Subject: Report # 22 Sailing Towards Rangiroa January 21, 2016 Thursday Partly cloudy & 79 degrees 18 Pictures
Report # 22 Sailing Towards Rangiroa January 21, 2016 Thursday Partly cloudy & 79 degrees 18 Pictures
We thought we were in for a wet day, but the early morning rain cleared up eventually. There was something that occurred that gave us all a concern during breakfast. A call came over the PA system calling the medical team to a passenger room on deck seven. It was not the typical bright star alert, so that could mean something different. We would not know until we were having lunch in the dining room with Barb, that a man had died during the night. Barb had already heard about it, but it was confirmed when we believe the minister or bridge instructor announced this man's passing to those of us who were left in the dining room. He must have been part of the duplicate bridge team, so they asked for a moment of silence. Cruise director Gene happened to be eating lunch near our table, and he came over and confirmed it, adding that we would probably know who the man was. So sad, but this is life continuing regardless of where we are.
Everyone had gotten a copy of their shipboard account today. One of us got something extra…..a notice that an Australian visa was missing, and one would be purchased for $35 and put on our account. Except, we had Aussie visas for both of us. We had covered all of this when we checked in at the pier in Ft. Lauderdale, but something had fallen through the cracks again. They made a copy of the form, and promised it would be taken care of. There must have been a lot of errors, because there was a long line for help at the front desk. Some people get pretty testy about waiting. Gosh, it's only a little more than 2 weeks into the trip. Hate to see crabby people already.
Three lectures took place today. They included Barbara's lecture on the port of Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. The guest lecturers spoke about great naval battles of the past, and Howard Hughes connection to the CIA and raising a sunken Soviet submarine. We bet that the lounge is full of guests who are following these talks. Now that we cannot catch it later on TV, the only way to hear them is to attend in person.
We came across a different type of auction today that was taking place in the Ocean Bar. It was a fine jewelry auction for one-of-a-kind handmade pieces from Paragon Couture. We arrived towards the end of the auction and caught some of the asking prices. They were in the $10,000 range. This might be a replacement for the art auction, which will take place in the Mediterranean according to Henk M. The room was partially full of seated guests, but we think the attraction was a chance to win prizes.
Yesterday, we got forms for us to make a list of questions that may be chosen for Orlando Ashford, the President of HAL. He will be joining the ship in Sydney, and staying on until Cairns. During that time, there will be a question and answer session in the Queens Lounge, where he will address the most-asked questions we submit. We have until February 4th to come up with some good inquiries.
We never made it to the pool today, but did make some progress working on photos. Trying to send the photos proved to be a problem, because the internet was down more than it was operational. We did lose several minutes, but librarian Chris credited them back. Could be the area in which we are sailing is affecting our connection as it is pretty much in the middle of nowhere.
The dinner menu was not too exciting tonight. But we are learning to try some of the newer items. We have had a few disappoints, but not often. The winner tonight was the steak with a particularly tasty gravy. One of us had a light meal of soup and salad to save enough room for a small slice of carrot cake. Expecting the denser, sweet and moist cake, this was just the opposite. It was a lighter version with less carrots and more nuts. If we did not know better, we would guess it was a frozen store-bought cake.
Tomorrow should be a pleasant day in Rangiroa, if we are able to make it into the lagoon that is. There is no rain in the forecast, so that is good. The temperature has cooled off quite a bit, and the humidity is much lower. Hope it stays that way for a while.
Bill & Mary Ann
The garden thrives
Fragrant narcissus
The trick is lots of light
Boobys
Interesting skies
A promising sunset………..
Enjoy……..
The moon rises
