.
A gorgeous day at sea, I decided to giv
Saturday April 23rd.I thought I'd give myself a break and combine this post with Sundays. I slept well after my hypnosis session, and talking to others who were on stage too, found that they did as well... We were in no rush to rise and greet the day so took our time getting shipshape then headed up for brekky, taking our time there too. After that we spent time at the spa in the pool & steam room.
.
The next thing we knew it was time for trivia, far too taxing for my brain when I'm so vegged out but by gosh and by golly we won. Our prize was "Cadbury Easter eggs", the genuine English ones, they are in the fridge waiting for me to attack them. There were two trivia sessions today being a sea day, but I was not feeling up to doing the second one, I'm sure the team will fare just as well without me, perhaps it was too much sun this morning. I'm just waiting for Dorothy to get back.
.
Tonight is another formal, it's far too hot to get all gussied up really but it's a tradition and even though I'm travelling "tuxless" the collar & tie feels alien about my neck since I've been retired.
.
I'm sitting on the couch with the drapes open looking out past the balcony to the sea, one of my favorite sights is the enormous ocean devoid of all normal day to day things we take for granted. Just me and the sea at peace, a very special feeling, hypnotic even, in it's own way. The sun hangs there, waiting to drop over the horizon within the hour, day becomes night and another circle completed.
.
Time to gather my wits and get dressed for dinner, Ohhhhh, Dorothy's back from trivia, they came 3rd. With 14 out of 20, the winners had 17 correct. As if I would mention anything about me not being there:)
.
I was not in the mood to eat but went to dinner anyway, We really enjoy the company of Volker and his wife Jo. He keeps us entertained with tales of his career as a pilot for the Johnson & Johnson company. What an awesome gig that was, allowing him to purchase his own plane and hanger in
Florida. Oh and we all had rack of lamb tonight, it was delish…
.
EASTER SUNDAY, MANTA, ECUADOR.
.
And a very happy Easter to everyone. The chefs and staff must have been busy throughout the night as we found the ship decorated with Easter eggs of every hue and size in most public rooms. The Royal Princess has slipped into her birth right on time, it's hotter than Hades out there and sunscreen is the order of the day. We are less than one degree North of the equator, so the wise will adhere to the constant reminders to slather on the sunscreen.
.
There is a nasty cough going around the ship and I being no exception have it. It does not make for good nights sleeps for anyone as even if one doesn't have it, the other will keep them awake with the constant hacking. We woke up, neither having had a great night, at 8.00am ate a bit of brekky and are just about ready to catch the 10.00 o'clock shuttle bus into down town. No special itinerary just a general look about, take a few photos and knowing Dorothy, she'll be buying something.
.
It was me who spent money today, on a Panama hat, some Ecuadorian cough medicine for $1.25 and some agua con gaz. Manta is a pleasant city and IMO nicer than Guayaquil where we stopped the last time we were down this way. Manta has become a major port along the central Ecuadorian coast in the province of Manabi, as well as an important local tourist resort. We enjoyed our time ashore but finally the heat got to us so we opted to head back to the ship before the rush.
.
Judging by the number of large fishing boats at anchor as well as docked along side us, it's easy to see that Manta also serves as the primary industrial port for Ecuador's Tuna fishing industry….. From our vantage point on the port side we can see a bustling beach area and with the high being 30c. It is looking very busy. The ship was taking on fuel for most of today, I would not want to be responsible for putting that on my credit card.
.
The Princess Patter announces that David Knight (the hypnotist) is doing a late night show tonight!!! We plan on going but I just may have to tune him out as It promises to be a bit risqué and some of our crowd would like to see me up there (I don't think so).
.
Tomorrow we transit the Panama canal, we have friends joining us in our cabin to view the passage, it will be a lot of fun.
.
Until tomorrow then!
Tony
No comments:
Post a Comment