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| Our garden in the room |
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| Sunflowers blooming |
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The bird likes it
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Not realizing how much exercise we got yesterday by climbing the steep steps from deck three to the bow on deck four, we really slept soundly last night. Having the extra hour of sleep really helped too.
Shortly after breakfast, every passenger was invited to attend the King Neptune Ceremony held in the Lido pool area. At 9:15am, Equator Sling Drinks were served complimentary until the games began. The crazy ceremony began at 10am, and despite the early hour, the sun was hot and intense. The great sea god, probably Gene, reminded all humans to use gallons of sunscreen, wear hats, and drink lots of fluids...preferably the drinks sold here.
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King Neptune Ceremony
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What is the point of the King Neptune Ceremony? We believe that this is really our fifth time crossing the Equator on this voyage. So for those of us who have sailed from Ft. Lauderdale, we are already shellbacks. The newbies may be pollywogs, or first time crossers. The ceremony today "christens" the pollywogs, inducting them into the "shellback" status.
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| Sentencing the prisoners (pollywogs) |
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Pollywogs getting "slimed"
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We are all assured to have a safe trip from here on out, but only until after some of the staff members get slimed with tinted blue and yellow egg whites, kiss the fish, and get dunked in the pool. Yes, the pool will be dumped also, and cleaned later.
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| Lucky crew member,or not? |
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| Barbara H. is the washer woman sitting with the bucket |
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| What a mess |
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| The "judges" are the officers |
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| They seem to like this too much |
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| Gene, the CD, is the judge |
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| The Queen was Jodie, the lifestylist, and King Neptune was a mystery |
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| Getting dunked |
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| Barbara H. has to clean up |
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| Blue & yellow-tinted egg whites |
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| Captain and his staff |
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Many on-lookers
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As we all know, the Equator is an imaginary line on the earth's surface. It is equal distance from the North Pole and the South Pole. It divides the earth into a Northern and a Southern Hemisphere. The latitude of the Equator is 0 degrees. We both received certificates confirming that we crossed it today, however the actual time was really after 11pm.
At 11am, Barbara H and Irene from shore excursions gave a shared talk on the tours available for the rest of this voyage. That will include the ports in Cape Verde and several Caribbean stops. Cannot believe there are only 17 days left to go for most folks.
Easter is on the way too. There was a signup for the annual Easter bonnet competition. Last year, there were two winners....one lady and one man, who was daring enough to enter his decorated hat. That got a few laughs from the crowd for sure.
Mr. Benedict spoke about the Spanish Inquisition and the relation to discovering new constellations. We heard that the star-gazing on deck ten was pretty good at 11pm last night. Our tablemates learned a few things, because they participated.
There was an early show at 7:15pm, the only one for tonight. The Divas of Motown entertained the crowd. Some loved it, and others admitted it was not their cup of tea.
Dinner was good with entrees of turkey and chile rellenos. Maureen came late and quizzed us with trivia. We got 2 out of 15. Pretty bad.......
A Rock the Boat Party was held in the Crows Nest at 9:30pm. We think this was an attempt to sell more drinks. We have recently heard a rumor that the price of beverages may be going up next year, since the participation has been low.
Another day at sea tomorrow, and one day closer to Cape Verde.
