Santa Cruz

So yesterday we were in Funchal, unfortunately we had a crew drill for safety at 10am and then i was on shift, so i didnt have a chance to go on land....A crew drill happens every cruise both for guests and crew, guests have it the day they embark the ship and cw has it at the first port.....i think it s very good cause then everyone knows exactly what to do and where to go...afterall we all have a duty and a specific assembly point....so seeing that i didnt go on land in Funchal i cannot tell u whether it is worth seeing or not, haha.....so i was so glad when i saw today i am off until 6pm and i actually get to place my feet on solid ground.....Santa Cruz is not very big, has a big main shopping street which i walked dead now and knowing me...guess wot i found...the market...was very cool, fresh meats and cheeses, nuts etc...but we are not allowed to bring any food items back on board...only nuts and crackers and chocolate...no fruit, wine etc.....cause obviously wine is so we buy on board, which for us, they r very very reasonable, and fruits etc and any other food can attract insects and they are very strict...and u wont b able to sneak it in, cause ur bag goes through that machine...u know like the one at the airport.......so im gonna go buy some nuts and instant coffee, cause the coffee is one of those machines that u can only press cappucino or espresso....and its BAD!So i have met some nice people, my roommate seems very cool so far, very easy going and considerate, she is from the Ukraine (dont know whether i mentioned that) and i met 2 girls from Germany that are very nice, they have shown me Santa Cruz this morning...but their shift started lunch time...so they had to go back......So now to some work stuff...haha....i have shadow training for the next 2 weeks, yesterday i was shown the entire ship...rather big, 13 bars and 16 restaurants....They also have very nice specialty restaurants from steak to fernch to tepanyjaki, so very cool spots (some at least)..... And then i was at reception shadowing my trainer to see how to handle guests.....believe it my feet were killing me after the shift...but good fun anyway.....so far the people seem nice...but then again..arent they always nice in the beginning...haha.....And guess wot....i discovered we are allowed to eat at the main buffet restaurant for the guests, well i discovered that already, but last night i actually went there...and wow....no comparison...food is very nice....cheeses, indian stuff, stirfries, pastas, pizza, fish, meat, roasts, veggies.....great great...i really like it...so we are allowed to go eat there on port days but not sea days. A sea day is when the ship doesnt go to a port, we normally get 2 sea days on a cruise, first day after leaving and last day before returning.....really not too bad.....phew..... But of course if u dont hav a lot of time to eat u should go to the staff mess......So...again...so far so good.....now i am sitting drinking a bad cappucino (better than the ship though).....and then ill be off to walk a little more and then ill return to the ship......Here are some pics.....two from my room(room and bathroom), two from Santa Cruz and of course one from food.... Wouldnt be complete without food item... This was a deep fried pastry stuffed with apples, sugar and some cinammon, tasty.... Uniform and ship will come...