I forgot to tell you about a particularly exciting event that took place while we were on the Regent Seven Seas Explorer. Apparently a young woman became quite ill, and they had to evacuate her to a hospital. We were in bed and heard a loud noise coming from outside our cabin. Lisa went out to the balcony to see what was going on. There was a helicopter hovering over the ship. We watched as the helicopter first lowered a crew member to organize the evacuation. Then they brought the woman up in a special stretcher. She was wrapped up in heavy blankets or tarps to the point where she was completely covered. Then they raised her husband. The helicopter crew obviously knew what they were doing, but it still looked like a dangerous operation. I hope the young woman will be okay.
Lowering the crew member.
Evacuating the sick woman.
Jumping back to the visit by our Granddaughters our next stop was a fromagerie, a cheese factory. We first watched a short video that gave us the history of the factory, and then how cheese was made. After the video we saw the production line, and the temperature controlled rooms where the cheese was aged. At the end of the tour we were given a plate of cheese and a small salad. The tour proved to be both informative and fun even the little girls liked it. After we finished our salad and cheese it was time to leave. Randy was having problems getting his family to move. I watched as he gently steered Lucia out the front door of the factory. We were standing under a large canopy waiting for everyone else when Lucia, who is only two years old, walked up to her daddy and stood right in front of him. With her finger waving back and forth like a pendulum she explained, “Daddy, I am very upset with you. You should not push me through the door like that. I didn’t like it one bit. I didn’t want to leave. I’m very upset with you.” Randy apologized to his youngest daughter, but it was not over. Lucia approached her father at least four more times with her little finger still waving, “Daddy, I’m still very upset with you.” All Randy could do was say he was sorry, but it was getting more and more difficult as neither one of us could stop laughing. No doubt Lucia dressing down her father is a memory I will cherish the rest of my life. She’s going to be a real handful when she grows up!
The cheese factory.
The room where the cheese is aged.
The playground next to the fromagerie with Zoe, Lucia, Andrea the nanny, and Talia.
Our final stop was a cave. Lisa is claustrophobic, and can’t go in caves so she and Alexis stayed outside with Lucia while Randy and I took Talia and Zoe. The cave was one of the prettier ones that I have been in, as the lighting was done so well. In some of the larger rooms the stalactites and stalagmites were truly impressive. The path that we followed through the cavern was pretty easy other than a couple of spots where the ceiling was rather low, no more than four feet. For a moment I wasn’t sure if my back would make it.
Beautiful stalactites and stalagmites.
Talia and Zoe enjoyed their tour of the cave.
Everyone was exhausted especially Lucia.
The family with Rabelo in the background.
– Tom Miller
Author of “The Wave” and “When Stones Speak”– Chuck Palmer Adventure novels
AUG
About the Author:
Tom Miller graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Science in Geology. He is a consummate adventurer with over 1,000 dives as a recreational scuba diver, and an avid sailor who has traveled 65,000 miles throughout the Pacific including the Hawaiian Islands. Miller has also cruised the canals of Europe on his canal barge and given numerous lectures on cruising the canals of Europe, as well as sailing in the South Pacific. Piloting is also an interest of Miller's, and He has completed over 1,000 hours flying everything from small Cessnas to Lear jets.