26 miles across the sea, Santa Catalina is a’waiting for me…
It’s very wonderfully surreal to find yourself actually in the town that features in one of the songs you’ve somehow been humming to yourself since you were a kid. I’ve no idea where I learned the song Santa Catalina, but somewhere along the line I picked it up.
Of course there is more than one song written about the island, Nat and Natalie Cole have both recorded “I Left My Love in Avalon” …which is most definitely about the little seaside town we stopped in this afternoon not about the domain of King Arthur 
It was a beautiful town. It reminded me of Glastonbury for some reason. Even though it was totally different it had the same feel.
Tropical trees and salty air indeed J Wandering the little winding streets and looking at all the beautiful murals and stone work and such provided a very pleasant way to spend my final day ashore. If I were a sun-baby I probably would have taken advantage of one of the many man-made beaches that lined the harbour (the harbour itself is walled and way too steep a decline for a proper beach, so they have literally created beaches all along the waterfront that are above water level, it was kind of nifty!) – or enjoyed a game of beach volleyball at the local court (some places have local basketball courts, this place has a beach volleyball court, go figure), but as it was I was content to just wander and relax and admire all the seashells and trinkets and such.
I really liked it here.
For me, this was the last port before the ship drops me practically at my front door. While this contract has been utterly incredible in more ways than one I can’t pretend I won’t be happy to see the end of it, these last few weeks have been a challenge to say the least – but I’m glad that I can at least finish up with the same smile on my face that I started with, despite the temporary dip in the middle.
And now? Homeward bound…