Another day at sea, but a far different one. The skies were dark with clouds, but it was still warm and humid. Yesterday at noon, we were located about 6 degrees south of the Equator. Today, Captain Jonathon mentioned that we were 1 degree south, and would cross the “line” at 9pm this evening. You would expect the temperature to be unbearable, but with the cloud cover, and eventual rain showers, we stayed relatively comfortable at the Seaview pool.
We received a notice and declaration papers for a mandatory body temperature check for the Philippines. This will take place on Friday between 10 and 12 am in the Explorer’s Lounge. If we remember correctly, we will do this again before we reach Hong Kong. We have always passed these tests, but we wonder what would happen if we had a fever? Probably get denied to debark the ship, is our guess.
During his PM talk, the Captain described the type of ships we were seeing in these waters. Most of them were large bulk carriers, suitable for transporting grains and coal from northern Australia to Indonesia. He explained that once the ships unloaded their cargo, the ballasts were filled with water to keep them sailing smoothly. Probably not exactly nautically correct, but the idea makes sense. And since there is a lot of shipping traffic through these straits, it has become a hotspot for piracy. Besides a few scattered fishing boats, things have remained calm. As for the 24 hour watch, we have not seen evidence of that, at least not on the lower promenade deck. Possibly the security team is on the navigation deck.
After we got rained out at the pool, we went to a somewhat late lunch in the Lido. The sandwich bar was fully stocked with fresh makings, and when asked for a ciabatta roll, the chef went and found a fresh loaf. Not only that, the three types of pizza were arranged nicely and labeled properly. The few comments we made a couple of days ago to the hotel director, Henk, obviously worked well.
We did get outside a few times during the day, and had the luck of seeing dolphins in the wake. They were so quick, you had to be looking really hard. We had been hoping for another great sunset, but with the rain and clouds, it was not to be. Seeing dolphins was a good substitute.
This evening was a gala one with the theme “White Dinner”. A little corny, but the description said all-white clothing symbolized purity and elegance. That might be stretching it….. although many folks looked great in their white dress clothes, although some chose just the opposite. Black, everything black. One comment we heard from several friends (mostly the ladies) is that they do not look good dressed in white, as they said it washed them out. And there is the “Murphy’s Law” factor…..if you wear light colors, you will be a magnet for accidental spills. Just about Barbie, she will agree.
We had company this evening. The florists onboard, Eddie and Calista, a very talented young Dutch couple, joined the seven of us. Brenda had a date with the Captain, so she was absent. Actually it was the Captain’s dinner she attended. She missed a fun evening while both Eddie and Calista shared much of their work details with us. We have known them since 2008, and have watched the progression of their talent as the years went by. Not only florists, but artists with their over-the-top designs. We remarked about the newly added pillars of white sticks being used in the Explorer’s Lounge floral piece. Single stem flowers now occupy little glass vials of water, which are attached to the sticks. This type of floral design showed up on the Eurodam last fall. Eddie said they were the ones to develop this concept, and HAL liked it so much, it is now the basic flower arrangement on all of their ships in the fleet. Pretty well-earned bragging rights, we think.
Our dinner lasted beyond 10pm, and we even had more company when friend Susie joined us. We all had a good chuckle when at 9pm, we paused and swore we felt the “bump” when we went over the Equator.
Back in our room, there were two gifts waiting…..they were secrid aluminium RFID-NFC card protectors. Not sure what any of that description refers to? OK, they are pocket-sized cases with metal for protecting credit cards, we think. It has been a long time since we got gifts, that we almost forgot about getting them. Now we just have to find out how they work.
Hope the weather improves tomorrow, as we sail north towards the Philippines.
Bill & Mary Ann
