You would think that sailing off the coast of Senegal and soon, Morocco, that it would be hot and steamy considering that these countries are sub-Saharan Africa. You would expect desert-like heat. On the contrary. We are sailing quite a ways off of the coastline, but the weather has turned cool and windy with some rough seas on top of that. It was a perfect time to stay inside and finish yesterday's blog activities.
During his noon talk, Captain Frank confirmed what we suspected that there were 8 foot swells, with a lot of pitching and rolling. If we heard correctly, only one stabilizer is out to help with the motion. Perhaps that is due to the 25 knot winds that have us slightly listing. He added that we were currently 313 nautical miles off of the coast of Senegal with 555 nautical miles to reach our next port of Tenerife. In addition, we are sailing in waters that are 10,000 feet deep at a speed of 16.5 knots. The high of the afternoon was 69 degrees with the sea water at 73 degrees. He promised the sea swells would reduce to about 4 feet by tomorrow. We sure hope he is correct. The other news was that we will need to put the clocks ahead one more hour this evening, which we basically don't like. The secret to that is getting to bed early. We are pretty good at that activity.
The Captain's nautical topic was about the Tropic of Cancer, which we are currently approaching. We will pass that imaginary line on April 7th when we dock in Tenerife, Canary Islands. These middle latitudes compromise 40% of the world's surface. The name "Cancer" comes from a constellation in the sky. The rest of his explanation was too technical to understand quickly.
We had a productive day online with pictures and reports. When these upcoming ports start to arrive one after the other, we will need to do online info searches well ahead of time. There will not be a lot of sea days to work it out in a timely manner. But we will give it our best try.
A few days ago, we received an invitation from Captain Frank, his wife Alexandra, Kimberly, Henk and Christel along with many officers to an "Aperol Spritz Party" at the Lido poolside at 5pm. We had no idea what kind of drink that was, mostly due to the fact we are not into the wines. Yesterday we happened to run into Henk while he and Christel were on their dual bike in the Plateau area of Praia. So, we asked what kind of drink that was, and Henk said, don't worry, you will be able to order anything you want. He knows we do not care for the wine. Anyway, this was a small affair for the President's Club members only, although the number of staff and officers probably outnumbered the guests.
The far end of the Lido pool area was cordoned off and set with festive tables with orange accents. A bar set-up was in the center where the full service beverages were available. We found a table for four in the shade. It figures that the sun decided to make an appearance at 5pm. Bob and Martha joined us for a fun hour of special canapes and drinks. Daphne, the guest relations manager joined us as well. We all have known her since the early 2000's.
The waiters brought a tray of a shrimp seafood salad in a wine glass of all things. They also included a spoon to eat it. They followed that with a tray of breaded shrimp that were huge with a side of another seafood appetizer. Dips of teriyaki or soy came with the seafood. Not wanting to chance a reaction, I passed on the food, as did Bill. We had snacked on some pretzels in our room prior to coming here. Before the cocktail hour was up, Henk came and joined the four of us, and we chatted mostly about next year's grand world voyage until it was time for the gathering to conclude. We were the last ones to leave.
Shortly before dinner, the sun went down in a mostly cloudless sky. It looked really promising until it dipped below those horizon clouds. At least the sky lit up nicely and there was some pretty colors in it. Dinner was good with a chicken appetizer that was close to the one with smoked chicken slices a few days ago. We could eat those every night, much like the Caesar salads we enjoy most nights. Our mains were one smoked brisket with mashed potatoes and beans, while the comfort dish of the day was the Salisbury steak with mushroom gravy. Mashed potatoes and peas and carrots came on the side. We ended the meal with one scoop of vanilla ice cream and one orange sorbet. Then we had to set the clocks ahead one hour. We missed the show of the singer by the name of Parry Ace, a rock and roll star. He is one of the entertainers in the Rolling Stones Lounge, but took the microphone in the World Stage for a change.
One more relaxing day at sea and we will be in the Canary Islands.
Bill & Mary Ann
