Today it’s travel to the Greek island of Corfu, but our morning started in a frantic scramble. We lost another hour last night entering the Greek time zone. Also, in the middle of the night, the country switched to Daylight Savings, so another hour vanished as the clocks sprung forward, except mine. I was prepared for this change, but my Apple Watch did not cooperate. As I calmly stepped out on the promenade deck for my morning run, the time suddenly jumped ahead an hour, and I was instantly rushed.

Corfu in the rain was not as beautiful as I had anticipated. Positano, Italy still holds my personal top spot. With the tour bus leaving in 45 minutes, I had to cut back to the one-mile minimum run distance. Also, as I rounded the bow of the boat, my music stopped playing, another malfunction of my watch, adding more frustration. Somehow, I got in my required mile, other exercises, a quick shower, a few bites of my wife’s left-over room-service breakfast, dressed, and barely made the bus. While I was out running, she was awakened from the delivery, also an hour off from what she expected. It was not the leisurely early morning that either of us had planned, and the Corfu tour was underwhelming. The streets were closed for a Holiday parade that eventually got canceled because of the weather, most of the stores were closed, and church services prevented exploration of their unique architecture and frescoes. The museums were not open, the gray skies masked the famous turquoise waters, and only ghosts filled the Old Town pumice-tile streets. We sat for a cup of hot cocoa, but the waitress misunderstood and delivered Coke instead – and not Diet. To make matters worse, our difficult-to-understand tour guide kept emphasizing how atypical the cold, rainy weather was at this time of year. More sea-salt in the wound!

We took cover from the rain on the 7th story indoor deck of our boat, lounging on cushy chairs overlooking the ancient city that many tout as their favorite resort destination. Not today! We were both stuffed after another buffet lunch, so a nap was in order. Those around us quietly solved crossword puzzles, read novels, and sipped on cocktails. It was Retirement 101!

A few days ago, we had a rare dining experience off the boat. The location was a Croatian swine farm and restaurant in the small village of Velin called Roca kuca prsuta – can I buy a vowel, Pat? To give you an idea of how cold it was during that excursion, the pigs had to be transported to a warmer spot. Despite their absense, our hosts proudly showed us how they had to climb up three stairs each time they wanted to eat – their daily exercise regiment. Similarly, my wife and I made a pact to use only the stairs on the cruise ship. We climb two flights for the buffets and up and down three more levels to get to the more exclusive dining rooms. We’ve been just like pigs on this cruise!

Tomorrow we visit Ancient Greece, still dreaming of a warm, dry day, while the ship’s windows are covered in a drizzle. We’re in the same area where the Viking Band and the FABBA Four predictably preformed Beatle’s and ABBA tunes the other night, while we gray-hairs tried to sing-along. Greek dancing will start soon and the peaceful solitude will quickly be disrupted. We’ll head back to our stateroom soon, using the stairs like good little piggies!