Livin' it up on the Med

The start to the day was not particularly exciting - a van to the bus station and then a two hour public ride to Kas.  The countryside we  drove through looked quite like home with pine forests, poplar and gum trees, and the odd cow scattered about.  There was also a large number of glass (plastic) houses and when you looked out across the plains from the hill, the glass houses covered most of the available area.  But we left the plains behind, crested a hill and there was the sea looking lovely and blue and inviting. 

After lunch and a brief wander through the shops in Kas, it was all aboard and off to sea we went. The Selin-3, from the aft of which I am writing at the moment, is a cross between a yacht and a launch.  There are two short masts and they have sails on them all ready to go, but I have yet to see them up.  It's very wide practically from the bow to the stern.  We motored for about an hour or so and then stopped for a swim and a snorkel.  The water is so warm and quite salty so I just float with very little effort.  There weren't many interesting fish, but it was still nice.  We then motored for another couple of hours into a nice sheltered inlet. 
Along the way, Jennifer caught four fish, I caught one tiny wee one, and one of the crew caught one. 

Apart from that we just lazed about and saved our energy for another swim when we arrived.  Lisa dived in and forgot that she had her sunglasses on so the skipper, Osmon, donned flippers and mask and after several attempts surfaced with them on his face (to much applause).  After a very long swim, it was a busy evening of playing cards, learning backgammon (or relearning, I think Grandpa taught us when we were kids), eating a fabulous meal including the fish we had caught, and generally chilling out.  The highlight was a trip in the dingy (inflatable) to a big cave where the phosphorescence was fantastic.

Our sleeping quarters were on deck and four of us were on top of the cabin on little mattresses.  I was a little worried that I was going to roll off on to the deck and into the water and wake up with the fishes in the morning but someone swapped with me so I wasn't on the edge.  We looked up at the stars (the rest had a cover over them) and I saw about 6 or 7 falling stars before I went to sleep.  And then woke and turned.  And then woke and turned....  At about 6.30am Justin suggested a swim and we slipped into the mirror flat water.  It was still warm (with the occasional cold spot to keep you awake).

I'm now sipping coffee (instant but beggars can't be choosers), sitting in the sun and listening to the sounds of breakfast being prepared.  It doesn't get much better than this.