Aurora - Singapore to Cape Town 5

Fri 25th March - Good Friday - at sea.  

The world is blue again. Deep blue sea and paler cloudless sky. There can few more hedonistic experiences than sitting out on the deck of a cruise ship leaving a long straight wake with dolphins playing in the surf.
 

 

I had a very lazy day sitting on deck watching turtles, flying fish and more dolphins. Our speed is fast to sail through the risky area as soon as possible. It is rare nowadays for ships like Aurora to be able to display their full speed, with fuel-saving measures taking priority most of the time. By 6pm we were sailing through the Maldives archipelago, the low-lying islands barely visible through the heat-haze.

 

One of the Maldive islands

Sat 26^th - at sea.

Another lazy day with fabulously calm, blue seas but no dolphins. One thing I have noticed about the Indian Ocean that stands out from the Med or Atlantic, is the sheer amount of flotsam and jetsom that floats past us - litter, plastic bottles and once - a packing trunk! Hope it wasn't full of someone's belongings!

Flying fish with its shadow

 

The last two days have given us the most stunning sunsets, the white foam of the bow wash carrying puddles of liquid gold and copper, the clouds edged with golden light.

 

 

 

Easter Sunday

Breakfast out on deck as usual as another scorching sunny day dawns. John, the terrace deck steward is very happy indeed and singing as he brings our coffee as he goes home from Cape Town after a nine-month period on board. He is particularly looking forward to a belated Christmas with his parents. 

 

I have been surprised by the age group on board - I was expecting older but actually it is very mostly about my age. Today is the last day of pirate precautions as we sail ever closer to the Seychelles. The sea is not so glassy now and there are fewer flying fish. These three days crossing the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea have been remarkable. The perfect backdrop, despite the heat, for reflection and meditation. The ice cream station is doing great business today. Disappointed we didn’t get a Easter egg from P&O though!