'The view of the ocean...Changes by the hour...We'll never tire of this...

The sunset can only be seen in its entirety behind a nearby hill. Last night, we were able to see a mere touch of it with the pink color on these clouds. Breathtaking!

Interesting fact about Madeira:

"Christopher Columbus came to the Madeira Archipelago in 1478, marrying Filipa Moniz, the daughter of Bartolomeu Perestrelo, the first governor of Porto Santo. She died shortly after giving birth to their son. Their house has been made into a small museum in Porto Santo."

We will continue to add more "interesting facts about Madeira" from time to time. Porto Santo is one of only two inhabited islands in the Madeira Archipelago which we hope to visit this summer.

The beginnings of the partial sunset view.

As we lounge most of the day while I await recovery from the illness, we only need to lift our eyes from the task of the moment and there it is...the view.

Throughout the day the view changes as fluffy white clouds roll in, at times tinged with gray, all laced within the bright blue of a cloudless sky begging to appear and rule the horizon.

The pink clouds were quite a vision.

An island, in the sometimes rough waters of the Atlantic Ocean has a rapidly changing climate. We've excitedly observed these changes over this past week each time we've looked up from the task of the moment whether it's washing dishes, researching for the future or writing to you here.

Waffle like clouds fill the sky.

Several times each day we open the heavy glass doors in order to savor the views of the changing scenery before us, at times the hills shrouded in shadows from the ominous clouds or sheathed in sunlight when it clears.

Its interesting to watch the progression of the clouds as they cast shadow on the island and the ocean.

Its difficult to distinguish the ocean from the sky, the blues melding into one huge mass of color. At times, white caps are clearly visible in the sea and at others, its as calm as glass.

We only know too well about the rough seas of the Atlantic Ocean when we made the crossing last April with 50 foot, 15.24 meters swells lasting for three full days.

The billowing smoke to the right was from an outdoor grill.

In a little over three months, on August 31, 2014, we'll again make the crossing when we sail from Harwich, UK to Iceland to Boston, MA, USA where we'll stay for three days visiting family.

With a lack of trepidation, we anticipate this next crossing with a sense of excitement and enthusiasm to once again be at sea which has proven to be one of our favorite elements of our travels.

The gray clouds cast a shadow on the sea.

Of course, cruising is most enjoyable when we can avoid the common occurrences of becoming ill with Norovirus, which neither of us has ever had or a respiratory infection which we both caught last May on Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Sea.

As for my recent illness, I haven't quite turned the corner. But, I'm grateful it isn't nearly as bad as the bout a year ago while we were in Dubai, UAE for two weeks.

Suddenly, huge clouds roll in to disappear from the island a short time later.

Desperately, trying to avoid taking antibiotics, I've been taking Tylenol for the fever and head pain while resting most of the day, only taking time out to cook an easy dinner. Tom has offered to get carryout food until I'm feeling better but I'm finding the moving about the kitchen has been good for me.

Tom does everything else including waiting on me. Good care, good sleep and good food will surely aid in reducing my down time. I can hardly wait to feel well again.

A cloud cover over a part of our area presented an opening where the sun shone
through on this point on the hill.

Soon, we're leaving for a short stint to the local grocery store. Tom would gladly go without me but, an short outing will be a nice break after being cooped up these past several days.

Have a happy and safe Memorial Day weekend. Gee...I've almost forgot the taste of a brat.
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Photo from one year ago today, May 24, 2013:

Shopping in Dubai, one of the richest cities in the world was indescribable. This fresh fish, flown in daily wasn't as expensive as one might think in the exotic city. For details of the story on this date, please click here.