Day 118 ~ A Pea Soup Sea Day

 May 7, 2022

Still in the 50's and 60's. "Brisk" is the best descriptor, I think.

“While we may have more still to endure, better days will return: we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again.” ~ Queen Elizabeth II

As we sailed the English Channel the fog wrapped itself around the Viking Star like a wet, gray blanket. This was supposed to be a day of scenic cruising. By the time we reached the point where the  white chalk cliffs of Dover were just off the port side, we couldn't see a thing. 

Lunch at the Pool Grill, always a treat!

But it was a restful day and we frittered it away with this and that. Because tomorrow, Sunday, is a port day, we had our final church service at 6 this evening. It was good to pray and sing and worship together one more time.

However, that's when our evening began to get scrunched. We don't often feel pressed for time, but we did then. Usually, we have supper at 6 and have plenty of time to arrive early for the 8:45 show. Tonight, the guest choir was singing as part of the final show, so the doors to the Star Theater were supposed to open at 8:15. Katie wanted all of us to be scattered around the theater so when we began to sing, we could stand up like a flash mob to join the professional singers on stage. We needed to be among the first in to be assured of getting our seats where our director wanted us.

It was ten after seven when we were seated in The Restaurant, and unfortunately, all of Aswi's stations were filled. He's been such a wonderful waiter and has become a friend to us all. If anyone could've gotten us in and out on time, he would've. So...we revised our plans and before we put in our orders, we told the fellow who brought us water that we were leaving and would have supper at the World Cafe (the buffet).

We had prime rib, sushi and lobster, so we certainly weren't unhappy with the food. In fact, we weren't unhappy at all, just crunched for time. Just the same, Casper, the Restaurant manager, heard we had left without being served and came looking for us to see if there was a problem he could fix. We assured him everything was fine, but I was astounded that he'd go to all the trouble of seeking us out like that. This is just a small example of how all the people at Viking go the extra mile for their guests.  

The Indonesians among the crew put together a special presentation for us as part of the evening show. First about 25 crewmen marched down the aisles to the stage, chanting and settling to perform a seated dance. I don't know much about the story behind it, but it was called the Kecak Dance.

 

Hanuman, the monkey god from the Indonesian Crew part of the show

 

I don't pretend to know the whole story, but Hanuman saves the day! 

This dance reminded me of why we travel--to meet new people, to encounter new cultures and different ideas, to understand what others regard as important for us to know about them. For example, Kristy asked an older gentleman in Saudi what he wanted her grandchildren to know about his people. "We want peace," he said. 

Don't we all? And that's my prayer for us. Lord, please give the world peace.