By the second day, we were adjusting to our new adventure.

At breakfast, we went through the Nissos Islands separating the Ionian and Aegian Seas. We were advised that we should be in Athens by about six o’clock this evening. The captain had given us completely unrestricted access to the bridge, so the views of the sea, the islands and other traffic from the bridge were just amazing.

Our first day at sea, we were to learn a lot from the only other passenger, Jean Pierre, a Belgian, who was travelling alone, and had completed half of a thirty-five day round-trip. Jean Pierre lent Alf a copy of a French book entitled “Le Guide des Voyages en Cargo”, written by Hugo Verlomme, which is a recognized guide to the different types of sea travel for passengers. It was quite significant that in French the word “cruise” had been dropped and it…