7:15 Saturday at sea

A late report from the captain, delivered to every cabin in writing, explained that we had been hit by a freak 60 MPH wind gust, and the bridge crew had immediately done everything necessary to compensate. We were in no danger and there was no damage at all. I don’t quite believe that. I bet they lost some crockery and glassware in the kitchen, and maybe a bottle or two fell off the back bars. But no major damage to the ship – that I believe.



I am in the café on the aft deck, facing due east. The sun has risen with biblical splendor among the clouds, shooting rays of light through the heavy moisture-laden air and edging the clouds with incandescent gold. There is a pretty stiff following wind. It’s blowing spray off the tops of the whitecaps, and we are sailing quite slowly. This will be a nice thing to think about when I want to go to my happy place. I’m warm, I’m barefoot, I have a cup of strong sweet tea, I am wearing a new skirt which DH picked out for me and which smells of incense. The only things lacking to make this a perfect moment is DH (sleeping sweetly in the stateroom) and pleasant sounds.
All I can hear is the roar of the jets in the unoccupied hot tubs.

Antigua had thousands of white butterflies dancing through the air everywhere. Three of them have hitched rides with us and are hanging out on the window next to me, yearning for home and thinking perhaps adventure and a ride on a cruise ship may not have been the wisest thing they could have tried. I remember, a hundred years ago, when there were butterflies all around at home. You hardly ever see them now. Wonder how Antigua escaped the extermination. I guess that either sugar cane doesn’t need DDT, or the farmers couldn’t afford it. If you want to see lots and lots of happy, feckless white butterflies, go to Antigua.

Last night after dinner, DH and I stood out on our balcony enjoying the view: twinkly stars, a lazy crescent moon lying on its back and trailing a runner of crinkled silver lame’ across the ocean from horizon to our ship. Classic tropical romantic beauty. We kissed. - - - And here, dear reader, modesty requires that I draw a veil across the rest of our evening. But God how I love cruise ships!!