Well today was a rerun, so to speak, of yesterday. The same day of the week, Wednesday, and the same date, the 29th. We do not have to worry about apps because we do not have a cell phone. One less thing to think about.
There was one big difference today that did not happen yesterday, and that was the sailing past the island of Niue on our way towards the Cook Islands. The weather was a bit more comfortable this morning with temps maybe in the low 80's and an 80% humidity. There were more clouds than sun, but enough sun to make the surrounding waters a deep blue color. The winds were over 21 knots with some fairly deep swells causing the ship to roll noticeably. The Captain maintained a speed of 6 knots, which is one of the reasons we are like a cork in a bathtub.
Yesterday during his noon update, the Captain had said he would take us past this island, mostly because he had never been here, and he suspected many of us had not either. So we were up early to see the outline of this large, upraised coral atoll – the world's largest. Niue (pronounced new-way) is considered an island country, a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand. It consists of limestone cliffs and coral reefs and a plateau where crops can be planted. The island measures 101 square miles and has a population of 1689 residents according to a census in 2022. Their currency is the New Zealand dollar. The capital is Alofi, which is situated on the other side of the island. The locals are Protestant Christians, and their diet is mainly fruit, veggies, fish and seafood. The water has to be boiled as it is not potable, so they depend on bottled water for drinking . Agriculture is their main employer as well as fishing and tourism. A small number of divers will come here for the coral reefs. Having been here a few times, we do not recall seeing a hotel or restaurants. There was a waterside coffee shop and a market of sorts on the hillside. Other than that, there were no tours and the only other option was walking the perimeter road for a ways. There may have been a 9-hole golf course on the top plateau. People also come here to watch the humpback whale migration which happens between July and October.
The first time we made it here, too many guests came ashore and crashed their internet connection for the entire day. The market, library and school had to close for the rest of the day. Tendering back became more difficult as the swells and winds increased in the afternoon. So to be able to see the island by sailing close to it was far better than landing. And the big plus of the morning was seeing the large numbers of the white- tailed tropicbirds flying back and forth from the island to the Zaandam. These birds are much more numerous than we ever knew and we were happy to see their activity today. Needless to say, many photos were taken in the course of the morning.
We had another emergency muster station drill this morning from 10 to 11:30am. It has been close to a month since we did the full drill before leaving San Diego, so this one was easy. BY 11am, we stopped at lifeboat station 6 and logged in. During the same time, we began running the safety drill video on our room TV. Piece of cake.
Working online kept us busy until it was time for a room service lunch of sandwiches around 3pm. It has been a good time to catch up on reading as well, thanks to friend Nancy who has been nice enough to share her pocket books with us. These will be re-cycled at the library.
At 9am, there was another port talk and at 11am, there was a lecture about atolls. Another talk dealt with surviving in an atoll – lessons from a WWII pocket guide. The rest of the day was filled with the usual fun activities.
Dinnertime was good with one bowl of doctored-up chicken noodle soup, a Caesar salad and another appetizer. Mains were a lamb chop meal and a stuffed poblano pepper with rice. Both good. Dessert was one scoop vanilla ice cream and a sliced banana.
Entertainment was a performance of the singers and dancers with Hit On 45. So much for re-run day.
Bill & Mary Ann
