At Sea 31 January

[Michele Monro]

A welcome sea day and a gorgeous 31 degrees - guess where I was - yep front row pool side. Kate Adie is speaking today about the rather odd world of television reporting, her personal tale of crazed dictators and weird transport. Professor Harvey Mann, who I met the other day is a photographer and writer and is talking about the fight to save one of the worlds most endangered species, our cousin the mountain gorilla, better known as the starts of the film Gorillas in the Mist. Harvey spent three years living at altitude in the Virunga Volcanoes of Rwanda, campaigning for their survival after the American zoologist Dian Fosse had been murdered by poachers.

The camera club is also on the agenda today, with portfolios of Dubai and Mumbai. It's black tie again tonight and the theme is 'Best of British' so I'll have to see if I have any energy after such a full day. I surprised myself by getting in the pool, not once... but twice... and swimming. It was gorgeous and I caught quite a bit of sun at last. At the moment I resemble a person with high blood pressure but I will go brown very soon.

Spoke to Matt and all seems well except that DJ is back home. The people who took him couldn't cope and kept taking him to the vet, the last time because his poo was a funny colour. There is of course nothing wrong with the dog but it has cost a fortune in vet's bills. They naturally ran blood tests and all sorts of unnecessary checks just too run up extra fees but I suppose that's my fault for being persuaded to give him to people that have never owned a pet!!!

I spoke to Max on Skype at long last, bless his heart if he wasn't playing Fifa on his playstation at the same time. He says his workload is heavier now but his exam results have come in and he rocked the boat so to speak and I am thrilled. He went home at the weekend for a friend's birthday, clubbed all night until 6.00am and caught the 7.30am train back to Warwick. Oh to be young again.

The Captain is going into Cochin early so that immigration doesn't hold us up and bite into the day but at 4.30am it was too dark to see anything or take any photographs but hopefully on the sail away

[mariana44]

That sounds like bliss after the weatherv we are having here--basivally freezing ! Although not quite so bad today-I got my dogs out for a walk, for the first time in a week.

Sorry it did not work out for DJ, but I guess Matt will take good care of him.