Friday 19th February

Jane was up early today & we arrived at 6.45 to prepare for landing via tenders. As we were having breakfast the captain informed us all that we would not be visiting Bora Bora as the entrance to the lagoon through the coral was too narrow & with the wind gusting to 40 knots across the passage it was too dangerous to pass through to our anchorage. We then waited for the French authorities to clear the vessel before setting off for New Zealand in wet & squally conditions with a rising swell. Sadly we have about 7,000 French Polynesian Francs left from yesterday, which are now about as valuable as Albanian money.

Some passengers were very upset but his decision seemed quite reasonable as the pilot had told him that the wind speed was due to increase during the day, making it even harder to leave in the afternoon.

Instead we had a couple of lectures from new presenters & went to see the film "Kingsmen" a rather pathetic British spy spoof.

Went to a recital by 2 lady musicians who played violin & cello & alternated on the piano. All the music was of well known Baroque & Classical pieces which were very well received.

We dine at the open sitting restaurant each evening which means we meet different people each night. Although the majority are English there are quite a few Australians who joined in Valparaiso & a few New Zealanders so that the conversations tend to be quite varied. Most of the UK people are doing the 4 month cruise from Southampton to Southampton arriving back in May & are mostly of mature years like us.