Wednesday, 6 May 2026
Sailing Toward Tangier, Morocco

After a welcome day on land in Ponta Delgada yesterday, the Quest is back at sea and on her way to Tangier. Last night I enjoyed a quiet dinner to myself in the less-dressy Colonnade: another serving of prime beef carpaccio, followed by tasty osso buco, and tiramisu for dessert. My big question: why do contemporary pastry chefs leave out the traditional ladyfinger crusting on tiramisu? I also made two big drinking changes: my first on-board cold Heineken, with my cheeseburger-and-fries late lunch (after being on shore until almost 2pm); a glass of white wine with the carpaccio and a glass of red wine with the osso bucco--a day without champagne!

Tonight I will be having dinner with the other nine members of the trivia team. Even though I am no longer participating, they have kindly invited me to dinner in the Restaurant.

Because most everything is free (after paying the hefty price for the cruise itself, of course), I am having a hard time finding any way to use my $300. spending money. I did have two pair of pants pressed (a major expense at $12!). I didn't have to pay for my ship-to-shore phone call to Will last week because that too was included in my free perks. There is nothing I particularly want in the gift shop--and everything there is outrageously expensive. I will find something, because I can't take the cash home.

I will end this boring blog here. Hopefully, Tangier and Lisbon will be more interesting.