We arrived in Marseilles about 11:30AM (Paris time) this morning, and had a seamless transfer of baggage and bodies to the Viking transport that would carry us to our ship in Avignon (about a one hour drive). Customs clearance in Marseilles was pretty long and slow, and there were lots of hijabs visible in line with us awaiting entrance to France.

Our Viking greeter told me that there was a very heavy flow of traffic into Marseilles from North Africa over the past couple of months, and this really slows down passport control, as they scrutinize these entrants extra carefully.

We arrived at the ship in time for the lunch buffet, while waiting for check-in to our room. That was quickly followed by an extended nap. Being awake for 27 consecutive hours is no longer something I can just blow off.

Tomorrow (Thursday) we sail to Arles, to sample some of the famous Van Gogh “light” which made this town such a magnet for artists. We’ll see if I have any luck capturing that light.