Location: Villefranche, France
Today began at 7:00 with the morning wakeup call, and Ben and James, who were the chefs for today, reported to the galley to assist in making breakfast. After we finished our meal of fruit and croissants, we all gathered in the cockpit and were given a briefing on the rules and expectations for life aboard Argo. Then we were divided into groups and given an in-depth tour of the ship and the workings of many of her systems, going over everything from the correct operation of the heads (toilets) to the deck equipment. This was followed by lunch, and then we were off for more shore leave. We were allowed to go off on our own, and we split into several groups and wandered off up the hillside through town in different directions. My group attempted to reach an old castle that was on top of the cliffs overlooking the harbor, but with the exception of one of us, we didn’t manage to get there owing to a wrong turn. Upon our return to Argo, we took our swim test, which consisted of everyone swimming three laps around the ship and then treading water for ten minutes. This was followed by showers, a little free time, and then dinner and Squeeze, where we talked about the day a little. Then after clean up, we were given a presentation on generally what we could expect to see and the places we would be going over the next 88 days.
Pictured: Oleg enjoying time on deck; Emmalee and Natalie all smiles, and Argo crew enjoying gelato in Villefranche.