at Sea
One more day until we arrive in Banjul, Gambia. We have an all day HAL tour in this port. Temperature is supposed to peak at 101 F. We are doing a canoe paddle as a part of the trip. Maybe this will keep us a bit cooler.
We received an invitation to the Mariner Awards event on May 5th. We each will be recognized as Silver Medallion Awardee. This is in recognization of 300 days sailing with Holland America. Gold Medallion is awarded for 500 days and Platinum for 700 days. I’m not sure there is any benefit other than a handshake and the Silver Medallion. This program is different than the star program. We are already at the highest 5 star status and do receive benefits from this status. Priority boarding, free laundry, discounts on internet and drink package’s and others.
Breakfast can be fascinating to watch what and how much people consume. I’ve noticed that the folks that are the most particular in the way their breakfast is prepared seem to carry the most weight. We have breakfast at the same time and sit at the same table as most other folks do. There is a rather large gentleman with a waist size of I would guess at 80 in. His first round (his words) is generally a stack of pancakes with seems like a stick of butter and a generous slathering of syrup. His second round is a carefully ordered preparation of eggs, bacon, potatoes, and sausage. He places his order and stands back to observe the preparation and will “help” the cook prepare if needed. The third round consists of pastries. Croissant’s, cinnamon buns, bagels (toasted just right)and maybe a bowl of fruit. Kind of a dessert to top off the breakfast. He does get some exercise at breakfast by traveling up to the food counter for every round. It is a real effort carrying all of those extra pounds with you where ever you go. He represents what I see as the larger folks ordering their breakfast. I have a bowl of Raisin Bran with milk every day. I used to have blueberries pancakes once a week but that was back when teaching was a hobby while my real job was construction. Times have changed.
We have lunch near the main pool on the Lido deck everyday. The service folks in this area work very hard satisfying all of the passengers and cleaning the tables when they leave. It is important that they get recognized and that is easy to do that on the Navigator app that is used onboard for all kinds of things. I believe that all of the workers work by contract for a period of time. Much like a self employed person back home. I know that when a passenger makes a positive comment, they are recognized by the ship staff and the corporate office.
Group trivia. The Spanish Islands near the coast of Africa are called? The greatest race horse of the 20th century was? (It wasn’t secretariat). The motto at the end of Merrie Melodies was? The only sport that allows player substitution during play? What color was the White House before it was white? What was the name of wooden plane that Howard Hughes owned? What film depicted Loretta Lynn’s life story? We are realizing that the teams that consistently win have members that have been playing this for years. I guess there is only so much trivia to learn.
The waiter and assistant waiter at our table or the two Francis’s as they are known have changed a lot since they have come aboard. The first one has stopped sweating so much and the second one no longer wears makeup and nail polish. The first Francis is really in over his head. The second Francis is turning out to be a great waiter. Very fast and very good.
Lightning trivia after dinner. Who wrote Le Quattro Stagioni? What byproduct does Coca Cola sell to pharmaceutical companies? Who was the youngest president? (No to JFK) What is the day after Christmas called in England and Canada? What is another name for a mouth organ? How is the speed of computer mouse measured in?
We finished the night on the back of the Lido deck playing cards.…