Speaking of breakfast, the dining room was crowded this morning, probably due to the fact we set the clocks back one hour last night. People tend to wake up early, and decide to try a served breakfast over the Lido buffet. Not everybody was happy with the slow service today, as we noticed a man sitting near us had to summon his waiter many times to get his juice and food. He must have been watching the time, because he said it took twenty minutes to get his orange juice. Truthfully, this has never happened to us in here, probably because we are never in any particular hurry to rush breakfast.
Going outside for our walk, we knew it was going to be a scorcher today. Having a following wind did not help matters. And speaking of following, directly behind us on the port side was the Coral Princess. She was keeping an exact speed to us, and more than likely is also heading towards Costa Rica. It's nice to have company out there within sight. Also keeping us company was a big pod of dolphins that were frolicking in our wake earlier this morning. Now that we are out here looking for them, they are gone. Of course.
Things to do and see today started with a talk on Puerto Chiapas and Cabo San Lucas, the only ports in Mexico on this cruise. Dancing With the Stars at Sea had a samba lesson. Computer classes have continued in the Digital Workshop. We could probably learn a lot by attending, but since our computer is old, it would be wasting our time. When we update to something newer, then maybe these classes will be useful. There was a kitchen tour, bridge lessons, and trivia. Bingo still happens at 4pm, enhanced with buy one get one for $1.00 drinks (select ones).
As always, we spent a few hours at the back pool, and also in the back pool. There were a total of 10 sunbathers in the lounges. The rest of the guests pulled their lounges under the overhang to lay in the shade. They almost successfully blocked the path to the restrooms, showers, and the Lido restaurant.
While working on a million Panama Canal photos, we watched a movie called Blue Jasmine, filmed in San Francisco. We recognized most of the scenes, reminding us that we have not been there for over 4 months. We have heard from Maureen, our tablemate, that the hills and canyons are are beautiful shade of green with the latest rains they got. We also heard from our kids that the weeds have taken off, and we will have fun getting them down when we get back.
Dinner was formal once again. And once again, several men did not comply with the rules. The majority are dressed correctly, but there are more than a few that come in long sleeve shirts with no tie and no jacket. We have even seen sandals with no socks on some men. Even the onboard doctor was wearing tennis shoes. Perhaps they lost his dress shoes back in January? This subject did come up last night at dinner with Henk and Christel. Henk admitted that a larger than usual number of fellows were not adhering to the dress code, but they have decided not to question it, or enforce it. Why, we do not know. We have seen that done on other HAL ships.
Dinner was good with entrees of chateaubriand and parmesan-crusted honey-mustard chicken. Dessert was coffee ice cream with amaretto sauce, and creme brulee with a carmelized topping. Following dinner at 10pm, was a repeat show of the Huber Marionettes. We are certain it was a good one.
Puntarenas, here we come.
