Sunday

We slept deeply, only a minor wakeful period at three, coughing hoarsely.

I awake at 8, shower and rouse Dan. All shades of grey envelop us: sea, waves, sky, fog, awareness of our last 24 hours.

We eat the Full English breakfast, sharing banger, and egg. I love the beans and broiled tomato with rasher and egg, a bowl of berries.

We walk our mile with the Walk for the Cure participants. We expressed interest but never signed up. The walk was pleasant with nifty fifty tunes..

Dan feels tired enough he wants to nap. In the explorers lounge i read Doig and he slumbers.

It is Sunday and the text is John 4:5-42 about the woman at the well. Aside from meditation the narrative by Jan Richardson is rich in water imagery.

Blessing of the Well

If you stand

at the edge

of this blessing

and call down

into it,

you will hear

your words

return to you.

(Help!)

If you lean in

and listen close,

you will hear

this blessing

give the story

of your life

back to you.

( I will carry you )

Quiet your voice.

Quiet your judgment.

Quiet the way

you always tell

your story

to yourself.

(Breathe in and exhale)

Quiet all these

and you will hear

the whole of it

and the hollows of it:

the spaces

in the telling,

the gaps

where you hesitate

to go.

(Breathe in, out, listen.  )

Sit at the rim

of this blessing.

Press your ear

to its lip,

its sides,

its curves

that were carved out

long ago

by those whose thirst

drove them deep,

those who dug

into the layers

with only their hands

and hope.

(Sigh, soften into my resistance) ( again )

Rest yourself

beside this blessing

and you will

begin to hear

the sound of water

entering the gaps.

(Breathe and listen)(breathe and hear)

Still yourself

and you will feel it

rising up within you,

filling every emptiness,

springing forth

anew.

(Amen)

—Jan Richardson

We explore the ship around the Crows Nest before pouring a glass of Pinot to enjoy with our burgers. ( beef and portobello.) trying to finish our bottle before we disembark in the morning.

Then a quick change to swimwear and we're poolside again. The hot tub is wonderful despite the fog horn blasts at regular intervals. Safety first!

We sit aft for an hour as the lands along the Strait of Juan de Fuca come into view and the fog lifts. Dinner is at five tonight and we take a table for six! I order the greens, lamb shank and devils food cake.  The lamb is really tender!Dan the airplane chicken.

We prepare for Victoria, changing into sports clothes and tennies. The double decker bus is $11. A person into town. We climb on. Exiting at the Empress and walking up town anddown to the harbor looking for a new gin to sample.

 At The Dock we enjoy the Victoria Gin martini and a gin and tonic. The city is buzzing with youth fashion and Victoria Days celebrations.

We return to ship at 8:30 and sit on the deck as the sun sets. Then its time to pack and set the bags out in the hall before retiring.

I have breakfast planned:)

One last meal aboard the Amsterdam. The only question left is how to prolong the memories into the week?

Visualize water. Mountains. Eagles. Fog.

Trading the gray palette for greens and crisp temps for the rumored 90s