Noon Position: N 16º 28′ 36.00″ – W 100º 39′ 54.00″
Back again. Same old stuff, different day. Actually there are some interesting differences today along with some of the same ol’ same ol’.
We started with exercise before breakfast on our veranda. We’re still heading Northwest so we’re on the sunny side of the ship. Temp on the deck was a pleasant (and very consistent over the past week) 80º. The humidity wasn’t oppressive and the seas were a slowly rolling calm so life was good.
After breakfast we headed down to the Theatre for a talk on art in space.
It’s really interesting to learn about all the things that are going on in both visual and performing arts related to space.
The next talk was in 45 minutes so we hung out in the Theatre and read.
Then we were introduced to famous locations with links to espionage and spy-craft. New York, Philadelphia, and Washington DC played heavily in the discussion.
For lunch today we opted for something lite so we returned to Mamsen’s for their open-faced shrimp sandwiches. Of course that was followed by a stop at the cafe for cookies (and an ice cream cone).
Being exhausted from our morning we returned to the stateroom for a short nap. Then it was into swimwear and up to the pool deck to work on our tans. We also took the opportunity to get Cheryl into the infinity pool for a photo.
We gave ourselves just enough time to get back to the room and get cleaned up before the informal Q&A with our cruise directors where they answered questions about what it’s like to live and work on a cruise ship.
Following that it was down to the Theatre for the final lecture of the day – The History of Islands. It covered various topics including the Atlantis myth, the economic role of islands, various penal islands, islands that are contested politically, and such.
We had a bit of time before dinner so it was back to the stateroom to work on this blog and read. It was Indonesian Night at the Cafe tonight – really good and interesting food.
Bruce’s Brain Busters was another gruesome event – we scored 18 out of 35 (which shows some slight improvement over our normal 50% scores) and was good enough for second place.
Then it was back to the room to finish out the day and head for bed. Tomorrow is our 4th and last sea day before Cabo San Lucas.
Till then, TTFN, R
Learning about crew on the ship – it turns out that “Bruce” our Cruise Director is the only American in the crew (mostly Malaysian and Rumanian). In his 25 years of working on cruise ships, he has been around the world 20 times! The crew have their own deck (deck 9 which is the highest level on the ship) where “guests” are not allowed – and their usual contracts last 4 – 6 months. Viking flies them to and from their homes to the ship!
I spent the summer of 1981 in Jakarta, Indonesia and became familiar with their food. I enjoyed it. Specifically remember Bakmi Goring and Nasi Goring as being my faves.