Category: Marco Polo

Having travelled almost 12,000 miles since leaving Tilbury on the 5th of January, this was our final day at sea. Every day, when the Captain has give his noonday ‘Positional Ship Report’, the Dutch Host, Peter, has given an announcement for Dutch passengers – in Dutch, of course. Today, for the first time ever, he gave his announcement in English...

Peter Counsell runs his wood-painting classes in the Palm Garden (on the opposite side of the ship to the Craft Room). It’s an open lounge, but very relaxed; instead of running separate sessions, he runs one daily session that lasts most, or half, of the day. Unlike my classes which are very self-contained, and verging on high-pressure, Peter’s sessions are...

We’re a rocking and Rollin’… nothing too severe, but enough to catch a few people unawares, I think. In his address yesterday, the Captain forcast swells of 4 to 5 metres, which is about the same as we had on the outward journey across the Bay of Biscay. So; not excessive, but when you’ve got used to weeks of relative...

This morning, a man came round to close the porthole hatches (I can’t remember the technical term for them… deadlights or something… I think). This is a sure sign that we’re most definitely on the last leg of our voyage; over the next few days, we’ll be crossing the Bay of Biscay and hoping that the sea remains as calm...

Today, we arrived in Ponta Delgada, on the island of San Miguel, in the Azores, our final port-of-call, and perhaps the tidiest place on the entire itinerary. Bordering on OCD, the harbour and town looks like everything has been carefully positioned and painted, ensuring contrasting blacks and whites fall in all the right places, and adjusted to the minutest degree,...