Today is Friday, July 24. We are at sea today, headed toward Greenland.
Over the last few days, we’ve experienced some less-than-desirable weather, mostly fog and wind. In fact, our port stop in Labrador was canceled. It was a planned stop where the ship is anchored offshore and passengers are tendered ashore using the rescue boats. However, the seas were considered too dangerous for tendering, so we had to skip that stop.
When we left Newfoundland/Labrador, the ship’s captain announced that we would have to proceed slowly for a while because of iceberg sightings. But we must have missed them because before we knew it we were cruising along at a good speed watching the land disappear behind us. Consequently, we’ve been at sea for three days, which is just fine by me. We have continued to attend our morning Tai Chi classes, except for this morning. Ship time jumped ahead one and a half hours overnight. Typically, our iPhones change time zones automatically…but not this time! It was 9:15 when we got to the pool deck for our 8 a.m. session. Whoops!
We’ve been attending some pretty nice events onboard. We really like the “talks” where they discuss the history of the areas we’re visiting. We’ve also really enjoyed a couple of mini concerts by a Bulgarian cellist and her accompanist (piano) from Argentina. Every evening there is a show in the “World Stage”, which is the large (two-story) concert venue. Last night, for example, was a dance presentation by a group called “Move”. All of the shows have been good, but for me, Move was the best show so far.
It always takes a few days for your cruise vibe to kick in. When we first get onboard, we feel like we need to hurry and catch everything that’s happening. After a while, we start to relax and enjoy not having to do and see everything RIGHT NOW. For example, we are going to the shows at 6:00 now and going to dinner afterwards rather than standing in line when the dining room opens.
Yesterday, we did “high tea” in the dining room at 3:00. They served tea and provided little trees with finger sandwiches, muffins, and other goodies. Apparently, it’s a Dutch tradition and the Holland America line is from Holland originally. We sat at a large table with about a half dozen other people. The couple next to us just happened to be from Neenah, WI, in the Fox Valley. Small world.
Today, we are just taking it easy…reading, blogging, walking, etc. The temperatures are slowly dropping. Yesterday is was in the low 60s. As I write this, it’s 48 and overcast. We did a mile around the outside promenade this morning. It’s about a third of a mile all around the outside of the ship. The sunny side was warm and pleasant. The shady side and the back were breezy and chili. But the fresh sea air is wonderful.
Early tomorrow morning, we stop at our first Greenland port. Again, uploading is a real challange…so photos will be added in the future!