A better day

We both had a much better nights sleep last night, due in part to not being thrown around the cabin or worrying about where we had put the life jackets.  We also had an extra hour in bed because the ships clocks went back one hour last night.  So we're now GMT -1 with another hour being gained tonight.  It's quite nice because we're not likely to get too out of sync.  Your body needs one day for every hour of time difference before it adjusts, so we should never feel any jet lag.

We learnt that we were out of the bad weather (as if we hadn't already noticed) and that we were now officially seasoned sea dogs.  This being bestowed upon us by the captain himself who explained that we had earned the title because we had sailed through 12 metre waves and winds gusting to force 12.  Now correct me if I'm wrong here, but isn't force 12, hurricane territory?  Still, I can confess to you that we didn't actually do much to help get us through it.  It wasn't like we had to climb the rigging or fix the main sail, we just hung on and kept popping the Kwells.  It seems to have worked, as while we both felt a bit queasy, neither of us actually needed the "Motion Discomfort Bags", the new PC name for sick bags!  Honestly! I blame America.

Todays dance class was the Rumba, postponed from yesterday, and I think we did quite well although we both admit we prefer a faster dance.  Apparently, if you can master the rumba, then you're set for most of the other latin dances which are variations on the same steps.  It's also quite a good workout, especially as the ships own movement adds to the concentration levels!

Lunch was a more lazy affair. We didn't get any breakfast so we went to the Meridian Restaurant, which is where we usually eat dinner because we wanted to be served rather than fight over the buffet.  Actually, it's not a fight, there is plenty of space and options and it never feels crowded, which is nice.   We were joined by a very nice couple and chatted about stuff and things.  Everyone seems disappointed that we missed The Azores, but there's not much we can do about the weather.  Katie and I are just hoping that they don't do the same with Honolulu, or we'll be in trouble!

It turns out that the gym was closed yesterday (3 guesses why) so it was extra busy today, we still had no trouble using the machines we wanted but we were joined by the class entitled "Detoxifying Foot-Soaks - Especially beneficial for arthritis, fluid retention and general aches and pains" not to be confused with the earlier seminar entitled "Lymphatic drainage for swollen ankles".  Katie wasn't too pleased that they were taking up half the floor workout area with their weird mud baths but I was more concerned that we'd accidentally joined a Saga cruise!  Cruising doesn't have an "old" image for nothing but I guess you have to cater for the majority.  We were even asked today if we were passengers or crew!  We never forget, even if we wanted to, how lucky we are to be here (Although there were moments yesterday when I had to try really hard to remember!)

STOP PRESS: I don't mean to labour the point, but we just had dinner, and one of our table mates ate lunch today with an ex-P&O freight captain..  They had to tease it out of him, but he told them that in all his time as a captain, he had never experienced seas as bad as yesterday...and he'd been around Cape Horn 9 times.  So there you go.