On Sunday I had my first job with a bus full of people from a cruise ship. I was rather nervous: new company, new route, not as much time to read up as I’d have liked. But I reasoned that I’d picked up a lot of information in 20 years of living on the island and being interested in what was around me, and made sure I got to the port 15 minutes early.
The paperwork was unfamiliar, but not difficult. And I was told that I had to be back punctually, because I was one of the last buses back and the ship had to leave.
And then the inspector arrived. The cruise company, not unreasonably, sometimes put a surprise inspector on one of the buses to check that the cruise passengers are getting good service from the local contractor. You’ve guessed the next bit, haven’t you? Yup, I got the inspector.
Right, I thought. Deep breath. Forget the inspector, just concentrate on giving people a good day out which is what I’d do anyway. The driver was probably very good at knowing how long various bits of the route would take and where to park (he was, too.)
And it was fine. We went up to El Time, had coffee and admired the view. Then we went to La Zarza. It’s an archaeological site with rock carvings in the woods. I went a bit too fast, and I couldn’t see the end of the queue, so it took me a while to realise I’d done it. Part of the problem was that I was worried about getting lost, because there’s a part where you could go round and round in circles forever. Luckily the inspector brought up the rear, and I didn’t lose anyone.
I didn’t go round in circles, not even once.
And then we went into Santa Domingo for a picnic lunch, followed by the Roque, and back to the port dead on time.
The inspector was happy. The customers were happy enough to tip, and my boss seemed happy.
Next time will be easier.
