Day 4 of our Black Sea Cruise - What time did you say it is?

Peter set the alarm for 5.30 am. The amazing thing about the fact that we actually we got up! Before sunrise, bleary eyed and sleepy, we dressed and made our way up to the top deck to see Istanbul and the entrance to Bosphorus.

We were due to start on our journey through the Bosphorus at 6am, when the pilot joined the ship. Sunrise was at 6.08 and the hope was that we'd see sunrise hit Istanbul as we passed. Unfortunately it didn't quite work out like that, but we did get to see Hagir Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the Topkapi Palace in the early morning light.  (You can see them in the top photograph.)

It was freezing on deck, and after a cup of tea and warm downstairs, we decided our body clocks still hadn't worked out what was going on....... and went back to bed. That was at around 7am, and we didn't emerge from the cabin until 11 o'clock, just in time for morning tea and biscuits, (food never stops on this ship).

So after a leisurely morning and lunch, it was time to get ready for Peter's first class. The Opheous Lounge is a lovely place, large and light. Large means that people can spread out, and the first class was, as always on a new ship, chaotic. About 40 people turned up, which meant there weren't enough notes, and they needed help with things like brushes, and boards and paper. But the class seemed to go well, and we think the majority enjoyed themselves and will be back for the next session.

And for us it's now a bit more leisurely relaxing until the morning. Tomorrow the ship will dock into Sinop, where we were going to do our own thing, but as the Excursion team needed someone to help, I volunteered Peter to act as an escort on the walking tour, so we have to be ready by 8am.

So let's see what Sinop brings.