Touch wood our travel arrangements continued to run without hitch. After some minor crowd scenes at Goa airport, we flew Air India to Delhi via Mumbai. On the climb out we could see the cove on Goa's southern river (Zuari) where Star Clipper had moored, then into the clouds before we could see much of Goa's famed northern beaches. There is no mistaking the thick pall of smoke/smog/haze/fog that hangs over these parts of India. Visibility as we flew into both Mumbai and Delhi was very poor and worse. Some people were saying the failure of this year’s monsoon had something to do with it. Nonetheless Delhi pollution is legendary. We ended up in Delhi on four occasions: after arriving from Goa (10th - 11th Nov); after our first Intrepid trip (16th - 22nd Nov) and ... read more

After a long delay we are now back on the Blog, safe and sound. The voyage from Safaga to Goa harbour took us a total of 14 days, which is certainly a long time but on the other hand, one of our lives' most interesting fortnights. In the last hour before departure from Safaga all passengers were briefed on the security threats facing the ship in the Gulf of Aden and give the opportunity of leaving then, and the option of rejoining in Goa for the rest of the crossing to Phuket. No-one took these options but it did leave us intrigued and unsettled. While we were in Luxor the crew had skirted the ship with razor wire and a 2000V electric fence. During the first 2 days of the voyage other measures were temporarily enacted ... read more

Early on 21 October the ship rose early, took on board the pilot and extra crew, and took its place in the southbound convoy for the Suez canal. It took us the whole day to transit and with this and the northbound convoy we must have seen 40 big ships using the amazingly narrow strip of water. Strange to see completely barren flat desert on the Sinai side and relatively lush oasis on the Nile side. Through the canal the boats are separated by 5 minutes but at the Bitter Lakes the southbound let the northbound convoy pass and we got to see them all. Some massive container ships. We passed under the centre of the Peace Bridge with 1.5m to spare above our main mast. The Star Clipper led the convoy out of the southern ... read more

We set sail from Piraeus with light rain and gentle breezes. As is customary on this Line, the sails are raised to the sounds of Vangelis: its not as cheesy as it sounds particularly with this much sail! The cruise has continued with winds below 25kts and just one night anyone would regard as rough. There are currently about 120 passengers aboard and this will reduce to about 50 for the crossing. The crew and passengers come from 35 countries though passengers are primarily. Europeans, Yanks and Australians. Greg has had his hands on the wheel just once so far but more to come. The ship is reaching under 75% of its sails and about 9kts: no greyhound. Mykonos was lovely with the picturesque harbour and whitewashed houses and narrow lane ways. Particularly good because the ... read more

Catherine enjoyed frankfurters for breakfast heated over a Gaz-type stove and in a 250 mL coffee pot. Such was the Ulcinj Hilton/home stay. Our cabbie was on time and we headed for the border along ever-deteriorating roads. This area really was a frontier in geography and vibe. At the frontier proper, the wind was cold, chilled by the previous night's snow! The roads actually improved in Albania though the old mercs - a legacy from Hoxha era smuggling - seem to adopt a speed mania. Our destination was Schkodra bus terminal and we soon recognised the similarity to the villages of Vietnam. It must have been a communist design thing. Getting from taxi to the Tirana bus took a second as bus touts grabbed our gear and secured our custom. We then sat for 20 mins ... read more