We didnt get off the boat at Lexious ... Dr Fred was suffering with a gammy hip - and for the first part of the day there was a very dense sea fret.... our original plan had been to find a local bus into Porto but with Dr Hopalong it just wasn't an option... next time.
I was going to have a walk later in the afternoon but somehow the day slipped away. I sat drawing on deck and read my book- it was incredibly warm and I looked across at the beach promenade and there was no shade at all so I just enjoyed some quiet time on the ship.
We spent the evening chatting with various guests and listening to the house band play covers from our teenage years - bit of a nostalgia trip...
The next day was the first of 2 sea days which would see us dock in Liverpool. It was also a full day for Dr Fred - whose injury was improving.
He gave his final lecture in the morning and then hosted a private lunch. These posh lunches are good fun and the chance to meet interesting people who have a proper passion for stargazing.
Its disappointing but as we near home the weather has just got more unpredictable. We sat in the Observatory bar and spotted whales in the distance while waiting to deliver the last stargazing session.
Dr Fred gave me in impromptu maths lesson on the back of a coaster.... (yes surreal... I know sometimes I wonder...) Stargazing was fully booked with quite a lot of optimism... but, it was cloudy. There were werent even any intermittant breaks and even the moon was illusive. However, they were a lively bunch and we went up on deck 'just in case' all to no avail so back down to the hot chocolate station.
Dr Fred took questions.... the session over ran by about an hour! Everyone wanted some information - they were such a friendly and inquisitive crowd - we missed supper club which was probably a good thing given the amount of food we've eaten and eventually ended up in the piano bar for a nightcap. Fortuanately the piano player stops at midnight so it was a pleasant place to relax...
So thats our Azores trip... different boat, interesting space, we prefer the Balmoral, nicer sitting spaces... different crowd, bigger age mix, some initial scary polictical conversations, but some really nice people... in all, a good experience. We will be off the boat and back at the car by 8.30 am - Its funny to think that someone will be making our cabin home for next trip. Our cabin on deck 2 was at the very front of the ship... It was the opposite end of the ship to the cafe/ our prefered bar/ art studio...and some nights it felt like something from the shining film set walking down the length of the corridor.
We certainly got our steps in 🤣🤣.
What this ship does well, is catering for shapes and sizes - it makes all comers feel comfortable - some who are potentially wealthy, sometimes ostentatious and showy, sit beside people who have saved hard for this trip of a lifetime and then theres all those people in between. And then theres us... not really appreciative enough of this great opportunity to see a different kind of trip... but as always, once ensconced, we embrace the experience with gusto. Alongside Dr Freds passion for imparting star gazing knowledge we were ableto observe not only dark - often cloudy - skies but we saw alot of distant whales and some much closer dolphins... On shore we went to the highest point on Madeira and checked out some grand houses in Sintra.. Back on board we met interesting people, did art classes, dodged the terrible piano players (sorry but I can't dress that one up in anyway and all the guests we chatted with agreed).. and and we almost won the pub quiz one night!!!! There was even a bit of jigging to ABBA tribute for 30 secs..... and the food was pretty good this time around - obviously this all contributes to us growing old and fat disgracefully....
Iceland next.... watch this space...
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