After sailing through the Bonaparte Straits (between Corsica and Sardinia) we headed for the Balearic Islands, specifically Palma de Mallorca. We walked from the ship dock at the west end of the city to the cathedral on the east end. For Scott it was a stroll down memory lane, as we found the Hotel Costa Azul where he had stood shore patrol duty while visiting aboard USS Detroit.
The waterfront was lined with a wide sidewalk, with bike paths and marinas, so we had constant entertainment. At one point there was a marina on the land side… all the boats had to come out under a six-lane boulevard to reach the sea. At another point the bike path dipped into the water in a shallow ford that had concrete stepping stones next to it. We saw a guy walking his dog approach… the dog just hopped from stone to stone. There also were many kayakers and canoes out.
The cathedral is the dominant feature of the city… a tall gothic structure with impressive stained glass windows. Historic structures were interspersed with sculptures and modern art (e.g., a Calder mobile sat in the Moorish courtyard in front of the cathedral).
As we sailed from Palma, we were standing on our balcony on the stern of the ship. We had just passed the end of the pier and Scott got a puzzled look on his face… I asked what he was looking at, and he said “we’re going backwards.” Sure enough, about two minutes later the captain came on the loudspeaker and announced that we were returning to the pier due to a medical emergency on board. It took about a half hour to get the woman off the ship and off to the local hospital in an ambulance.
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