Poole and Jersey: Back Aboard and Quickly Back in the Groove

 

Train from London to Poole was comfortable and took about 3 hours, after which we had some time to enjoy the hotel and walk around town before getting up early to take the ferry to Jersey in the morning. Gotta love public transportation in Europe; so well organized! (and clean and comfortable and safe). After a pleasant ferry ride we learned that the Galeon was docked just across from the ferry terminal. Meeting us were two smiling faces -- one I remembered fondly from a previous tour, and one I'd learn to respect and enjoy during the next 3 months. They grabbed our wheeled duffels, we shouldered our backpacks, and off we went. We came aboard, found our bunks and stowed our stuff, and immediately remembered why we enjoyed working on this ship so much. (My very first afternoon of my very first tour of duty aboard, the lid to my water bottle came off as I was putting my stuff away in my new bunk; I slept on a damp mattress for the first couple of nights until I got it dry. I'm happy to report that no such clumsiness marred this tour -- except for the broken toe that fortunately had minimal impact on my experience.)

The Waterloo train station was huge, but straightforward. I'm glad there was no language issue to contend with here. 

Enjoying views of the countryside after the hustle-bustle of London.

I kinda love seaside towns in the off-season.

Pedestrian shopping street ... and several American companies.

Put in a coin and get your weight ... in kilograms or stone, but not pounds!

The lovely hotel where we stayed the night before we met the ferry. I stubbed my toe on this chair as we were packing to leave ... and broke it! Facing 5 months of walking around Europe with a broken toe. Obviously I survived but the first few days were less pleasant than they could have been.

Before we left I was gifted this pretty journal to record my thoughts when out of internet range. 

The view from our hotel. Tomorrow we'll be sailing here.

An extremely restful and pleasant ferry ride ... and this wasn't even the first-class cabin.

Our first glimpse of the famous white cliffs. There would be more, and closer.

Crossing the English Channel by ferry, headed to the island of Jersey. As you can see, the island is much closer to France than to England. It's reputed to be the sunniest place in the UK. There's also a big tidal range here; the island increases in size by 20% (or more depending on which source you read) from high to low tide.

My phone's fitness tracker shows pretty clearly when we started traveling, based on the dramatic increase in number of steps per day.

Here for comparison with our ferry experience, is the "basic economy" class seating. Still not too bad.

Pulled into the dock in Jersey and saw the masts of our beloved Galeon.

Back aboard and the first thing Dan did was check the condition of this cap rail he replaced about seven years ago while the ship was in Florida. How many hands have touched this rail since he built it?

On Jersey, we were part of a boat festival that included a lot of local military, lifesaving, enforcement, and rescue agencies. I love the impossible anachronistic juxtaposition here ... rope rigging from the 17th century with a paratrooper from the 21st. 

We met some members of the Royal Navy Bomb Disposal Team at an after party. Gave them a tour of the ship and they invited us to see their demo of the remote control bomb removal robot. (Here, un-scary and accurate enough to offer a frisbee to young child)

During WWII, these channel islands were occupied by the Nazis when they occupied France, and England had to make the strategic decision to let that stand. The island celebrates Liberation Day just two days after we were there with great enthusiasm. Here's a statue in the main square celebrating the end of German occupation.

Watching the boats leave the harbour at the end of the festival, including this oddly-shaped (but super-fast) entry. 

Last view of the harbour; in the background is the ferry that brought us here.

Hauling everything aboard and getting ready to set sail for our next port.