On board the Agape

As checkout time was 10:00 am we planned the morning's activities to the minute E.g. alarm at 8:15. Hit snooze twice. Arise have breakfast of croissants, juice and coffee on the balcony overlooking calm sea whilst sun slowly moves in general direction of zenith. All was quiet in the burb this morning as school was not in. The place is really peaceful without those partying noisy troublemakers creating their usual racus as they hang about the school doing all that conversing and communication things that the young around the world are renowned for. We were fully packed and the sound of the the last zip was drowned out by the knock on the door right on 10:00 am. Leaving the bags in the safe confines of the community kitchen we walked into town with the specific intent of enjoying our last 3 hours of freedom. The sea was amazingly calm all day today. A great day for being out on the water..(!)...The town looks exactly the same.

Still can't move quickly. People packed in everywhere all doing the same thing day after day. The only difference is (I guess) the individuals change over on a daily basis. Collectively it's the same. We managed to find coffee in an alleyway so tight the chairs individually line up against the walls and partook in a yummy cup of fresh berries whilst sitting on the edge of the harbour. They manage to keep the water of this harbour miraculously clean. Even managed to purchase as new pair of specs - replacing last night's broken set on the groin invasive bus ride. We found it interesting that you can purchase a nice little glasses case for less than a price of going for a wee just around the corner. Note: you may get away with going the wrong way along a pedestrian path. You will not get away with a free wee in this town. Taking the walking option back to base camp we caught our breath and then through the sheer generosity of our host who kindly drove us to the real harbour where ships of all varieties abound. They generally have very picturesque boats in these parts. All sorts of configurations. Many with fine woodwork and masts - some even used for real sails. After waiting around a bit we finally made it on board to our vessel - appropriately called the "Rose Agape" .

She's only a year old so quite well appointed. A crew of 8 plus the tour director. The captain looks like an old Croatian sea dog, two general sea hands, two chefs, two serving staff and a cabin cleaner. 39 passengers. Mostly Aus, Kiwi, and a few UK, Irish, and Yanks thrown in (maybe - maybe not as we haven't heard any yet). The strict routine started at 6:00pm (sharp) with an introduction of the crew and an outline of the rules, expected behaviours (e.g. you must shower before entering the jacuzzi or you will be harangued), known costs and expect the unexpected costs. And you must pay in cash. It seems piracy on the high seas has come of age. The age demographic seems reasonably spread - with us in the middle. So we should get along o.k. without rubbing too many people up the wrong way. Will try our best though as it's obviously our duty to uphold the Ocker reputation wherever we go. So here we are - paid a small fortune to be on a boat which has the capability of going anywhere we want and so far we are staying firmly attached to the port with no intention of going anywhere for a long time. Ship board life is hoot. Everyone is in bed by 9:30. We are locked in our twin bed cabin with no open windows and the sound of the aircon whirling away as it picks up the fumes of smokers somewhere nearby and pumps them in. The blinds are firmly drawn as our view out is into the wall of an adjoining vessel with their deck lights blaring in through the darkness. Tomorrow morning we pick up the ships routine in earnest.

Above on the deck the lights of the harbour twinkle across the waters in picturesque leading lines to places of unattainable freedom and joyousness whilst below the sound of nearby cabins flushing their cisterns resonates through the white linen enclosed pillows.