Day 7 - At Sea

 

Date:  Jan. 15, 2007

 

Location:  At Sea

 

Next Port:  Forteleza, Brazil, Jan. 17 or 18

 

Quick Summary:  Continuing winds and strong currents cause cancellation of Belem port call. We may get to Forteleza a day early and overnight there.

 

Report:  Larry got his morning workout in, while Karen went walking on protected Deck 5 and attended the devotional session that Jamie is going to run daily at 9:15 in the Horizon Lounge.

 

Capt. Dag always provides daily “words for the day” at 9 a.m. on all the speakers throughout the ship. He usually includes a bit of poetry. We have quite a renaissance man as our “driver.” (For those who may have been bothered on other ships with incessant public announcements, we normally only get the Captain’s greetings at 9 a.m., a navigation update at noon and, if appropriate, reminders at 2p.m. to change our timepieces.)

 

The captain explained that due to the continuing northwesterly winds, waves and currents that we have been fighting since our departure from Barbados, he was going to pass up the port call to Belem. He explained that this had always been an aggressive port to make on our itinerary. It’s more than 60 miles up river from the offshore pilot station and the Brazilian authorities can take 2-3 hours for customs clearances. Therefore, being behind schedule, we would have at most 1-2 hours in port, if that. (Though many of us were disappointed not to see the Amazon, he told me later on my visit to the bridge that you really don’t feel like you are in the river because you don’t see either side until reaching Belem. You don’t get the jungle river feel until reaching Manaus.)

 

So, it’s off to Forteleza. If he can get port clearance, we should be in there tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon and spend an unscheduled overnight there.

 

Larry did enjoy his 30-minute visit to the bridge  which is open in the morning and afternoon during sea days. Second Mate Ronald, from the Philippines, showed him all the high-tech control, navigation and safety systems. Capt. Dag was there part of the time and mixed freely and answered questions from the 8-10 folks who wandered in and out while Larry was there. The captain had a birthday present for the young boy celebrating his 10th birthday today.

 

At 11 a.m., we enjoyed the second lecture by Daniel Silke: “Global Change, Part II: New Trends in Culture and Consumerism in a Globalizing World.” He is a dynamic presenter who brings in many for his very interesting sessions.

 

After lunch on the back deck, we played some cards, read our books and worked on the journal. And Larry might have found time to walk through the casino and pick up $20 in winnings from the slots. (He has to find some way to pay for these Internet minutes!)

 

At 2 p.m., we set our clock ahead another 30 minutes. We are now 3 hours ahead of Chicago time.

 

Tonight we met neighbors Alene and Don from Lafayette, CA  for dinner in Latitudes. Here the chefs prepared an Indochine menu based on Vietnamese food with modern French cooking techniques. We had a fun time.

 

After dinner, we again enjoyed the singing of Jamie Michael Stewart, the British singer, who presented an entirely new show.  He announced that he has to make all new travel arrangements to get home as he was to leave us in Belem.

 

So, tomorrow we will have an added sea day with the prospects of getting into Forteleza by dusk. We should cross the Equator in the afternoon…with a King Neptune ceremony at 11 a.m.

 

Karen and Larry

 

P.S. I don't know why the visit counter in the right column has dropped from 600+ to less than 100...it did the same thing just before debarkation when it dropped from 900+ to about 100. Ah, electrons.