After two days at sea crossing the Mediterranean our next port of call was Port Said. The ship docked early to enable tours to go to Cairo and the Pyramids. Not wanting to spend several hours on a coach, and having visited the Pyramids before, we explored Port Said. It's not a terribly attractive place although it is a popular beach resort for the Egyptians. With a population of roughly half a million traffic soon builds up to the typical frenzy of vehicles all ...

Today was an early start so that we could see sunrise as we sailed through the Suez Canal. We left Port Said shortly after midnight sailing in convoy through the northern section of the canal towards the Great Bitter Lakes. The lake acts as a holding area for vessels as the canal is only wide enough for one ship. The southbound convoy was held here for around four hours to allow the northbound convoy, 20 ships, to travel into the canal. We reached the southern e...

The approach to Valletta was spectacular - welcome to the Middle Ages. The buildings are built with a pale golden limestone and the city has a very colonial feel to it. The island is small, 17 miles long and 5 miles wide. There are no rivers, lakes or mountains; just gentle rolling hills which meet the coast at Valletta in fairly steep cliffs. A walk round the old battery with its many memorials to soldiers and sailors of all nationalities gives a real feel for...

We arrived a little late into Naples delayed by strong winds. The approach to Naples was impressive, sailing between Capri and Ischia with a spectacular view of Mt. Vesuvius in the distance. Subsequent experience told us that this is by far the best way to see Naples -from a distance. It was all we had been told to expect - scruffy, litter strewn everywhere, rundown. The traffic was heaving and crossing the road required nimble footwork because drivers ignore tra...

Sailing towards Naples across a choppy Mediterranean - strong winds and a largish swell heading south from the Bay of Lions. We have noticed the unannounced appearance in many of the public areas of colourful containers of suspicious looking receptacles. Five house points for anybody who can tell us what "motion disturbance bags" are for. Lose ten points if you fill it!!! Today we hit the 20 mile mark for walking demented around the deck. Jane has been to circu...