5th - 11th July 2015

We have officially passed the half way point of the season here on the Luciole and what a fantastic three months it's been. What better way to celebrate such a milestone than with the wonderful group we've had with us this week. Group leader James was with us alone in May to scout out the route and organise himself for this week, a unique idea in which he chose to combine barging with his usual group activity of walking. Along with wife Diana, they chose the Luciole as their base of operations and organised their own outings alongside our usual visits and cruising schedule. What a huge success it was too and a great idea, the walking tours to local towns, places of beauty, swimming spots and on one occasion the local pub worked flawlessly when paired with our own itinerary, thus it was an active and enjoyable week for all.

This week was a first as far as I'm aware in that we were fortunate enough to have our first ever Maltese guests, six of them in all, along with two Australians and six Brits, all extremely courteous and friendly people, and seemingly having an excellent time. Hopefully it was a chance for all to relax a little also, especially James and Diana themselves, who generally cater and look after their tours alone, so perhaps it was a nice change for them to sit on deck with their friends, sipping one of the many bloody marys consumed over the course of the week, swimming off the boat almost every day and night, and of course being fed by our master chef Marc, most definitely the highlight of the week for such a food loving group of people. 

The final words of the week were spoken by James, after Francisco's customary Captain's Dinner speech, and finer and nicer words could not be spoken, summing up the week, crew and passengers in one rather lengthy poem dedicated to all. Unfortunately I don't have a copy, and perhaps it's best it remains that way, as another memory of a magical week on the Luciole.