Tuesday's photo opportunities

There was no alarm failure this morning – Matt had taken charge of the phone. But it was set on full volume and woke us up with a shock. Matt is always the first to leap out of bed in such circumstances but was unable to turn the alarm off in his semi-conscious state so threw the phone at me and told me to deal with it.

We ate breakfast with a couple who referred to each other as “The Husband” and “The Wife”. This was somewhat distracting and added a level of complexity to what would otherwise have been a simple conversation. “The Husband” and “The Wife” had been married 26 years and it was their first holiday together. “The Husband” told us that “The Wife” usually goes on holiday with her sister while he stays at home, looks after the 4 dogs and watches what he wants on the television. “The Wife” and my husband had an impassioned conversation about Yorkshire Terriers. “The Husband” and I joined in, enthusiastically but not quite so passionately. We looked at photographs of the Yorkies in each others’ lives and discussed their ailments past and present. “The Husband” took great delight in describing the Yorkie graveyard in their garden, complete with granite headstones.

They said that they had seen dolphins this morning which prompted a discussion about the benefits of having opposable thumbs and being able to walk on two legs versus the “price” we pay for this in terms of the rearing of young. I resisted the urge to test out walking on my arms and legs, deciding that this was something that should be investigated in the privacy of my own cabin.

We had the laziest morning so far, I didn’t even manage a cursory swim. After liberally application of sunscreen we chose some sun loungers on the “sport’s deck”. Since when lazing and reading has been a sport I’m not sure.

For the second day in a row I showed great virtue and chose the lighter options for starter and main at lunchtime. Followed by hot pudding and ice-cream. We sat with some very nice people (despite their mildly xenophobic attitudes) and discussed whether the 1969 moon landing was a conspiracy. This was clearly something that would not be settled over lunch – Matt and I were the only ones who weren’t born at the time so it was probably a bit difficult to contribute convincingly to the conversation but that didn’t stop us trying. We talked about social care and how it may well be cheaper to the tax-payer for people who require long term care to go on a permanent cruise (we didn’t talk about whether this would be the most appropriate way to deliver long term care).

Nature report 1

• Yesterday’s non-human life-forms observed were a fly and wasp. Fortunately they were more interested in Matt than me. I hate wasps.
• Today we saw a whale blowing from its spout and also some birds. I said I thought these were skuas but this was based on nothing more than a vague recollection that the skua is a sea bird and we are at sea. A more accurate description would be “sea pigeon” – they were sort of pigeon sized and coloured but with more crescent shaped wings and were more elegant in flight.
• Despite asking all the people we’ve sat with what the flowers on the table are I am yet to find someone who knows (although one lady told me she has some in her garden).

These natural conundrums would have been quickly answered with instant access to the internet or a photo sent to my parents but in these circumstances may never be resolved. Maybe a trip to the library is in order.

As we approached the Straits of Gibraltar Matt got nearly as excited as he had done when he had seen the boats towing oil rigs on our previous cruise. My knowledge of North African geography leaves quite a lot to be desired (actually my geographical knowledge of the whole of Africa leaves quite a lot to be desired, although I can tell you that Timbuktu is Mali) and we spent a while debating what the large settlement was. I decided that it was probably Tangiers. This is because I think that Marrakech and Casablanca are further east and Tangiers is the only settlement I know of until you get to Egypt. A trip to the library before dinner is definitely in order.

One of the benefits of being at sea is that I don’t lose Matt to the taking of innumerable photographs. With the sighting of land both port and starboard this could not continue. Not to be outdone I took a break from my sun lounger and ventured up to the imaginatively named “Sky Deck”. Here I had to contend with very gusty winds and use my core to steady myself whilst I tried to get a panoramic shot of North Africa and another of Southern Spain. 

I also got a paparazzi style photograph of Matt reading – sun protection now provided with by his yellow sarong (plus factor 50 underneath).

I think that I impressed Matt with my knowledge of African geography, identifying that the Atlas Mountains can be located on this continent. Whether these were the mountains that we could see was another matter.

We packed away our books and headed to the front (I suppose I should really call is the bow) of the “Lido Deck” to get a good view as the ship made its way through the Straits.

The Straits of Gibraltar

Given that there are 3000 passengers it was a pretty poor show that only 7 or 8 of us experienced this. It was blowing an absolute hoolie (I had to keep myself warm with my swimming towel) so I suppose that should excuse the very elderly. But really? On a beautiful afternoon, to miss this? There were more people plodding away in the gym behind us.

Matt and I spent a few minutes posing for photos with the rock of Gibraltar positioned as a hat.