We suddenly got busy catching up with old friends met on previous cruises - and making some new friends who were working this cruise. Dr Fred got organised arranging Stargazing sessions and future talks, while I'm embroidering a coat!
All this takes time and energy inbetween being available for food.....
It was formal night in the 1920s style with the Captain's Cocktail party. So we donned our gladrags, smartened ourselves up and went meet the captain and have a to drink in the Neptune theatre before dinner.
I have to say I'm quite impressed with the effort that people go to on these formal nights and some people have some amazing clothes And it was particularly good this night because of the 1920s theme They were an awful lot of headbands with feathers in them but they did look good and some of the frocks were just absolutely stunning.
They've refurbished the selfservice area. Its now known as the Thistle - and it's very pleasant - although I have to say the food hasn't really improved and although it looks very nice It's still a little bit like a works canteen... but... I'm not shopping, cooking, or clearing up... and the food is perfectly edible so I shouldn't complain🤣.
The next day we docked on the greek mainland in Kalamata. I expected a proliferation of olives but in fact didn't see any at all!!! We wandered through town via the spectacularary painted cathedral...
up to the ruined castle. Long views but really only over the city... more steps 🤣 but we had been in training in dubrovnik!
The Old Town surronding the castle ruins wasn't a very big area but it had some quirky buildings - little churches, pretty shops and there seemed to be quite a lot of abandonded but interesting looking buildings about.
In one shop window we saw a display using an old poster advertising Motorhead at Bingley Hall in Stafford in the 1970s! What was really weird was I could have been at that gig and I'd already been doing a lot of reminiscence about the short time I spent working in Greece when I was 19.... how the past can catch up...
This is when I think cruising comes into its own. Kalamata is not a town that we would bother to visit. It might offer a nice beaches and some trendy bars but that's not really our thing. However, it's quite interesting just to drop in for a day which is what the cruise allows us to
Apparently There were terrible thunderstorms in the middle of the night - I hadn't heard a thing - and the rain continued quite heavily into the morning. But we were really lucky as we walked around town - The sun just came out and the sky was gloriously blue It didn't stay like that for long though and as we walked back towards the ship we could see the dark clouds collecting. We just got back in time to have a late lunch under the canopy on the back of the boat watching torrential rainfall. So bad it flooded the deck and I didn't realise but the dress I was wearing was touching the floor so when I stood up it was like a wet rag around my ankles 🤣🤣.
I spent the afternoon with a friend stitching and drawing in the observatory bar watching the mountains appear and disappear as the weather changed.. couldnt really be more pleasant... Next stop Piraeus - Athens.
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