We get quite a few cruise ships in our wonderful harbour here in St. John's. Yesterday it was the Insignia. So I toddled down to the harbour front to have a gawp.
So I took another shot of the ship across the harbour.
It's always lovely over there, I saw this gull sitting on a pole surveying the scene. You might have to embiggen to spot him but he caught my fancy.
I love the houses climbing the cliffs surrounding the entrance to the harbour.
I stopped to talk to a woman who had six dogs and I fell in love with all of them.
I am old so no one gives a tosser when I am listening to conversations, I have the advantage of being invisible. So I was sitting on a wall behind two thirty-ish men who were holding hands, standing extremely close to each other, pretending to be catching the spectacular view but their undercurrent was electrifying. Summary: they were on the cruise, had met the night before on the deck at midnight, were married (to unsuspecting women?) and were planning another midnight sojourn once more when the ship sailed later on, meanwhile they had to get back to their wives who were left browsing in the tourist shop. As they were whispering intensely I took this photo of a fishing boat heading out to the open ocean. I am always struck by the forty shades of blue we have out here.
And I pondered on the secret lives of others.
I can't get my head around these massive cruise ships that dwarf the places they're visiting. Good that people loved St John's. Belfast is getting more and more cruise ships but thankfully we're not yet over-touristed.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on those ships, Nick, I wouldn't be caught dead on one. This one was relatively small. We've had the behemoths in here too as the harbour is very deep. It's not even good for the economy as they don't drop too many dollars here but do pay the harbour and the buses, etc. they hire, but on the upside, the publicity is good and attracts many other non-cruise tourists.
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Cruise ships. Shudder. When I went to Antarctica (not on a cruise ship) we stopped at Ushuaia at the shame time as one of the behemoths. At eight in the morning the passengers we saw we dolled up to the nines, in full make up and with lanyards with their name and the ship printed on them.
ReplyDeleteHow I love the shades of blue you captured. And a big yes to secret lives.. There are so many of them.
Very offputting the whole school tripa aspect of it. I was astonished to see babies in strollers coming off the ship earlier/ I couldnt have imagined (a) being on a cruise and (b) toting my toddlers with me. It boggles the mind. Secret lives fascinate me. I saw a German movie once about it once, a brilliant film.
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You did have an interesting day out in many ways. Cruise ship visits for some locals must be a misery but then some will make a lot of money from the visits too.
ReplyDeleteA few will for sure Andrew but talking to the beautiful shops downtown - all handcrafts and local pottery, etc., they make very little. Nexte venture out I will try and capture our downtown, it is marvellously lovely.
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Love those forty shades of blue. The first picture looks like a street wide apartment building, while the view from the south side makes the ship look small. The dogs all sitting together are so pretty, I want to pat them all.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely loved them. My second to last dog was the twin of one of them. And they were all beautifully trained.
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Oh, you live in such a beautiful place, I visited there once when I lived on the East Coast. And the dogs! So adorable, I know the joy the bring their owner.
ReplyDeleteThank you Inger, I feel very fortunate. I am dying for an older dog and am advocating for one. Fingers crossed.
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Those dogs are so cute, and yes, the secret lives of others can be interesting to discover...I hope you get your wish.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking of those two men, e. And wondering if they would be "caught" or whether the wives condoned their behaviour or knew of their attraction to same sex, etc. But then again, I have known gay men to marry lesbians for the purpose of raising children together so life is never as simple as it seems. The longer I live the less surprised I am. *smile*
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Oh, you sure live in a beautiful place. I never liked those cruise shipes, but I do understand travelling with a baby - that's the easiest age to bring a child along ;) How I would like to see St. John's in real life.
ReplyDeleteIt is really scenic, Charlotte, so many seascapes. I remember the first time I visited here, way back, I said: "I'm exhausted from all this beauty." I had never been in place like it (untouched, natural) even though I had traveled a fair bit.
DeleteLove to see you out here!
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I dont think I have ever overheard such a fascinating conversation as those two men had but i am always intrigued by people's stories.
ReplyDeleteThere's a meme with a photo of many, many dogs of all sizes and colours. It says "If I win lotto, I won't tell anyone. But there will be signs" I feel like that suits you and the owner of the six
I miss my dogs, Kylie. So much. Especially the last rescue. Truly a soul companion. If I bought a ticket I might have a chance, but I'm not a gambler, fortunately, not fortunately. I have and had enough vices, lol. But I am advocating in my senior building for small pets. Fingers crossed.
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There are probably more surreptitious relationships than we can ever imagine, in every sexual permutation too. As for cruise ships, I detest them and do not understand their appeal. I thought that COVID would finish them off, but that it obviously not true.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous and I understand the attraction to those dogs and how much you miss your own.
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