How appropriate that today is International Talk Like A Pirate Day. Because we had all the ingredients but the wooden leg yesterday, and Wink (who is waiting for a hip operation) limps, so we weren’t too far off that in spirit.

It was very clear under the water and there were lots of fish of various colours and forms. They must be quite used to the diving parties coming, because bags of bread are taken so that you can feed them. Having swum about for a bit, we stood, each holding a handful of bread and they come and nibble it from your hands. Then we swam around some more.  I found it quite tricky, controlling where I was going, though was glad not to have to use my arms. Co-ordinating all four limbs at the same time is a challenge at best and one reason (among many) why I’m not a very good organist. If I use the foot pedals, I’ll soon forget to play using my left hand.  I I suppose not swimming with your arms is one of the trickier things for a proficient swimmer, though.   Anyway, it was all right, I managed it, though was glad of a hand back to the boat afterwards.

We lay about in the sunshine while lunch was cooked and returned to the lower deck to eat it, then went back up to relax a bit longer.  I was nearly asleep when Wink went down again, and a couple of minutes later, one of the crew came to tell me there had been an accident.  She had slipped on the narrow step and fallen, her sunglasses had broken and given her a nasty cut, right by her eye. They were applying various dressings by the time I got there and there was quite a lot of blood-soaked cottonwool. It was decreed that she would have to go to hospital.  Wink was quite embarrassed by all the attention, but they were adamant that she’d need stitches.

The trickiest bit was to come. They took the boat to another cove and moored, with some difficulty, to rocks and put down the gangplank. We had to edge along it (it was narrow and none too steady) and scramble on to the rocks and then along a rough path of rather crumbly sandstone, up and down to where a car was waiting. After that, you might say it was plain sailing. We went to hospital, where we had quick and excellent service, a plastic surgeon came and inserted several stitches and asked us to return the next day. We were returned to the hotel and I was able to alter our booking for a boat trip, which should have been today, to tomorrow.

Today, poor Wink has quite a black eye so it’s a good thing she has been able to buy new sunglasses so she can hide it. People have been immensely kind and she has borne all the pirate jokes with humour. Which reminds me, I put a photo of the water on Facebook and Rog accurately observed that the colour was Turk-woise.