Finally, we all have a day at sea to do whatever we wish. And that appeared to be "sleeping in" later according to the do not disturb cards left in the doors of the cabins surrounding us. Actually, we were almost late due to putting the clocks ahead ½ hour last night. It is one of those places in the world where they have the ½ difference, and in a few days, we will do the ½ hour again, making the full hour difference.
It was another warm and humid day once again after leaving the Tuamotu archipelago with temperatures in the low 80's and humidity at 79%. The winds were 15.5 mph and the ship's speed was 13 knots. Now that we know that the problem with the propulsion has been fixed, we can rest easy knowing that the Zaandam will get us back to San Diego on time.
It was a good day to catch up on photos from the last couple of days. For the rest of the guests, there were two new speakers onboard dealing with world changes and deep history into the Marquesas, our final destination. The usual activities resumed and an Asian afternoon tea took place in the upper dining room. We have never attended a tea since that is about when we order a sea day room service lunch. That was one Cobb salad, a BBQ pulled pork sandwich, and a bowl of chicken noodle soup. They still make it with spaghetti, but it has grown on me.
Captain Thomas came on with his daily update saying we had traveled 269 nautical miles from Fakarava, and we still had 278 nautical miles to reach Nuku Hiva. He added that the weather will be the same in the Marquesas, but we might get light rain. Light? Not exactly, but that's to be told tomorrow. The ship is experiencing a deep swell of 7 feet, keeping us off balance at times.
Then Dario, the cruise director, came on with his afternoon run-down, announcing that it was Captain Thomas's birthday. He teased the captain by saying he was 21 again.
There was a fairly good sunset with a couple of seabirds to watch.
After a productive afternoon, dinner time arrived. One of our favorite starters has to be chicken tenders, which was on the menu. One of us had three pieces instead of two. We each had the Caesar salad followed by mains of a pork chop, and one fettuccini dish with pancetta. Dessert was one chocolate flan-type treat, and the other had one scoop of chocolate chip ice cream, a childhood favorite.
Showtime featured a young gal by the name of Irina Guskova, a violinist with a varied repertoire . She went from classical to country.
Nuku Hiva....here we come.
Bill & Mary Ann
34 Pictures
