So, we have arrived in Kaliningrad, and as I write this in my cabin, the Russian harbour authority is inspecting our ship. We were all ordered to sit in our cabins and have our passports ready. Just a second ago, one of the officers came in here, looked at my and cabinmate's passport, inspected the contents of our drawers and closets, and left. That was that. I guess we are cleared.

I had a very relaxing day today. It is our day off, and I think everyone really took advantage of it. Some were juggling on the heli-deck, others played the guitar and sang, while others exercised (skipping rope), and still others threw around the only soccer ball we have on-board.

I thought it would be fun to join the ball-throwing crowd. We had a grand time, until I threw the ball into the toxic-looking, green, and littered water. I am still not certain whose fault it was. Was it mine because I threw it a tad too high, or was it Folkwin's who did not catch it? Hmmm. Folkwin and I, along with the eyewitnesses, ran to the railing and stared, as the ball slowly drifted away from us.

The ball rescue started. First, we tried to save it using an extremely long pole, but it was still way too short to reach our target. Ok, ok, what's next? Next, we used the floating device, throwing it in the distance, hoping to catch the bloody ball. Not effective, not effective at all. We were slowly giving up when we noticed an approaching small Russian tour boat.

We started waving, they waved back. We pointed at the ball, and they waved back. We pointed at the ball again, and they waved back. Eventually they passed by the ball, continuing to wave enthusiastically. We still kept pointing at the ball, and they contiued waving. Ok, the ball is lost. "Oh, wait! They are coming back", someone said.

They struggled to get the ball, but were patiently trying and trying. Another boat approached, also a tour boat, and they finally got the ball out of the water, and into our hands. We clapped, they laughed. We thanked them, they waved and smiled. With big grins on their faces, they contined the tour of the harbour canal. The whole situation was quite comical.

We are all getting ready for dinner now. We are still in our cabins, as we did not get a clear signal that all is ok, and that the ship inspection is finished. I am certainly getting hungry, and I hope to eat soon. Food is of uttmost importance when sailing. I wonder what the WBC (World's Best Cook) has in store for us today...