Today started with breakfast with Jolanda. She'd been invited to have dinner with the Captain and his wife tonight. Last night, she got a call saying "we know you have dinner with Nancy each evening and you're welcome to bring her." She invited me to join her and I was happy to say yes.
After breakfast was the normal walking around the ship, followed by lunch from the Lido. Then a few hours of frustration, trying to upload photos using very slooooooow WIFI.
A highlight of the day was a video call with Matt, Lori and Eileen. They're enjoying a long weekend in Venice while I'm enjoying the high seas. I showed Eileen a card trick and she showed me a magic trick which involved effects on the phone which turned her face into a variety of things. My favorite was the eyes like slinkies. I laughed out loud.
No sunset photos since we were heading due west and I couldn't get any good shots. Then came dinner with Jolanda, the Captain and his wife. I didn't take any photos of either food or company, although I was sorely tempted. Frank is Dutch and has about 25 years as a ship's Captain. Alexandra is German and charming. It was a fun meal. I ate the spinach/salmon cake starter, the rainbow trout main (which either wasn't rainbow trout or the biggest variety of rainbow trout ever) and the almond cake for dessert.
Frank told us about the time when he was captain on the Volendam and the ship's pilot ran the ship aground on a sandbar in the Amazon. It took 7 hours to figure out how to maneuver the weight of the ship so they could float off. I asked which Dutch words he used with the pilot but he said he couldn't say them in polite company.
Frank told us about practicing last night to prepare for docking in Saipan. He's especially concerned with high winds, which will make one of the most challenging ports in the world even more difficult. We talked a bit about ship pilots and he said that they do actually sometimes fall into the water when climbing from the moving small boat to the moving ship.
We talked about the culture on the ship and the genuine friendliness of all the staff and crew. Jolanda and I both raved about the trip so far. HAL has worked hard to bring back the good old days of special food, activities and service on the Grand Voyages and it shows. Frank and Alexandra are both frequently out and about on the ship, interacting with guests and I think that sets the tone for the rest of the staff.
They described their home in a village in Germany, near Alexandra's family. I was curious about who does the chores when not on the ship. They share cooking duties, since they both enjoy cooking. They both enjoy barbecuing and I was interested to hear what that's like in Germany. Sounded very similar to Florida, with more sausages, bread and they make a variety of dips for both the bread and meat. I'm now looking forward to trying a fig, cream cheese dip when I get home and back to the grill.
Photos!
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| Dinner started with a tasty arroncini stuffed with mozzarella |
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| Next was yummy Asian 5 spice duck |
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| Chocolate cake for dessert |
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| Laundry! |
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| Lunch was fish, veggies, mac and cheese and fruit |
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| We had rain, fog, clouds and sun |
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