Day 25 of 102

I am a day late with Blog 0016, and I am writing this at 07.22 hrs Monday 5th February.

This morning, Monday 5th February, I awoke earlier than I would have liked at around 5.30am,    I have been awake since, merely resting my eyes. A bright sunrise defeated efforts to keep my room dark, and, in the end, curiosity inspired me to open the curtains to reveal what it was like outside. The sky was a very pale shade of blue, the sea, pancake-flat.  Dolpins, right outside my Deck 2 window, leapt high into the air in spectacular fashion.  

We have left the Gulf of Oman and are heading south-east across the Arabian Sea towards the southern tip of India, which my Daily Programme for today tells us we shall sail by, “into the Laccadive Sea, a body of water bordering India, the Maldives and Sri Lanka – once a prominent trade route during expansions of the Greek and Roman empires.” 

07.38

Now, back to yesterday.  I awoke after a respectable night’s sleep, refreshed and feeling very much better than the day before, where strangely, I think the heat had got to me! That is usually never a problem!  I had a trip on a dhow booked for the afternoon, but I would spend the morning catching up on writing e-mails and other routine tasks.  I was reasonably well organised; I had a minimal breakfast and an early light lunch prior to the three hour Mystical Dhou Cruise.  An almost full coach took us to the jetty from where two or three dhows were moored. 

The vessel was surprisingly well equipped with decent toilet and catering (which was not part of this particular trip). There was plenty of shelter from the sun, and when under way, a gentle breeze kept the whole thing comfortable.  We were offered water, soft drinks, and dates, the sort we would have at Christmas!   I imagine we were on the vessel for perhaps two hours, and the promised rugged coastline was indeed rugged and dramatic.  There are some gorgeous beaches out there, as well as signs of great opulence, huge administrative buildings, mansions (maybe), and the occasional fancy hotel.  Quite why we had to leave so early (17.30 hrs) I don’t really know.  Two or three further hours to explore this attractive location would have been welcome, even if sunset was at 5 54 pm!   Perhaps I should have done my exploring before lunch!

I didn’t want the day to end; I don’t want this cruise to end.  This is fabulous!

Back on board, passengers were out in force as the sun set over the craggy countryside, and the lights of Muscat gradually came on, as Queen Mary 2 was settling sail for Penang, Malaysia.

Jo and I joined the rest of those outside, many taking photographs and enjoying the fabulous warmth of the extraordinarily mild climate around here.  We would meet later for a light one course dinner in the Kings Court Buffet before watching the movie ELVIS.  Looking over the side of the ship from Deck 7,  the bow wave was giving off an extraordinary bright blue light, something to do with a type of algae which gives off this light when the waters are disturbed.  I have never seen this before.

Jo’s suggestion that we go to a movie for a change was a good one. The film ELVIS was released in 2022 and stars Tom Hanks, who plays the manipulative manager “Colonel” Tom Parker.  After all these years, I now understand why Elvis Presley never toured outside of the U.S A.  Tom Patker doesn’t get a good rating in this movie!

A long and wonderful day with plenty more to come. Thanks for reading,  David,  a day late, Sunday 5th February, 08.33 hrs, GMT+4