Day 1: Swim down to Portsmouth - err, sorry! Plymouth
Originally booked the ferry from Portsmouth to Santander back in May, but, as many here will have experienced, Brittany Ferries broke their boat so it wasn't as slow as normal. It was slower. Therefore to keep the same crossing schedule, they had to shorten the crossing distance and told us to make the not so short hop to Plymouth to embark.
In years to come, when Greta Thurnberg piously points back to 2019 as the year the biblical floods and climate apocalypse began, we will be able to say we was there at the start....on the M42...the M5....the A38....paddling all the way down to the port. At least I think that's the way we went.....
Anyway, having made the port with time to spare, we were royally looked after by Brittany and invited to stand in the downpours for over an hour while they argued over who's turn it was to open the loading doors or something....
Once on board, we wasted no time in starting the rehab programme
Much hilarity, a blown budget on day 1 and a winning quiz performance later (I will forever treasure my Brittany Ferries pen and playing cards) we decided to hit the sack in the early hours
However, having ignored the usual advice to consult a medical professional prior to commencing any sort of new diet, we paid for it in spades the next day - Force 7/8 winds and a 15m swell in the Bay of Biscay invited an unexpected guest in the form of the mother of all hangovers the next day. Dark inside cabins suddenly became attractive as we spent the next 15 hours in varying hues of green.