24 May 2012. Thomson Celebration arrives off Mytilene on the Greek island of Lesbos. The anchor is dropped in the sea outside the harbour as we are to be tendered in on the ship's boats. As usual those people who have booked excursions will be given priority and we are just intending to get off and have a walk around so there's no particular rush to get up and rush out.
When we do crawl out of the pit and make our way aft for breakfast (how these nautical terms just trip from my fingers!) we notice that the decking is a touch wet. Come to think of it, I did think I'd heard thunder in the early wee hours before daylight and a full bladder roused me fully from sleep...
We ate a leisurely breakfast on deck but underneath the awnings which were doing a good job of keeping what we thought was a bit of rain off us. We went down to Deck 2 and did a double-take at the queue for the tenders. We decided to go back up and try again a bit later in the morning.
We went back up on the deck and immediately did another double-take - this time at the weather. It wasn't just raining, it was absolutely pouring down. I mentioned the fact on Facebook only for lots of our "friends" to remark how nice it was in England. Thanks guys...
The tender operation was suspended once or twice for short periods due to the weather. The small boats were certainly bobbing up and down a bit more than the Celebration was doing!
It scarcely let up all day. At its height, the rain was so dense that all that we could see of the above view was the white bits on the ferry in the harbour. The land was totally hidden from view!
The headland with its picturesque castle was lit up at times by vivid pink flashes of lightning. How appropriate for Lesbos we thought...
I've still not been to Lesbos...
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