At Sea: Captain Serena Melani was being generous when she explained the weather overnight. It was much worse than I had imagined, and after crashing between passing between Corsica and Sicily, the seas became rougher and the Mistrals howled. Sometimes the ship would rise up at the bow and crash down so hard, it sounded (and felt) like we had been struck with a torpedo. So frightening.
But our breakfast coffee was delivered at 8 o'clock prompt. When Dave asked the server how he managed the heavy tray - while bracing the cabin door open with his body - he only replied, "It's a new challenge every day, sir." Just walking down the corridor reminded me of Jimmy Buffett's Surfing in a Hurricane song. (PS: First Jimmy reference of the trip.)
The outdoor decks were completely closed, so no stationary bicycling for My Driver this morning. Dave reported the water was completely leaving the pool...then rolling back into the pool, then leaving the pool, over and over. Instead of the bicycle, he went up and down the stairs in the interior of the ship - where there is a handrail. Showering was not fun, though there are grab bars. Again, Barbie could have surfed in the shower basin.
My meniscus has been asking for a day off, so I complied, but knew any stitching accomplished would not be outside under a shady cabina today. We tried to go up to the Explora Lounge on Deck 11 where I could stitch in the sunshine, but it was so much rougher on the upper decks, we had to retreat to Deck 4 and just went to lunch instead.
The afternoon was spent hunkered-down in our cabin on Deck 7. Captain Milani came over the loudspeaker in the afternoon and reported things were going to calm down around 6p - and they did. Seriously, at 6p, it was like Neptune flipped a switch and the seas were calm again. So odd.
So... drumroll please, DT went up to the 12th deck and rode the stationary bike for an hour. I was stitching away all afternoon, listening to the British news. Sky News and the BBC are brilliant at reporting what is happening in Washington. (The ship also carry CNBC and MSNBC - and that other station named after a small woodland creature.) When we headed down to dinner, it was very quiet on the ship tonight and we could easily walk into any restaurant. Maybe people were simply exhausted from fighting the seas all day?
We had dinner at Fil Rouge tonight. I had a salad and DT had lobster risotto. Our meals were just lovely. We were talking with our server, a young man from Indonesia (few diners in the restaurant) and the conversation turned to tamarind versus an odd fruit - or maybe veg - used in Indonesia soups that we also discovered in St. Lucia last winter. Then the conversation turned to what is served in the staff dining hall... which turned to Filipino food... which turned to DT's birthday... which turned to the dining manager coming to our table to ask what Filipino food The Birthday Boy would like served at his birthday dinner in the Asian restaurant on board. I kid you not. This is the type of service we have been receiving on the Explora II. Maybe this gesture was aided by DT's birthday falling on the same day as the dining manager daughter's 10th birthday? I don't know, but I will report if this all works out. Dave's birthday is Saturday, 26th.
There was a show tonight in the theater and we have yet to attend a show. The productions seem to always be very early or very late, but this show was at a Goldielocks time, and on the night our Captain is presented to the passengers - so we went.
with her officers and staff.
Captain Milani is quite fantastic, very passionate about life at sea, always telling us about the wind, the seas, the moon and the stars. She is proud to be the first female captain of the line. She is Italian and her English is always spiced with pronunciations like EAST-ah (east) and WEST-ah (west).
After the staff presentation, the Rambling Rovers took the stage. I really do not know how to describe the duo, and I can't find their website, but they are an Irish guitarist and a Scottish fiddler who met in Tennessee, play music, sing, and tell jokes and mostly tell jokes about each other. They were funny, their show was short (and I actually knew several of the songs they played). Not knowing much about fiddling, but the fiddler was quite fantastic. The Rambling Rovers were backed-up by the ship's house band (Filipinos), which were also very good. Drinks were flowing. One guest, a Scotsman, danced a jig for the crowd, and everyone had a fine time.
Tomorrow - back in Spain. Valencia.
My meniscus is VERY happy: 4,262 steps.
Until my next update, I remain, your rested correspondent.
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Explora II
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