Into the wild blue yonder days 1

Into the wild blue yonder days 1 - 4

We are on a different boat to the trips we have done before... its disorientating but quite good fun discovering nooks and crannies and finding our potential favourite spot.
Our cabin ...in the bowels at the very front of the ship is cosy and comfortable with 2 large portholes. To be fair we are not quite in the bottom but near enough to feel we are almost in the sea - I like that feeling.

This ship is full of very ornate decor... obviously mostly sea themed - it adds a feeling of opulance and granduer - mostly in keeping of guest expectations but sometimes just a little over the top... I'll be using some of it for van decor inspiration.

The cafe arrangements are different - but so far the food is much improved although breakfast was, as before, only lukewarm... our circumstances on this ship, ie as 'staff' dont allow me to complain but I continue to be surprised that paying guests put up with constant cold bacon and eggs.... me, I'm only making the point that these 'complementary' working cruises do have flaws🤣🤣🤣. Although it is quite splendid to be eating breakfast while spotting dolphins alongside... Other food i.e. lunch and dinner have been very good... quite a range of choice and extremly tasty - probably my fav bit of the whole experience - not having to shop, cook, or clear up - a real treat.

I like the motion of the ship as well especially at night as I am gently rocked to sleep... all those dolphins, whales and mermaids circling the ship while we slumber.

The weather is variable - mostly sunny but a wee bit windy so not quite warm enough for any but the most hardy, to be sprawling out on deck soaking up the sun.... early days yet.

Dr Fred has his talks and star gazing sessions timetabled in and fortunately he has no early morning starts which is a relief as his evening sessions have to be quite late - and then there is supper club to savour.

We've attended some of the other speakers lectures and its interesting to learn about our destinations.

These are longs days at sea which is quite relaxing and if I have any complaint it is that the ship is very chilly. The air conditioning is so high that last night we gave up trying to find a comfortable spot and went to bed at 9.30 to get warm.... we have resorted to wearing jeans and fleeces but the temperatures are creeping up and we are ever optimistic that proper sunshine and warmth is going to materilise eventually..

This ship is very different in that it has a lido pool bang in the middle of all the decks with a retractable roof... I'm reserving judgement until we hit good weather as with the roof closed it resembles a municipal leisure centre with the ever present odours of chlorine and echoey swimming pool sounds - hardly condusive to a pina colada by the pool moment. The nicest place to sit which is partly outside sheltered bar with no actual live music playing so you can hear yourselves having a conversation, is sadly given over to the smokers corner, so it's not really that nice to sit in. Every other bar has either football or tennis showing or different music playing - We are obviously not alone in finding this frustrating as the other two rooms the Earth room and the Botanical room are crowded out with people obviously looking for somewhere peaceful to sit and read their books.... So it's actually quite difficult to find a quiet corner.

I've had some enjoyable afternoons in the art class, sitting painting turtles and hydrangas - yes eclectic but in fact both apparently indigenous to the Azores...
I'm also steaming through the book club titles, 2 of three I have read before so they are just quick refreshes...

We've chatted with quite a few guests... Dr Freds contract forbids him (and by default me) to discuss various topics including polictics - this probably a good thing as this still seems to be ever present in peoples minds and we sense a difference of opinion on several subjects. It makes for guarded conversations - it will be easier when Dr Fred has done his first talk and people know him better - there will be safe topics for discussion.

Added edit... Dr Freds first lecture very well recieved and the first stargazing last night was a whirling maelstrom of wind.. bobbing ship..scudding clouds and extremley appreciative guests, with a grand finale as the ISS passed directly overhead.... a wild night on deck 10 followed by welcome supper club.

Alesund

Our final destination stop was Alesund. This is a very pretty town in southern Norway built on a peninsula. All the houses are painted pretty colours and a lot of the architecture is all very Art Nouveau based. This is because the town itself was completely burnt to the ground In 1904 by a fire for which they never found the original cause. The whole town had to be rebuilt and this became a huge National Effort and a lot of prominent and up and coming architects flocked to the town to stick there 20 pence in. Consequently the town is very heavily Art Nouveau which was very fashionable at the time. There is this wonderful Museum just off the harbour which is a very beautiful Art Nouveau house. It has amazing panelling, doors, wallpaper, and it's all furnished with beautiful art Nouveau Furniture. It also house a collection of of enameled Art Nouveau Trinkets,boxes, spoons, jewellery, very very beautiful. There is an interesting collection of old books and paintings a...

verdant lushness

Its a never ending island hop... today we hopped of the boat at Kingstown, on the island St. Vincents and Grenadine. Once through the usual port duty free - cheap booze and diamonds to go milarkey we were straight into the town... crazy noisy smelly chaos... refreshingly no tat shops for tourists, just local markets and street traders all vying for local sales. Music blasting from everywhere, cars (very battered and often very pimped) all over the roads - parked in the middle of the street, loading, unloading, chatting seemingly oblivious to the total traffic jam caused behind them... We walked through this mayhem - the temperatures were rising probably about 30 degrees - tourists evident by trying to walk on the shady side of the street - even when we turned off the main drag and there were less people it was still like carnival time with music blasting everywhere. Its very atmospheric and mostly promotes a good vibe although I have heard '3 little birds' everywhich way a...

Almost last chapter... In which our Go Stargazing team watch Astonishing Aurora Borealis seen from the deck of the Astonishing Borealis!!!

The weather brightened considerably and the snowy peaks lining our sail down the fjiords looked glorious and sparkly in the sunshine against a (mainly) blue sky back drop. More awesome scenary.... the Go Stargazing team wrapt up their lectures ... only searching for the illusive Northern Lights remained. The tension from the night before dissolved in the sunshine the forecast for Aurora borealis was looking fairly positive - it was the captains farewell cocktsil party so everyone had their gladrags on.. We ate dinner and sky remained clear so we headed back to our room and donned as many layers as we could move in and proceeded to deck 10 in anticipation of stars and northern lights..... it did not dissappiont - just we got there as the bridge announced that the lights could be seen on the starboard side of the ship. It was stunning. Slowly the intensity built. The auroral green became brighter and bigger areas appe...

Planet Ruby Starrs

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