Days 6 and 7 – Messing about in boats on the Med

Well, just one boat – er, ship (what’s the difference, you ask? You can put a boat on a ship but you cannot put a ship on a boat…)

Ahem. Yes – here we are afloat on the Mediterranean and it is a lovely Mediterranean blue though not as warm as we had hoped. In fact – looking online we discover that we are having very similar weather to home which is disappointing since it means we can not gloat.  Today is about 5˚C with gale force wind at our stern and rain all around.  Since we left Spain we have made a southeasterly course passing Sardinia, Sicily and Malta and are now in the Ionian Sea. Winds are so strong that they have warned us that we may not be able to make port tomorrow morning. Those of you who have followed other travels know that missing ports is something that happens to us quite regularly and we are philosophical about it as there is no point in getting upset. It usually means a credit to our accounts which helps cover Dale’s scotch habit and, of course,  it frees up more time to read!

Should all that bore us to tears there is much to do on board – gambling (never have, never will), library, pubs, clubs, theatres, the only floating planetarium, eating (Dale’s hobby), lectures, courses and, since this is a British ship, some pretty high end shopping including an on board branch of Harrod’s (where I bought Dale a natty silk tie in purple with little foxes on it…) and a Cartier shop. I don’t anticipate buying much!

As to photos, last time I checked Google was still resisting my efforts to post them but I shall keep trying. For those of you linked to me through (curse word here) FaceBook I have posted a few photos there.

Hopefully tomorrow we will have an informative and pithy posting on the marvels of Greece and the glories of their ancient culture… or you may be waiting until Egypt. It appears these things are out of our hands.

On the other hand – we look forward to dining each evening with our new friends from Oxford – Pam and Pete Round. They are a lovely couple in their 70s who are excellent fun. Pete and Dale are convinced that they could have easily stood in for Daniel Craig in the latest Bond film and no one would be the wiser (this is the effect that wearing tuxedoes has on men apparently). Pam and I wisely keep our counsel.  The Rounds have been most impressed (horrified?) at Dale’s intake ability and his habit of ordering 2 entrees for his already 5 course dinner.  Our sommelier is Russian with the last name of Smirnoff (yes, really!) and she is great fun and seems to enjoy our little table of fools as Dale’s scotch now appears to be triples rather than doubles. I remain boring with a standard order of Perrier with lime.  We have discussed families, jobs and loved ones (yes, pictures of Rupert HAVE appeared) and await many more evenings of fun and mutual exchange.

Till then – hope this finds you well!