17/4/2016 Final Sea Day to Cape Verde

Tonight my blog is short and sweet because I'm conscious of the time.  From the map it looks like we are almost level with Senegal, and very close to the Cape Verde Islands. our coordinates are now 14 degrees north and 23 degrees west.  There's been a noticeable change in the weather from hot to warm - more cloud cover, a drop in temperature to 24 degrees, meaning that we can be out on deck for a lot longer. As the day has progressed the wind has also increased to a force 5, and the sea state is now classed as moderate. It's not uncomfortable, though, just a gentle sway, so moderate is good, for now!

After a breezy breakfast out on the deck this morning, we went to deck 13 at the very top of the ship to a bar called the Crow's Nest and painted a coastal scene, said to be from St Vincent, but I renamed one boat after Khachik.  Very enjoyable, so I went back for the afternoon class while Khachik watched Leicester v West Ham and later Arsenal v Crystal Palace. We also watched a Historical Murders talk about the Krays, very hard to listen to, won't do that again.

                 

Lunch was a bit different today. We went for a sit down waiter service for lunch, instead of the usual buffet.  Food is lovely just the same, but I feel we might have eaten less by having portions served out on our plates.  That might be the way to go, given that exercising is such hard work ;) Dinner was a lovely sit down event tonight too, with the usual 5 courses. Tonight our choice of main was a Taste of Africa, and included a fish I'd never heard of (and now I've forgotten its name!) with a risotto style rice dish with lots of veg.

Tomorrow we will be in Mindelo port on the island on St Vincent. We have heard that the islands aren't highly populated or developed, and not yet geared up to tourism, although getting ready.  We have decided not to do an excursion, but to visit Mindelo by shuttle bus and spend a few hours just taking in the local culture, trying to learn a bit more.  More about that tomorrow.

Clocks go back again tonight so we will then be 2 hours behind UK time, but not for long. It seems there are only 8 days left, that's gone quickly!
Bye for now xx