26th April 2023 Today began at a leisurely pace as we prepared to catch our flight from Bahir Dar to Arba Minch via Addis Ababa. Breakfast was finished by 8 a.m., and I spent the remaining time updating the blog before we boarded our minibus to the airport at 10:30. The twenty-minute drive marked the… Continue Reading

23rd April 2023 Today did not start well for me. It should have been a day spent visiting the northwestern cluster of rock-hewn churches, beginning with an early, impromptu return to yesterday’s church to be blessed by its sacred golden cross. However, I woke feeling unwell and decided to sleep it off at the hotel.… Continue Reading

20th April 2023 21st April 2023: Departure and Arrival in Addis Ababa Today, we were flying from Heathrow Terminal 2 to Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa on a late 9:30 pm flight. We could afford a leisurely morning for once, waking at a reasonable hour and completing our final preparations without any rush. We… Continue Reading

19th March 2023 The day after I flew back to the UK from Morocco, the 20th of March, I had a morning appointment in Leicester for another eye injection, followed by an afternoon physiotherapy session in Harborough. Later that evening, I began to feel unwell, with a runny nose and a hacking, tickly cough. I’d… Continue Reading

23rd February 2023 Awake at 2 am on the 12th of March, I packed my suitcase and rucksack into Sue’s Mini and set off for Stansted Airport, collecting Jim Hankers and Jeremy Brown in Market Harborough by 3 am. Paul Bissell was driving Jim Crawford and Sean Perry in his car, and we planned to… Continue Reading

11th February 2023 The ten-hour flight from Los Angeles passed quickly. No sooner had we finished the in-flight dinner than breakfast seemed to be served. Perhaps it was because we were seated in a pair of seats towards the rear of the aircraft, rather than in the usual three- or four-seat configuration, but the eight… Continue Reading

24th February 2023 Although already familiar with the routine of sea days aboard the Crown Princess, we still woke early and joined the other early birds for breakfast. The sea was fairly rough, and the ship moved unpredictably at times. While walking around the decks posed no real difficulty, using the stairways required a firm… Continue Reading

23rd February 2023 We watched the ship drop anchor as we sat down to breakfast. The sun was just beginning to peek over a stark mountain range, framed by streaky clouds tinged with vivid orange above the small port of Lahaina, a promising omen for fine weather and a good day for an activity at… Continue Reading

22nd February 2023 We had booked an excursion for today that was scheduled to leave the ship at 8 a.m. It was still dark outside as we ate breakfast in an unusually quiet restaurant at 6.30 a.m. The ship had yet to berth in Nawiliwili, a harbour known as a “day port”, meaning entry is… Continue Reading

21st February 2023 Without so much as a bump or judder to disturb our slumber, the Crown Princess had silently berthed alongside Pier No. 2 before we awoke for breakfast. From our cabin TV, we could see the port in semi-darkness, lines of commuter headlights snaking past impressive glass skyscrapers as the city stirred to… Continue Reading