Rough weather moved in briefly when we hit Naples. We were a little out of it since our sleeping schedules were still messed up, but we managed to see a bit of Naples, but not what we would have liked. But it allowed us to see some neat areas while catching up on sleep, so we were happy with that.
The architecture in Naples was a treat to see. The homes and buildings stacked on the bluffs overlooking the sea is very representative of Mediterranean sea towns and ports. So far, sailing has been very calm. We had some rough seas yesterday during our long day at sea, probably because we were in more open water and we were passing in between Sardinia and Corsica, so it seems like you get thrown into a spin-dry cycle. But we’re happy with the calm seas.
We made friends with Julio, a bartender who seems to have a gift for gab but he’s ridiculously nice and helpful. He showed us pictures of his new daughter and his wife who are back home in Honduras waiting for his next break from the cruise. He says he’s on for eight months. I can’t imagine being on a cruise ship that long. But he’s got it down and is always happy and waiting at the bar with your drink ready to go. He showed us some cell phone video of a cruise going through rough (I mean, REALLY rough) seas where tables were sliding all across a dining room. After the tables slid by a grand piano whipped by the screen. No thanks.
We were a little off today. My stomach wasn’t feeling the greatest (awesome) and we were staring down Rome the next day so we were preparing to sleep and be ready to rock.
We were getting ready for dinner and while sitting on the balcony, we noticed the ship start to turn. Um…. Not a good sign. We looked on the TV screen map and sure enough, we were headed back to Naples after leaving a few hours earlier. We later learned a crew member/performer in the Speigel Tent where they put on a cirque show had a heart attack so they needed to get the person back to port because he/she wasn’t stable enough to airlift in a helicopter from the ship. Sad news, but we managed to get back to port quickly. And it was neat to see Naples lit up at night.
We went back to the Manhattan Room and had an easy dinner and went up and tried to crash. Tried, being the operative word. After a few hours, we were wide awake. But we were ready as we landed in Civitavecchia, the port and gateway to Rome. In a few hours, we’d be pulling into port and headed to some of the most historic ruins in the world.
