Day 11 20th January

Another lovely day, it’s about 25 C but not as humid as other days. We are sailing south towards Rio in calm waters. We are on the 11^th Floor of the ship. Its has 13 floors with the top one being the sun deck and floor 12 with swimming pools and a self service restaurant. There are more swimming pools at the rear of deck 10. The two formal restaurants are both on deck 6 – the Alexandria at the stern and Meridian in the middle. We eat in the Alexandria at 8.30pm. There are two seating with an earlier one at 6.30pm. In order to move around the ship there are three sets of lifts at the bow, middle and stern of the ship with corresponding stairways. Chris is using her Shoprider Valetta powered wheelchair which has been a great success. It is highly manoeuvrable and great for carpeted corridors and giving her independence. Unfortunately it is no-use off the ship since the kerbs are high and even the pavements are full of holes. We switch to the manual chair then so we can get around.

The Valetta has excited a lot of interest since it is quick, easy to control and gets neatly through narrow openings. If we had a franchise I am sure we could already have sold several. There are other powered chairs on the ship but these are mainly large and designed for outdoor use. The Valetta is mainly an indoor chair. I doubt the larger chairs would cope with the environments in Recife, our last stop.

To get off the ship in harbour you need to go down gangway which are often steep but the ship do help with a team of young men who push or pull the chair up and down the gangway. However, you almost always have to climb steps into a bus. These can be quite high but again drivers and guides are often helpful. When leaving the ship they checked you out so that they are aware if you are late back but the ship normally will not wait. To get back on the ship you go through security which involves x-rays machines and metal detectors. It’s a sad world when these are needed on holiday.

We listened to a Port talk on the Falklands today. It sounds quite rugged and we need to be tendered ashore. This involves using the ships small tenders ferrying you back and forward to the shore. It takes a long time and if it is rough you get bounced around. We are hoping to see Rock Hopper Penguins there. The entertainment tonight is Pam Ayres who is providing a second show. Last night we saw a magician who was very good. Although I like magicians generally audiences tend to be small which is a shame for the entertainer who was very good is.

Time for lunch and then an afternoon reading on the balcony with an occasional gin and tonic.