at Sea
We are still heading somewhat west as the sunrise it right out our window. We are hauling. As fast as a cruise ship can go. Maybe 18 mph. We are supposed to have a rough night as the area we will be traveling through has some major swells.
We called some golf courses in Mexico. They are above our level of play. We don’t think we are good enough to pay $300 – $400 for a round of golf. We are going to pass on golf in Mexico. We have two stops. First stop is Manzanillo and the second is Puerto Vallarta. The excitement for the for the first stop for many passengers is the Super Walmart which is located closed to the pier. We have been on the ship for about 25 days and there are things we need. Medicines are difficult to find in other countries, especially over the counter. They don’t have the same ingredients, they have different names, or they don’t exist.
We planned the two stops during lunch today since golf is off the list. We will do a hike in Manzanillo and in Puerto Vallarta we will visit old town.
Group trivia was interesting. Most we could answer. 3 points for what LAN stands for in computer network lingo. The sea that separates Turkey and Russia. We missed the ABBA tune that is spelled the same forward and backward. Mama Mia didn’t work. Here is the question for all time. What are the names of the three wise men? We tried Jeff, Clare and Richard but that didn’t work. Mary said we have got to get our guys to go to church. I told her I went to catholic school for 12 years and also taught at a Catholic University. I didn’t even know the wise men had names.
What better thing to do at 3 in the afternoon than an ice cream social? We were on the Lido early because we knew the line would wrap around the ship. There was a barbershop quartet near the Sea View bar but the crowd really kept us from enjoying it. The ice cream and toppings were great!
Dinner time is an experience. Every single employee that you pass welcomes you when you walk in and thanks you for coming on the way out. If they know your name, they use it. It’s hard to unlearn this kind of treatment when we get back home. Here everyone is using English as a second language and the folks that serve us back home struggle with their first and only language. I know it is a business and this is their model. It is the reason that so many come back and do this again.
Rumors about a change in itinerary are floating around the ship. Some think we may go around Africa. HAL is supposed to make a decision soon as we pick up a new Captain in Honolulu.
The evening entertainment was vocalist and comedienne Michelle Montouri. Beautiful and powerful voice. She did some Bond tunes, a few Carpenters numbers, Etta James. Wonderful performance. Her humor was ok. Unlike Chris Pendleton who is very striking and thin but for stage reasons had on a fat suit, Michelle had on no such costume but appeared similar. It was a distraction to her voice. I would reconsider my costume. Voice 10. Act was an 8.…