I do not enjoy long flights, and the 8.5 hour o Bridgetown Barbados was made palatable only by the knowledge of our destination. Having arrived in later afternoon , our arrival ws a whirlwind. No passport control no baggage collection- it was packed straight onto the coach .Within 15 minutes we were speeding through largely deserted  streets past wooden and tin shack housing before entering Bridgetown itself and the unremarkable port.

Boarding was quick, easy, and efficient onto Explorer 2

First stop St Lucia where we enjoyed a fabulous day trip organised by an ad hoc facebook group. Stops included a rum tasting, the Pitons ( literally the tits)mountains and the volcanic springs, so hot I passed out afterwards.

 The French dependency   Guadeloupe was next and a shared taxi ride to the beach which was brilliant. A classic Caribbean beach with beach towels I wish I had bought but didn’t and great seafront resturants where I made the mistake of ordering lobster by the helping and not by weight leaving me 100 euros poorer an a lot wiser at the end.

Antigua, an old British colony was last, and it felt very British- without the rain. A lobster boat and beach trip  was particularly memorable

And then six days at sea losing an hour each day, which by the end became tiring before we reached the Azores first Ponta Delgada

Then Horta

Another day at sea

before my first time in Cadiz, a magnificent coastal, maritime city at which I wish we could have spent more time.

Engine problems meant we had to miss our last scheduled stop at messina, Sicily,Italy which was a great shame But all was forgotten for the sail into Dubrovnik which was beautiful followed by an equally scenic drive to the airport.