For some reason the journey back across the Atlantic only took three days this time. Perhaps the captain was in a hurry to get home?
We were heading for Cape Verde – that volcanic archipelago off the coast of Africa. This time it was Santiago and its capital Praia. But that was three days away.
The captain thought that we might get bored so they put on quizzes and organised a chocolate event. I slunk away for the quizzes and read or wrote elsewhere but I was intrigued by the chocolate. I am a nascent diabetic and alcoholic. I show no signs of being either but I think it is something you have to work on. Chocolate was, as the Incas well knew, the food of the gods. Wine is the drink of the gods.
I was expecting big things. What I got was chocolate cakes in every shape and size. That was OK but I found that there is only so much chocolate that even I could consume.
What I was more taken with were the amazing sculptures the cook put together using fruit and vegetables. He was quite an artist. He also did these remarkable ice sculptures. It was quite incredible, in the heat of the tropical sun, to see a guy attack a block of ice with a knife – ice shards spraying in all directions, and end up with a couple of intertwined birds or fish. He did it so quickly.
There were great sunsets but the journey was choppier than it had been on the way across when the sea had been silken. It seemed troubled. We soon lost the boobies and there were few sightings of whales, turtles or dolphins. But the sun still shone and we were in the tropics. Life was good.
The coffee machine – the most important bit of equipment.
We went up to the bridge and had a go at steering the ship. It was easy. I’d quite like being the captain. You just told people what to do, sat in your seat with your cap on, and everyone did it. From what I could see the boat was being commanded by a young guy with a pair of binoculars.
The radar was good. You could see all around for tens of miles. It could even pick up whales. It confirmed my suspicions. We were all alone in the middle of the Atlantic. There wasn’t even another vessel over the horizon and even the whales had buggered off.
Liked those stunning sunsets so romantic extremely romantic – SEE I DID NOTICE
I’m glad you noticed. I thought you’d gone off sunsets!
Did you buy any coffee in Brazil, coffee beans that is.
Yep – came back laden with beans, cashews and bags. The coffee was lidicious!
Right.
Getting those huge bags back home was a pain!
I don’t know what kind of camera you have, but these pictures are gorgeous. And yes, those food sculptures are amazing. Did they put towels turned into animals on your bed everyday, too? 😀 I’ve done ok on the cruises we’ve been on, but we’re usually in sight of land most of the time. I’m not sure how I’d do out on the open seas like that. Maybe I wouldn’t have made such a good pirate after all. 😮
Now you mention it I don’t think the pirates all got clean towels turned into animals on their beds each night. They didn’t get beds either!
I was/am really disappointed with my camera. I have a bridge camera but I find the images are not sharp enough. They’re good on general shots but lacking in the clarity I would like.
Really? I think your pictures are so beautiful. I love reading Badfish’s blog, too. He has tons of beautiful pictures. But he tends to hang around the Bali side of the world. I have so enjoyed reading your travel log. This is the best way to travel when you can’t!
What – armchair travelling?
I need to check pout badfish, don’t I?
I think you’d find his blogs very interesting and educational. He is a teacher in (I want to say) Abu Dhabi, but he’s from the states. And he has a wonderful sense of humor. https://badfish2.wordpress.com/
Thanks Cheryl – I’ll give him a look.