Today's port should have been Rarotonga, Cook Islands. But when we woke up early, we knew the conditions were not looking any better than yesterday. Not one tender boat was put on the water as the waves and wind were significant. We would learn a bit later that the wind was a seven on the Beaufort scale and the swells were 10 to 11 feet. And it was raining.
Breakfast service began at 7:30am, although it appeared that many guests had slept in, at least in the Pinnacle Grill. Sometime after 8am, Captain Frank came on the speakers and announced that this port had been cancelled. No surprise there. Since we had time to spare now, he circled the island doing about 13 knots. He also added that the ship would have to maintain a certain speed in order for the stabilizers to operate correctly. He assured us that we would have a more comfortable ride. The ship was still rolling with the swells, and we were getting wet from the constant drizzle as we watched from our veranda. The island was really shrouded in the misty rain, and there was no sign of any island activity. Of course, it is Sunday, and the biggest event everyone does there is go to church. That is one aspect we will miss, since we always stop at their cathedral during our walk. It has been more than twice that we had been invited to their gathering afterwards. Very friendly people.
We spotted only one frigate bird as it flew past the aft of the ship. Also flying by way too fast were what we thought could be tropic birds. Upon closer inspection from their photographs, we decided they were gulls. On past visits, we have seen some tropic birds here, always a pleasure to capture their flight. Cruising around the island, we did get some snapshots of the shoreline and the harbor. Too bad we could not tender today, but there is always tomorrow. We hope…..
Taking our walk around the promenade deck at noontime, we tried our best to hear The Captain's talk, but due to the pounding of the waves against the hull of the ship and very poor speakers outside, we missed his whole message. We did, however, receive a revised copy of today's events now that we were captive on the ship. The guest speaker did a talk at 11am on differing language between men and women. And a movie, Amelia, was shown in the Mainstage at 2:30pm. One of these days we might have to check out Coloring for Adults.
We kept busy the rest of the afternoon, once again having a light lunch in our room. Walking the promenade at 7pm was nice because very few people were outside in the blowing wind. The Captain had advised everyone around 5pm that he would be turning the ship in a northerly direction around 7pm, and we needed to be careful walking inside the ship. He expected to hit some good sized waves, which he did. The motion continued through the night.
Dinner was in the Pinnacle Grill where we did our usual salads, and enjoyed one order of filet mignon, and one of the chicken jadori. Both were very delicious, cooked perfectly, and served on the hottest plates ever. And we thanked them for that. Dessert was light with coconut ice cream and lemon sorbet. All of us are keeping our fingers crossed that tomorrow will happen as planned. Not very many of the crew have ever been to Aitutaki and are looking forward to seeing it. So are we……
Bill & Mary Ann
