Today marks our fifth straight day at sea on our way to the Marquesas. Three more days and we will be on land once again. Longer than a trans-Atlantic voyage, this stretch has given people the chance to settle into a daily routine. Someone said to us that they were more busy and getting much more exercise than if we were in port. That’s the way to go.
Need to make a correction. Yesterday we mentioned Barbara H’s talk about Avatoru, which is on Rangiroa, not the Cook Islands. To tell the truth, one of us was too lazy to get off the chair to check the itinerary on the wall calendar last night.
Once again, the weather has remained pleasant, not that anyone is complaining. The seas were a bit more choppy today, unlike yesterday, when the waters were like silk. Captain Mercer mentioned that the nearest landmass to the Amsterdam is the Galapagos Islands, off the coast of Ecuador. The area we are sailing is so far out at open sea, that we feel quite isolated. Not a ship in sight anywhere. And it seems that we have lost the birds, with no islands for them to nest. Many folks were still on the lookout for dolphins, but there were none that we saw. In fact, someone asked us if we thought some of the sightings yesterday were whales. Totally not sure of that, but we did say that it would be a great rumor to start. Oh, we’re bad.
This morning at breakfast, our waiter informed us that all of the berries are no longer available. At least we had wonderful fresh strawberries until yesterday. A few have been saved for garnishing desserts. The next delivery will be in Papeete. In the meantime, there are many other choices, especially fresh tropical fruits. For sure, we will not go hungry.
The Microsoft Digital Workshop held 5 sessions today. In the past, these classes filled to capacity, and we never did have the chance to get computers in there. And we have not attempted here yet. If the weather takes a turn for the worse, then we might explore our options. As most of you know, we spend most of our day relaxing outside in the sun, visiting with friends or reading books.
We enjoyed the first Dive In burgers for lunch this afternoon. Every bit as good as you can get in the Pinnacle Grill for lunch, we prefer them without the sauce and special toppings. The nice thing is that the chef will custom build it – with all the works, or plain. The double-dipped fries are not a favorite of ours, so we never order them. Today there was no line, and the order was complete in 10 minutes. They were still hot when we brought them back to our room. At least the grill had plenty of buns, and had not run out of them.
After watching a movie, we walked up to deck five to listen to the Ocean Trio, the same group that played on last year’s grand voyage. Bonnie had told us that the pace of the music on the Ocean Bar had been slowed to a crawl, and we agree. The faster and more contemporary music is played by the Station Band in the Crow’s Nest. Twinkle, the current assistant beverage manager, is married to one of the band members. Last year, they were assigned to different ships, and Twinkle was not too happy about it. So now that Sonny is here, she chose to step down from the “boss” position, and be the assistant.
Have we mentioned that there is a dance hostess this cruise? The fellows have always wondered why HAL never hired any ladies, but for some reason, that takes on a different meaning for some. But finding the perfect way around having single ladies as dance hostesses, they hired a married couple, both of whom are dance hosts. Now here’s the clincher. The men have not danced too much with her. But that has not stopped our tablemates Bonnie and Barb from dancing with the lady. Perhaps they helped break the ice and pave the way for the fellows to get over their shyness.
There was an early showtime with Sarah Chandler – sax to the max. The first show was at 5pm and the next at 7:15pm, freeing up the lounge for the “ball” later on.
This evening was the Black and Silver Masked Ball, complete with sparkling gold and silver masks. Thank goodness no one wore them during the meal, as they can be spooky as well as uncomfortable. They are made of a stiff plastic with many sharp points. Probably will not be good Halloween masks for the little grandkids this year, as they might take out an eyeball or two. Our table was hosted by Peter, the purser, who was most happy to linger over a long dining time. The reason? Since the actual ball was held at 9:30pm in the Queen’s Lounge, he would miss the dancing obligation with the passengers. Although he would never admit this in a hundred years, we know him well. There was not a chance that we would make it to the ball, mostly because it was over at 10:15pm. Entrees were the usual “gala” suspects. We ordered the rack of lamb, which was tasty, but cooked mostly well done. Didn’t much matter how you ordered it, as it all came about the same degree of doneness. Bonnie and Barb had left well before the dessert was served. If they wanted something sweet, all they had to do was wait until the ball was over, and they would be served a Chocolate Surprise. Too bad Barb missed her carrot cake, one of the very few desserts she will order.
The best thing of the day was the clocks going back one more hour. Now we are on Pacific Standard Time. The staff appreciates this time change way more than we all do.
Waiting on the bed in our room, were two gifts – Grandventure Games, described as a fast dealing property trading game. Sounds a bit like Monopoly to us. Now these might be suitable for the kids.
Bill & Mary Ann
The calm Pacific Ocean
Smooth as silk
Gifts
Grandventure
Custom-made
