A lot of people must have thought that today was going to be another blistering hot one after leaving Phuket yesterday. Yes, it was still humid, but at the Seaview pool, we found there was a nice breeze blowing across the deck. It was totally perfect on the lounges, and we were almost alone, except for a few dedicated sunbathers. The water in the pool must be either too cold or too hot, because no one was in it until much later in the day. There has been a strange message about the Lido pool in the most recent daily newsletters. It states that the mid-ship pool temps have been deregulated due to irreparable error. Wondering what that meant, we asked Shiv, the head housekeeper director, if he knew what that meant. He said that when we are sailing in these warmer than normal waters, they cannot cool the pools off. Of course, the heaters are turned off, but with the high temps outside, the pool water never cools down. Guess we will not be doing any swimming soon.
We wonder how many people are doing the new Grand Activities, such as walk a mile, ping pong, name that tune, or trivia? We have heard comments that it is not worth the “dam dimes” (as Brenda puts it) to participate. And people used to complain about earning dam dollars. Funny how that got cut so much. Barb says it has taken the fun out of the big trivia game. Every player gets 10 cents, even if your team wins or not.
Barbara H gave a talk on things to do and see in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Then a talk continued later on about the country with Barry Dreyer. Questions concerning our safety have arisen at our dinner table, as some of our tablemates have heard about political unrest as recent as last winter. There has been skirmishes in this country for decades, but most of the problems are in the interior we understand. Since there have been no warnings about the safety factor, we assume this upcoming port is still on the itinerary.
Working on yesterday’s report after a light Lido lunch, we headed for the library to pick up the daily puzzle and Sudoku. Also needed to exchange a book for a book. Usually we stop at the ice cream counter and have single scoop cones. Today the server said all of the ice cream was soft, because the freezer unit was not working correctly. Thinking it was her fault, we informed her that this freezer is always breaking, and the ice cream has been soft on every world cruise that we can remember. We think that made her feel better, because it was not her fault at all.
Then we headed for our favorite spot in the big chairs across from the Ocean Bar to listen to the band. Just for a few minutes, because we had a cocktail party to attend at 7pm. Well a few minutes turned into a couple of hours as we visited with Barb, then Susie and Woody. Not dressed for the party, we chose to spend quality time with our buddies instead. Our hosts stopped to talk to us, and we told them not to expect us. There will be another party next month, and we will attend that one.
With only 5 minutes to get ready for dinner, we changed quickly and went to the dining room. All were present, and we were only two or three minutes late. Veal parmigiana was on the menu tonight, served with spaghetti and lots of marinara sauce. The serving portion was large enough for four people, although our waiter Slam tried to find smaller ones. Unless you order half portions, you will get the big one. Small desserts were in order.
There was a gal named Lizzie Ball engaging the folks with jazz, folk, bluegrass, and rock music. By the way, she does this playing a violin.
Another half hour went back on the clocks tonight. We will be on New Delhi, India time. The after leaving Sri Lanka, we will get the other half hour back.
One more day at sea, and we are still hoping to see some dolphins. The best we saw today were hundreds of flying fish, but absolutely no birds. Guess we are sailing very far from land now.
Bill & Mary Ann
