26/4/2016 Disembarkation and home!

Southampton, sunshine, breakfast then home! Thank you Singapore, Sri Lanka, Seychelles, Mauritius, Reunion, South Africa, Namibia, Cape Verde, Canaries and Madeira and of course our friends and companions Indian and Atlantic! Good Morning England! Better travelled, very well relaxed and definitely better educated about South Africa  and inspired to find out more, thanks to Chris Lubbe.



Disembarkation of 1800 impatient travellers can't be easy, but it was as smooth as could be, a bit of herding in various locations around the ship, ours was the Curzon Theatre and as we had a coach booked we were the first group off. The luggage that had been taken down to the hold last night had to be taken to the grand shed first, then when we got off identified by its colour code (pink for deck 10) and we collected it.  In customs we were randomly stopped I think  from the questions to see if we were smuggling cigarettes! Then straight into our Intercruises transfer in the Southampton FC executive coach again. Big leg room and comfy recliners, same "chauffeur" (notice how I'm looking for an alternative word for driver) and the same vibe as last year.  Ground rules clearly set by said executive coach executive! (He told us not to call him a driver, not to call the vehicle a bus, clear up our own mess and dispose of it using bags provided, and most importantly not to ask him what time we'd be arriving!!! I was suitably scared of transgressing, so didn't engage with him after that introduction.) Not really, he was funny and quirky with a cheeky look in his eye and a wry smile. Obviously also very proud of the vehicle!

So once more to Knutsford Services, with just 2 stops and drop offs, one nice cup of tea, and our rendezvous with Talene before home at tea time! First impressions back, and my last words from this blog - it's fffffffreezing.

25/4/2016 Final sea day to Southampton

Well the Bay of Biscay came and went without swell, nausea, or anything unpleasant. We are now in the English Channel, and it is predicted we'll be near the south of the Isle of Wight at around 3 a.m., I expect the phone will come back on then, which will be delightful. So today, instead of typical BOB behaviour of groaning and lying down, our last day was a good one. It was all about finishing off our time away, saying goodbyes especially to our cabin steward Austan and our most favourite waiter, Shakti. We have also been attending final concerts, final art exhibition and of course packing and getting ready for the grand disembarkation in the morning. We both put two of our paintings in the art exhibition - mine were Woman Carrying Fish on Head and Arch 22, Khachik's were Humming Bird and Monk Seal. The following are Khachik's gorgeous creatures.

EVERYONE on the ship was wearing jumpers today, including all the restaurant staff, who have long sleeved navy jumpers for when the weather is in single figures like today.

So we have enjoyed our last rounds of haute cuisine looking out to sea, enjoying the endless sea in its many states, the blue, grey, red and orange skies, sun rises and sunsets, iced drinks, the balcony, our lovely cabin and of course these amazing countries: Singapore, Sri Lanka, Seychelles, Mauritius, Reunion Island, South Africa, Namibia, Cape Verde, Canaries and Madeira.

Tonight after the final dinner we went to the final concert in the Curzon Theatre - it was a bit like a Royal Variety performance. By the way we were sitting behind the 5 young men in Collabro, and that felt really funny having been sitting where they were when they were performing on stage yesterday.  Then there were 5 separate performances, The Headliners, the Opera Boys, Clare Bonsu and Brian Conley. So we have been well and truly light-entertained.

Khachik made use of the gym for the last time, walking on the treadmill for an hour. He must have the healthiest heart and circulation of a 70 year old on the ship, he hasn't missed a day. I on the other hand have been resting more than ever! I engage in the most gentle restorative mobility and stretch now. I do think about cardio and strength, and how long it will be before I can do something else, but for now they are on hold.

Just a quick word about hips - I honestly didn't know how this cruise would pan out, or if hip pain would detract from my enjoyment. In brief I can honestly say that it has been much better to be here doing this, with the many distractions I have had, than in the cold. Next up are the two hip replacements but I can't say exactly when. I hope it is soon because intractable pain can be very tiring and it will be such a good thing when it has gone. I have had a very good time, in spite of it, and feel very lucky and very grateful to have this kind of a distraction in my life :)

Now for the next chapter, and whatever that may hold. Maybe I will add a little bit on here tomorrow about the morning once we arrive home, let's see, but I will say bye for now. xx

23/4/2016 First of three days to Southampton

We're at sea again!  Our coordinates are 37 degrees north and 13 degrees west, so we are still level with the Moroccan coast heading towards the coast of Portugal. All is flat and smooth, no swell no rain, and as expected the temperature has dropped to 16, so the roof is on the pool and the sunbathers on the sun deck above have all been driven indoors. It's ok though, an indoor swimming pool instead.  There is an air of coming to an end on the ship. People are exchanging contact details, starting to say goodbyes to staff, planning and booking next year's cruise and all that kind of thing.

So today we have done an art class, where we painted a misty Mount Teide in the clouds, using a number of our newly acquired water colour skills.










Our p.m. highlight was been to the Theatre for a ticket only concert with Collabro, 5 young men who sing songs form shows like Les Mis, Chess, Lion King, and were winners of BGT in 2014.  I didn't know, and today was the first time I had ever heard them. Not sure quite how they got the Aurora gig, but very glad they did.  They have lovely voices, and because they sang Circle of Life (links to a performance in Manchester's Bridgwater Hall) had me crying with the first high note, and then of course I couldn't stop and had to use my scarf to get rid of the snot and tears! Really wasn't expecting that.


But tonight we didn't get involved in any theatre entertainment, only our own.  Comedians can be so annoying! Anyway Brian Conley thankfully not just a comedian,  is on board and we spent so much time talking to our table mates tonight that we missed him. We will catch him next time, and before we do we can listen to what people said about him tonight.  Instead we have watched a bit of telly - an old episode of Ambassadors, done a crossword and a quick blog.

Until tomorrow, good night all xx

22/4/2016 Funchal, Madeira

We had a morning arrival in port, around 9, and first impressions were looking very good, high cliffs, hills, terracota roofing.

Once off the ship and in town we could see it was just like Portugal, black and white mosaic tiles as pavement, terrace bars, all the European outlets, but with a climate like Tenerife and lots of bananas! We used the morning time to spend catching up on Facebook, uploading pics, drinking lovely strong coffee. We went back to the ship by shuttle to have lunch and then came straight out again to catch the Yellow Bus for a 90 minute round trip with multi-lingual commentary, just like London.


The trip was the blue route and took in Camara Lobos and Cabo Girao. We found it so good we stayed on it twice, mainly so the hundreds of nuggets of info had time to get into our heads! What have we learned? - a lot of historical information but the accurate discovery dates and discoveries have already left me (13th and 15th centuries). There was the usual uncomfortable part about colonisation, I never like hearing about how one or other European power of the past plundered all the wealth of the countries they "discovered". Every now and again though the commentary mentioned something like a national drink with European influence, like a mix of lemon honey and absinthe!  So it wasn't all bad. Anyway Madeira is now home to 250,000 people mainly of Portuguese descent with a smattering of British and German residents. It is known as a holiday resort for former British Prime Ministers notably Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher.



Funchal is famous for its Reids Hotel, which still also popularly does afternoon tea. This was a possible excursion we didn't take. The island is also renowned for bananas, grown on terraces lining the whole of our bus route.  Several unusual sculptures and fountains were pointed out with interesting commentary along the way too. A stunning coastline, winding roads up into the hills, various palms and cacti.  There's a daily ferry to the other island, Porto Santo, and it was recommended as a day trip, but we just didn't have time.  I have pictures of them all and will add them as soon as I can!



Then it was dinner, a table for two for the first time this cruise, next to the window on the starboard side, so we could see everyone getting back onto the ship after their hard day's tourism. Our entertainment for the night was a little bit different.  At 9:30 we listened to Clare Bonsu again, this time in Carmen's lounge. She performed Eta James, Dusty, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles and another Shirley Bassey song by popular request. She's good, does drama, has a big range and can switch styles really easily.

Then up on deck 8 where the children's pool and kids club are situated a local group came and danced with massive feathers, and very stylish bright green and orange feathery boots! This was followed by the kind of firework display we get in Glossop on November 5th - it was big and went on for ages, and was launched for a small boat alongside the cruise ship.  This was in aid of the cruise coming to an end, and Funchal being the final port.





Next stop Southampton, but not until we have done 3 days at sea. Bye for now! x

21/4/2016 Gran Canaria

We had only been here in Gran Canaria once before, and I think it was 1999-ish, a beach holiday, when we first started holidaying as a couple. That trip started well but our enduring memory is one of being chased by an aggressive timeshare salesperson, threateneing us because he didn't like our mode of declining. We both ran away (we could in those days!) and escaped to the safety of a public bus. We were quite shocked, so I suppose understandably we chose not to return, until now, and we came because it was on an itinerary developed by P&O.

                

Surprisingly we have been filled with good memories today.  The part of the island we could see from the port was rugged and very different. Today wasn't a day for doing much walking, so we just sauntered off the ship through security and into a shopping centre, park and sunny terrace cafe for another snack, drink and wifi connection home. We did this twice, either side of lunch.  Khachik also visited a local supermercado and happily managed to find some 1€ cartons of vino tinto.

That's all we've done today. Tomorrow will be Funchal in Madeira, final stop before our 3 days at sea to Southampton. So I will say bye for now and will be back on tomorrow.

20/4/2016 Tenerife

20/4/2016 Tenerife
At midday we arrived in the beautiful Santa Cruz, Tenerife, so we did a grab and go sandwich before we headed off on our excursion of the Northern Island, up, up, up winding round those narrow mountain oftain single track roads, down , down, down to what was described as the end of the road at La Roqua, for rough coastline, black volcanic sand, and then to a delightful restaurant for bread, cheese olives wine/water.  After the snack more up, up, up to the Pico de Ingles and the views of two different landscapes on the same island.  The mist was just starting to come down so we had a truly informative lesson about the trade winds, the effect on the landscape, more economy, geography and history before returning us to the ship around 5.




Now that was interesting.



Too early to eat, and as we were not leaving until midnight we decided to find a cafe with free wifi, and what a delight to make contact with home after all!  So that was that, including a bit of Spanish football, tapas and beverages until 9, back to the ship for dinner and bed. A good day all round.

18/4/2016 St Vincent, Cape Verde Islands

Getting to Mindelo Harbour on St Vincent,  Cape Verde after 7 days at sea has been well worth the wait. We have just read that the deep water harbour was formed by a volcanic crater.  The sea is truly intense blue, light turquoise in patches, with tiny lines of white where the wind is whipping it up. From the ship directly in front of us we can see the stunning volcanic mountain ranges, and a good feeling about sustainability as there are "wind farms" both east and west.  The scenery is very beautiful. We did what we planned and went off to Mindelo by shuttle. It feels really African, the people, markets, sounds, even though we had read about the connection with Portugal until independence in 1975. As we deduced from the port presentation the Islands don't seem to have geared up for tourism yet, but I am sure they will become a really popular destination for both sun and adventure seekers soon.  There's no signs of hotels here in Mindelo on the beach, no expensive Waterfront, no jet skis or water ski-ing anywhere to be seen.  There were many people waiting to greet us off the shuttle bus inviting us to take the island tour, and sadly quite a lot of very poor looking people around, asking for money.  We didn't think about sharing a picnic until it was too late. :(

Over the day we have taken some lovely photos - big baskets of fish and fruit being carried by the women on their heads, a strong culture of bargaining for the best price.  Tiny cafes and bars, all very dark inside without windows. Groups of men old and young sitting outside near their fishing boats, or selling their wares on street corners, lots of laughter and oh yes, lots and lots of dogs. Yet the buildings do look Portuguese -  churches and house fronts in very bright colours, colonial statues, so it's been a very interesting day piecing it all together.




     



       













We had received a letter in our cabin yesterday with WHO advice about preventing Zika, listing Cape Verde as a risk area, and explaining that these Zika carrying mosquitoes are active during the day. The letter said we should cover up with dark long sleeved trousers and tops, and spray all over with 50% Deet like Jungle Formula or Lemon Eucalyptus like Mosiguard. We have been totally complicit and we have managed to avoid any bites today. Because the temperature has fallen a little bit and the wind is quite strong, blowing many hats off, we didn't feel uncomfortable covering up. We also think the wind will have helped to keep the mosquitoes away.  On the clothes market we bought ourselves an African outfit each.  Actually they will both be mine when we get home. I might be wrong but I don't think Khachik would wear his multi coloured tie dye top after the holiday.  I will wear my royal blue and white tie dye dress in the house like a robe, as well as on any warm days we might have in the summer.  Anyway mine is getting an outing tonight.

We are back in the cabin now, I have painted part of the coastline and we are waiting for dinner, sailing away from Mindelo port towards Tenerife.  Our coordinates are now 17 degrees north and 25 degrees west. Sea state is moderate and the wind is force 6, which means the decks are quite blowy and there are warnings about the doors, but no closures as yet. The sea looks choppy Tonight our entertainment will include an all female Beatles tribute band called Sister Twist in the Curzon theatre and afterwards in Carmen's ballroom an American guitarist we remember from last year Called Zach Winningham. I will come back with the appraisal tomorrow.

I am sorry not to have been able to show off any of our recent our photos, or live message or Skype -  we couldn't find any high speed wifi. I am sure we will when we reach Tenerife, meanwhile quick catches up only from the ship today and tomorrow. Then 20th Tenerife, 21st Gran Canaria and I think 22nd Madeira.
Bye for now

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

16/4/2016 Day 6 of 7 Sea Days to Cape Verde

I have now forgotten what being in a port feels like, honestly.  When you leave the ship you have an ID card to swipe. As you swipe there's a beep and a voice from the technology as you leave the ship saying "goodbye" and when you return "welcome" - it recognises you by bar code and displays your photo. (A possibility for the future of ID's and passports I imagine)  I was just thinking about this and it seems ages away since I heard these sounds just before exploring the sand dunes in Namibia - did we really do that? Yep. That was us :).

 But happily for us in this last week a whole new world opened up, so many things to read, listen to, speakers to engage with who have made us think hard about the meaning of life. So much to look up too when we get home.

With our extra hour we just had an extra hour in bed before breakfast and art this morning. We painted "Arch 22 in Banjul" which we might have visited if we had had Yellow Fever Vaccine, and if the Gambia port stop hadn't been cancelled. We don't mind, by the way. We were going to stay on the ship that day so that we could get into Cape Verde unvaccinated, as we don't hold Yellow Fever Certificates.  Quite a satisfactory outcome for us. Anyway, back to Arch 22 where today we used a fresh technique - negative painting where a huge part of the paper was a white building, and its shape was created by leaving it blank and painting everything inside around it. Really effective.



Then after lunch, because it's Saturday Khachik was watching footy on telly, I went on my own to "Virtual Planetareum - Guided Tour of the Night Sky",for a talk given by Leon,a fellow of the Royal Astronomical society.  He used computer modelling to describe the galaxies and their relationships, including all the ancient mythology.  It was riveting, although I have to admit that there was so much new information for my brain that I think I need to listen again.  Hopefully it will be available on Channel 2 of our telly tomorrow!

So now for my daily update about where we are and what the weather's like - 28C today, so a bit more comfortable to sit in at breakfast time. A light breeze too.  We are degrees 9 degrees north and  17 degrees west, passing about 150 miles off the coast of Sierra Leone roughly level with Freetown. Still very excited about covering all this new ground.

Goodbye for tonight. Back tomorrow. xx

15/4/2016 Day 5 of 7 Sea Days to Cape Verde

It's Friday.  Love and peace  especially the Ashpital family who need it more than ever.

Yesterday I talked about that wonderful speaker Chris Lubbe who had survived torture, repeated imprisonment and witnessing the murder of a man he was trying to help, rising above retaliation with the help of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, choosing a non-violent path.  His generosity of spirit and his words are still going through my head. He said things like "some of you are suffering pain and ill health, but you will get through it." and "if I got through torture, you will get through this"   "We do not have to accept the world as it is."  "We need to do our part to bring about change".   "Don't look back on bad things that have happened." "Find a way to make the world a better place".
And that has given me and I think hundreds of others lucky enough to have been on this cruise so much hope.

Since writing yesterday we have covered another 450 nautical miles, crossed the Equator and are heading North West, from the live info on screen it looks as though we are just south west of Liberia, (Hello Adrienne and Winston, thinking about inspiring people!). Our coordinates are 2 degrees north and 10 degrees west, so as predicted back in the Northern Hemisphere. It's 31C today, and cloud cover is classed as 5/8. The heat has advised us indoors again, firstly to paint a humming bird with a background produced by putting a wet on wet wash under a sheet of Clingfilm. I love the effect the wrinkles make. I went to two art classes actually.


Then we lunched, heartily again, listened to a Historical Murder Presentation, one of a series presented by an ex- policeman who has researched them, and now tells the stories, presents the evidence before the audience becomes the jury and then hears the outcome.

Today at lunch we were accompanied by a pod of dolphins for several minutes.  Beautiful shiny dolphins jumping, playing, friends.  It was so lovely to see them.  I am amazed that considering where we are we hardly see any sea life, so its a real delight when it happens.  The flying fish have come back again too, so we watch them from the balcony too, and enjoy beautiful sunrises, changing seas and skies.

Over the course of a lovely dinner we talked to the couple from Scotland we dined with two nights ago, Margaret and Alan. We covered some ground! Family, teaching, South African politics, hip replacements, world travel, this cruise. They were lovely and so easy to talk to.   We discovered that Jimmy James hadn't been allowed to disembark in Cape Town to travel on to his next cruise ship gig. He apparently didn't have enough blank pages in his passport.

For a few days we have been back on UK time, but tonight we will put the clocks back an hour, and possibly one more time before we turn right after Cape Verde and head north eastwards towards the Canaries and Madeira. Two more sea days yo land...

Early night for us - all this on board activity and inspiration can be tiring. Bye for now x

9/4/2016 Sea Day to Walvis Bay, Namibia

Today has been sunny and calm on the Atlantic west coast of southern Africa. No swell, just soft ripples and reflections, and the most beautiful colours in both sea and sky.

The final sector of this cruise, Cape town to Southampton, has now begun. This means we are over the halfway mark of our cruise.  Our next port is Walvis Bay, Namibia. We arrive early tomorrow morning.  We have booked an excursion called Sandwich Harbour by 4X4 tomorrow afternoon.  We are really looking forward to the wild life.  It's been a beautiful 20-25C today, and will start to get hot again from now as we go through the tropics again and cross the Equator within the next week.

With the new cruise sector has come a new art teacher, a very enthusiastic woman from the Lakes called Pam. She has a very interesting story of being a physio, retiring, having a stroke and then taking up art on a cruise ship. She isn't a "professional" artist, nevertheless I really like her style and bubbly personality. She spent the morning's session revisiting various techniques, using bits of sponge, sticks, cotton buds, cotton cloth, alcohol gel, cling film and salt.  I am very happy to say that art has suddenly become very playful. I enjoyed this morning's class so much, I went back this afternoon and painted a springbok while Khachik was in the gym. I am happy with my springbok too.  What a delightful way to while away a few hours. 

We dined with a new couple tonight.  They were called Maggie and Alan, from Aberdeen. Lovely people, retired academics who have done lots of cruises over the last 20 years.  They were able to advise us a lot about future cruises. (Alaska, Eastern Europe and South America to name a few!) After dinner we went to the Curzon Theatre for a Four Seasons tribute act called "Walk like a Man" - Loved the two decades worth of memories stirred up by the music again. Even got all emotional, although i don't like to broadcast it, so please don't tell anyone.  The theatre was chock full, and I also hesitate to admit that there was lots of singing along and almost, but not quite dancing in the aisles -  by that I mean one or two people got up and moved in that direction, but then changed their minds.

We have another immigration process for a new country in the morning.  After South Africa the mood around immigration procedures is in general a bit "low"! Khachik and I weren't badly affected because we weren't in a hurry, but some  poor folk were left queueing in the heat for hours, 5 hours. So, our plan will be to take it easy again.  Our face to face inspection will luckily be after breakfast because our excursion is not until early afternoon. (Smug smile) 

We are back in the cabin now ready to sleep, just going to watch a bit of telly, thought about Luther but then it got a bit scary, so I'm now flipping between Live at the Apollo and a travel programme about Namibia.

Will say bye for now xx 

8/4/2016 Cape town Day 3

Today we went on an absolutely brilliant excursion to the top of Table Mountain by coach and cable car, with a fantastic, funny, caring and professional tour guide. We had a third clear sunny day with hardly any breeze, 30+C so we have been really really lucky today. This was made even sweeter because the tour guide saw that I was walking with a walking stick today and filtered me off into a group allowed to jump the one hour queue, go up in the lift to join the cable car with all the "gogos".  Khachik was allowed to come with me. Khachik did a phone video both up and down in the cable car, which incidentally rotates to give everyone a chance to see everything. There are about 60 people in each car, and 2 cars in operation. The organisation of the cars is fabulous and on the top of the mountain there are all sorts of facilities including internet cafes, bars and shops. So much to see up there - truly stunning and breathtaking views, very different terrain, three different types of stone I hear, unique wildlife (notably lots of little lizards, some pure black, some with turquoise heads), and the most beautiful birds I have never even seen pictures of.  Research required!

We stopped up there for about an hour for short walk, a coffee and a snack, and Khachik found internet to make contact home.  While we were doing that a couple who had already left the ship at Cape Town joined us. They said they were from Cheltenham, Warden Hill to be exact. I told them about my 11 years in Cheltenham, and mentioned Pate's Grammar School, of course they knew it.  They asked where we were from. When we said Glossop, they said they knew another couple on the same ship called Brian and Maria from Hadfield.   They have now also left the ship, without us getting to know them, which is a shame. Who knows we might meet up with them some time in the future.  However we might meet another of their contacts Tom Williams, apparently from our neck of the woods. Hope we recognise him from their description.

At departure time, the SA immigration team again found it necessary to take their time doing the face to face passport checks and stamping, which has resulted in almost 3 hours delay leaving Cape Town. The queues were bad, it was hot, bottles of water had to be given out in the queues to prevent dehydration. I think the best thing is to expect delays, and not rush out of the cabins to queue, but arrive at the tail end and pass through quickly.

Never mind, we've eaten now, met a lovely couple from New Zealand and are back in the cabin ready for a good night's rest.  Sea day tomorrow.  New art teacher! New sector.  Excited about Namibia on 10th April  Bye for now. xx

6/4/2016 Cape Town, sunshine and appetite back!

Thank goodness that storm has passed! We have felt hungry and eaten heartily this morning.   Last night during the storm we tried our best to behave normally (and not give in or lie down). We went to the theatre where Vince Earl "did a turn" as a comedian and cabaret singer, reminiscent of the working men's clubs I frequented in the 1970's whilst supporting  a couple of semi-professional rock bands. It was generally tolerable, but tarnished by quite a lot of outdated and offensive terminology and jokes about "the wife". All that unfortunately and embarrassingly belonged to decades ago in places like the Embassy Club. I tried hard to cut him a bit of slack because he must be in his 70's, although I appreciate that that's a poor excuse for racism and sexism. He probably cut his teeth on THAT Bernard Manning type of stuff. Also he was rolling about the stage with the stormy weather, so that can't be easy. On the plus side he told a couple of jokes about flatulence, some doctor/patient scenarios, and ageing which still managed to make me laugh. He definitely ought not to sing Willy Nelson and Elvis though, that's an absolute.  I would suggest retirement, asap.

Today is the extra day in Cape Town, because we were unable to dock in Port Elizabeth. We sailed in to Cape Town around 10 a.m. with the skies bright blue, and a flat sea. Table Mountain looks absolutely brilliant.  Several beautiful mobile phone pictures will soon be  available. As soon as immigration is done we are shuttling to the V&A Waterfront where we will potter and wander, and enjoy a bit of rest and relaxation, possibly with the assistance of a hop on hop off bus, but nothing too taxing.  Tomorrow and Friday we are still here, and these two days were already scheduled and we have with excursions booked for Table Mountain and Robben Island.



We are located at 33 degrees south and 18 degrees east today, temperature 20C.  That feels UK-normal for late spring to early summer, and very agreeable it is too.

At 11:30 there seemed to be a bit of a delay with immigration.  I couldn't say what or why, just that the announcements suggested it would be a long delay, and from our cabin balcony we could see hundreds of people coming back onto the ship, having failed to make it through immigration at all. I think it might be a good idea to paint table mountain while we wait.

Update:By 12 midday and our tannoy announcement suggested there'd been an administrative "issue" that hadn't been handled or communicated properly between the Port Elizabeth agent, the ship and immigration here in Cape Town. Ho hum. We might not be getting off until tea time. I am very happy we took our time this morning and have just been waiting quietly away from the understandable frustration and anger.  Instead we've been able to take in the views, do the crossword and watch a dcumentary about Emperor penguins on the telly.  I will post this now, and hopefully get the pictures uploaded when we get off the ship later and access decent wi-fi. So bye until later xx

5/4/2016 Impromtu extra day at sea :(

5/4/2016 Uh oh, no Port Elizabeth after all
At 6:30 this morning when we were scheduled to sail in to Port Elizabeth we were advised over the tannoy that the wind was too strong to get into the harbour and we were holding a position outside the port until further notice.  At around 8:30 came the news that even if the winds were to drop by lunchtime, it would be a logistical impossibility to fit in all the tours before sunset.

So that's that, we are on our way to Cape Town now on a fourth sea day, but this means an extra day arriving earlier than scheduled  in Cape Town, which is perfectly acceptable.  Hopefully we can get a safari there after all. Forecasts do say we will be able to dock tomorrow a.m.  The down side is that we don't get to visit the Eastern Cape and that we don't get to do our safari today. There's a lot of quick thinking and complaint aversion taking place by the entertainments team, and a whole new sea day programme has emerged is up and running allready, starting with art, where we were able to paint another yacht if we wanted, or in my case finish off a portrait. This afternoon is the exhibition, and there's an opportunity, should we wish to take it, to play Bingo. Did I mention that there's a casino on board? And a shopping deck for general provisions, fashion accessories, jewellery?  If people are short of something to do, there's always spending or gambling. A few entertainments have been brought forward - the art exhibition, the talent show and whatever else could be changed at short notice (dance classes, line dancing, tap dancing, crafting)

Along with the wind there's also heavy rain for the first time since we left home on 17/3/2016.  I realise we have been sailing between the tropics and around the equator until now, and that this unpredictable weather is what we are used to at home, but weren't really prepared for.  The sea sickness is not quite as bad, strangely.  In the self service restaurant at lunch time there was a "winter vegetable soup" on the menu, and a queue for it.  That's how it feels compared to the paradise islands.

Just so you know we are 34 degrees south and 24 degrees east and in the next 24 hours will be going round the Cape into the Atlantic Ocean.  The wind force has risen to 9, the swell is classed as moderate.  Outside decks are all closed, as are the pools. The temperature is now 19C but it feels colder becasue of the strong winds and impromptu rain.

I am going to accompanu Khachik to the gym shortly and work out a programme that doesn't worsen or cause any new pain.  I am going to have a look at the upper body weights machines and see what inspires me.

So I will say bye for now until tomrorrow when hopefully the storm has subsided and we are allowed off the ship into Cape town for the first of three port days and a taste of the Atlantic. xx

4/4/2016 Third sea day to Port Elizabeth

Last night I went for a light buffet dinner, but failed to regain my appetite.  A lovely passenger approached me and said I didn't look well, gave me two Stugerons and then disappeared. I think she must have been an angel!  I then went to bed for 12 hours. No entertainment necessary. Ughhh.

Today the sea state remained moderate to severe, and the winds were force 6-7. The swell has been reportedly 4 metres. Spray was still reaching our balcony on deck 10, the pools had to be shut as they were swishing over the decks excessively. Warnings are posted on the information screens. I have felt nauseous and had a headache like a pressure band for most of the day. This morning I tried the "try to ignore it" approach, this afternoon I gave in and spent 3 hours horizontal, an hour of that asleep. I have now bought Nelsons homeopathic travel sickness remedy (Nux Vomica). The weather  seems to be settling down a bit, and tomorrow will be a really welcome port day in any case.  Tonight it has been possible to enjoy Jimmy James second performance - much less singing along with him tonight, but nevertheless enjoyed every Smokey Robinson, Otis Reading, Four Tops, Barry White and Gladys Knight number he sang. What a lovely man.



We are still travelling south westerly, currently our co-ordinates are approximately 33 degrees south and 28 degrees east and our speed is roughly 20 nautical miles per hour.  That speed means we cover 400+ nautical miles in 24 hours. The average temperature has now dropped to 25C.  Cloud cover is classed as 7/8 (very cloudy)

Tomorrow I'll be back in South Africa, just one month after my last flying visit to Johannesburg with Lisa.  This time Khachik and I will be cruising in to Port Elizabeth and going out to an animal park for a 5 hour trip after breakfast. We're excited. Khachik's really looking forward to his first trip ever to South Africa.  Officialdom first with a face to face immigration stop in the ballroom at 8 a.m. and then a full day in Port Elizabeth, followed by one day at sea (including an art exhibition) and then 2 days in Cape Town, with excursions to Robben Island by coach and a small boat and Table Mountain by coach and Cable Car. Happy days.

Bye for now xxx

3/4/2016 Second sea day to Port Elizabeth

Clocks went back again last night so we're on GMT+3, but I think that's UK time +2 because of daylight saving.  Not sure though, because it doesn't make too much difference to our lazy way of life at the moment.  We worked out we're about the same latitude as Johannesburg today and so I'm feeling connected again to Lisa Ashton at Ilamula House, and still remembering and reflecting on my introduction to my more hands on side of the Winnie Mabaso Foundation through our health and well being training, the veggie gardens, the feeding programme and bra distribution programmes, and just one month ago. so some special thoughts today.

There's quite a breeze blowing through the decks today, and spray blowing up as far as our deck (deck 10) from the sea. On the bulletin now it says says the sea state is "rough", it looks choppy, there quite a lot of white froth, and the captain has advised us all to take care when walking around. Captain Philpott is his name by the way.  He says this swell should have gone by tomorrow lunch. The next stage I remember from last year is the appearance of the "motion discomfort bags".  I am feeling nauseous. The secret I have heard today is to keep busy, ignore it/pretend it's not happening

Although it has been sunny and still very warm outside, 27C, there seems to be a difference in the air. From the map it looks like we're crossing the Tropic of Capricorn today, so maybe that's why.  Our latitude is 28 south, longitude is roughly 40, wind - 8, and we're doin a speed of 19 nautical miles per hour.  All is well here, in spite of the swell. Another sea day tomorrow, then SA on 5/4/2016

This morning we went down to reception with our Yellow Fever Exemption Certificates.  Apparently P & O are reimbursing any expenses incurred by having to have either a vaccination or an exemption certificate.  Those who were vaccinated had to pay £50-£70, and those exempted like us had to pay £20 each for the consultation and exemption.  I guess this is because it was stipulated only for visiting the Gambia, which has now been cancelled. Good news, perhaps a Pandora charm for my bracelet from the on-board jewellers for me, or a bit mor gin for Khachik. Also this morning we completed a painting of yachts in the Solent.  I enjoyed it but somehow managed to lose (or maybe never find) any sense of movement of the yachts or effects of the wind on the sea in my painting.  Khachik's looks great, really lively. It seems, Khachik thinks, to have something to do with the inclination of the sail, and his lines in the water, but I also think his sky has a bit more of wild wind in it.



This afternoon we attended a talk by former Notts Forest and Leeds footballer Duncan McKenzie.  He played for Brian Clough and told tales which were first and foremost really funny, becasue he did all the voices and accents, but also interesting and quite informative for a non-football fan like me, as well as for Khachik.


Afterwards Khachik got to the gym for an hour of walking and I went to a craft class to make a multi -layered greeting card. I learned a lot by keeping my head down, listening to the gossip about Yellow Fever refunds and who didn't deserve them. I just chuckled quietly to myself, as I am on that list! This was where with my head down concentration I first noticed the nausea, so I am now rectifying this with a focus on the horizon between sentences.

Right now Khachik is watching the Manchester United v. Everton match, so we'll be having a late dinner to accommodate the habit of a lifetime!  The sun has set beautifully and the dark blue sky and purple clouds have taken over and the wind is whistling loudly round the balconies. I might give movement around the ship and entertainment a miss tonight and will say bye for now so I don't have to look down for too long. xxx

2/4/2016 First sea day from Reunion to Port Elizabeth, South Africa

Overnight there was slightly stronger wind, force 7, and the sea state is said to be "moderate" meaning that there are wavelets on the ocean and a bit more sway.  The sea also looks very dark today.  Once or twice I have felt that slight nausea that I recognise from rough seas, although it's not bad enough to make me feel I need to lie down.  Just for interest we are at 25 degrees south of the equator and 46.57 degrees longitude.  I think we are very close to the most southerly tip of Madagascar.

Here's a reminder of the cruise, flight to Singapore, cruise back round Africa.



Sea days mean lots of on board entertainment again, and today, apart from varied and interesting eating, bobbling around in the hot tub, we have attended art, (a watercolour painting of a beach hut and palm trees).



Later we went to a showing of the most recent production of Far from the Madding Crowd in the Playhouse, to which I was as riveted as I always have been with Thomas Hardy. He never seemed to favour a feel-good ending, but this was an exception.  Really enjoyed it, even though I knew exactly what was about to happen, minute by minute.

One of the four swimming pools is closed today.  Rumour has it that it sprang a leak, and flooded a cabin beneath. I heard a passenger talking about his wet carpet today - thought he was referring an episode of incontinence but now all is clear!  Just hope they hadn't recently watched Pirate Radio, or worse still Titanic.

Tonight we have received a bit of good news.  We have had the island Madeira added to the itinerary on 22/4/2016, and the three previous ports moved forward  to Cape Verde on 18/4, Tenerife on 20/4 and Gran Canaria 21/4.  Still tbc in a verbal announcement by the Captain but a letter explaining the situation has arrived so I think we can say it's pretty definite.  This means we can enjoy all the ports.  We were originally going to have to stay on board in Banjul, Gambia because we had both been issued exemption certificates for Yellow Fever vaccine.  We would have needed to have had the vaccine to get off the ship in Cape Verde after visiting the Gambia.  Interesting the way things work out.  Also we've never been to Madeira.

Now we are off to dinner and then the captain's cocktail party in Carmen's Ballroom for the loyalty club, raffles and complimentary drinks and nibbles.  So I will say bye for now, even though it's early, as there might not be time to blog later.

1/4/2016 Reunion Island

This morning we woke up already in the port, actually called Le Port on Reunion Island and what a beautiful place it is. It's east of Madagascar, south of Mauritius.  It's also hot, 30C and very sunny with clear blue skies, this is getting to be a bit of a habit!.  We had a lazy morning on the ship enjoying the mixture of very green and volcanic scenery, and the heat, then the afternoon excursion to St Denis, (including a packed lunch from "Grab and Go" on the Lido Deck.)

I loved this, especially the slightly whacky, alternative tour guide, Jean-Luc.  He told us he was born in Paris, worked originally for IBM, retired and moved to Reunion, and has never looked back. He was really friendly, but also very wise.  He welcomed us to Europe, and to France.  Some of us had already had texts from our phone providers with promises of cheap calls and texts at Eurpoean rates, so that bit wasn't much of a surprise. But just how "French" St Denis is really was a surprise.  Cafe's, Restaurants, shops, and the general look and feel of the streets, the offices and monuments were all very clearly European.  We had history, geography and politics lessons throughout the afternoon, all delivered with a lovely sense of humour, all in all one of the best shore tours we've ever had. The history included the plundering, destruction, and the slavery - the dutch the French and the British, but at this point he said very philosophically that we can't judge, only learn from the mistakes of the past to make a better future. I still do feel a sense of ancestral shame, Always will.  There was quite a lot of walking between the highlights - the picnic lunch stop, the museum, state buildings, craft market, slavery abolition monument, botanical gardens, canons and coach.

                 


So now we're taking it easy, watching Michael Caine film, Last Love on the telly after dinner and thinking about an early night.
Bye for now xx

30/3/2016 Sea day 2 to Mauritius

30/3/2016 Just one more sea day to Mauritius.   We are GMT plus 3 I think.  Still sailing south.  The sky is clear again most of the time, and we have had one very gentle cool rain shower.   I don't think I've introduced you to our two pools......, pool bars, hot tubs, sun beds




No sign of sea life though, just one solitary bird accompanying the ship for a few miles (probably hopeful of some scraps, but not getting lucky since throwing anything overboard seems to be outlawed these days).  Yesterday the captain did mention the possibility of seeing an albatross or two.  It hasn't happened yet though.

Interesting how every island has its own way of handling immigrants, in Mauritius all 1800 passengers have to undergo a face to face interview from 6:30 a.m. tomorrow. This is reminiscent of the USA, and Australia, but not many other places in the world.  We have a slot tomorrow morning at 7:45, it's early because we're off on an excursion called Paradise Island (a whole day beach trip with lunch!)

Today's art lesson was an Indian ocean beach scene, with palm trees, sunbeds and parasols, tiny people in the distance and the odd sailing boat.  Thankfully all small enough not to require too much detail.  We're both fairly happy with the outcome.




We learned today there's to be an art exhibition on 2/4/2016, our next sea day.  We need to choose 3 of our best pieces for this and submit them to Tony the teacher on 1/4/2016.

So just to sum up, tomorrow it's Mauritius then the day after is Reunion Island, both just inside the Tropic of Capricorn, so still not too much sitting outside, and then we move south-westwards to South Africa - Port Elizabeth and then Cape Town, where we understand the season is Autumn, and still like a good British summer. But not yet, two port days and three sea days before then.