Superfast ferries might be fast but they're not fooling anyone with all their talk of a 'cruise'. Our ferry to Ancona is loaded full of trucks, their drivers and quite a few Italian tourists. They all have cabins, but there's a handful of passengers who have opted for the economical 'deck passage' little realising that this is almost literally interpreted. There is a nice top deck but it rains for most of our journey so we find seats and sofas in the main lounge. An officer comes round in the evening telling passengers who have dared to lie down to sit up - no stretching out on the settees! We try kipping down in the empty children's play area and are hurriedly moved along. There are a few others trying to find a place to lie down and I am tempted to crawl under a table in the fine dining room but eventually everyone, including most of the crew, goes to bed and leaves us to make the place look a bit sloppy by stretching out. Indignant, I find it hard to go to sleep.
The next day we are told we can't eat our food in the chairs in one of the corridors but we do anyway. The attendant keeps returning to ask us not to eat and we keep saying okay until he leaves us alone. And then we carry on eating. It's a silly game and none of us enjoy it.
Happily we disembark in Ancona port after negotiating the tight parking on the cardeck. A truck trailer has been parked literally inches away from our bikes and we have to bend down and push under it to get out. It's raining as we ride off the ramp but we are just so happy to get off that boat.
The next day we are told we can't eat our food in the chairs in one of the corridors but we do anyway. The attendant keeps returning to ask us not to eat and we keep saying okay until he leaves us alone. And then we carry on eating. It's a silly game and none of us enjoy it.
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| I think the word is claustrophobic |
