19. October 2014, 00:18am Cabin C525…Thud,
thud!
‘Right!’ said Roisin as she
pulled out her iphone
. Our next door neighbours gave us this idea (the ones on
the ship, not in Widnes!) They had recorded the occurrence the last time it happened.
They had also balanced an object on the narrow architrave of the bulk head so
when the ‘Thud, thud’ started, the
object fell, due to the intense vibration, on to the bed.
We both stood there like lemons pointing the camera phone at the mirror.
15 minutes past and not a sound except the occasional creaking associated with
the steady movement within all ships. We were about to give up the ghost and
then: ‘Thud, Thud’. Three times with
only a few minutes between each double ‘Thud’.
We played back the video and were sufficiently satisfied that the sound
provided the evidence we needed to describe the noise to the relevant person on
duty. I immediately phoned the passenger services duty manager, Stanislav from
Serbia, and explained our situation. To his credit, within 3 minutes he was
knocking on our door. Once he learned that we had captured the noise on the
iPhone and after first asking us what we thought of the new iPhone 6, he rushed
down to collect a flash drive on to which we transferred the necessary file
. He
said that it was a good move in recording the sound as it would give the
engineers a clue as to what the noise was. Fate must have been on our side as
whilst Stanislav was showing us some ‘funnies’ on his flash drive…’Thud, Thud’ He had been in our cabin
for over 20 minutes and we were both resigned to the fact that similar to when
you take your car in to a garage with a knocking sound but it doesn’t happen in
front of the mechanic, the same rule applied in this situation!! Not so. The
mould had been broken. Even when Stanislav said he thought the noise was more
like a ‘Thump, K’Thud’, he had heard it first-hand. He was now able to report
back to the engineers with a clear account of what was happening. He was honest
with his assessment that it was unlikely that anything permanent could be done
tonight but the night watch will get on to the problem straight away.
Hopefully now things will be able to move at a more rapid pace, unlike
me and my gammy ankle. There was nothing more that we could do so we both
retired
. The banging stopped about 2:30am.
When we returned from breakfast in the morning, the ansaphone was
flashing. The message was from Eva, the Passenger Services Manager. She advised
us that they are prepared to move us to another cabin that has just become
vacant. However, it would not be ready until after we sail. What does this
mean?! Are they expecting someone to miss the ship so they have a spare cabin
or is one of the elderly passenger about to disembark for the last time and
it’s just a matter of waiting for the rest of the day!! Eva requested that we
contact her during the afternoon to discuss the matter.
When someone
mentions the Canary Islands, a classic question may arise: ‘Are the Islands named after the yellow birds or is it the other way
round?’ This is also a good trivia question: ‘What animal is the Canary Islands named after?’
Actually, the
Romans noted a large number of wild dogs on one of the islands and called it Insula Canum or Dog Island
. Later when
the little yellow finches were discovered there they were called ‘Dog Island
birds’ or canaries!
Tenerife is the
largest island in the Canary Archipelago. Like the other islands, Tenerife was
formed by fierce volcanic activity. I understand its landscape remains dotted
with volcanic cones and areas of intense geothermal activity. Towering over the
island is Mt Teide, an extinct volcano that, at 12,200 feet above sea level, is
the highest peak in Spanish territory. Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the island's
capital and our port of call today.
We had planned to take the Ho-ho around Santa Cruz. However, we heard
over breakfast that it had been thunder and lightning since 7am. The weather
was very low cloud and overcast with intermittent showers. Due to the inclement
weather (it was still quite warm) we decided that neither of us wanted to be
stuck on the top of an open decker bus so a quick read of the guide on Tenerife and we decided to take the 40
minute tram to La Laguna, only 9km distance from the port. This is the old
capital of Tenerife and visibly the most ancient town on the island. I heard
that the old colonial houses and convent as well as the nearby Bishop’s palace
are worth a visit so for €1.35 for a single ticket, this sounded like my kind
of day out!!
We took the free shuttle to port gate and then it was only a short walk/hobble
to España Square
. We saw a mini train that we jumped on without hesitation. It
was only after 10 minutes realising nobody else had joined us that we noticed
the train had no real wheels and it was actually a prop in a kiddies
playground!!
We quickly darted into Tourist Information where we took our place
behind 3 other tourists. One asking for the nearest car hire place and another looking
for the bus terminus that will take her across to the other side of the island.
We finally asked the Information desk for the correct tram to La Laguna.
Pointed in the right direction we set off. The tram stop was a short 5 minute
walk but in this time the rain started to get heavier. We sheltered under the
cover of the tram stop and bought our ticket. As the tickets were being printed
a tram arrived. Unfortunately it was on the other side of the track so there is
no way we would have caught this one. The trams run every 20 minutes so we were
happy to sit and wait for the next one. We did not need to be back on board of
the ship until 5:30pm
. It was only 10:45am so we had plenty of time. We took
our seat on the next tram and off we went. The rain started to come down
heavier as the tram headed uphill in to the suburbs of Santa Cruz. Without
warning we observed sudden torrents of water flowing down the street. The
lightening, shortly followed by thunder, began and so started the heaviest
downpour in the history of the Canaries! We had only been travelling for about
10 minutes when the tram slowed right down finally grinding to a halt!! The
rain continued to batter on the windows of the tram and what was now dirty,
muddy water gushed down from the hillside surrounded the tram which had in
effect become an island cut off from dry land. The road had become a mini river
and there was nothing we could do about it. After a tense 10 minute wait, the
driver walked to the back of the tram and reversed it a few hundred yards to
the nearest tram stop. The driver then walked through the carriages, holding
his walkie-talkie and speaking with concerned passengers. Unfortunately no one
on the tram spoke any English. I managed to catch the odd word such as ‘Mañana’. I know that is Spanish for ‘tomorrow’ which put in to context could
have been very bad for us!! However, I convinced myself that he could have been
telling the passenger anything. The passenger may, for example, have asked the
driver when is he going on his holidays or when is his birthday?!! See, things
were looking up already!!! Outside the weather wasn’t looking up! After 50
tense minutes, the rain did subside enough to get off the tram and assess the
situation
. The water was still flowing down the road but was only inches rather
than feet deep. Roisin and I decided to head back to the port. Luckily it was
downhill all the way.
It took us about 40 minutes to arrive back on the flat. The rain was
still steady but only light. All the water had now subsided but the residue
left behind was carnage. Many cars had been abandoned in the street. Some had
broken down. (Probably a flooded carburettor – quite literally!!) Small stones
now scattered the pavement and road.
Speaking to a local shopkeeper, he advised us that this weather occurs
about once a year. It’s just unfortunate this ‘once a year’ was today!! We learned that the storm was the tail end
of hurricane Gonzalo that had crossed the Atlantic from the Caribbean.
Our thoughts turned to the earlier tram that we may had taken if there
was one less in line at the information kiosk; the tourists who DID actually
take that tram
. It could have been so much worse for us. These poor souls would
have been 15 minutes further in to their journey at the point of no return. What
about the car hire people or the bus journey to the other side of the island?
Yes, it could have been so much worse.
Back on board everyone had their own story to tell. The port was closed
for almost 2 hours. Tours returned from the excursions that had been cut short
had to alight at the port entrance and walk a ½ mile around a very cluttered
jetty; folk were wading up to their thighs in brown slush; one couple were asked
if they wanted to take shelter in a local’s house (or ‘casa’ as we say on the
island!!) but refused as they just wanted to get back to the relative safety.
On our way back down the sloping road toward the port, we noticed that
no lights we on (but there was someone definitely home!!). In the distance,
alarms were sounding as the power outage hit the town
. It was like a film set
from a disaster movie.
Anyhoo, back on board it was time for our meeting with Eva, the
Passenger Service Manager. She invited us in to her office and explained the
situation. Even now I’m not fully sure I understand what has been the cause of
the noise in our cabin. Apparently, the corridor behind the bulk head is
prefabricated so in sections, the corridor slots in place when the ship is
being built. The corridor bulkheads are metal compound. Something has come
loose so when the ship moves the sections of the corridor move and are clanking
together. I was going to correct her as its more of a ‘thud’ sound but at this stage I didn’t want to tempt providence!!
Eva offered us a move to deck 8 (from our current deck 10). It is an ocean view
cabin (i.e. with a window) so was considered an upgrade. We didn’t need to
worry about packing our stuff as 2 porters came and moved all the hangers in
bulk. We just collected the rest of our ‘bits’ and moved to our new home for
the duration of this cruise
. The beauty of deck 8 is that it is only one deck
above deck 7!! This is where most of the entertainment activities happen. The previous
occupants disembarked today but as this is not an embarkation/disembarkation
port I must ask Ronald, our new cabin steward, what the story is once I get to
know him better!
Our next port of call is Las Palmas in Gran Canaria. This island is only
79 nautical miles away and the ship is scheduled to cruise at only 7.1 knots
per hour. On our way out I’m sure we were passed by a pedalo!!
Due to the excessive walking today, my foot and ankle is throbbing so
shore leave is cancelled tomorrow!! See you in a few days’ time in Lanzarote,
our last stop in the Canaries before we start heading back up North!!
The Crazy weather of Santa Cruz, Tenerife!
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain and Canary Islands
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Comments

2025-02-11
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Anne and Philip
2014-10-21
Beware - Your Unlucky Number is now 525
Dud cabin C525
Dud train M525
chris-roisin
2014-10-21
Philip, Your are very observant. Roisin notices exactly the same thing!!! Thankfully the banging didn't start at 5:25am or then it would have me really freaked!!
Truce Grovellar
2014-10-21
Crikey , thats a lot of rain!
It puts me in mind of that marvellous Bonnie Tyler song, 'Have You Ever Seen the Rain' - the opening track on her masterful 'Faster than the Speed of Light' Album.
The lyrics went something like:
"Someone told me long ago there's a calm before the storm
I know, and it's been coming for sometime
When it's over so they say, it'll rain a sunny day
I know, shining down like water
I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain
I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain
Coming down on a sunny day, yeah, oh yeah"
I always think Bonnie knows her way around a lyric. I love the phrase 'Shining Down Like Water"...very evocative. At least I hope it's Shining shes singing.
Ciao!
T
Dave
2014-10-23
What's the 6 like?
chris-roisin
2014-10-26
That's the strange thing Dave. We only have the iPhone 5c!!