A sea day was what we all needed, especially after yesterday's special holiday with bar hops and dances. We noticed far less guests for breakfast this morning assuming that a lot of folks slept in later today. On top of that, the rough seas that kept us rolling and pitching all night, might have left some with a case of sea sickness. The view we had looking outside the Pinnacle Grill window was impressive since the waves were well over 15 feet. The swells were driving hard on the portside. And all of the doors to the promenade deck were lashed off. The closure lasted all day.
This made more sense when the Captain came on with his voice from the bridge at noontime. He confirmed what all of us already knew that we were experiencing high seas 15 foot or more swells. Admitting we were pitching quite a lot, he added that there was nothing that can be done to eliminate that. The worst of the winds were last night, but tomorrow he said the winds will be around 30 knots. We have sailed 307 nautical miles since leaving Reunion but still have more to go to reach Richards Bay. The sea depth is 11,000 feet and the temperature was a mere 77 degrees. That's a lot cooler than yesterday. Tomorrow's temps will be 83 degrees with the sea water the same. We might see clouds and rain showers and the wave heights will be only 10.5 feet. At one point, we will be sailing as close as 21 nautical miles off the coast of Madagascar. Actually, that island of lemurs was on our itinerary, but was cancelled due to inadequate landing platforms or another ship was there. That has been the excuse for several years now.
Our day was utilized processing yesterday's activities. Even though we did not do what we had planned in St. Denis, it was a fun day anyway. The photos showed it. Always an adventure discovering different parts of these islands, making the best of the situation.
Today was also a good one to begin the list of things we will need to take on our overland adventure. We intend to take one suitcase with a weight limit of 44 pounds. We have to plan for cool mornings and evenings, warm hot days, and a possibility of rain. That just about covers it all. One good thing is that we will have our laundry done once during our stay. And everything is casual and comfortable. Nothing fancy needed. It seems that HAL has offered the most overland excursions we have ever seen, so the ship may be half full after it leaves Durban, the city where most of the excursions will depart from.
We kept lunch light as possible, so we had a good appetite for a Pinnacle Grill dinner tonight. We had our usual starters of a wedge salad and clothes line bacon. One of us ordered the sea bass, and the other a ribeye steak, enough for two of us. Skinny fries and a baked potato were the only sides. Dessert was one crème Brule and two scoops of mango sorbet. Then we learned they are doing a different type of accounting now. As President's Club members, we each receive 10 complimentary dinners in here. We simply make the reservations, and that was that. If there was an accounting, it was done behind the scenes. Now it is required for everyone to sign a receipt with the details of our meal and the final price. It gets documented, but never reaches our shipboard account. We have dined in here twice now without signing anything. Tina explained that there had to be a better paper trail, because some guests forget what they used, and what they had left. This way there is no question, because it will be documented in their system.
The Grand World Voyage Band did a rendition of the songs of Santana….Carlos Santana to be exact. We have always liked the music, but our meal did not end early and we missed it.
The only other activity today was an ice cream social, once again in the Lido pool area. No wonder our cute ice cream server was not present at 3pm, since she was serving elsewhere. Probably did us a favor, saving us for our big Pinnacle dinner.
Bill & Mary Ann
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