Equatorial musings
Lima was hot and sunny. I got a little heat sick, and pink. Salavery was hot and humid; fortunately I found a straw hat with chin strap and wide brim at a small market that had been set up on the pier. Manta was HOT and HUMID. It was also cloudy, so foolish me dismissed the sunscreen and wore short sleeves. Yeah, yeah. All least I took the hat. Now I have red spots all over arms and hands. I hate heat and humidity. The next three ports? 93, 96, 97, with a little less humidity. On board, coming inside after walking on the promenade is heaven, a blast of cool air you don't have to swim through.
On 4/17 sunrise was at 6:18, and sunset was 6:12. We crossed the equator last eve around 8:15pm.
The wine stewards know us by name now, and the bar attendants greet us warmly. We get invitations to the special wine tastings; a couple of days ago we tasted 6 premium wines and today is blind tasting red wines (yes, you pay for them). Many wines by the glass at dinner or in the bars are almost Seattle prices. Wines by the bottle are marked way up, but the prices are oddly inconsistent. Some lower end wines are 4 to 5 times more than Costco, say, but several higher end wines are only doubled. Decisions, decisions!
I need to get the laundry bag filled up. I did rinse out some stretchy items, since the laundry service is hot water, hot dry, and hot iron, and these items will not do well. There is a small 'self-service laundry' on board, which consists of four tired front loaders and dryers in a small hot room. It is quite popular, and there are rumors of fisticuffs. Frequent cruisers tell me that self-service is quite rare in any fleet. The laundry bag I'll be filling up is smaller than a pillowcase; you itemize and stuff as much as you can into it for $20, and it will come back the next day, clean, ironed, and folded. One also has the choice of sending individual items at so much per piece, choosing drycleaning, or buying a 'package' for the cruise.
At about 11 pm a couple of nights ago, the three tones that signal an announcement sounded, and the officer of the watch said that a smoke alarm in the bowels of the ship had gone off. She sounded a bit stressed, emphasised that it was being investigated, and that no action was required at this time by any passengers. A safety drill is required for all passengers before the ship sails, so we all are supposed to know which tones indicate danger, where the life jackets are, and which life raft station to gather at. Seven more announcements by the captain and cruise director repeated in four languages informed us that it was a smoke alarm by the garbage incinerator, and that no action was required of the guests. Rumor has it that some passengers panicked and ran up and down the corridor screaming, I heard nothing. I figured that if it was bad, there would be time to get dressed and grab my pills if they told us to. JL went back to sleep.
Formal night this evening, must get dressed
On 4/17 sunrise was at 6:18, and sunset was 6:12. We crossed the equator last eve around 8:15pm.
The wine stewards know us by name now, and the bar attendants greet us warmly. We get invitations to the special wine tastings; a couple of days ago we tasted 6 premium wines and today is blind tasting red wines (yes, you pay for them). Many wines by the glass at dinner or in the bars are almost Seattle prices. Wines by the bottle are marked way up, but the prices are oddly inconsistent. Some lower end wines are 4 to 5 times more than Costco, say, but several higher end wines are only doubled. Decisions, decisions!
I need to get the laundry bag filled up. I did rinse out some stretchy items, since the laundry service is hot water, hot dry, and hot iron, and these items will not do well. There is a small 'self-service laundry' on board, which consists of four tired front loaders and dryers in a small hot room. It is quite popular, and there are rumors of fisticuffs. Frequent cruisers tell me that self-service is quite rare in any fleet. The laundry bag I'll be filling up is smaller than a pillowcase; you itemize and stuff as much as you can into it for $20, and it will come back the next day, clean, ironed, and folded. One also has the choice of sending individual items at so much per piece, choosing drycleaning, or buying a 'package' for the cruise.
At about 11 pm a couple of nights ago, the three tones that signal an announcement sounded, and the officer of the watch said that a smoke alarm in the bowels of the ship had gone off. She sounded a bit stressed, emphasised that it was being investigated, and that no action was required at this time by any passengers. A safety drill is required for all passengers before the ship sails, so we all are supposed to know which tones indicate danger, where the life jackets are, and which life raft station to gather at. Seven more announcements by the captain and cruise director repeated in four languages informed us that it was a smoke alarm by the garbage incinerator, and that no action was required of the guests. Rumor has it that some passengers panicked and ran up and down the corridor screaming, I heard nothing. I figured that if it was bad, there would be time to get dressed and grab my pills if they told us to. JL went back to sleep.
Formal night this evening, must get dressed