Category: Marco Polo

Today, we arrived in Horta, the first of our two stops in the Azores island group. I must confess to having a bit of a soft spot for Horta, having visited on several occasions, but was surprised, when I looked out on deck, to see that we were berthed by a brand new quayside and terminal at the opposite end...

Being on ship is a physical experience at the best of times, what with the rocking of the ship, and the gyroscopic work needed to remain upright, and the constant climbing of stairs to get from one deck to another (unless you use the lifts, which can occasionally become inoperative in rough weather – particularly the smaller, aft one). This...

Last night’s Passenger ‘Showcase’ was surprisingly entertaining. I’ve seen more passenger shows that I care to remember, but this one was something a llittle bit different. They had a couple of songs from the choir (which was about 60 passengers strong – all crammed onto the stage, wobbling to the sway of the ship), a display of line dancing and...

This morning, I painted a couple of monkeys from Iles Du Salut, whilst catching up on the BBC Kermode and Mayo Film Show podcasts, which I downloaded in Castries (Hello to Jason Isaacs…). In the classes this afternoon, I had them all painting an Iguana, the results of which were particularly impressive. Other than that, it’s been an unextraordinary day....

It’s been yet another regulation, no-frills sea-day, where nothing much really happened. No time change last night, so I was up at the proper time, worked on Online Students in the morning, then took classes all afternoon (thankfully, no piped music). Today, it was Line and Wash, which everyone seemed to enjoy, and managed to make a good job of;...