The day was pretty much a carbon copy of the previous three days. The weather has been OK, with temps in the 70’s with mostly cloudy skies, some sun, but no rain. We are lucking out. There has been a constant swell of around 2 meters, which is tame for these seas.
While taking in some rays at the aft pool, we spotted five birds that we think were either boobys or possibly tropic birds. We thought they would stay with us all day, but by the late afternoon, there was no sign of them. Since we still have hundreds of miles to reach the nearest land on Easter Island, it is a miracle these birds are out this far. As much as we have searched the waters around the ship, we have not seen any signs of flying fish yet.
Various shipboard activities have kept the folks busy. Many of them are Grand Activities which means everyone who participates receives a coupon worth the equivalent of 10 cents. One of those games happens to be trivia. It has to be the most played game on the ship, at least the one at 11:45am. So far we have not heard any problems with the participants competing fiercely, but it is still early in the cruise, so give it time.
This evening, we had a date to meet in the Crow’s Nest at 7:30pm, for a group photo. Don McD arranged for 12 of us to pose with Budweiser beer bottles with a sign saying “We miss you” to send to Peter, our good friend and purser of the Amsterdam for many years. Since he retired after last year’s grand world voyage, we had to let him know he is missed big time. The ship’s photographer met with us, and snapped a few shots of all of us dressed in our “gala” clothes for tonight’s Rapa Nui Mystery dinner (formal). In his British way, Peter will be most amused and possibly happy we are thinking about him. And by the way, he despises that beer, so he will get the twisted humor.
A neat surprise for the three of us was finding Eddie and Calista waiting for us as our hosts for tonight’s dinner. Not expecting an officer, we were most happy to welcome them. All of us have known this young Dutch couple since 2008 when they joined the Amsterdam as the florists. They have to be the most talented artists onboard any ship we have ever sailed on. Since gardening is one of our passions, we had lots to talk about. We told them about our “dirt” story, and they are looking forward to seeing the sunflowers growing on our windowsill.
They had an interesting story about procuring the flowers that were supposed to come onboard in Peru. As we have mentioned, there are no flowers anywhere to be seen on the ship right now. The real story is that the delivery they ordered was held hostage by the locals, who wanted over-the-top tax money before they would release them. Really, it was extortion $$$. So they had to decline the shipment. Even their adventure to go pick up the shipment was hair-raising. With all of the warnings about the danger around the port of Callao and even the city of Lima, they were nervous about taking taxis there. What should have been a 2 hour job, turned into an 8 hour journey. The end result was no big shipment, but a few boxes of blooms to make some smaller arrangements. One of those happened to be a creation they sent to our room. Now we really feel special.
Anyway, for dessert, we talked Eddie and Calista into trying the Jamaican Calypso Torte, which really is Mississippi Mud Pie. They had never had it before, and decided it is their favorite dessert now.
Tonight’s show was performed by the singers and dancers of HAL. The theme was Salsamania, a high energy Latin performance done well. According to the florists, who spent time on the Koningsdam and Nieuw Statendam recently, they said this group of dancers and singers are gone on the larger vessels. They have been replaced by groups that come onboard for a one or two time performance, like the other assorted entertainers. Of course, most of those trips are far shorter in duration that the one we are on now.
One more sea day, and hopefully, we will be in mysterious Easter Island. It will depend on the size of the swells., according to Captain Mercer.
One more hour back on the clock tonight will be appreciated by all.
Bill & Mary Ann
