Mila was very annoying today… She sat in the bubble car reading her book with headphones on and then occasionally looked out the window to say – “ooh look deer!”, before going back to her book. I saw nothing, even though I stared out the window the whole time! Grrrr
We did all see a bald eagle on an island in the river after dinner – identified by Keith – look how far he has come!
We used our down time to play a few games of cards and eat and eat and eat and listen to detailed journey logs and “how to guides” of almost everything you could imagine. There was a coach load of be-lanyarded Americans, quite a few of whom were travelling solo, desperate to share their wisdom/conversation/jigsaw puzzle expertise… One man in particular (whose wife was conspicuous by her presence in a different car) talked without pausing for breath about the 198 countries he had visited and how he stored his photos. I felt very sorry for the Quebecois couple that he had ensnared and tricked into sharing their home address. Hilariously they started off too cagey for him, so once he had pinned down the locale, he got it up on Google maps and asked them to point!!!
The cabin was usable when the chairs were up and like the intro to an episode of casualty when the beds were out. Elbows, heads, backs and knees were all sacrificed in the process of getting into the toilet, getting dressed and undressed, climbing into the bunks and climbing out. I have no idea how the aged and mostly stick wielding Americans got into those bunks.
The toilet was an offense to every sense… smell, sight, sound, pressure and confinement were all issues.
Overall, the train journey was enjoyable but I would only repeat it in a bigger cabin and don’t think I could manage Keith locked up like that for four days!!