En route to Funchal, Madeira

Where in the world are they?

Since leaving Southampton, we’ve sailed through the Solent, passing Cowes on the Isle of Wight and Portsmouth, before entering into the English Channel. From there we traversed the Bay of Biscay, which runs along the coasts of France and parts of Spain. The bay, which is known for its rough waters, accounted for the rocky ride we had the past two days. After leaving the bay, we’ve been sailing parallel to the Spanish and Portuguese coastlines.

Of particular note to John, who is an admirer of Lord Horatio Nelson, we passed Cape Trafalgar, where in 1805, 27 Royal Navy ships, commanded by Lord Nelson, defeated the combined French and Spanish fleet of 33 ships, saving England from invasion by Napoleon’s forces. Unfortunately, Lord Nelson perished during the Battle of Trafalgar. Experiencing the rough waters in this area, we could only imagine how difficult it must have been to serve on an 18^th century warship engaged in heated battle.

We are sailing toward Funchal, Madeira, which lies west of Morocco and north of the Canary Islands. According to the QE daily program, Madeira is an archipelago in the mid Atlantic Ocean with volcanic origins, so it is not geographically a part of a specific continent. However, it belongs ethnically, culturally, economically, and politically to Portugal. It is known for its excellent wines (Madeira) and flowers. We will be arriving there early on Thursday morning.

As we made our way to Madeira, we enjoyed a number of onboard activities, including the second presentation by Bill Bryson. This time he spoke about some of the material he covered in his book A Short History About Nearly Everything. He said he wrote it during a time of intense interest in science and the creation of the universe. Given that it is such a miracle that humans have survived, with so many things that could have made us extinct, he said we should be particularly concerned about global warming and what we are doing to our planet.

But one of the most interesting things he talked about, and what so many people who have read A Walk in the Woods have probably wondered, was what happened to his friend Steven Katz (not his read name). In the book, a true story, Katz accompanied Bill Bryson on his hike of the Appalachian Trail. He was recovering from alcohol and drug dependency and wasn’t in the greatest shape. Bill said that he was delighted to report that Katz “sorted himself out,” overcame his dependencies, and is doing remarkably well. Katz is thrilled that people ask how he is doing and enjoys being a celebrity.

Afterwards, I stood in line to have Bill sign my copy of A Sunburned Country. When I told him that I had brought the book with me, he said that he felt quite honored. When he realized that I was American, he commented that there weren’t many Americans onboard and seemed disappointed.

Later that evening, we attended the Captain’s Welcome Reception. We could have skipped the long line of people waiting to have a photo taken with the captain, but we wanted to meet Captain Inger Klein Thorhauge, one of the first female captains to command a cruise vessel. Some of the passengers who have sailed with her before and members of the crew we talked to spoke very highly of her.

Captain Inge Klein Thorhauge

As I mentioned previously, we had been invited to have dinner at the Master’s Table. It turned out the table is the main table in the Britannia Dining Room, under a large mural near the grand staircase leading into the dining room. The table is identified by whoever is hosting a dinner there. When it is the ship’s captain, it is the Captain’s Table, etc. In our case, the host was the Deputy Captain (aka the ship’s Master) Russell Robson. Also invited were three other couples and the captain’s secretary, Amy, a lovely young woman from London who had a remarkable resemblance to the Duchess of Cambridge (Kate Middleton).

Master’s Table in Britannia Dining Room

Captain Robson was a gracious host and quite entertaining, telling us some of his schoolboy exploits in England. It was a delightful evening, and we felt quite honored to have been invited.

It was quite a day.