it took me about a week to spot that those fans in the ceiling are the hulls of the lifeboats suspended above. 'Oceana', that's written on the stern of the lifeboat.

Acapulco transport

I loved the Acapulco transport. Herbie?

Woolworths in Acapulco

The Woolworths in Acapulco was trading normally. Wonder how that works. I mean, is it actually just the UK arm of Woolworths that's gone bust or what?

Acapulco hobo

If you are a tramp in the UK you need loads of stuff to keep yourself warm. But in Acapulco, keeping warm isn't much of an issue, so you can live with almost nothing, imagine that. This woman hasn't even got shoes, and seems to be wearing just a petticoat and a loose fitting top, no bra.

We saw her a few times. One theme of some of the countries we visited is .. survival. There's no safety net. I don't know if Mexico has. But I'm expecting no unemployment benefit, no health insurance, no social housing. So if you fall, there's nothing to catch you.