17th March 2016

We’re not ones for sunbathing, though many of our fellow passengers are. By now, you can probably guess that their bodies are taking on the colour and texture of freshly polished shoe leather. This got me thinking about the rare occasions when, as a couple, we’d lie on a sunbed and soak up the rays. Typically, this would be during the first few days of a holiday, when we were recovering from jet lag and before the hire car was delivered. One particular time stands out, when, due to our lack of enthusiasm for sunbathing, we missed out on joining the ‘exclusive’ sun-worshipping set.

On a holiday in Cyprus, when Charlotte was still very young, we stayed in a hotel that was, at the time, the only one in Coral Bay. While lounging by the pool, a girl in her early twenties asked if it was all right for Charlotte to play with a little girl of the same age in the water. “Of course,” we said. We noticed a couple by the pool whom the staff seemed to fawn over, and the little girl occasionally went over to see them, but they showed little interest. This happened over several days, and we thought it was strange. Sue eventually spoke to the chaperone and discovered that the little girl’s English nanny was looking after her, and her parents were the British Ambassador to Greece and his wife. Later that afternoon, I was lounging on a sunbed reading my book when the Ambassador appeared and asked what I was reading. Was it science fiction or an adventure? Keen to impress, I explained that it was a manual on the architecture of the 6502C computer chip and the machine code used to program it. I could immediately see his eyes glaze over, and a complete lack of interest before he muttered, “That’s nice,” and wandered back to his wife, who no doubt asked, “Is he one of us?” or something similar. He probably replied, “One of the working class, dear. We shan’t bother.” Hmm, with a bit of a fib, I might have been offered the role of ‘Cultural Attaché’ to Athens. Damn! See what becomes of sunbathing?

Today, we found ourselves in the Strait of Bab al-Mandab in the Red Sea. It was warm and sunny on deck.

After breakfast, we attended a lecture on Petra, our excursion for tomorrow. Straight after, we entered a science quiz in one of the bars. Once again, we came second, though this time it was our fault as we talked ourselves out of two of the correct answers.

Later, while having coffee in the Pizza Restaurant, I noticed dolphins swimming alongside the ship. We watched them for nearly fifteen minutes; there were dozens keeping pace with us and obviously having fun. At one point, they were just a few metres off the hull of the ship, and we could see them coming up from the depths. It was very exciting.

Our next diversion was watching a cookery competition between two of the ship’s chefs in the Grand Bar. They had to create their own dish, and three lucky passengers were to judge them. One chef chose beef and the other fish. By the looks on their faces and the effort they put in, it was clear they took it seriously. The fish dish won. Perhaps the loser was destined for a demotion to waiter services or, worse still, the vegetarian section.

We returned to the deck to catch a glimpse of the island of Perim, which divides the channel into two. We passed through the western channel, Daqqat al Mayyun, where the depth of the water meant we had a lot of large ships close by, mostly containers, all heading in the same direction. Through the binoculars, we could see just a few buildings on what seemed to be mostly a desert island.

After lunch, the sea became eerily calm. I suppose this is what the Doldrums must feel like. At times, I half expected the ‘Marie Celeste’ to sail out of the heat haze that blurred the separation of sea and sky. The water took on a jelly-like sheen, disturbed only by our wake. Occasionally, slight movements of air created patches of tiny wavelets that skittered by. It was very spooky.

On Deck 8, Sue did a ‘Costa’ quiz, followed by a ‘Rocks and Minerals’ quiz, while I finished my second book and then went to exercise. Since heading towards the Suez Canal, the air conditioning has struggled to keep the temperature low in the gym. The sun-facing panoramic windows offer an interesting view during our exertions, though now, of course, seen through sweaty eyes.

After showering, I went on a fruitless search for Sue. We had arranged to meet and play Scrabble in the late afternoon, but at 5ft 1 inch, it was like looking for ‘Wally’ on a cruise ship in the middle of the Red Sea. I returned ‘dejected’ to the cabin, though that particular word wouldn’t be possible in our Italian version of the game, as there is no J, or, for that matter, K, W, X, or Y. I had a little ‘sleep’ (10 points) instead.

We watched the comedy magician show in the theatre before our evening meal, and afterwards, we played our game of Scrabble up on Deck 11 in a nice warm breeze.

I write these blogs last thing at night, usually between 11 pm and midnight, and then post them before I sleep. However, the ship relies on its satellite connection to access the internet or TV, and the closer we’ve been getting to Europe, the more erratic the connection has become. There was no problem off the coast of Africa, but recently I haven’t been able to get a connection until sometime the following morning. Perhaps Europe isn’t as advanced as we first thought!