Rock and Roll

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ife on the Volendam

We departed Sydney Monday evening sailing under the Harbor Bridge and past the Opera House. The fruit bats were out foraging and looked like crows against the evening sky. Met my Cruise Critic buddies at the Lido Bar. Steve and Chris are Aussies from Melbourne and enjoying their 10-year service 13-week vacation. Yes, that’s right, a 13 week sabbatical after 10 years with a firm. They have been cruising most of the time.
Mike and Julie are a lovely couple who market European river cruises and sailed from LA to Sydney on the QM2. My new friend Rob is from Seattle and flies for Alaska Airlines. He is in his forties and is sailing solo.
Cruise people are a friendly group and I’ve enjoyed great chats. The ship is the sister ship to the Zaandam, slightly larger than the Ryndam and Statendam. It is a perfect size for me, with three elevators banks to choose from. I am walking the stairs as much a possible but from deck three to deck nine is a little much. The Volendam is due for a major overhaul later this year. She is in need of some TLC but is still a lovely lady.
Every morning I have my freshly squeezed orange juice and coffee in the cabin before making my way to the Lido buffet for smoked salmon with cream cheese, capers and onions and fresh fruit and cereal. Hoping to eat fairly healthy and not come back even larger then when I left home.
First formal night brought out the glitter. More tuxes and fewer gowns then I remember seeing. Skipped the Captain’s cocktail party. Haven’t gone to a show yet and there have been no Texas Hold’em games. The piano bar is a bust but there is a string trio that is quite good.
Last night we ran into a bit of weather. It had been threatening since leaving Sydney and during dinner we began crossing the Barren Strait from Melbourne to Tasmania. It is a fairly shallow body of water and the wind was up to 65 mph, whipping up the swells in all directions. As the Captain predicted the rocking started at nine and by quarter past most of us were in our cabins. I secured the items on the desk and went to bed to read. Before I turned out the lights I checked outdoors and the mist from breaking waves was drifting past on deck three. I was enjoying the motions when the ice bucket, tray, fruit dish, glasses, flowers and tongs flew off the coffee table and the water bottle, books and folders dropped off the desk. Overhead, the sound of items falling to the deck echoed. I moved the computer to the couch and staggered back to bed leaving everything else where it was. The motion was intense and the noises of the ship were disconcerting but soon I was asleep and awoke to calm seas and blue skies. It was the most intense motion I have had yet and was relived to find that it didn’t it didn’t bother me. In fact, I rather enjoyed it.

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