Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming....

Today we had an awesome “down day” with lots of swimming, reading, board games, and more. Our captain found some beautiful anchorages in turquoise bays with dramatic limestone cliffs above. The green pine trees made a gorgeous contrast to the turquoise waters. One of the highlights of the day was snorkeling and some of the younger kids had their first taste of life under the sea. Sightings included black sea cucumbers, striped wrasse, needle fish, horn back rock fish, yellow sponges, and a solitary squid that came very close to the boat. The squid was bright orange and over a foot long. It was fairly shy of the swimmers but those who approached by kayak were treated to good views.

The other highlight was another banana boat ride at high speed.  The smiles on the  kids faces were visible from almost a half mile away!  The driver dumped the kids right on front of our gulet and laughs were had all around.  The only kid to stay on was Sam who apparently is a master at hanging on to high speed water toys like tubes.  Of course the day would not be complete without a visit from the ice cream boat which was a big hit.  The kids seemed to have an inner radar because they started shouting for joy when the boat was just a speck on the horizon...our chef treated us to more amazing meals including fresh “dolmas” (stuffed peppers) and pasta at lunch, “borek” (filo pastry stuffed with feta and greens) at tea time, and a grand feast of grilled lamb and chicken at dinner...yum!