One's destination is never a place but rather a new way of looking at things - Henry Miller

Saturday, May 29, 2010

A Day at Sea





We are now 3339 miles from Sydney at 9054S and 118007E with 181miles to go to Bali where we should arrive by 8:00am tomorrow morning.
It has been another day of rest and Hobo 1 has nothing profound to say today. He says he cannot be expected to come up with profound observations any more frequently than once per week. He is presently listening to a lecture on Captain Cook and navigation from the luxury of his bed on our new wide screen TV that was installed last week.
Today’s photos shows yours truly on the 23rd – our first formal night - and our cabin which is home for the 104 days of our tour.
What does a sea day involve?
This morning I rose at 6:00am and sat on the balcony under the full moon to watch Scorpio disappear as day dawned. Then dress and up to the Gym for stretch class at 7:30. (Over 50 of us gather each morning for 30 mins of stretches not unlike we did at school each day.) On the way, as I stepped out on to deck 12 to check where we were, I searched the horizon for Sumba Island only to miss a whale that must have been right beside the ship because as my eye roamed back to the ship I caught a view of him disappearing under the surface and could only watch his spouts as he swam away from us into the Indian Ocean.
8:00am: Return to the cabin and join up with Hobo1 for breakfast in the dining room – a great part of the day. We are placed at a table in the order we enter the dining room and this morning we were seated at a table of 9, everyone of us Qlders. The conversation is always enjoyable and a very pleasant way to start the day. Juice, fruit, smoked salmon and baggles for breakfast with as much coffee and toast as you wish.
9:00am: A little house keeping then off for our daily circuits of the ship - 3 circuits or 1km – before Trivia at 10:15am. This is followed by line dancing. Today we learnt a Brazilian dance with our assistant cruise director Nat, a Brazilian.
Back to the cabin for some writing and filling in of arrival and departure cards for Singapore before lunch in the Horizon Court. Today we joined our “wheat planter” friends from the Grand Pacific cruise, and talked rural matters while we dined on scallops, followed by steak and kidney pie.
2:00pm found us in a packed Princess Theatre (550 people) to hear a Tour Presentation on our next 4 ports of call. We will be riding elephants in Bali tomorrow!
Now is rest time before we dress for dinner at 5:30pm and the theatre at 7:45. Tonight we are going to see Elizabeth Lord a “sultry song stylist” backed by the Dawn princess Orchestra before dancing under the stars on deck 12 with Derringer until we are ready for bed.
You can see it’s a very full day.

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