Barbara was still ill, so unfortunately she wasn’t able to come on the trip. Norman, Lynda and I went on a private trip to Petropolis, the old imperial capital of Brazil. After meeting our guide Daniel, we got in his car and drove to Petropolis. After driving through Rio, past some favelas, we entered the foothills and drove up through spectacular scenery to Petropolis. Our first stop was Quintandinha Palace. An old hotel and casino that was built ...

Both mine and Aurora’s first visit to this pretty little resort. It was made famous in Europe by Brigitte Bardot. There’s an awful statue to her on the sea front. It’s an eminently walkable place. Barbara and I took an early tender into town and after wandering around for a while, met Rob and Linda. We had a cup of coffee then strolled to the beach where we took a water taxi to Tartaruga Beach. This was really crowded, so we sat in a local bar with ...

After breakfast Barbara and I put our laundry on and tried to get our mile in. However, we seemed to stop and chat more than we walked. Then it was back to retrieve our washing and put them in the dryers. I also ironed my two white formal shirts. Because they only get worn for a few hours in the evening, I turn a blind eye to the slightly grubby necks and wear them twice before sending them to be cleaned. We did very little during the day. We sat on th...

The last time I was in Salvador, I flew in with Angie and after a night in the coldest air con I’ve ever experienced flew back out again. It poured the whole time. This time it was dry and very warm. The six of us took the shuttle to the old town, where we wandered round the old cobbled streets for a while. Phil and Yvonne went back to the ship, while Barbara, Rob, Linda and I stayed on for a beer before grabbing a cab back to the ship. In some ways,...

A doing b***** all day today. No films, no lectures, no quizzes. Yvonne celebrated her birthday the day we arrived in Southampton, Barbara celebrated hers on our third day of the cruise and I celebrate mine in about a month. So we decided to have a joint celebration and today was the day. After drinks in Norman and Lynda’s, the eight of us plus Luke decamped to the Glasshouse where Norman had wangled us the private room. It was really good fun and we ...