A Blither today...

Sunday, April 6. A bit warmer, slight swell on the ocean, blue sky.

Clocks went back one hour last night, and again tonight so we are now only seven hours ahead of West Coast time.

Oh dear, how to make it appear that this portion of the cruise is a bundle of excitement? The change in course yesterday was met with mixed reaction. Almost all agreed we did not mind the ship staying away from those West African ports where there is a slight risk of exposure to Ebola. Where the disagreement comes is the route to Fort Lauderdale. One person suggested the Mediterranean, obviously they do not have a giant world map on their cabin wall. I thought that we could go to South America and creep up to the Caribbean from there. Everybody agreed that the Caribbean was not their first choice to add ports, and staying two nights in Cape Verde didn't do much for anybody. Fuel costs must be playing a big part as right now we are doing 14 knots, quite slow, but economically good for fuel consumption, I believe. It is quite a thing to change ports on short notice I am sure. It is what it is.

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My picture book of the cruise is just about up to date so that is not an option for a make-work project in the near future. I think that I will attend both lectures today even though they are not my first choice. A Marine Biologist is one presenter that we are stuck with it appears. His lecture consists of a screen listing mammals or whatever with the odd picture and he goes through so much that there is no chance to go into detail on anything. I will try him again.

The other lecturer is doing Astronomy. I have tried for years to get interested in that subject, and, if presented correctly, can be very informative and full of wonderment. I will give him a go as well.

My only encouraging thought this morning is that three weeks from tonight our bags are placed outside our room and the long day of travel to our home begins. However, after St. Helena, the day after tomorrow, we have five sea days, then two days in Cape Verde, followed by another five days at sea into the Caribbean where we have four ports in four days. The most days at sea we have ever had, in a row, was seven, we think. It seemed then that we were on the voyage of discovery and we began to feel like Christopher Columbus, with air conditioning. 

So, in recap, after we sail tomorrow evening, we have 12 days before we get to the Caribbean,10 of which are sea days. I really don't mind at all, but I have to wrap my mind around it and feel that it is OK to do so little for so long! Do you know what I mean? I have no idea how I got this way but most people don't seem to have a problem with prolonged leisure.

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When we were off the ship in Durban there was a church service in the Queen's Lounge, which is where they have the regular Sunday service led by a black lady pastor. Usually this is sparsely attended and no ship's officer attends, unlike some British ships. But, when Desmond Tutu was leading the service it was    a jam-packed house and no doubt full of smartly dressed officers all looking very godly. I get a kick out of the hypocracy of it all. I know there are people that attend church for maybe Christmas, Easter and for funerals, and of course Desmond Tutu but don't want to make a commitment to a faith, but maybe they don't want to get on the wrong side of God either. [That is my highly opinionated feeling, remember it's my blog.]

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Today is our 92nd day of the cruise, and it has been my limited experience that about this time into the voyage a number of things happen: 

- Discussions arise about the tipping situation and calculations about the cost to a passenger versus how much money this translates to various crew members.

- Discussions are more frequent about the quality of the entertainment that many people attend every night that it is offered. Usually the consensus is that it is not as good as it could be.

- Some people for whom the voyage is a bit long get irritable and nothing is now good for them and anything is fair game to complain about.

- Some people are getting tired of formal nights and no longer attend them in the dining room.

- Discussions of course arise about the disembarking procedure usually regarding luggage and customs clearance with airport connections.

- The fantastic food on the ship has lost some of its appeal and we are looking forward to our usual routine at home which certainly does not include what we have been eating the last three and a half months.

- Discussions on weight gain issues are more common and resolutions are made about starting to reduce food intake, but always tomorrow. However my brother says: "Just think about all the people on the Titanic who skipped dessert!" 

These are not critsicisms of people, I am just reporting on what I hear and overhear, I thought that you may be interested.

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Soon it will be time for me to be commenting on what we will miss on the ship and what we are looking forward to at home. [A clue on what I am looking forward to is it begins with i and ends in t [i - - - - - - t].

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Nautical terms in everyday usage.

Let the cat out of the bag: The cat of nine tails was kept in a leather bag. It was considered bad news when the 'cat' was let out of the bag, as someone was in trouble and was going to be punished.

Pics.

- Getting ready for dinner tonight. The Great Gatsby is the theme tonight.

- Jim and Gail popped up for a pre-dinner drink.

- A young Dutch officer at our table tonight. He is 34, younger than Canada Ticket!