At sea...

Monday, April 13, 2009 – in the Ionian Sea
Well, it is windy, rainy and 60 degrees. At our noon update from the Captain, he said, “Welcome to Europe”. How true. After all those wonderfully warm days in Asia, we have indeed been back in Europe since leaving Turkey. But it is springtime and the blooming flowers are making up for the chillier temperatures!

Laundry, work and a special lunch at the Todd English with friends! Great way to spend a rocky day at sea.

By afternoon, we were passing through the Straits of Messina (Sicily) and the waves were crashing so high around us. Even on our balcony on the 8th deck, the waves hit our balcony doors! But it did not last long. By dinner time, the Mediterranean Sea was smooth again. We sailed past Stromboli, a small island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, one of the three active volcanoes in Italy. The last major eruption was in August 2008 and today it was spewing volcanic ash and gray smoke. The sky was a clear blue except for the smoke and dust from the volcanic island. It was a beautiful site.

We had an Elton John impersonator tonight for a formal night entertainment and violin and classical pianist at 2:00PM. Lectures today: “Phoenicians: merchant explorers”, “The Fall of the Second Roman Empire and the Rescue of Mussolini”, “Magic Realist Italy: An Artist’s View”.