Saturday, 18th October

Early early start this morning!  We got up at 5:45am (yes, I know...!) and finished off the last bits of packing which we had done most of the night before.  Ready to leave an hour later, we left our comments in the visitors book and wrote a Thank you not to our host Sara who we couldn't say goodbye to in person as it was so early!

This was the only time we had driven in darkness.  It was fine at first, but around the mountainous area in the middle of the island we were driving through fog which was at first patchy, but soon thickened up.  It was a bit hairy....!  We managed to get into Douglas with time to spare for going the wrong way, but we went straight to the ferry terminal by 7:30am.  At the same time I had received a text message from Sara saying goodbye, sorry she missed us leaving and if the ferry was cancelled due to the weather, we could go straight back there for the rest of the day or overnight.  I sent her a message in return to let her know we had arrived at the ferry terminal and were ready to board.  The weather was very windy rather than anything else, and we had checked before leaving to see if there were any delays or cancellations.  There weren't, and we soon boarded the ferry and were ready to sail, sitting by the window with a nice view.  Just before we left the harbour, Mathew had a bacon roll with tea and I had a hot chocolate, not certain on whether it was a good idea to eat until knowing the condition of the water.

I was glad I didn't eat anything - the water was very choppy and the ferry was rolling in all directions.  It was fun for about 5 minutes and then I really started to feel ill.  We heard a couple of announcements to say that we should stay seated and that the route had been altered slightly to make the journey more comfortable for the passengers, but I was still feeling sick and we decided to go outside on deck as we usually do when I feel seasick, and I really thought I was going to throw up a couple of times but I didn't.  At about 10:30am I was feeling much better and we found a sunnier seat to sit on which was more sheltered from the wind, and the sickness seemed to subside suddenly and quickly.  Eventually the water became quite calm - although with a little rolling here and there - and I felt fine.  Still stayed out on deck though, just to make sure..!

For the rest of the journey on the boat, I finished my journal and we went inside for the last hour.  Finally we arrived in Heysham, England just after midday and we had a quiet journey home, arriving at 4:30pm – just in time for tea and cake!