All day today we have been sailing northwards in the
Mediterranean towards Greece. In total
today we have sailed 33621 miles, and this blog now has 43,264 words! We are
out of the security measures now we have left the Near and Middle East, and can
now look forward to leaving the curtains open and the lights on at night, not
having soldiers, hailers and water canon on the decks and most importantly watching
the sunrises from bed again.
It has been bright and sunny today but there’s a definite
hint of home in the cool 17C air, and on one occasion today I had my hoody on. The sea is as flat as a pond, and I think will
stay that way until we get to Lisbon, so a little longer without the motion
discomfort bags.
After breakfast we signed up for the MacMillan challenge on
Thursday, to walk a half marathon on Deck 3, and then went and did an hour on
the cardio machines in the gym in preparation, followed by half an hour of
floor based yoga! We have been feeling
fit and kept our walking up every day, and as the weeks have gone on we believe
we will each manage half of a half marathon quite easily, so we might do the
sponsored challenge as a relay! Who knows, we may manage it all. Today’s lunch, unusually, was chocolate fudge
cake. That is all. :)
This afternoon in art we did a pencil drawing of an orang-utan
with her baby (that’s Malay for “Person of the Jungle” we learned from a
Malaysian fellow art student today). We are both very happy with the finished
articles today. Next art class, the day
after Piraeus, we are going to do a watercolour painting of a Samoan dancer. I am looking forward to that.
Tonight after dinner we listened to Clem Curtis, formerly (a
long long time ago in the late 1960’s, but we both remember) of the
Foundations. A very understated but
thoroughly enjoyable performance. Over the last 3 months we’ve got used to a
lot of movement around the stage, arms all over the place, jumping off the stage
and bringing audience up on their feet.
But there was none of that tonight.
He wasn’t as extreme as Van Morrison, because he did interact with the
audience, but there was no embellishment and no cringeworthy or embarrassing
behaviour. It was a refreshing change. You
will know him if you grew up in the 1960’s – “Baby, now that I found you I can’t
let you go” and “Build me up Buttercup”, but also a bit of Nat King Cole, “Unforgettable”,
a little Barry White, several other lovely
1970’s songs to reminisce to – “Me and Mrs Jones”, “You’ll Never Find”, and his own rendition of Etta James “At Last”. We have certainly experienced some diverse
entertainment. I have managed to find a sample on You Tube. He's doing fine at 74! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muaylzfjn6c
Tomorrow after disembarking in Piraeus we are on an excursion
to Corinth and the Corinthian Canal. A
short canal this time, but still a highlight.
A long day ahead, leaving at 8 a.m. so we have an alarm call at 6 a.m so
we can make sure we get breakfast before we go.
Lunch will be a local Greek meal – bring on the houmous, pitta,
tzadziki, souflaki and baklava. How we
have missed you! The rest of the trip looks fabulous – ancient Greece, a walk
in St Paul’s footsteps and the canal between two Greek seas.
It is time for bed now, so I will say goodnight and be back
after Corinth tomorrow night. x
