November 11 - Malaga...NOT!!

Sorry.... you won't be seeing any lovely photos of Malaga or learning any fun historical facts about it. Because we didn't go there! Nope.... it disappeared right off our radar. Now, before you start imagining some "War of the Worlds" scenario, let me elaborate a bit! We reboarded Queen Elizabeth as scheduled on November 8th.... blue sky, no wind, calm sea. That's right.... the calm before the storm! We heard that there was some talk of the ship not even leaving port that day. The Captain soon informed us that we would indeed slip our lines, but would proceed through the Solent and the English Channel at a slow crawl. He told us that the storm in the Atlantic would be approaching Force 11 on the Beaufort Scale, which designates "violent storm." (The highest category is Force 12 which designates a full-scale hurricane.) He said there would be "phenomenal" waves of over 33 feet. And he said he would not take Queen Elizabeth into that! So we bounced around in the swells in the English Channel until we could safely transit the notoriously rough Bay of Biscay. All that put us enough behind schedule that something on the itinerary had to go.... and it ended up being Malaga. The seas are now smooth, the sky is again blue and the Captain has the pedal to the metal! He is seeing how fast we can go and is up to 25 1/2 knots as we work the advantage of the currents through the Straits of Gibraltar. (The supposed maximum speed for the ship is 22 knots.) He is hoping to get us to Malta a little earlier than scheduled. Although, I must say, we're all happy as can be with some extra time at sea. (With the possible exception of those who succumb to seasickness!) The onboard lecturers are excellent: port lecturers telling us about the high points of the places we'll visit, a historian, an archeologist, and an eccentric artist with some outrageous (and rather bawdy!) political cartoons. (Including some especially good ones of Georgie B!) The entertainment has also been great, with music from the 60s and a medley of excerpts from Neil Simon plays. And best of all, more time for watercolour class.... I'm sure I'll be Renoiresque by the time we get home. (With all the gourmet meals, we might also be Rubensesque!) Our camera batteries are charged and we're ready to hit the ground running in Malta....