Report #77 Day at Sea January 22, 2020 Wednesday Partly sunny & 78 degrees

Another lovely day at sea greeted us this morning.  Smooth seas, following breeze, and plenty of sun….what more can you ask for?  As we continue on our south-westerly journey, we know that cooler temps await us, especially when we reach Antarctica.  So we have to take advantage of the warmth of the sun for as long as we can.   

 

The next three ports coming up were covered in yesterday's talk, so we tried to catch up on those during the afternoon on TV.  Every time we turned on the station, it was on the wrong lecture.  We always ended up at the end of the Montevideo lecture.  The port that is new to us is Punta del Este, Uruguay.  Reading the port guide gave us an insight into what is there, and it sure sounded nice.  We would learn more from first hand experiences of Greg and Heo, who had visited there not too long ago on another trip.   It will be a tender port with a 1 ½ mile long ride to shore.  But according to Captain Jonathon, we will have three of our tenders in the water, as well as three from shore.  Good thing, since the time we have there will be rather short with the last tender leaving town at 2:30pm. 

 

A couple of other lectures today dealt with nature, in particular plants that spread naturally and public gardens that grow more native plants.  Wish these were repeated on TV as well, but we have not located them as of yet.

 

Culture lectures dealt with consequences of Columbus' voyage in 1492 and the saga of Earnest Shackleton.  This is perfect timing to prepare us for the incredible journey to the bottom of the earth so to speak.

 

It has been a week or so since we spent time listening to the Ocean Quartet, so we took our seats and waited for them to begin.  Except no one was there at 6:30pm.  Strangely enough, their time slot has been adjusted to 7pm.  The dance floor filled immediately with guests that knew every dance step the band played.  Sure fun to watch.

 

We went to the beginning of the show to listen to Lindsay Hamilton, a British singer who sounded so much like Shirley Bassi, we had to look twice.  We had heard many positive comments on her performance, so we had to check her out.

 

Dinner was fun as usual.  Not all of the entrees were hits, however.  The beef stroganoff was not exactly to Barb and Heo's liking, and the parmesan-crusted chicken was different from what was served last year. The rainbow trout entrée was a hit.  But we also shared an appetizer sized portion of the lasagna, finding it much improved.  And the fun for the evening was a question from Susie, who asked dining room manager, Presty, if salmon and trout were in the same family.   None of us knew (except Susie) , so Presty called Philip, who must have googled it.  Within 10 minutes, Presty came back to our table with a printed page saying Susie was right in saying the fish were in the same family.  Who knew?  Susie did.  And now all of us know this fact.

 

Looking forward to the new port tomorrow.

 

Bill & Mary Ann