Blog 793.  Day 44 Disembarkation.  Steps total at the end of the final night of the voyage:- 1,202,688, Average per day since the start of the Challenge in January, 12,138 steps each day for 99 days.

Nobody likes the last 24 hours of a voyage, especially this one of 43 nights from 2nd May. The flight home is long, drawn out and exhausting. My journey home on the other hand is going to take another (just over) four weeks, but, there will still be that unavoidable final day and half when, all going to plan, I disembark QM2 at Southampton in mid July.

Yesterday, I thoroughly enjoyed that extravagant afternoon tea at the Fairmont Empress Hotel. It was eye-wateringly expensive. Even now, I forget that tax is extra on top of the published price! But I wouldn’t have missed, for the world, the pleasure of dining off the specially designed crockery, which of course is available in the souvenir shop! Would I do it again? Of course!!

There was a relentless cold wind which deterred me from further exploration yesterday. I returned to the ship one last time, finished the packing, labelled the suitcases, and, as instructed, put them out for collection. I joined Lesley for dinner in the Britannia Restaurant and in a farewell glass of Sauvignon Blanc. I’ll never know whether she finished her book, I think entitled Viking Queen. As ever, I went to the show in the Royal Court Theatre, and then popped into the Golden Lion to see Cameron and Shane sing and play one last time. There was a good atmosphere with people who had all enjoyed the last 43 nights

This morning, I packed the rest of my overnight belongings and made my stateroom available for preparation for the next lucky traveller. I slipped a further tip to my excellent cabin steward. His service was exemplary and unobtrusive. I didn’t opt for a cooked breakfast on my last day, just the usual porridge, banana, grapefruit, and the now customary two pancakes, with no topping. I bade farewell to one or two I had met during the voyage, but now, already I’m looking back on it all as if I had merely dreamed it. The souvenirs and hole in the ozone layer of my finances tell me otherwise! My big blue suitcase was taken from me as arranged, but I still have far too much to drag around.

Now, it’s time to look around Vancouver. It’s still too cold for a whale watching tour!

Many thanks for reading. I hope you all enjoyed the story so far. David, Hotel Vancouver, B.C. Canada 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦.