Today began very exciting because this was our very first port-of call - Cadiz, in Spain.

We docked at almost bang-on 11am, as predicted, in glorious sunshine, no wind, and passengers lining the upper decks looking at land as if they'd never seen it before.

At 11:30, I was invited to an excursion-escorts meeting, where several important ground rules were laid out for us; what we should do if a passenger falls over, or goes missing, or dies, that sort of thing. I then had just over an hour in which to explore Cadiz, which is a lovely old city - big cathedral, busy tavern-lined square and lots of narrows old streets in which to get lost. I took some video footage and lots of photos, which is slightly frustrating because I'm, as yet, unable to post them onto the website - my mobile phone is showing a good strong signal, but it's not letting me connect the laptop - never mind - photos will have to wait (got a lovely one with me in my dinner-jacket, from last night)!!

At 1:30pm, I turned up at coach number 5, dressed in my official saga-escort t-short (burgundy, in case you're wondering) and waving a big blue lollipop with a bold number 5 printed on it. Louise, an employee of Saga, and a veteran of these things, was the other escort, and I met the guide, Natalie, and driver, Augustine, and soon we were on our way.

Well - my first impressions weren't good. My first thoughts were; these are four hours of my life that I'm never going to get back! Sitting in a coach, listening to a guide drone on about anything and everything, not pointing out the best bits until we'd passed them, watching some of the passengers fall slowly asleep and dribble, is really not my idea of fun. This was a 'grade 2' trip, suggesting very light walking, yet when we arrived at the Tio Pepe Bodega, Jerez, where Sherry is made, many soon realised that there would be quite a bit of walking involved. In my group there were several passengers with severe mobility restrictions, and within minutes of arriving I'd had one lady absolutely refuse to walk any further! Soon after this, a couple walked out of the short movie presentation and wandered off by themselves. On the plus side, the sherry-tasting was FANTASTIC!!! As a tour escort it was my job to mingle amongst the group on each of their tables and accept a swig or two of the free samples on offer, along with some of the finest tasting crisps I've tasted in a long time. Bizarrely enough, or maybe it was just cos I was feeling mellow from the sherry, I began to get quite protective of my group, which they all seemed to appreciate. Waving my blue lollipop about and hanging around until the very last passenger was safely on board the coach gave me a warm feeling of well-being, and the thought that perhaps doing on eor two more of these over the course of the trip might not be too bad after all.

Anyway - it's chocks away at 9pm tonight - all aboard by 8:30. I'm off to dinner shortly. Two full sea-days are ahead (two workshops to conduct), before our next port-of-call, Malta.