Today was Sunday with another brunch in the dining room. With the wonderful waiters in the Pinnacle Grill, we would never attend a brunch. Our usual suspects were there waiting at the door for 7:30am to arrive, when we are invited to come in and take our favorite seats. At breakfast this morning we heard a harrowing story from a reliable source regarding the tuk-tuk drivers of Colombo. Actually it was just one driver who followed this attractive single lady until she finally said OK to the ride. Settling on a price for a short trip, she climbed into the back seat and shut her door. She heard a "click" and discovered that the doors were locked. Frightened now, she demanded the driver stop to let her out. She feared he was taking her somewhere she did not want to be. Pretending not to understand her, she threatened to scream. Then he unlocked the door and she got out in a hurry. Lesson learned…..never again. Even in Mumbai, India, we never had an experience like we had yesterday with the throngs of tuk-tuk drivers.
The weather remained hot with temperatures in the high 80's and lots of humidity. The skies were most cloudy with an overcast that never revealed the sun clearly. The noon whistle sounded followed by Captain Frank's talk. He said we are currently sailing in the Laccadive Sea, and area where pearl farming is still done, but with more affordable pearls. It us also an area that is full of many types of sharks. Creepy…. He is keeping a steady pace of 11.5 knots in 2600 meter- deep waters. He is using the stabilizers to reduce the rolling of the vessel. The noon temps were 88 degrees with a moderate breeze and three foot swells. He predicted about the same conditions in Male tomorrow. Hot and sticky.
He added that our arrival to the Maldives tomorrow may be delayed by ½ hour or more, due to the fact that the local authorities have different rules for ships arriving from foreign countries (more or less). He predicted the tendering service may be delayed, but all of the tours should be fine with their timing. The last tender will be at 3:30pm, then we will head to the Seychelles at a speed of 19 knots.
We took time out from working online to take a walk on the promenade deck. Except for a few guests relaxing on the teak lounges, there were few of us walking. It was too hot and humid. Then we heard an announcement we could not understand well from the bridge. They had spotted a pod of porpoise, but by the time people came out to look, they were well behind the ship. One of us was taking a break on the railing to watch for any sea life, and the other did see about 10 of the porpoises. No camera, of course. Hoping there would be more proved useless. And it was time for lunch anyway.
Our Lido buddies know exactly what we like from the custom- made salads to the sandwiches. The cute ice cream server always comes up with our favorite sugar cones and dips into the vanilla first, then asks what flavor appeals to me. It is different every day. Today it was a small serving of the chocolate softy.
Kimberly gave her talk on Mauritius and we do hope to watch it tonight. We did finally get the Seychelles port talk to work, so we hope it continues. Other lectures continued with talks on coral reefs and the amazing Maldives. A movie, Moana 2, was shown in the World Stage, a place where many people can find a cool spot for a while.
Tonight's dinner had some new items not repeated often on the menu. We had mini wedge salads, two types of shrimp appetizers, and mains of chicken piccata and one of shredded lamb with fettuccine. The Lamb dish needed some extra zing, so some marinara sauce was added making it perfect. Dessert was one slice of carrot cake, and one coffee/chocolate pie something or other. Both good of course.
Timeless was in the World Stage this evening performed by the Repertory Group of singers and dancers.
One good thing about tomorrow's port of Male, it will be the last time on this cruise that we are required to use tenders ashore. Fine with us.
Bill & Mary Ann
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