Late yesterday afternoon the Caledonian Star sailed through the Straits of Gibraltar and left the enclosed Mediterranean Sea and came into her real environment, the ocean. Already by late afternoon signs of this new environment were apparent - shearwaters and dolphins, and of course a long soft Atlantic swell.
Today, in the early morning, we made a call to the port of Portimao on the southern coast of Portugal. As we left the port to drive inland we could see that we were really into a new area. In the Mediterranean Sea you do not experience any tide but here on the Atlantic side the tide is about 9 feet.
Buses took us inland to explore the province of Algarve, which has a strong Moorish heritage. By lunchtime we were back onboard to set sail for the last leg to Lisbon.
Of course most needed some time to pack all the good things they had purchased along the voyage but the afternoon was filled with activities. First a lecture given by our historian Godfrey Wettinger, and later a presentation about underwater photos taken by our diver Dennis Cornejo all through the voyage.
As the sun dropped into the ocean we all gathered in the lounge to enjoy the Captain's farewell cocktail. It was time to summarize a very successful voyage all through the hidden parts of the western Mediterranean Sea. During our exploration through the region we were surrounded by heavy rains, but above the Caledonian Star it was blue sky almost all the time!
All the officers, staff and several crew joined in the lounge to say to everyone, "See you soon again, on board".
