12 December 2022, At Sea, Atlantic Ocean
I am feeling so content this morning. Especially after an extra hour’s sleep. Now I add 3 hours to what my Apple Watch says for East coast time.
Sorry that I accidentally sent out an empty email last night. Accidents happen, especially when I use technology.
My perfect breakfast was a small Danish pastry, pineapple, orange juice, and coffee.
Just a few days left on this Africa Grand Voyage. All the clothes that I parked have been worn, except for the swimsuit and one shawl. No problem. In Cape Verde it was, “No stress.” In Tanzania it was “Hakuna Matata.”
Jack has been sharing the Christmas cards that have arrived. Our plan is to send out a New Year’s letter. Now is a good time to be writing that.
It has been a fabulous Grand Voyage. There are some grumps aboard; there always are.
I feel so full of joy. Maybe I am not so hard to please. If I do not have to cook it, it always tastes better.
Retired Navy Commander Mike West is our newest guest lecturer. Today he lectured about the Spanish Armada – “Why the English Don’t Speak Spanish.” His future talks will be about naval battles. He lives and breathes the Navy. His wife stayed home, probably because of Christmas. He did make a good point. IF the Spanish had won, there would have been no British Empire or USA. The 1588 Spanish plan was to invade and conquer England.
During Tai Chi, “Coffee with Jeremy” interviewed Food & Beverage Manager Ron Houtman. He and his team have constructed the gingerbread village by the deck 5 Atrium across from the Ocean Bar and between the best shop and the liquor store. It even has a model train running by the many houses, lakes, and countryside. Christmas decorations have been multiplying all over the ship, but this is the masterpiece.
My perfect lunch was Asian noodles + stir fry veggies + pork with milk and Bread Pudding with sauce.
The ship’s centerpiece pipe organ played Christmas music at 1pm.
Then I went to the photo gallery to look through all of my photos to decide which ones are worth buying.
The unveiling of the Grand Africa Drawing was at 1:30pm. “Artist in Residence Benjamin Sack graciously invites you to the unveiling and exhibition of his most recent work commemorating the 2022 Africa Grand Voyage.” No photos. Picture a six-foot square with the map of Africa inside a circle. Smaller circles contain intricate drawings of each port. It is for sale. Smaller prints start at $200.
The Lido served a dessert extravaganza at 3pm. “Let them eat cake.” Tempting, but I was still full of Bread Pudding.
About 4pm the ship slowed down from 18.6 knots to 9.1 knots after a noise. I phoned information and was told that it was for only thirty minutes to fix something – a propeller.
At 4:50pm the Captain announced that this happened after a planned part replacement and might take another 30 minutes.
It was about an hour later during dinner that we heard familiar noises, and it looked like we were moving faster in the water. At 8pm when I returned to my room, we were making 18.7 knots.
Dinner was great. My appetizer was the Curried Chicken Empanada. The Grilled Lamb Chops were superb. Tres Leches Creme Caramel, the Zinfandel Rose wine, and decaf coffee completed my feast.
“On World Stage: Vocalist & Instrumentalist Craig Richard, a world class saxophonist, singer, guitarist, and pianist. . . toured alongside Kenny G.” Superb musician, songs from the heart.
Room Steward Roy delivered my clean laundry as I returned. Waiting on my bed were two chocolates, etc.
We have been warned that internet service could drop or stop at times as we cross the Atlantic. A reduction of bandwidth is expected.
The two pictures above are from the last port in Cape Verde, some of the vessels that share the port. JWC
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