"Hark now hear the sailor's cry. Smell the sea and feel the sky..."
Cruising on a lazy afternoon, that's what the story is today and has been for past three days.
With a fireworks show to see us out of port, the MV Aurora left Southampton at 6:30pm on January 3 and we've been cruising full speed towards our first port of call ever since.
Leaving Southampton
Actually it's more like bobbing towards Madeira as the sea has been angry my friends, like an old man trying to return soup at the deli. The ship is definitely being pushed around (there've been some big waves) but it's not so bad that folks are getting sick; we're just shifting from side to side as we plow through some heavy seas, much like a BC Ferries ride in winter winds.
We have had all sorts of weather so far - everything from strong winds to bright sunshine to pouring rain. Being at sea hasn't really lent itself to good photo opportunities so this post is simply to share with you a map of this long journey we're on and some interesting shots of the sea/sky.
I'm looking forward to land in Madeira tomorrow. Madeira is a Portuguese island that is surprisingly quite south. It's pretty well of the coast of Morocco/Western Sahara. After that we'll be heading even further south as we visit the Cape Verde Islands which are of the coast of Senegal (picture the horn of Africa). With their diverse backgrounds and interesting history, I'm hoping to get some good photos in both these ports of call to share with you in my next post, which I'll do sometime as we cross the Atlantic towards Brazil. Till then, remember your days are getting longer and spring is just around the corner; as for me, I'm heading to mid-summer in the southern hemisphere!
Here's the map of the whole route...click on it to see it fuller.