Feb 15-16, 2022
"We have no destination menu for this evening because we are nowhere." ~ Azwi, our new head waiter in the Restaurant because Glenn just left us to go home because his 8 month contract was up.
As I type this, we are actually on our second of nine sea days. I'll probably combine a number of them because when you're enveloped by blue skies and bluer waves, the urge to do something dissipates. I can sit mesmerized by the sea and sky for long stretches of time.
I wanted to share this truly abysmal photo with you. I snapped it as we sailed away from Montevideo, knowing it wouldn't look like anything but wanting to capture the moment.
What am I looking at, I hear some of you asking.
I won't turn this into another guessing game. The little squiggle of light with a tail is the International Space Station zipping across the sky. (As for the previous mini-trivia question--what does bunkering mean nautically speaking?--it refers to taking on fuel. Sometimes a captain will top off the tanks to add weight to the vessel, which makes it answer more quickly to the helm and makes it more stable. Captain Olaf made sure we were fully "bunkered" before we rounded the Horn.
This morning before breakfast we had a crew evaluation to turn in. Spoiler alert! They're all fabulous. We've never been so spoiled.
And that kind of attentive service really starts at the top. Before we made it to breakfast, I accidentally wandered into Johann Van der Merwe's office looking for the right place to make an appointment with the future cruise office. Johann is the Hotel General Manager, which means he is responsible for everything that happens on board that isn't related to navigation and the actual running of the vessel. Stateroom issues, all the restaurants, excursions, entertainment eventually report up to him.
He greeted me by name, though I'm sure we've never officially met. "How do you know who I am?" I asked.
"I know all my guests," he said with a smile. (I wondered if they made up card decks with our masked faces on them for all the crew to study.)
As you can see, Johann's desk is not standard issue. It's toilet tissue. Some of his team had pranked him during the night! I still remember when the DH came to work on the Monday after his birthday and his team had come in over the weekend to fill his office to the ceiling with wadded up computer paper. A boss has to be very well liked for his staff to prank him in either of these ways!
Last night, we were treated to a very funny magician and tonight we have a vocalist who won The Voice competition in the UK. Until then, we intend to fritter this lovely relaxing day away, with oodles of thankfulness. We're so blessed to be here on this beautiful ship, to be together enjoying all these special moments, and to look forward to the adventures yet to come!
More soon...
Love the blog and yes you truly are so very lucky and blessed. Enjoy each moment.
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