Today we had a much needed sea day. We slept a little later and had a leisurely breakfast. It was a little overcast, but not raining and the temperature was comfortable. Today our course would take us along the coast of Spain to the Straits of Gibraltar around 7 PM. We could catch glimpses of the Spanish coast but nothing in any detail because we were too far offshore.
After a couple of games of scrabble we went back to our cabin to get ready for a wine and cheese party. We had invited some friends over and we had to get set up. Room service delivered glasses, plates, and fruit. We had wine and cheese we had bought in our earlier ports and our friends brought bottles as well as olives, more cheese, iberico and Serrano ham, crackers and biscotti. We had enough wine and food for double the people there! After several hours of good socializing everyone left for their evening dinner plans. I think a good time was had by all.
Shortly after we commenced our transit of the Straits which separate Europe and North Africa. In ancient times they were called the Pillars of Hercules. On our starboard was the Rock of Gibraltar, a British possession and to our port was the Moroccan coast, only barely visible because the captain brought the ship much closer to Gibraltar for the scenic views. We learned a couple of days later when we did the Ultimate Ships Tour that we were actually on autopilot going through the straits, despite the many ships traversing the same waters. We also learned that while the ship’s speed was set at 22 knots we actually made 17 knots because of the strong currents running from the Atlantic side. While it was not a clear day we were still able to get a really good view of “The Rock.”
Following the transit as we entered the Atlantic Ocean we began to feel more significant wave action which continued throughout the night. We are among the lucky ones who are not affected by the motion so we had a lovely day and night.
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