Sunday 19/4/2015 Day 103 Sea Day, Morocco left, Gibraltar right and then right turn towards Lisbon

Fresh breezes, force 5-6, so the decks were closed now and again today, and the roof was closed over the larger pool on deck 9.  It was still lovely and sunny, though, and we were able to enjoy the hot tub for almost an hour again after our gym session. We are happy that we may have gained cardio fitness whilst on the ship, but “may” also have gained a few pounds of fat at the same time. Not too much, but enough to alert us to how we will not be continuing to eat when we get home.

In art we completed our fabulous seascapes – and are both very happy with these. We’ve learned how to make frothy waves, fluffy clouds, wet and dry sand and all with a backdrop of Table Mountain.

It’s also been a time for organising the cruise folder we brought with 5 dividers, one for each sector.  In this I’ve put the Captain’s cruise logs, the Horizon overviews of the cruise sectors and little bits of memorabilia, including pics from brochures that remind us of thing we didn’t manage to photograph ourselves.  Down in the photo gallery I have also chosen some glossy stock photos of the various animals and birds to put in. I can also print a copy of the text from each day’s blog when we get home, and like a jigsaw it will all slot together to remind us of this incredible experience.

And finally, just after 5 we sailed through the Straits of Gibraltar and are now heading for Lisbon.  Back tomorrow from Lisbon and beyond…. xx

Thursday 16/4/2015 Day 100 Sea Day MacMillan Challenge – and A Half Marathon

The Mediterranean is still really still just like a pond, and the weather is mild, 16-18C. Bright blue skies. Deep blue sea.  Our total cruise mileage is just over 34,000, and we are heading for Malta, scheduled to arrive early tomorrow morning. On the map Malta looks tiny, and yet it sounds from the port talk as if it’s a fascinating little place with European and African history and artefacts.

Our morning started in the Meridian Restaurant. This restaurant makes me feel quite grand, waiter service for breakfast.  I added an extra course on today, poached eggs on toast after the porridge – see below for justification.  Otherwise the morning was mainly spent in the art class trying to paint a Samoan dancer. This will have to be completed in class the day after Malta because it turned out to be much more complicated than usual, and was nowhere near complete after our 2 hour class. We have completed the face, hair and wooden stick and next time need to learn how to create muscle definition.  Pictures later, but only if they start to look good ;).

Finished but not proud!

After this we had a hearty lunch in preparation for our afternoon.

We aren’t going on any trips tomorrow, we are going to find a comfortable place to sit and use wi-fi, drink coffee and take it easy! I know, I know, it’s been 3 months of taking it easy! But this afternoon at 2 p.m. we started walking around the Promenade deck and I managed to complete the 39 laps that make up a half marathon – aka this sector’s fund raiser for MacMillan, a great cause. It also provided all the passengers an opportunity to get rid of all the coins from the cruise that no currency exchanges will take, but are still useable.  There were pledges too.  I don’t know how much it raised but feel optimistic. (Now know it was around £500)   It feels very reassuring to know that it’s possible to take part in a bit of endurance. This perseverance was also thanks to I-Pod and the Al Stewart Collection. All finished by 5:30 p.m. Unfortunately Khachik got a blister in the middle of the sole of his foot, but he still completed a very respectable 16 laps.

So, right now it feels like a good idea to sit down at least for a while.  Maybe we will stay near the ship tomorrow and return early to the hot tub/sauna.

I will say a  tired good night (yawn) , get a good sleep and come back after Valetta in Malta tomorrow. xx

Monday 13/4/2015 Day 97 A day transiting the Suez Canal

Last night’s score was 4-2 to MUFC J. So we (Khachik I mean)  could get on with our Suez preparations without any sadness.....

Like a child the night before a special trip I was awake every couple of hours all through the night wondering if it was “first light” yet.  1 a.m. my wakefulness started, until finally at 6 a.m. Sam began her presentation through the ship cam channel on cabin tv. The ships engines were turned off at 3 and the anchor dropped.  But by 7 a.m. it became apparent that the southbound transit had been lucky and set off first and we would have to wait until around 11 a.m. to make our start in our convoy.  Not that it matters at all when you are on the sea.  It got more and more exciting as we realised that ahead of us in the queue were a US naval ship and a submarine.  Behind us were container ships and other cruise ships.  Like Panama it costs a ship a lot of money to cross – this time it was £400,000. We found out that 76 ships would be going through today, so not a bad income for a day.  It’s a good job too, because there’s no tourist industry left in Egypt. A few years ago everyone wanted to sail on the Nile, or visit Cairo.  Now tours are diverted away from Egypt.  Our 2 scheduled Egypt port stops were cancelled before embarkation for security reasons. 

All the way along the Egyptian coast on our port side there were armed soldiers keeping watch over the canal, all 120 miles of it from the Red Sea to the Med.  On land and sea was all the evidence of a successful oil producing country with moveable bridges, platforms and paraphernalia. 

Sam talked to us as we passed landmarks and went under the Suez Canal Bridge, giving us a lot of historical information and descriptions of the conflicts over Suez over the years.  Here's a pic of the souvenir from the Suez Transit.

The weather stayed fine and dry, hazy skies at first but then true blue, with very few clouds, cool early but warming up to about 20C throughout the morning. This meant we could be outside whenever we wanted without worrying about burning.

During the day a massive barbeque was set up outside today as most of the passengers were watching the transit from the decks.  Otherwise our day incorporated 60 focused minutes of cardio whilst looking out onto the sea at the front of the ship this morning, and a lovely art class this afternoon.  I had a bit of a cob on (only inside, no tantrums!) in art as it appears I am hopeless at drawing and painting flowers, and there has been no improvement in my flowers for the whole cruise.  Khachik’s flowers are always amazing, with soft petals and curves. Mine looked seriously flat and lifeless. Ah well, I will keep practising.

Dinner and an early night tonight.  Has to be when you’ve slept like a child on Christmas Eve the night before.  So I will say bye for now, until our sea day to Athens tomorrow. x