Sailing Through the Bay of Biscay

We lost sight of the northeast coast of Spain last night and are taking a
diagonal track across the Bay of Biscay directly toward Brest. As I write
this, we are some 16 hours away from docking. The ocean is rougher and
much cooler here. The ship has chilled down to where I have to wear a
light jacket in my cabin and the rest of the ship, except for the library
which is a comfortable 78°.

Since the library is below the waterline and the interior of the hull is
exposed down here, the constant crashing of the waves is a constant
reminder we are at sea. The ship is doing its usual side to side roll,
but not bad enough that the furniture is moving about. The books are
staying on the shelves. I know it is rough when a shelf full crashes to
the floor.

The cadets have been extra busy making noise these last two days. I have
had to wear earplugs during most of the day hours to preserve what is left
of my hearing. The banging and grinding has been intolerable. It is
everywhere on the ship. There is no escape. Thank God most of it stops by
dinner time.

The tours of France have been announced and I am going to register for
two. I hope to get on Saturday's 18 hour tour to Normandy. It looks
great. We'll be going to the battlegrounds, cemeteries and museums in the
historic region. They are repeating it on Sunday, but I think I'd be too
exhausted come Monday morning if I took that one. There will be a shorter
(4 hour) tour to some of the coastal towns on Friday and Saturday. I'm
going to try for that one for Friday. There is another 5 hour hiking tour
that looks good, but I think I'll either try to get to the Celtic festival
in Quimper (60 mi. south of Brest) or just see what there is to do in
Brest.

We're already almost to our last port. After that it is 12 days for the
crossing and we're home.