Sail out from the final port was a bitter sweet occasion, both because it was the leaving of our last port of call, and because of the head cold. But sail out was a scenic occasion. Not only did we pass under the three Forth bridges, but we went past the aircraft carrier “Prince of Wales” in the construction dock, under the Forth bridges, and past Edinburgh itself, with its castle looming dark on the hill top and the city’s spires silhouetted against the clearing sky. The sun hit the new white electric generating windmills behind the Edinburgh, highlighting them looming over the older urban scene. Past the city, past the light houses, past different military fortifications into the North Sea for one final sea day. Captain Dag told us that it would be smoother sailing and we should be on the lookout for North Sea Oil Platforms on our sail back to Amsterdam. During the day they were ugly, at night they were little clusters of sparkling lights. I thought “what great platforms for pirate radio stations.”
This is the 25th post of a 20 day cruise. OK if you count Amsterdam as a two day port of call, let’s say 22 days. There will be one more. I am a compulsive writer because writing is one way I sort things out in my own mind and process the experience. This cruise set me to a lot of thinking, lots of ideas swirling around my head. I will try to pull some of the threads together in one last post that I will write when I get back to Sitka. It will be my “Cruise Coda.”
