24th December 2010 today we woke up to see La Palma in our sights and the tip of Mount Teide, covered in snow, clearly visible on Tenerife. The estimated time of arrival on La Palma was around 11.30 which everyone was excited about.
Once again the weather has been stunning, with a clear morning, the sun shining and Christmas looming, everyone was in high spirits.
20 minutes away from port, everyone attended their harbour stations and prepared for mooring. The DOTI boat was lowered in to the water and those designated went ashore to moor the boat. Once secured it was time to rebuild our energy with an amazing lunch of a Spanish omelette, cous cous and salad.
Having some time to explore the island and do some sightseeing it was time to celebrate Christmas Eve in a traditional way. With some going off to Midnight Mass and some spending time in the bars it was aft watch to take watch from midnight until 4am. In Spain most of the shops bars and restaurants are closed from 5pm Christmas Eve until after midnight mass then they open up again and people party. There was some entertainment brewing in the tall ship next door to keep us all awake. Their gangplank was not quite as substantial as ours with only one part and not two, and the variations of the tide made their gangplank an interesting trip for the crew when they returned from the town. With the gangplank off the quay and nearly out of arms reach in the air, it was tricky to get back on to their ship. With one member trying to wake up other crew members to try and lower it, by throwing rope against the boat, going down below to get some much needed sleep.
It was time to wake up the next watch and get some much needed sleep.
Bring on Christmas Day tomorrow
Jenny Ross
Aft Starboard Watch