Day 27 - Monday Jan 23 At Sea

Day 27 photos

position at 8:00 am: S19:07:08 latitude W155:58:18 longitude
(2150 miles NW of Auckland, New Zealand, our next port)
temperature: 80F and 89% humidity
distance since FLL: 9562 miles

We had a long night back sailing again. The cabin is creaking and cracking and it is hard to imagine that we could have forgotten what it was like with only a few nights spent at dock! We both slept in past the sunrise this morning and after going to bed early, it is a tough life, we must have let ourselves get too soft! Clay decided he would go to the infirmary between 8 and 10am this morning when they are open. Debbie filled Clay in on her new 2nd weekend plans and that meant we could not go to breakfast before 8am when Compass Rose opens anyway. We watched the Voyager's TV channels for a while before breakfast and saw the Brang Dinner menu for Latitudes which was to be closed 1/21-22/2006 to reopen as a Polynesian theme with Les Gauguines. We decided that we would ask for a reservation at breakfast in CR since it sounded like Debbie was at least willing to try a number of the dishes. Though we were mystified by the Polynesian Chicken Salad that began with Tiger Prawns and listed no chicken at all. It must be one of those "tastes like chicken" things.

(Debbie just realized that we had a moment like that from Acapulco, Mexico which is not here in the journal. After our pork pozole lunch, we were hiking up a mountain with Estaban, our guide, when Debbie jumped at the sound of something scuttling underbrush nearby. Estaban said it was probably an iguana, turning back uphill and kept walking. He casually chatted then about how if you catch, skin and cook an iguana 3 times that it tastes just like pork. He went on about roast it, boil it, fry it, something like that but Debbie's brain had already cut off all new input because she was thinking about lunch and that shredded, boiled "porklike" meat we had just eaten. Just as her stomach started to roil, Estaban must have eyes in the back of his head because he turned around and looked back down the path at Debbie and told her, "but not you, you ate pork, real pork, I would not take you to a place that substitute iguana!" We both just about fell off the path laughing, Clay had been thinking the same thing and also wondered how Estaban had interpreted our silence as a sign that we were worried. Debbie told him later that she thought Estaban might have been close enough to hear the sound of her stomach as she fought the urge to retch. Anyway, too funny.)

Debbie is also taking an extra day off exercise classes. Glad for all the toning work because she is really sore in the arms, shoulders, upper back etc. from all the muscling work yesterday driving the waverunner. She commented as she was learning that it is not at all like driving a motorcycle which she is familiar with and expected a similar experience. She says it is all arms and hands. She told one of the other drivers yesterday that her hands were going to sleep and becoming numb between stops and she thought it was a fear response related to her death grip on the handles. He told her that it wasn't, that his right hand was numb at each stop too, the other driver nodded agreement. The other driver must have complained to his wife about sore arms because when she saw Debbie at lunch today. She grabbed both of her own shoulders and asked Debbie, "Are you sore today?" Yes! (Postscript: I tore my right rotator cuff!)

We went down in the elevator to breakfast at CR just after 8am. Abigail, the Latitudes Hostess, was there and we made a reservation for tonight at Latitudes for a sharing table for 6 at 7pm. She said that they had actually reopened it last night with Les Gauguines and the Polynesian menu and it was quite a hit. She said it is still served family-style except the main course is just a tiny serving per person. Not sure what that means, because the menu on the TV they said it was a Maeva Platter with 3 different items. Guess they could be just a single bite of each item. We'll find out later. Tonight is formal night and also Seven Seas Society cocktail reception at 6:30pm. On the last segment we got pins with our invitation on the bed the night before, so we could wear our pins to the reception. Last night we only got the invitation, I guess they figured we already had pins!

Breakfast was ok. Clay tried the Swedish Pancakes with Lingonberries. The lingonberries come in a tiny bowl so they are not actually touching the crepes. That is good because they were better with jam. Debbie might try them in the future. She wasn't sure what to get today. Not hungry enough for Eggs Benedict. There were NO CHOCOLATE CROISSANTS for day 2 after the embarrassment of them she ate on the 21st! Anyway, Adorable, came and asked her what she wanted. She questioned him about the waffle types. (Don't know if we documented it here when it happened but she ordered waffles. The menu says Traditional Belgium Waffles. The waiter asked if that is what she wanted, she said ok. A regular, thin, mushy waffle came with 4 daubs of whipped cream and a 1/4 strawberry on each segment. She just scrapped the cream and berries off on her bread plate and put the maple syrup on. The waiter came over all upset and told her if she didn't want whipped cream, she shouldn't order Belgium waffles. She told him, ok, I know now.) Adorable told her there was only one kind of waffle served. Clay told him about the whipped cream episode and he said, yes Belgium waffles come with whipped cream. If you don't want whipped cream, don't order Belgium waffles. Debbie said but you said there is only one kind. What kind would I order to not get whipped cream. He said you want regular waffles. Debbie asked do you have regular waffles. Yes. OK. The waffle was the exact same thing, mushy one as she got before but without the whipped cream. OK. Now every Belgian waffle we have ever had or made was very thick and has a crisp outer with deep indentations and may come with a variety of things on top. We are still trying to learn the lingo after a month onboard. Debbie overheard the guy behind her order the 7-grain French Toast, which is not on the menu either, only French Toast, which is thick, mushy with golden raisins but no cinnamon. So, go figure.

Then down to the infirmary. Clay limped in on his ACE Bandaged ankle and the nurse asked what happened. He told her that he fell yesterday morning on the slippery spot by the Pool Grill. She asked if there were any witnesses. Yes. Clay could not provide names, she said OK Security would track them down. He asked if he could just get an x-ray. She told him to fill out a personal info. form and then an accident report, then he went back to the doctor. He poked the ankle some and got 2 x-ray shots. The doctor said he did not see any obvious breaks. The nurse replaced the Ace bandage with an elastic ankle brace and gave him ziplock bag for ice and to continue with the ibuprofen and ice/elevation/rest. Good luck and no charge.

Just before lunch, Freddie the Navigator told us that we would be sailing through the Cook Islands and "on a clear day" we should be able to see one called, Mauke, at a distance of about 7 miles from Voyager, between 1 and 1:30pm. He said we are in moderate seas and the motion we feel is from the swells of the following sea. Lunch was a South Pacific fresh fish barbeque on the Pool Deck. Clay had grilled tuna, halibut, moon fish and shrimp. Debbie had a proscuitto sandwich. Les Gaugines performed and a girl did a hula dance right in front of Clay. Compass Rose was repeating a lunch menu and had fish and chips that Clay had enjoyed. While we were eating a kid came out of LaVeranda and sat outside with his family and he had a special black wire cone containing a piece of newspaper. Fish and chips, LaVeranda version. Clay was very intrigued but was ready to put his leg back up. Some sleeping and waiting for dinner time! Saw on TV that the astrophysicist lecturer onboard, David Aguilar, said that tomorrow night and the following night at 10:30pm to come up top with binoculars and he would show us around the sky. Debbie has looked forward to this on 2 under the equator sailings now and has yet to see the southern stars because of shipboard light pollution or clouds or both. Keeping our fingers crossed for this and hoping to stay up late enough! Just after lunch we did see one of the Cook Islands go by at a distance, it looked like an airfield facing us through our big binoculars and zoom not strong enough on the camera to capture any detail. It is not clear if that is the only land we will see before New Zealand on the 28th.

Twice today out our balcony we have seen double rainbows. The afternoon ones were really close and amazing. They looked like projected holograms. First one and then the other just faded away, like someone had turned down the dimmer switch.

We got email from Clay's brother-in-law, Mike from Grifton, NC. He had a brilliant suggestion for next TV's season. "Survivor: RSSC Voyager" Hilarious! Hi Mike, thanks for the good laugh. Debbie says the network will have to find someone else to star in it next year, because we're done!

At the Seven Seas Society cocktail party they honored guests with over 500 nights to over 300 nights. Gudrun, the cruise consultant, announced that over 400 passengers had been invited to the party which meant that over 2/3 were repeat guests with the average number of nights per person at 99.97. We had to leave early to make our Brang Dinner reservation in Latitudes, but we heard that the crew put on a short show. The Brang Dinner was great fun and good food. The chicken salad really did have chicken in it, topped with a big shrimp. They had the whole restaurant redecorated in a Polynesian theme. The fabric we saw Laurens buying in Nuku Hiva was on the tables and on the waitresses. Les Gauguines performed and gave everyone flowers and Clay got invited to dance and no one believed the sprained ankle defense! He did get to spend some up close time with the dancers anyway though.

So, it has been a lazy sea day with the excitement of double, double rainbows and local cuisine with beautiful women singing and dancing, x-rays and napping. All the while with Bob giving Clay the stinkeye from his corner.

Day 27 photos