Day 138: At Sea … Mediterranean Sea

Wednesday, 24 May 2017
At Sea — En Route to Barcelona

Stats @ Ship’s Time 9:20p (CEST) … UTC 7:20p (24 May)
Temp: 67.1F (19.5C)
Position: 41.19.27N / 4.31.17E

The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure.
The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences,
and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing
horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.
~ Christopher McCandless ~

Our reward for waking up at 5:30a?  Sunrise over Corsica, with Sardinia on the port side of Insignia.  The ship was finishing its transit through the Strait of Bonifacio, which separates the two islands … and thus France and Italy as well.  We are now in the Med proper again.

Such depth of color!

The temp at sunrise was 62F (17C) — cool-ish, but comfortable since there was no breeze.  The day was quiet … except for the sound of the wake and the flapping of the wings of a bird that was flitting about.   A closer look identified it as a dove that was periodically flying from its perch on the ship only to return a bit later to alight on a veranda railing after determining that it was nowhere near land.  It’s hitchhiking … unintentionally.  Sorry little birdie — looks like you’re emigrating to Barcelona!  Speaking of birds … I wonder what happened to the swallows that were flitting about the Terrace Café a few weeks ago … they were hiding in the rafters of the shade canopy, but I have not seen them since.

Hitchhiker … from Civitavecchia to Barcelona.

Bundled into my cool weather clothes, I sat on the veranda to write for a bit … after taking numerous sunrise photos.  I’m going to have to remember to pack these same clothes for our Eclipse cruise late this summer.  We will be heading north into the Baltic and the coast of Norway.  Both areas promise to be cooler during that time of the year … with rain very likely.  Celebrity doesn’t provide the light cashmere throws that O does to keep us cozy, but wool or fleece lap blankets should be available at the pool and I can borrow a couple of them to use on the veranda.

Once the veranda was in the sun, I packed my ‘around-the-ship bag’ and went down to the Deck 5 promenade.  The breeze made it a bit chilly — especially when the sun took refuge behind the ever-increasing clouds.  But I had my puffy jacket and my cashmere throw, so all was good.

I wasn’t going to go up to the Terrace Café for lunch, but a little devil in me must have sensed that the theme was Italian … they always have the best pasta, cooked by the Toscana team.  The portions are the primi piatti size, so I got two plates … one to share with Mui.  Joined at the table by CD Ray, we had a nice conversation with him about Seattle, where he lives when he isn’t traveling, and his vacation plans … which include hiking to the top of Kilimanjaro, visiting Bali and Machu Picchu amongst other places.

After lunch I returned to the cabin and settled myself on the veranda since the sun had moved off the deck.  As well as catching up on my writing, and doing a bit of reading, Mui and I discussed plans for Barcelona tomorrow.  There’ll be plenty of walking involved, so I am not feeling guilty about taking it easy today.

Dinner was once again at the Terrace Café … with the Gelmans and the Sweets.  A very nice way to wrap up a very nice day at sea.

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