The Zuiderdam is currently sailing in the East China Sea, and for the last couple of days we have been seeing some unusual things in the water. Chunks of what appears to be seaweed or algae have floated by as we maintain a speed of 18 to 19 knots. The seas are shallow here, reflecting a shade of green/blue color, due to the depth being between 200 and 300 feet. Besides the usual commercial ship traffic, we have begun to pass numerous medium-sized fishing boats. We cannot be sure, but they may be working as a fleet. We search daily for signs of sea birds but have spotted none. Except for one seagull that happened to come near our veranda early this morning out of the blue. It flew away never to be seen again. There are no other signs of life out here such as dolphins or flying fish. We miss that.
We have also been passing dark and white soccer ball size globes which the Captain refers to as buoys. Some have to be shipping channel markers, while other may be weather-related beacons. While in Japanese waters we seem to recall the Captain pointing out some more buoys that were actually solar-powered and used for sea and weather conditions. Normally these sources of information have come from ships that are sailing in that area. Now it is more precise using modern technology.
At one point n the afternoon, we looked out our veranda to see dozens of white boxes floating in one area near some of the fishing boats. We figured they may have fallen off of one of those boats and heaven knows what would be in them. There did not seem to be an attempt to gather them up as they were dispersing in all directions.
Other than that, the day was uneventful. The sun seemed to be coming out this morning, as we were blinded at breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill. Little by little, the sea haze blocked most of the rays although we still went to the Seaview Pool to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate. Today they did have some of the new packets in the Lido.
Kimberly gave her talk on Da Nang (Hue) at 10am. We have been to Hue and Hoi An on tours several years ago, so this time we intend to explore Da Nang. And we shall watch the lecture on TV later. We still have to catch up on the Hong Kong talk mostly to find out where we will be docking and if the shuttle bus will be available. It used to be so easy when we docked where the Star Ferry is located. With all of the gambling ships docked there, they kicked out most all of the cruise lines. Nothing stays the same forever, does it?
We have arrived to another evening for a formal night. The theme is the Zuiderdam Ball where the dance commences at 7:30pm with the first dance by the Captain and his wife Alexandra. Other officers should be there as well, sometimes not exactly voluntary as they have joked in the past. Yes, this is a grand evening reminiscent of yesteryear, and one of the things that has not gone away….yet.
The menu for dinner had the usual appetizers of escargot and a prawn cocktail. No caviar, which is really a thing of the past. Entrees did include surf (lobster) and turf (filet) as well as lamb chops. One of us ordered the lamb, while the other had tortellini, a lighter dinner. Dessert was a sliced banana with chocolate sauce for one of us and coffee for the other. We are finding it better to keep dinner lighter since we are eating later than we normally do at home.
With the Zuiderdam Ball continuing in the Rolling Stone Lounge at 9:30pm, there was no show in the World Stage.
In our room, we had the formal night note card on the bed saying, "Walking 10 thousand miles of world is better then reading 10 thousand scrolls of books." We definitely agree.
Bill & Mary Ann
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