P&O Iona alongside at Rotterdam

Following a windy night on the north sea – Iona made port at Rotterdam to a blanket of fog over the city. Visibility was pretty close in – and humidity was at 100%.

Disembarkation was straightforward following a hearty breakfast at the buffet. Today’s mission was finding an accessible route to some kind of shop for our friend who uses a wheel chair.

The most noticeable thing when you get to the end of the cruise terminal road is – the amount of traffic and all the different lanes for the different types of transportation. It’s almost too much to deal with at first.

After a short walk due south from the ship we passed the kids miniature world attraction and then crossed two bridges to a small island where we found of all things a spar shop.

The second bridge we crossed was said to be one of the oldest in the city – both sides of the bridge were able to raise to allow taller ships to pass through.

The neighbourhood we found ourselves in was like a decadent shared private residence. We spoke with a local who was fluent in English who explained to us that the island was like a small village – all the residents know one another and they often keep their own company. He went on to explain that they don’t often get tourists or people from the inner city visiting the island – mainly it’s just cars and trucks passing through.

The weather wasn’t kind that day – mist and fog plagued the views and soaked our clothes. A long look around a larger than expected spar shop was a welcome treat. There wasn’t much expected of our first trip out – just a shop to purchase some essentials (and some non essentials) for our onward journey.

A prior appointment on the ship meant a swift return for our group on this occasion.

More to follow soon.