the boat 2

I am something of a personage on the boat. Everyone knows my name and says hello as I pass, crew and passengers alike. Such notoriety was not difficult to achieve- I am the youngest person on board by several decades. Most people are in their 70s and even 80s. I have met several people pushing 90. But if I have learned one thing on this ship it is that life doesn’t have to end at 40 or 50 or any other specified age. There are people out there doing exciting things all their lives. And some of them have truly amazing stories to tell. This morning I had breakfast with a 85 year old who had interesting stories about travelling through Uzbekistan in the 70s. another travelled all around germany as a teenager right after the war, just to find out what it was like! I have eaten several times with an 88 year farmer from Oregon who swears like a trooper and is a democratic party activist. I have got shopping advice from Carmen, my 60+ year old Spanish friend (her Spanish passport was torn up in the days of franco, and her british husband keeps threatening to tear up her british one if the credit card bills keep mounting, but I don’t think this threat is too effective as I caught her buying amber yesterday!) so I have met many interesting characters and I will look at old people in a different way from now on….at least on boat trips.