Yesterday was exhausting for me. I'm not sure why. It's not as if I was rowing the ship through the locks. I think it was a poor night's sleep plus the heat/humidity. I'm not complaining, mind you! It was a very enjoyable day.
Dinner was in the MDR with Jolanda, as usual. She's a great travel buddy - separate cabins and we both enjoy going our own way most of the time, then sharing our days at dinner. Last night the service and food were both excellent. We never have a chance to get bored with each other because staff generally stop by to say hello. Putu, the asst. maitre 'd always checks on us. Josephine, our favorite host who arranged for us to have an excellent regular table came by, which was a great surprise because she's rarely able to leave her post. Gus, one of the waiters who works in another section stopped by to say hello. I first noticed him because he looks like a brother of my Myanmar friend, Kyaw Soe. Then, Dante, one of the chefs came by. And, of course, we had our normal conversations with our excellent waiters, Jodi and Dony. If you worry about being lonely when traveling alone, I guarantee you, you will have plenty of conversation on a Holland ship.
I headed back to my balcony after dinner and am so glad. We were anchored for the night with perfect weather (80/27) and a full moon. But it was the birds that made it amazing. White pelicans were flying around the ship, putting on quite a show. The photos don't do them justice.
This morning I woke up too early, at 4. After a few minutes I went out on the balcony to find not all of the birds had left. At one point, I thought the bird in the video was going to come onto my balcony. It was still about 78F and still. Perfect for sitting on the balcony, watching the sun come up. Have I mentioned I'm studying Italian? Well, only one phrase 'dolce far niente' . The sweetness of doing nothing.
We weren't scheduled to spend the night in Balboa. The plan was to be there for six hours but because the ship coming to fuel us was late, then submitted an invoice for more fuel than we receive, and then fouled the lines as they were casting off, it took 12 hours. Now, instead of a leisurely cruise to Quepos, we're booking it at 19 knots with 3 engines working full out. The Captain seemed a bit frustrated with the lack of professionalism of the folks responsible for bringing us 300,000+ gallons of fuel but seems happy we'll be in Quepos on schedule tomorrow. I've been to Quepos a few times so my plan was to hit a spa for a massage or pedicure. Since we're going to tender, I doubt if I'll get off the ship, so I don't care when we arrive.
After breakfast, I went for a walk, as usual. This time, though, I stopped a couple of times for conversations with passengers. I met one guy from Las Vegas. We talked for about 15 minutes about weather, pros and cons of living in different places and investments. Later, I met an older man who'd spent eight years in the Navy before joining the Coast Guard. He'd served in the war in Korea before serving closer to home in the Coast Guard for the remainder of his career. As you might expect, people on board tend to be well-traveled, with interesting stories to tell. Occasionally, I leave my balcony to hear them.
I also chatted briefly with a couple on an elevator. They were mourning the loss of his Apple Watch. As they were taking photos of our transit of the Miraflores Locks, his watch fell into the water. But let him know where it was. Talk about bad news, good news.
I met the woman who broke her leg at our first stop in the Amazon. She fell while walking on a rough path. The good news is no surgery was required. The bad news is she's now doing a world cruise in a wheel chair. Speaking of broken bones, a second woman also broke her leg but is able to continue cruising. And, a third woman broke her arm. Cruising isn't for sissies and the reason why I'm so cautious since breaking my leg on a cruise.
And now, photos!
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| 4:15 a.m. Those are two freighters in the distance. I still want to do a freighter cruise but most cancelled passenger travel during Covid and haven't resumed |
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| I was told the birds are white pelicans |
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| Watching the sunrise this morning was peaceful and a great way to start the day |
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| Because I was up at 4, by breakfast at 8, I was hungry. One of the daily specials was biscuits with sausage gravy and fried eggs. The chefs are not from the southern US. Tasty and perhaps could be described as a scone but not a biscuit |
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| This is a typical scene on the ship during a sea day. One passenger, reading. Great views |
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| This was my view while I lost $10 in the casino |
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| The machine that took my $ |
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| The sea day special was...DESSERT! |
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| Not as many cakes as Cake Day, but plenty of deliciousness |
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| Lunch in my cabin. Sushi and dessert. I need to walk more or plan to buy muumuus in Hawaii |
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| The seas are very calm today |
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| I enjoyed some jazz before dinner |
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| I forgot to take a photo of my appetizer of ceviche. And was mostly done with my prime rib by the time I remembered. It looked much better before I started eating it |
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| Dessert was an unusual Costa Rican arroz con leche by the guest chef. I had enough dessert with lunch so just had a couple of bites |
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| Full moon over a calm ocean. The only thing better is that we're putting our clocks back an hour tonight before we arrive in Quepos tomorrow |
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