It sure was nice to be greeted with a brilliant sunrise early this morning, which prompted a few pictures. A time change can make a difference in the timing of these sights.
Today was one of lectures and promotions. We have new speakers onboard, Ruth Sinai, who spoke about who really discovered America. Then there is Howard Krug, who lectured on sailing around the world 500 years ago and now. The other talk was all about Rapa Nui or Easter Island….better timing since we should be there in a couple of days.
We should be there in Easter Island as long as the conditions permit it. So far we are still experiencing pitching and rolling, but not as severe as when we left the mainland of Chile. According to the Captain's report, we still have 1313 nautical miles to go to Easter Island at an average speed of 19 knots. The temperature today was 70 degrees and the winds were 7.7 mph. And hopefully dying down. It was overcast with brief periods of sun and the sea swells were 9 feet.
Sitting at the Sea View pool, we enjoyed some of that brief sunshine sitting at a table near the bar. All of the side tables and chairs were lashed down and there were very few unoccupied lounges on both sides of the now empty pool. There were workmen doing repairs inside the pool, which has been painted a dark navy blue. It sure looks like the same paint they use on the hull of the ship. The Staff Captain happened to come back there to inspect the work. He said they cannot leave the dark color on the bottom of the pool since you would never see if someone had gone under by accident. Oddly enough, the Lido pool was also empty for repairs as well. They sure got that timing wrong.
We asked one of the nice bar attendants why there were no small tables set up. He said everything had to be tied down due to the high winds. He hopes it gets better the closer we get to the island.
Lunch was mini burger sliders from room service. It is a good way to limit what we eat at lunch. If we went to the Lido, there are always too many tempting things to try. And then you end up eating too much.
Today we received an invitation to a Chocolate Afternoon Tea which will be held in Sydney on March 7th. But it will be on the Zaandam, which will be docked at Circular Quay, lucky dogs. The special Culinary Ambassador Jacques Torres will host the 1pm to 2pm tea in the Zaandam's dining room. A complimentary shuttle will take the guests from here between 11:45am and 12:15pm. Return shuttles will take the folks back after the event. We have to inform guest services by 8pm Friday February 20th if we are going.
We suspect that many people on our ship will be on tours at that time, or like us, galivanting about town on our own. And the same goes for the Zaandam's guests. So we have not decided whether or not to attend.
Dinner was interesting with more choices we have not seen on the menu. One of us ordered the crab cakes and the other turkey soup. Both were very good. We each had a different salad, followed by mains of sweet and sour chicken with carrots and rice topped with rice noodles. We did have dessert with one chocolate-filled eclair and one sliced banana with hot fudge sauce. And the better news of the night is that the clocks will go back one more hour. That is fine with us. Now we will be on eastern time, the same as NYC.
A unique musical visionary with David and Dawn (a married couple) was the entertainment this evening. Promised to be unlike anything you've seen before, we watched as the dining room emptied out by 8:45pm, just in time for them to get good seats in the World Stage.
So much for day two at sea. Two more to go……
Bill & Mary Ann
