Wanderung 14

The Plane to Spain replaced by the Bounding Main!

April-May 2007

Day2: Tuesday April 17 2007, At Sea

Noon Position: 25 degrees 46.644' N latitude, 074 degrees 20.918' W longitude, heading 088 degrees true, speed 21.3 mph

Bob:

We decided to try to keep in shape during the cruise, so right after breakfast we did 1/2 hour of aerobics followed by 40 minutes of walking and another 1/2 of aerobics. We may have overdone it a bit, because afterwards I was so exhausted I could barely eat lunch. After lunch we took a waltzing lesson for an hour before kicking back and listening to a rather good talk on the Azores and what to see and do there.

At 3 p.m. we competed in a miniature golf tournament on the uppermost deck. So many people wanted to participate that there really wasn't enough time allotted for them all to "play through". As a result we all had to play rather hurried games and that made it a bit less fun than it otherwise would have been. Needless to say, we didn't come in the top three scores for which prizes were awarded and thus had only our "Ship Shape Dollars" to console us.

Monika:

We woke up around 6:30, but really it was 7:30 since we lost an hour overnight. So we decided to start our quest for "Ship Shape Dollars" before breakfast. "Ship Shape Dollars" are handed out for certain activities and can be redeemed at the end of the cruise for merchandise. "Aerobics" was our first activity and for half an hour we walked, did the grapevine, kicked or legs, and did other aerobic activities. After that we were ready for a light breakfast before embarking on our second activity, the 1-mile walk. We went all out and walked for two miles, but still got only 1 Ship Shape Dollar (apiece). At the end we saw some other folks doing some very light activities led by an R.C. crewmember. So we joined them for our third Ship Shape Dollar of the morning. This was slow stretching and flexibility , the perfect cool down after our morning of exercising. After that we had another small breakfast, found some deck chairs in the shade, and I was watching the oh-so-blue sea go by while Bob was checking our noon position.


 

Bob:

I was too tired to walk another mile, so we just read a bit before rousing ourselves again to shower and dress in our formal outfit's for the Captain's reception at 5 p.m. Waiting to have our picture taken with the Captain, I was distracted the little red dress of the woman directly in front of me. It consisted of nothing from the waist up and very little from the waist down. What there was of it in between was vivid fire engine red and looked more as if it had been painted on than worn as a garment. Whoever it was had a very attractive aft section, so as I was standing right in back of her I kind of had trouble keeping my eyes from drifting downward. However, once we gained entrance, Monika enjoyed some free champagne and we had a chance to actually do some dancing while waiting for the Captain to introduce the ship's officers.

Right after the reception we had dinner with Rick, Brigitte and Dave, and we were all talking so fast and furiously that they actually dimmed the lights in the dining room to chase us out before the second seating folks arrived. It reminded me of dimming the lights to signal an intermission is over at an opera, but having it happen at a dinner table was a first for me! The performance that evening was "Tango Buenos Aires", which turned our to be a potpourri of song and dance acts set to tango music. I liked it, but the folks at our table who had actually lived in Argentina thought it lacked authenticity compared to the "real thing" in Buenos Aires. After that we read a bit and turned in for the night.

Monika:

After lunch it was time for a dance lesson. On today's agenda was the waltz. Bob and I hadn't danced for a long time, so it was good that they started with the basics. And after a while things seem to come back. Nothing like going on a cruise to re-discover old skills. After that was a lecture on the Azores. The lecturer was somewhat rambling, but it at least gave us some idea of what we are going to see. From the lecture we hurried to join a mini golf tournament where we at least earned a Ship Shape Dollar apiece if not a prize.

After that it was time to throw on our formal clothing for the Captain's reception before the formal dinner. A live band was playing, so we joined other couples on the dance floor before the Captain introduced his officers. The evening show was "Tango Buenos Aires", a couple dancing different Tangos and some singers to give them a chance to catch their breath and change costumes. An enjoyable show.

Bob:

Usually I have pretty dull, ordinary dreams during the night, certainly nothing to write home about. But around 3 a.m. the ship's motion became more pronounced and my subconscious incorporated that movement into a rather disturbing dream. The side to side rolling motion felt something like the lateral force you can get in an out-of-control spinning airplane (yes I have done that), so my subconscious painted the rather vivid picture of my being in an airplane spinning out of control toward the ground. Well, I wasn't too worried at the first revolution, but I started to get concerned by the second revolution of exactly how close I was getting to the ground, and by the third revolution I finally was sufficiently frightened to jolt myself awake. But the curious thing was that the motion of the ship's rocking of course continued even after I had awakened, so I had to lay there for a moment and try to figure out exactly where in the world I really was and what was actually happening. After that, it was just a matter of getting used to the slow rolling motions induced by the ocean swells and then calming down enough to get back to sleep.
Copyright 2007 by R. W. Holt and E. M. Holt
Prolog Map of Cruise Map of Spain Epilog

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