Tomorrow,24 January,we are docking in Aruba,

one of the loveliest islands I have been to.And I cannot wait to repeat the experience.

Port Canaveral,20 January, 2019.

Port Canaveral will for ever remain in my memory as a place where I was finger-printed by the United States Customs and Border Protection authorities,as were the  other 2000 or so travellers.
The nightmare started at 7am, when I joined the already long queue,I was cleared at 12.35,there were still around 300 people behind me,

average age  good 70,many disabled, a large number walking with a stick or two, Zimmer frames, quite a lot in a wheelchair,tired,hungry,thirsty. Retired folk, we all had paid  a considerable amount of money to Cunard,an American company, to see this part of the world in  the winter sun.
How many of us  are  a threat to the US security?How many would  illegally seek employment in the country or attempt to remain there unlawfully?
Never in my entire life have I been treated in this manner  and I have been to 74 countries.
Cuba welcomed me with open arms,efficiently, with a smile.
Getting through the customs in St Petersburg, Russia,had been a breeze.
In America I am finger-printed like a common criminal.

At my sister's birthday celebration

last December,one of the guests,Miroslav,looked at me in horror,when I said I was sailing to Bermuda.Many ships have disappeared there,said he,it is the methane rising to the surface creating a vacuum and if a ship happens to be above,it sinks through the hole.And I was going to invite you to my 80th birthday party,he continued quietly, looking at me intensely with sorrow  one reserves for someone on a death bed.
Well,Bermuda came and went and I am here to tell the story be it different to the story I was going to tell.The high hopes of wonderful things  to do never came  to fruition,they all sank like the ships in the  Bermuda Triangle.The 24 shops in the Clockwater hall  never opened their doors to me,even the jewel in the island's crown,The National Museum, remained firmly closed.The Bermudians are keeping it all to themselves.They do not even allow the ships to stay until the dark,they have to depart in daylight, we had to leave  at 15.30.        Yes.      How preposterous is that.

Today,17/01/2019,I can add Bermuda to the 73 countries I have visited.

Shortly after 9am the customs official cleared the ship ready for disembarkation and I joined the long,long queue to leave.I hate taking an organized  tour at the best of times and  would never do so after sailing for 7 days,when all I want to do is walk,walk,walk and do my own thing in general.We docked in the port  at the former  Royal Naval Dockyard,as the island has been  officially a British territory since 1684,even though the name  Bermuda has been given by a Spanish sea captain Juan de Bermudez,who came across the islands  in 1503 ["The Bermudas" consist of around 138 islands.], but the Spanish never claimed the territory as they thought the islands were haunted.But the Brits were made of sterner stuff.
Yes, after 7 days without seeing a dry land,  I was ready for Bermuda,but Bermuda was not ready for me.Is it a Sunday,thought I for a split second, when deserted streets,bar a few taxi drivers, and closed shops,bar "The Pharmacy", welcomed me.
Even s solitary worker on a sloping  roof good 30 m high [ no harness, nothing to make him safe],was resting spread-eagle.I have not seen a sight quite like it and burst out laughing,reaching for my phone to take a picture.Alas, he heard me, stirred and sat up startled.Seeing the phone in my hands he began frantically scurrying about, almost sliding down.Feeling concerned for his safety I shouted-sorry-and put the phone away giving him a wave.He waved back and smiled.
The islanders must be very rich, when they do not consider almost 2000 people  worthy of opening their doors to.
So I decided to walk in the direction of the capital, Hamilton.
I passed Westgate Correctional facility.Utterly divine setting.Does any offender ever want to leave such a prestigious address? Gloria Estefan,who rents out her Miami home for $75,000 a month, would be proud to own a house there.
A small  cluster of tiny houses further along,called Victoria village, was obviously a home of the born and bread Bermudians.
A beautiful woman  sitting on the miniature terrace smiled broadly when I said good morning, beaming.
Be careful,now,the sun is going to get strong today, she said,put on your hat.Thank you, I will.
Yes, it was a good, good morning.I only wish I had my right foot to match. It has been hurting me for a while now and then.It could be an inflammation,as the internet has suggested.So I hopped along another good 2km, until I could hop no longer and turned back stopping at a ramshackle bus stop.The $3 ride was at times hair-raising,the driver taking the bends as if we were catching the last shuttle from the Moon to Earth.
There was not a single place open that served coffee in the Dockyard.Limping I returned to my cabin and a sun-lit balcony and yes, I shed all my clothes and  for 10 glorious  minutes  I  soaked the sun.

And talking about short, dumpy and drab.

This morning in the gym a short but certainly not dumpy or drab  Filipino woman gave on a treadmill a masterclass how to attract a man.Preening,swaying, throwing her arms about the way a gay man dances when on a prowl,her side glances checking out who is watching.I was.Transfixed.In awe of this performance worthy of an Oscar.
Last night the woman and a man were standing in the lobby.He leaning on a stick, ugly, badly groomed, badly dressed.She almost pretty, heavily made - up,skirt slit almost to the waist on both sides, cleavage almost to the waist baring her almost flat chest.Not a glance between them, not a smile.Then without a word the man walked towards the lifts.Without a word the woman followed.It must be a very lonely world they had retreated to.

Last night Mr Roy Walker gave a masterclass how jokes are delivered.

Yes,the comedian I saw 3 years ago,is back.Mr Walker did not seem a day older.His suit did.And it seemed to have shrunk.But his shoes were my kind of shoes,brown leather, from a distance looked like Chelsea brogues.He did sing the Viagra song to the delighted participation of the audience. Mr Tom Jones, your Delilah has a lot to answer for.And yes, the Clinton joke was also there.The President visited Ireland.100 women were asked if they would ever sleep with him. 99 of them said never again.Just as funny now as three years ago.It is the way you say it, Mr Walker!The difference between the erotic and the kinky?When you stroke the naked body of your beloved with a feather it is erotic,if you use the whole chicken...

What a waste of time and money building the Hadrian's Wall to keep the Scots coming to England.All they had to do was to make a small charge.[the way he said it was hilarious, but I do not recall the exact words now, just the jest of the joke.]
This morning I was having breakfast in the Lido restaurant when Mr Walker and his wife walked in.He resplendent in a bright top, she... well,I do not know what he spends his money on, but it is not on his short, dumpy and drab better half.

No,the Huawei tablet is not for the faint-hearted

The intention was to replace it with a Samsung S 3 tablet to match the Ssmsung S 7,I think it is,telephone,given to me by my sister,but as John Lewis was closed on Boxing day (they offer a 3 year guarantee),am stuck with the Huawei.Oh,it is a lovely little thing a 3 year old can use,and does! So why can't I, you may ask.Well,I would like either a lighter (in weight) version of my Toshiba chromebook,or something to equal the Samsung phone.