My sea day routine is settling in.  Enjoying the early breakfast, then tea/coffee in Café al Bacio, followed by table tennis. Had a burger for lunch and time in the room to work on loading pictures to the blog (can’t wait for faster internet). Moved from the room to the Sunset Deck for a beautiful sunset.  There were a few small fishing boats in the area and lots of dolphins playing around them. After a light dinner, we both headed back to Café Bacio for reading, etc., while we listen to an entertaining acoustic duo.  Will probably end up with dessert somewhere.

As Judy and I settled in at Café al Bacio this morning, I could see land on our starboard side, and was reminded what the captain had said about passing through the narrows of Aden. Somalia is off our starboard and Yemen is in view off port as we pass headed south.  The Red Sea doesn’t look that big on a map, but we’ve been sailing over two days from Aqaba, and are just now getting to the Gulf of Aden. Like many other things I’ve experienced in the last few years, I never thought I would be here.  Unreal!

Somalia off our starboard side

Yemen in the distance off port side

Had a message today from the Excursions Office that our short trip Sunday in Abu Dhabi for “High Tea at Jumeirah” has been cancelled (not enough guests).  They gave us an option for another excursion at a 10% discount, so I jumped on it.  Now, Saturday, when we first arrive, we’re going to visit the Grand Mosque at night, then have dinner at the Emirates Palace.  This is a nice substitute.  We’ll get a short visit in Abu Dhabi at night, before our bigger tour during the day on Monday.  Depending on how we feel on Sunday, we could always take the Hop-On Hop-off Bus and get a wider experience of the city.