After an excellent evening on board and with some passengers undoubtedly still feeling the effects of the night before ORIANA was her way to her next destination, the largest of the Canary Islands and the joint capital Tenerife.
Throughout the early hours of the made her way through the Atlantic at 4:06 am passing through the separation scheme between Tenerife and Gran Canaria, continuing on her way ORIANA was set on more south westerly course allowing her to follow the scheme.
Leaving the scheme in her wake approximately 40 minutes later, according to her cruise log ahead of ORIANA the shore lights from Tenerife shone brightly in the darkness of the early morning.
Later at 7am ORIANA prepared for her arrival as she neared the entrance to Santa Cruz shortly after at 7:08am the harbour pilot embarked making the short climb from the pilot boat to ORIANA via a rope ladder hung from the ships open side door.
Pilot boarded and ORIANA’s bow doors both open with officers filling in the bridge blind spots she commenced rounding the breakwater she commenced her swing to starboard minutes later.
With her swing complete by 7:26am “ORIANA began moving astern and moments later was parallel to the berth.”
Docking at 8am the first destination for most was the Oriental Restaurant for breakfast which had been open since 7:30 am, giving his speech during breakfast Captain Reid followed the standard arrival speech which took in to account all aspects of ORIANA's call from departure and back on board times, to behaviour to be by all passenger observed in the secure area around the ship including not taking anything on board for the benefit strangers and cruise cards having to be shown on entering.
He concluded by reminding passengers that being a Sunday there would be very little open although the market may be a good option for anyone wishing to experience local shopping on a vast scale as many of the streets would be closed down allowing for many market stalls selling a wide variety of goods.
After a relaxing night sleep after observing the deck party we were surprised to see the deck steward who had been serving us drinks at the party stood by the refreshments stand, even more surprising was the fact that he had remembered us even though he must have served dozens of passengers at the party.
With the strong sunlight filtering through the open door the temptation to buy refreshments to accompany us on our walk around the city was evident and on such a warm day the temptation was all so easy to give into.
Bottles of water in hand we stepped out onto the gangway and then on to the sun drenched dockside.
The walk from ORIANA to Santa Cruz was fairly short and the blue line drawn on the ground which ran from the port to virtually centre of the city made it an extremely easy to find, although the virtual ambush of taxi drivers offering the service of their yellow taxi at a discounted price was something of a distraction it was thankfully one which was quickly overcome.
Reaching the centre there was a lack of traffic which was conspicuous by its absence, the reason soon became clear as it turned out all of the roads were closed for the market Captain Reid spoken about in fact it was the largest market I had ever seen as far as the eye could see in every direction was market stalls selling all kinds of products of all different sizes some which eager passengers could undoubtedly take home and of course there some things that ORIANA’s security staff would not be letting on board.
A downtown view.
Along with the ship’s passengers who were exploring the market there was also the local population, there was those who were from Tenerife who were distinctively Spanish in personality yet being from an Island were somewhat different to their mainland counterparts.
The other people wondering around were holiday makers and immigrants to the Island, these being from appearance North African and Northern European being mainly Scandinavian, German and British.
As with Lanzarote the day before the atmosphere was distinctively “Islander” not being a particular large Island no one seemed to rushing around people were taking things at their own pace even from an Island, albeit a much larger one, I was surprised to see how different it was in that respect although in some ways I envied the locals.
Away from the market other passengers of ORIANA were of on one of a number of tours around the Island indeed P&O promised in their description that the tours on offer “bring you close to one of the world’s most dramatic and varied landscapes, ranging from verdant valleys and lush plantations to glorious beaches, vast pinewoods and the volcanic `moonscape’ of Mount Teide National Park.”
Certainly Mount Teide and its park were the most popular destination for the passengers to visit indeed its snow peaked cloud covered summit.
The most popular of the tours to was titled “Beauty of Mount Teide” which gave a tour of both the Mountain and its area the description given by P&O undoubtedly “Experience the best of Tenerife with its pretty towns, local cuisine and contrasting scenery, from moonscapes to fertile fields.
Your day begins with a drive along the spine of the island where the road snakes up through the Esperanza Forest, stopping at Ortuno Viewpoint for views over the north coast. As you climb higher, the greenery turns to grey and blue and the landscape turns to lava. Before you, rises the dramatic Mount Teide in the middle of an eerie landscape.
You’ll stop at a local café where coffee or tea and a pastry will be served before reaching the National Park of Las Cañadas. From almost everywhere on Tenerife, Spain’s highest mountain, the Pico de Teide, dominates the horizon and you will be able to admire the views from afar.
Located in the lush Orotava Valley is the market town of Orotava, one of the oldest settlements on the island. Enjoy lunch at Pueblo Chico, before taking a guided walk through the old colonial district. You’ll also have the opportunity to briefly view the House of the Balconies, which dates from 1637.
In Puerto de la Cruz, you’ll have time at leisure to shop or wander along the coastal promenade of this popular holiday resort.”
Other popular tours that ORIANA’s passenger was taking part in tours including to ORIANA’s Northern shores and also to Playa de las Americas.
After spending several hours in both the market and exploring the surrounding areas for the very few items available to buy on a Sunday we took the slow walk back to ORIANA who was looking every bit as at home in Tenerife as she had in Lanzarote.
Another tour which had a more unusual theme was to Tenerife’s very own Pyramids located at Güímar.
While nowhere as old or large as their famous counterparts built by the Old Kingdom Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt they are none the less intriguing and slightly mysterious with true purpose remaining something of mystery one theory for their existence is that they were agricultural feature built by the rural population of the Island sometime in the 19th century.
Whatever the explanation it was likely passengers were intrigued by these structures.
One of Tenerife's pyramids.
Retuning on board by midday Lunch was seemingly a good option after a walk around Santa Cruz.
Served in the Oriental and being the only time that I had the chance to dine in the room so was taking the chance to take in the ambiance if the room which was similar to the Peninsular except in its colour scheme and stern windows.
For this lunch we sat on a table for 8 and being that most were veteran cruisers of both P&O and companies it was not surprising the sooner or later the spirit of CANBERRA would be evoked when passengers remember numinous cruises to the Atlantic Islands on the old ship or a world cruise some of the older passengers even remembering traveling 40 years + before in 1st class as an “early world cruiser”.
Even though my own memories of CANBERRA were of a brief look at her as a child I felt that knew the ship quite well thanks to listening to passengers recollections as nice as she sounded to me it didn’t seem she couldn’t compare to ORIANA.
Lunch over with and the early afternoon sun high in the cloudless sky with soft relaxing music playing across the decks the spacious decks of ORIANA seemed like a better place to relax and unwind.
Although occasionally the sights were sometimes interesting for the wrong reasons as passengers who were somewhat passed their physical best were prowling around on deck ready to ‘cool off’ in the pool!
The pools attracting passengers to cool off.
Too well I had my sunglasses on hand in an attempt conceal the “sights” however it was good to see passengers enjoying themselves regardless of their age and if the sight didn’t improve there was always the backdrop of Mount Teide.
The father and son stopping to gaze over towards the port maybe even at the great ship that lay at the berth, maybe the thoughts were of being at sea or maybe ‘driving a ship’ being inspired by the beautiful ship in dock of course maybe it was something else they watched eagerly but it was a pleasant thought that ORIANA could inspire as well as please those who saw her.
Elsewhere in the port the local Ferry running between the Canaries from Fred Olsen Express was just departing, being a very different ship to ORIANA it made quite an interesting sight.
It was something like the feeling I had on first cruise watching the outside world from our own small floating community, a truly awe inspiring feeling.
As with other days for those staying on board there was a few activities taking place on board such as deck games and sports tournaments for those who wanted to benefit from the fine Canary sunshine or alternatively below decks another popular past time of cards games were also being played.
Either on board or ashore most of ORIANA’s passengers had enjoyed their day in Tenerife amongst the virtually cloudless skies and sun kissed shores and as departure time neared ORIANA’s passengers returned on board and leaving souvenirs in cabins appeared on the Promenade and open decks ready for departure.
Pilot on board and every passenger on board just after 6pm ORIAN slipped her moorings and sounded her horn bringing the stay in port to an end.
Going ahead ORIANA proceeded out of the harbour with passengers on deck to watch the island pass by.
Passing the breakwaters at around 6:15pm the pilot disembarked shortly after and ORIANA set her courses out to the Atlantic.
Heading North ORIANA was in some ways retracing her maiden voyage route but in reverse and the last port call for the cruise had been her very first in 1995 Funchal on the picturesque island of Madeira.
However until then there was another evening on board ORIANA to enjoy and in a very British way the highlight for those of a certain age being the 60’s and 70’s night as well as ORIANA’s very own version of the Quiz show Family Fortunes.
Passengers of all age enjoying the night life on board.
Something amusing the passengers at the quiz.
Hours of dancing, singing and undoubtedly for some good memories brought back by the music as well as some good laughs lay ahead, a good evening on board ORIANA was assured as she made way north every hour further on her course towards Madeira.
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