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Day 22: You know how we were taking a blase attitude to booking ahead? Well, that came to a crashing stop when we found that tickets for our preferred ferry to Santorini - and all other ferries on that day - were sold out.

We’re now on the way, one day later than originally planned, to Santorini in the first class cabin of the only ferry that we could find to take us. First class because there aint no space left in economy. The VIP tickets set us back 56 Euros.

Having wandered the ship, I’m kind of glad that we were forced into the upgrade. It’s a cattle call back there with people squashed into fast food restaurant seats, sitting in corridors, and lying on the open deck copping a spray from the Aegean Sea every time the ship hits a bump.

We’ve positioned ourselves right up the front, in a loose approximation of a frequent flyer lounge, as far as possible away from the cafeteria in which smoking is permitted, snacking on the fresh olives and fruit that we picked up the fruit and vegetable market in Athens yesterday..

What is is about a ship gently rolling at sea that causes people to go to sleep? Does it invoke childhood memories of a rocking cradle? Is it the body’s defence mechanism against sea sickness?