Sleeping the cruise away until the Masquerade Ball

Thursday 1^st May

I know it was May morning and I should have been up performing arcane rituals like bathing my face in dew, but I was too tired. I set my alarm for 11.15 and I think I would have slept well past that if I hadn’t! It doesn’t help that I’m woken each morning by what sounds like hammering nearby, and then disturbed by other noises in the corridor.

I arrived at the Salsa dance lesson a bit late. That doesn’t worry me as I usually just watch, but for the first time ever there were too many men and I was needed to dance. The Dance Hosts were at another engagement as well. I don’t know where all the single ladies had got to.

I relaxed in the afternoon, reading on the balcony, but by 3pm I had to give in and go back to bed! I slept well for an hour and then dozed for another hour and a half before finally getting up. There was no way I wanted to rush for dinner, so I just took things slowly as I woke up, catching up on my diary and blog. Sometimes you have to follow your body’s needs, not the programme.

Of course I roused in time to go to the Masquerade Ball and to wear my new dress and the mask that I purchased in Venice last year, so delicate and different from everyone else's. Once again I videoed Dan and Olena, this time intentionally on my camera. I think they might have found that my camera gives a better resolution than an iPad.