OUR WINTER CRUISE: DAYS 12 to 17

Six Days at Sea


Monday 12 November

It was the first of six days at sea until we reach Walvis Bay in Namibia. Over that time we will have sailed 3000 miles over the south Atlantic and crossed the equator. The weather was now much warmer, the temperatures up to 28C today, but the wind generated by the speed of the ship manages to keep it pleasant.

My calf muscle is still not right so while Moira had a brisk walk for half an hour round the deck I went to the gym to work on my upper body muscles. After breakfast we sat at the stern of the ship again, reading and doing a crossword. There was a crowd at one point looking out to sea as if they had seen something. I went to the rail and saw a pod of dolphins breaking the surface as they passed the ship going in the opposite direction. We got talking to guy who told us that he saw flying fish off the bow earlier this morning and also was able to imform us that the sea-birds that followed the ship yesterday off the Moroccan coast were gannets.

Enjoying the sun

I had my t-shirt off and got some sun on my body. In fact I got too much of the sun and after lunch wasn't feeling very well. We went inside to the disco lounge which was nice with the air conditioning blasting out cold air and sat there. Late in the afternoon I still wasn't too good and went to the cabin to lie down.

That ended up with me there for the night. I didn't feel like eating anything or going to the show in the theatre. I eventually got under the covers and fell asleep. Moira who had the same thing wrong with her yesterday had recovered and went up for her meal and brought me back a cup of tea to wash down a couple of pills. I slept right through until 7:00 in the morning, I must have been very tired.

Tuesday 13 November 

I was feeling a little better this morning after a good night's sleep but not energetic enough to go gyming. We were up at the stern of the ship again after breakfast and we stayed there all day. At lunch time we put our bits and pieces on our seats so nobody would take them while we dined downstairs. The weather was hot and sunny again, this time we made sure to get plenty of sun cream on to protect us.

Another sunny day

Late in the afternoon we were both feeling livelier and decided to have a half an hour's walk round the jogging track. It wasn't as easy as first thing in the morning, now the sun loungers were all laid out and people milling about. When we had done about ten minutes a shower of rain came on, out of nowhere, and this cleared a lot of the people away. It didn't last long but they didn't come back so we had a clear track for the rest if our walk. When we finished Moira had had enough and went to the cabin but I had a session in the gym to make up for missing it this morning.

We went to the show in the theatre tonight but before it we spent an hour listening to the pianist in one of the bars, he was very good. The show wasn't great, it was supposed to be about Africa but he only thing that they interpreted as Africa was grass skirts and the beating of tom-toms. The rest was acrobats who were all right but not remotely to do with Africa.

After dinner the last few evenings we have popped into the casino to see an old lady, who is in the cabin opposite us, playing the slot machines. She won a jackpot the other night, all of E44; she plays the 1c machines, they don't give a big pay out. The times we've come to watch her play she hasn't been won anything, maybe we bring her bad luck.

Again we listened to the music and singing in one of the bars until 9:00, then it was time for bed. We read for a while before getting sleep. Tonight at 11:00 we were crossing the equator but there wasn't any mention of celebrations or activities on at that time to mark the occasion. The news letter for tomorrow announced the visit of King Neptune in the morning, a bit late, we will be well into the Southern Hemisphere by then.

Wednesday 14 November

Moira with King Neptune

Although slightly after the event the celebrations for crossing the equator were quite good fun. We didn't actually take part but watched as others went through the recognised ritual. While we sat at the stern as usual all the participants were getting prepared in the disco lounge next door. They were having their faces and bodies painting in various designs and colours. When King Neptune arrived he lead them out for a parade round the pool deck. We followed and watched from the side, along with nearly all the other passengers who were lined down the edges and the rails of the jogging deck above. After the precession they all had to kiss a fish, be baptised with champagne then sat around edges of the pool. King Neptune still wasn't satisfied and in turn they were covered in flour, tomato juice, cream and cocoa. Once the king was happy they all jumped in the pool to clean off before a Congo line was formed and they danced around the deck. The pool was a horrible colour with all these ingredients that had been thrown about and washed off their bodies. At least it was something of interest to watch rather than the silly games they normally play.

CROSSING THE LINE CELEBRATIONS

We had walked round the deck for half an hour before breakfast again and I had spent another thirty minutes in the gym. After going to the crossing the line celebrations at the pool we spent the day at the stern reading. It was a lovely hot day again and we got some more sun on our bodies. In the afternoon I had another half hour walk round the deck but I went too early and it was still very hot. I didn't feel very good later and we went down to the cool of the cabin early to stretch out on the bed.

The show in the theatre tonight was the violinist and pianist again playing classical music. I don't think that there are many serious music buffs on the cruise so why they have to play a lot of obscure pieces most of which are dismal dirges. There are plenty of well known lively pieces of music that they could play and at least we would appreciate it.

We had dinner as usual in the buffet and then listened to a pop duo singing in the bar. We got up for a dance, the twist, before getting to bed. They put the clocks forward tonight, as we lose an hour after heading east. 

Thursday 15 November 

Moira wasn't too happy when I woke her at 6:00 to go for a walk round the deck. It was actually now 7:00 with the gain of an hour but she didn't appreciate that and had a moan then went back to sleep. I had my half hour walking and Moira appeared when I was heading for the gym, she wasn't amused as she hadn't managed to get to sleep again after I went out.

The pool with the jogging track above

It was another lovely sunny day again and our favourite spot at the stern was all full when we went up after breakfast. We went down a level and managed to get a couple of loungers that the backs stayed upright and we could get in a comfortable position to read. Where the loungers were situated on the deck was well shaded which was good as I got burnt again from too much sun yesterday. A guy was busy scanning the ocean with his binoculars and was suddenly excited when he spotted something. He said it was whales but when he lent me his glasses all I could see was a ripple in the water where he pointed. I think you have to have a good imagination when looking for things in this vast expanse of water.

When we finished lunch we decided to go to the pool area for a change and get some more sun on our bodies. Where we managed to get a seat was in a corner that turned out to be reserved for smokers. There was three or four that came in turns to have a puff causing us to give up and move to some cleaner air. We also had enough of the sun, finding a seat in the shade instead. There was a couple from Cape Town at the table and we had a nice chat with them for an hour.

Later in the afternoon we went back to the cabin and stretched out on our beds. We finished off the game of cards that we started last night and Moira won, as usual. We had decided to wait until it was cooler and quieter before going for our second walk of the day, and started just before 6:00. We did our normal thirty minutes round and round the track then back to the cabin to change for the night's show and dinner.

It wasn't particularly good entertainment tonight, the magician and acrobats mainly. Moira had given up on it and sat and read her book on the iPad instead. When dinner was finished it was back to the cabin and bed. We were both very tired with the hour being lost and me waking Moira up at the crack of dawn this morning.

Friday 16 November

Today the sea began to roughen in the afternoon and I ended up feeling a bit queasy. I went down to the cabin and lay on my bed early evening and didn't move again. I wasn't in the mood to go out to the theatre or to eat, and that was me until the morning. I managed to sleep all right and Moira got to bed early as well. We also lose another hour tonight when we move the clocks again.

The weather hasn't been particularly good today. We had walked round the deck first thing for our daily exercise and the wind was blowing strongly and it was cold. We spent the day in the disco lounge with lots of other people though there was a few brave souls willing to sit outside trying to improve their tans.

Where we sat in the lounge there was the chess class taking place. The instructor was telling them the history of the game and we found parts of it quite interesting. The two instructors had a match against one another and I watched the moves. From the large windows in the lounge we have a magnificent view of the ocean and are always on the lookout for some movement, hopefully fish. Today Moira spotted lots of tiny silver fish that broke the surface and dived again. They were easy to spot when the sunlight caught and glistened from their bodies. We imagined them to be flying fish.

Other than our break to go down for lunch in the buffet that was all we did today until I had to make for the cabin and lie down.

Saturday  17 November

I still wasn't feeling very good when I woke in the morning. The ship was still rocking and rolling about and I just felt like staying in bed. Moira gave me a sea sickness pill and I forced myself to go up and have a little bit to eat for breakfast. After eating I was beginning to come round and we decided to sit up in the disco lounge. The weather wasn't looking very good for sitting outside, the wind was strong, it was cloudy and cold. A few of the smokers who have to be hardy were braving it and puffing away.

It was pleasant inside and the sea didn't look so rough as yesterday, so I was getting slowly back to my old self. This was the last of the six long days at sea and we would be at Walvis Day in Namibia tomorrow morning. I was remarking to Moira that even with all the facilities and entertainment on board that after a while it starts to become boring. We have only had six days of just the sea to watch, I can't imagine how, in the days of sail and a voyage of some months from South Africa to Britain, people endured it, especially if you were steerage class.

Sitting in the shade

I had a little lunch in the buffet then up top the weather had improved. The clouds had cleared and the sun was competing with the cool wind and just winning. We sat outside and worked on our tans again. At 4:00 we went to the theatre for a lecture about, Cecil Rhodes, diamonds and de Beers followed by a history of Namibia. It was very good and we both found it interesting.

Before dinner we went to the show in the theatre. It was entitled the 'best of the shows' and was supposed to be the pick of all the performances. It wasn't much different from the other 'best of' show that was on the other night. It was the same acrobats doing the same thing and this is getting boring now. This is the last show for some reason.

After dinner we returned to the cabin. We were both tired and I was beginning to feel queasy again. We played a game of cards, read for a while then got to sleep.