Day three at sea found us watching hordes of small to medium flying fish during breakfast this morning. It's funny how some days we see nothing, then suddenly they appear. We are not alone watching, as Don who sits more in the center of the Pinnacle Grill, was also amused by these little acrobats of the sea. The rising sun will hit these flyers just right as they pop up in large numbers. No birds today….lucky for the fish.
At his daily talk, Captain Frank announced that we were halfway to Cape Verde having sailed 1339 nautical miles from Walvis Bay. We were currently 590 nautical miles south of the Equator , and even though our printed itinerary said the crossing was today, it is really tomorrow morning around 4am. The Zuiderdam is maintaining a speed of 21 knots using all engines. The skies are mostly blue with sun and some clouds. No showers anywhere. The 30,000 foot deep seas are slight with 6-foot swells and the wind speed is 16 knots. The temperature has increased since leaving Namibia and is 82 degrees F with the humidity rising as well.
The sunset this evening is 6:30pm while the sunrise will be pretty close at 6:40am. We have not had a good sunrise or sunset since we can't remember when. The best it gets is a splash of color behind dark clouds, then it is either up or gone.
Captain Frank continued with an explanation of the Southern Cross, which is very visible on clear nights in this part of the world. While on the safari, we saw this constellation Crux that has come to represent the lands that lie below the Equator. With the complete absence of artificial land lights, the stars were literally within our reach since they were so brilliant. Anyway, Captain Frank said many ancient cultures applied their own meaning to this constellation, but in time, it became a key role in navigation by the seafaring community. We are certain he could go on for another hour explaining this, but it was Kimberly's turn to remind all of us of tonight's activities.
There are three new speakers onboard now. Lecturer Brian Beck spoke about pirates of the Spanish main, and Dr. Dean Allen dealt with the African slave trade. Last but not least,
Dr. William Beeman explained how humans from Africa populated our planet. Bet that was interesting…..
Project Linus is still in progress as are dance classes with staff members. Three levels of bridge take place on every sea day – a popular venue for many. Trivia is held twice a day, and the smaller arts and crafts classes continued with fewer guests now.
Cake-Me-Away was held in the Lido at lunchtime, which we missed because we went without lunch today. With all of the room snacks we have gathered along the way, we realized we better start snacking on them.
While catching up on photo processing, we watched the Praia, Cape Verde port talk on TV. After numerous tries to bring it up on the screen, it finally worked after the 10th attempt. Then we pushed our luck, and brought up the Bernhardt Nordcamp Choir performance that occurred in Walvis Bay, where one of our hosts presented gifts from our travel agency. Total donations from the Zuiderdam guests added up to $15,000 that Captain Frank presented to the leaders of the group. Very well done.
We have to mention the Shops Onboard. We seldom take the time to wander through them unless we are interested in a sale like the t-shirt special, or we are in need of cough drops or small toiletries for instance. Before this trip comes to an end, we will have some non-refundable cash to spend. With that in mind, we decided to look closer at the higher end watches and jewelry. This should be easy, right? As we entered the first shop, we spotted six salespeople in a huddle, and asked if this was a union meeting. Of course they laughed, and said they were waiting for us. Good answer, anything to get your attention and keep you in the store. On most sea days, they take turns promoting sales with the various items such as Tissot watches or the spring collection from Effy, a high-end jewelry store. Sometimes, they give a 10 to 50% discount for a day. Truth be told, these folks will negotiate prices on the more extravagant items. So we just wanted to look at what they had it the cases, but you are seldom left alone to do it. So within seconds, there will be a salesperson on your heels asking what do you want or like. We don't know…..we need to look. In the meantime, each salesperson might want to engage you in conversation starting with "I love your hair, jewelry, clothes, or whatever". What they are missing is the fact while they are chatting away, we may have spotted a piece that we cannot live without. They don't get it. So what that usually leads to is us hurrying around the displays and exiting stage left. Another bugaboo is having the salesperson follow you around as if they are expecting you to shop-lift. Good grief. That drives us out as well. Are we the only ones that feel this way? We expect we are not alone.
Dinner tonight was casual and we both had Caesar salads, one Lion's Head meatballs, and a bowl of turkey soup Mexican style (good). Mains were one grilled pork chop with Mexican rice, and a KFC fried chicken dinner with creamy mashed potatoes. Dessert was a chocolate log surprise and one scoop of mint chip ice cream.
The entertainer of the evening was a singer by the name of Claude-Eric with tunes from past years.
Bill & Mary Ann
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