Heading out of the Bay of Biscay, round Spain, and down the Portuguese coast in not an unpleasant sea which had clearly rocked us asleep, although the captain did make an announcement that passengers should use the handrails. A later start to the day, so we missed breakfast in the main restaurant and had to locate the venue for the buffet breakfast. I am not a fan of buffets but this is different in that you go to the counter and say what you want, which then appears on a plate that you carry back to your table.

By the time we finished it was almost lunchtimeand we went off to different activities. I went to a Masons meeting, and Sue went for a much more healthy long walk round the deck. Having agreed to give lunch a miss we met back in our cabin to read our books.

We then went off to choir rehearsals, which is being taken much more seriously by some participants.

Having missed lunch, we decided to stop by for the afternoon tea, where we were accompanied by the harpist.

Very couth. We shared a table with a British couple where we chatted until almost 5pm then adjourned to the Chart Room bar for a cocktail or two while we listened to a string trio, both easy on the ear and the eye. Even more couth!

We decided to visit the theatre for a show with a comedian and musician called Jon Courtney who was excellent. We then returned to the Chart Room to listen to a jazz trio and chat to Gary and Chris, a couple from Swansea.