August 10 - Fowey, Cornwall, United Kingdom

It’s actually the 11th around 1:30 AM but I’m just getting around to writing.  I’ve had a wonderful day here in this place which looks like the name should be pronounced “Phooey” but it’s really “Foy.”  Today it was clearly evident why sailing on a small ship is good.  The anchorage was small and the inlet to get here was narrow.

Anyway, we were anchored a five-minute tender ride from the most charming little town. The downtown, if you can call it that, was a village of Georgian row houses along one main one-way street.  I had no tour booked and just went ashore and wandered.  The street was barely wide enough for one car and a local in a shop told me that until a few years ago it had two-way traffic.  As I walked along there were delivery vans bringing things to shops or pubs and a long line of cars waited patiently behind until they were finished, no honking or gesticulations.  Can you imagine that in the US?

The street was lined with little shops selling local arts and crafts, and a fair amount of usual tourist trash and trinkets as Al called them. Of course, there were pubs and bake shops selling Cornish pasties.  A Cornish pasty is sort of a turnover filled with meat or fish.  They are pretty big with a large, crimped edge.  I got an education which explained to me the origin of pasties.  Cornwall had many tin mines and the miners would bring with them or have lowered to them in buckets these pasties to eat while they worked.  They had no place to wash their hands and so the pasties had large crusts on one side so the men could hold them with their dirty hands, eat the good stuff inside, and then toss the excess pastry away. I went into a bakery and thought about buying one, but it just wasn’t a time that I felt hungry so I only looked.

Along the streets there are a multitude of shops that had big hanging baskets of flowers, mainly petunias in a multitude of colors with the blooms cascading over the sides.  It was beautiful.  Along the way I found a small square along the waterfront with lots of wrought iron benches, and I sat for a while watching the many tourists passing (many of whom were land travelers not on our ship) and enjoying the fresh air and sunshine.  Next to me were a couple from Cologne, Germany visiting the UK and we had a nice conversation about sailing. I stopped in a couple of shops belonging to local artisans and found a few interesting things.

The town, I’ll call it that but it’s really more of a village, is nestled at the base of a hill and I confess that I didn’t walk to the top.  Friends did or took tours and they said it was lovely English countryside up above. I spent a couple of hours browsing and then went back to the ship.  On board I met friends by the patio and we talked and enjoyed the bright afternoon.

I haven’t written about the Club or the music or dancing, but here’s my report.  The first night I never made it to the Club.  I stopped in one of the bars and had a great evening talking with a British couple I just met and who are on my trivia team.  Last night I missed the show (again too much talking) but made it to the Club late evening.  There were at least four people besides me there (yes, four only!).  Everybody seems to go to bed with the chickens on this ship and they don’t know what they’re missing.  Both musical groups are wonderful and well worth listening to. Among the four there besides me were a couple I know who sit near the bar, nowhere near the dance floor which is not conducive to dancing and I joined them.  I am going to strive to sit closer to the dance floor because they have been playing great music and the extra steps would be good for me.  That’s my first world problem and I shall deal with it. 

Aside from that, the food has been quite good, the staff is wonderful as they always are, and I’m having a grand time. On the 12th we’ll be in position to experience the eclipse and we have an astronomer on board to talk to us about the heavens above.  The eclipse will occur around 6 PM here and later that evening there's supposed to be a meteor shower.  How lucky I am to be here to see those!  We have a Ladies’ Lunch planned for one day and other friends have asked the chef to prepare Thanksgiving for one evening.  Yes, I know it’s not November but these friends like a traditional Thanksgiving meal and here on Seabourn with 24 hours notice you can get pretty much anything you like. It will be fun.  

And that’s my report for today.  Oh, my trivia team won today. We only missed one question!  All of us play for fun, but it sure is nice to win! So, good night and God Bless as one of my favorite English friends says.