At sea 10/22

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October 28, 29 - At Sea

Today dawned rainy with moderate seas. This is the first rain we’re had since Barcelona and the timing is perfect. I now feel like I’m on a ship. We are sailing the south of the Azores, not the most direct route to Florida, because there are low-pressure areas to the north. The seas are moderate,
After an adventures Japanese breakfast in the dinning room once is enough, there is time for a soak in the hot tub or working the jigsaw puzzle but we’re in code red, NORO virus has struck and so anything that can transmit the virus is closed or curtailed. Condiments are not on the table. Want salt, sugar, jelly, cream? You have to ask your waiter. Staff serves all items in the Lido buffet. Code red puts a huge burden on the crew.
Instead, I take my Kindle and find a cozy nook and read. I have finished my first book; When the World was lit by Fire by William Manchester. It is about the period of the dark ages into the Renaissance and it fits perfectly with my travels. That and my Teaching Company DVD about the World’s Greatest Paintings were perfect choices for this cruise.
After dinner Bob and Bev go off to the show I head to my cabin. Soon the phone rings and the Evens have walked out of the show so I invite them up to sample 43, a whole new experience for them. We talk about our day and the places we have visited and it is a perfect ending to a relaxing day.
October 29
The seas are rougher today and the wind stronger. I struggle to open the verandah door and the sound of the wind howls thought the cabin. It’s a very eerie sound. First there is a lovely breakfast in the dinning room. Nothing exotic, just scrambled eggs and sausage on an English muffin topped with melted cheddar cheese. Oh my heart! One of my tablemates was married to a fellow who worked for Pickands Mather in the accounting department. PM was a part of Moore McCormack in the old days. It is a small world.
Today the lecture series begins on Globalization. It is well attended though the subject is a bit heavy and some folk left. It was well prepared and presented professionally and it certainly stimulated the little grey cells.
At twelve it’s team trivia time. Sid Lorraine (new friends from Stamford) and I join Peggy and Jim and we do OK but don’t win the valuable plastic martini glass with the Holland American Logo. Not at all hungry so I head aft to sit in the sun by the pool but the wind has forced the crew to remove all the lounges and chairs. Instead I treat myself to some ice cream and cookies and head to the cabin for siesta. The cold is hanging in but not so much coughing fits as before.

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