Cannot believe it is the start of November already. Where has the time gone? Our parents always say the older they got, the faster the time went by. Now….we get it. They were correct.
At high noon, the voice from the bridge, Captain Smit, came on with his sea day report. We have traveled a total distance of 627 nautical miles from Tonga, and have another 196 nautical miles to go to reach the Cook Islands. The weather has remained nice, and the winds are coming from the east. The temperatures are in the high 70's with partly cloudy skies. Tomorrow, we will reach the aqua waters of Aitutaki, where the ship will not drop her anchor. It is too deep to anchor according to the Captain. We will be drifting off of the reef with the thrusters holding the ship in place. And he also added that when we do the tendering process tomorrow, it is important for everyone to listen to the sailors when getting on and off of the tender boats. When they say wait, you wait.
Last year while we were coming into the harbor area, we were taking photos on deck six forward. Captain Paul came down the outside stairs from the navigation deck, and asked if we would like to see the bridge. Of course, we said. That was when we saw exactly how the ship kept us in place without the anchor. Naturally it was all done by computers and the corrections needed were automatically built in. Fascinating as was every explanation of the ship's bridge operations. And what a better teacher than the Captain?
This morning's job was turning in our passports at a station set up in every midship passenger deck elevator landing . This morning during our breakfast, Vini, our Mariner rep, suggested that we could wait until the afternoon to turn our passports in at the front desk, thus avoiding a long line. It was a nice thought, but we knew that by waiting towards the end time of 11:30am, there would be little to no waiting. It took all of three minutes to turn them over for the Polynesian inspection, then we were handed receipts to use when we pick them up November 5th.
The usual sea day lectures went on but one that was interesting was about seabirds – the great ocean voyagers. We can never learn enough about these birds, especially when we see them up close and personal. We have certainly missed seeing the antics of the masked and brown boobys, as they do not seem to be in this area. In the last couple of days, we have seen a total of two flying fish and only two or three single birds flying in the distance. There are some folks that are hopeful in spotting some whales, but so far we have seen none. Only the Captain and his officers saw one when we began this 3- day sailing eastbound.
Dinner in the dining room had a decidedly Indian theme, because we believe it is the Feast of Diwali Day in India and other parts of the world such as in Fiji. Many appetizers and entrees had some kind of curry or masala seasoning, as well as one of the desserts. Head Chef Kamal happened to stop by for a chat, and we wished him Happy Diwali. He was delighted we remembered and thanked us with a bow. Of course, that led into a discussion all about the Feast of Light and also the Feast of Colors. He shared some stories about both holidays in his country and where he lives in southern India. It is not that often we have a chef that is so friendly, and it is nice that he can get out of the kitchen and see how well his creations are being enjoyed.
Our starters were a tuna roll, which was presented like sushi or sashimi. The tuna was Ahi, sliced very thin and quite raw. There was some seaweed in the roll and rice, which was served with some soy sauce. Very different for sure. We each had a salad, then the Club Orange special of butter basted chicken with sweet potatoes and a corn medley. Dessert was one scoop of chocolate chip ice cream and one mandarin panna cotta. All good as always.
Tonight, Annie Frances took the stage for a concert on the 70's tunes. Her shows are particularly entertaining and well worth the time going. As an alternate, the Captain had a star-gazing session at 8:30pm at the Sea View Pool. That is - if it was not cloudy. Chances are there were clouds because the sunset at 7:05pm was surrounded with them.
Looking forward to tomorrow's visit at Aitutaki, one of the most beautiful of the Cook Islands.
Bill & Mary Ann
