Day 5 - Sunday Jan 01

Day 5 photos
position: 7:37:06 N latitude x 81:29:29 W longitude
(~10 miles S of Mamey Panama)
speed: 19.7 knots with a with a 333 degree head wind at about 20mph.
temperature: 80F and 97% humidity at 7:30 am - partly cloudy

First day of the new year. Internet was up early this morning so three journal posts with some pictures were uploaded (about 30 minutes online). They have offered a World Cruise Special Internet package - 10000 minutes (about 165 hours) for $600. As spotty as the internet has been, the 165 hours might last the whole cruise.

Today we are changing our eating locations. Instead of doing breakfast at LaVeranda and lunch at the pool grill, we are eating both in the Compass Rose as a special weekend treat. Debbie is having Eggs Benedict (not on the menu, but always available in compass Rose she was told). Clay had lamb chops with two eggs over easy. Lunch was to be a traditional New Year's fare. We were hoping to get blackeyed peas and collard greens, since that was the menu provided when we inquired through Ngaire's office, but that did not exactly happen. They listed Collard Greens and Hoppin' John on the menu. We think the chopped up iceberg lettuce was supposed to be the collard greens and it looked and tasted like cheez-whiz in the hoppin' john. So, we got ham and about 8-16 black eyed peas each, oh, well... The cheez-whiz was a surprise delicacy! They offered a New Year's Lucky Cake. But, we were waved off it by the waiter and the woman seated at the next table. It was sponge cake with chocolate frosting. Oh, also, they offered a soup called Potage Garbure. Two guys at a table near us called it potage garbage. Debbie asked the waiter what it was and he said it was a pureed vegetable soup. She asked if that meant it was all the leftover vegetable for the week and he winced and said yes. The 2 guys heard her ask and they were eating it at the time and told her it was not bad. She said she would take their word for it but Adorable (honestly, that was our waiter's name!) brought her a bowl anyway. We also broke our routine for dinner tonight by going to LaVeranda's Mediterranean Bistro instead of Compass Rose. It is part buffet and part table service. The food was all very good, but it was very dark in the room, so no photos. The appetizers, salads, breads, and desserts were self-serve. The soup, pasta and main course were ordered and delivered to the table.

Clay tried his hand at blackjack for the first time onboard as there was a tournament with a $20 buyin. You played six hands with $200 worth of chips. The people with the most money at the end of the six hands were the winners. Clay did all right until hand 4. He doubled down a $200 bet showing a ace, four against the dealer's 5. He actually hit a five and was feeling pretty good. Then the dealer drew a 21 with about dozen cards %#%%$$. That ended him in the tournament. Beforehand, he played some regular blackjack to get a feel for things. The tables were $5 minimum, and he dropped $37.50 in about 45 minutes of playing. He will pace himself in the future.

After the tournament, we spent a lazy afternoon on our balcony watching for dolphins/porpoises/tuna??? that showed up occasionally jumping along side the ship. This morning we saw 2 large brown ray-type fish just under the water near the rear of the ship. The captain announced this AM that he had seen flying fish, we have been watching for the them but have not sighted any ourselves yet.

The captain announced that it looks like we will be getting into Puntarenas, Costa Rico around 9 or 10 this evening instead of early tomorrow morning. He said that due to tidal conditions, he had a choice of 10pm or 3am and it was easy for him to decide. We have made good time in fairly calm seas.

We are now docked in Puntarenas, Costa Rica at 9:45pm. The dock is on the port side. (In Key West, we were docked on the starboard side.) We have tickets for Costa Rica's Cloud Forest and Poas Volcano tomorrow. Keeping fingers crossed for a clear day. Our bus leaves at 8:30am so we have ordered our first room service meal for breakfast tomorrow.

Day 5 photos