be one less smiling face on the bridge. We have had unrestricted access to the bridge except when we have had a harbor or river pilot aboard and are in restricted waters, so we have been very lucky. The officers and crew are all Indian and are very nice and most helpful we couldn’t wish for a happier ship to sail on. So far the only problem has been some of the spices have been shall we say “slightly” warmer than we have been used to.

Saturday 8^th, a nice quiet day at sea fairly misty so we can’t see to far, ships passing are just a grey shape in the distance. When we were leaving the dining room from lunch there was an announcement over the loud speakers from the Captain that there would be an emergency drill at 1630 hrs. So at the appointed time off went the alarms throughout the ship. Our steward told us that if they went off in the night time not to worry as he would ring us to make sure we heard it and make sure we were OK and on our way. I told him it was alright we would hear THAT ALARM with no problem. So it was up to the Bridge (Our Emergency Station) where the Captain asked us each in turn if we knew our lifeboat number and position (Port or Starboard) and we waited while the crew went through their lifeboat drill and checks, followed by a fire drill in the engine room. That completed we were stood down at around 5:05 PM., all in all it was quite interesting and it is good to know everybody (including the passengers) knows what to do and where to be if an emergency occurs.

Sunday 9^th. We are getting up in the dark for breakfast. Although breakfast is at 7:30 AM it is still very dark and the sun doesn’t rise until after 8:00 and this morning as it was misty it was still quite dark until nine. We understand that the weather is supposed to improve as the day goes on, we hope so as we expect to pass Gibraltar around seven PM so we want to get some photos. As promised the afternoon was clear to the horizon, but the mist came back later in the afternoon. I think that we were not the only ones disappointed, those officers on the bridge were to I think. It was possible to see the lights on both coasts and the outline of the hills on the Moroccan side, but of Gibraltar we could see nothing, just a bank of clouds. I’m thinking that Gibraltar looks a little like Mt. Egmont in winter (Ha Ha). Tomorrow we are going to dock at La Spezia in Italy. We were hoping to be there before lunch and at latest progress it would seem that it will be on time, 10:00 AM off the port and dock at 11:00 AM. We are planning to go on to Pisa by train or taxi if we are short of time(about an hour I believe, affordable with 5 sharing the bill) we will see what happens.