Tuesday – At Sea

Today, we’ve been at sea. Things are warming up considerably, and the cold and wet of Sochi has become a distant memory.

At lunchtime we were treated to a barbeque of epic proportions on the back deck, which was far nicer than it ought to have been (I told myself I didn’t really want a large lunch… then I saw the barbeque and was powerless to resist). Afterwards, all I wanted to do was sleep, but I had a class to teach (puddles).

The ship has become a veritable floating aviary. On the back deck, in particular, we’ve taken on a dozen or so small, colourful birds, all of which hop around, and on, the tables, picking unseen food from the deck (they’re not interested in crumbs), singing and generally making themselves at home.

We’ve also had a peregrin falcon fly alongside the ship, and a heron (apparently – we didn’t see that one…). One could easily be forgiven for thinking they’re all just hitching a lift.

All-in-all, it’s been another pleasant and relaxed day at sea… this is surely what cruising is all about?…. The Minerva doesn’t have a photo shop on board, constantly taking photos of passengers at every turn, or trying to flog them an extortionately-priced cruise DVD.

There aren’t any deck games or ice-carving demonstrations, and there aren’t quizzes every hour, on the hour, to which you have to constantly be dashing. There are just people relaxing, reading or chatting amiably to fellow passengers in a communal appreciation of life at sea… how idyllic is that?