February 18 - The Ozzies have awakened

We have two days at sea before we reach Montevideo. The lectures are winding down since we’ve been to the main attractions for this leg of the voyage. So I’m going to write about things that I think are interesting. You may not, but oh, well, you can skip over them.

It’s a broad generalization but I’ll make it anyway.  Some of the most fun-loving people in the world are from the Land Down Under.  Over the years Al and I met some of the most wonderful people from Australia. We have a pretty big contingent from there on the ship and I’ve had dinner with a couple of them, including some solo travelers, at the hosted tables I’ve sat at and when we’ve talked I’ve told them they should come and party and dance with us in the evening after the show. To my surprise they found the club last night and we had a blast.  They literally kicked off their shoes and took to the dance floor.  Many of them are leaving in Buenos Aires, but there are a few who are staying and will join the fun.  There’s something about the Australians. They are down to earth and unpretentious. I’m looking forward to getting to know them better. I may take my phone with me one evening and get one of the bar stewards to take a photo of we  (or is it us) wild women.

I said we’ll be in Montevideo in two days and it’s a good thing because we’re coming to a crisis point.  We’re running out of provisions!  The berry situation is critical.  There’s no mint for mojitos, and the limes are getting sad.  Whatever will we do?  Seriously, I am amazed at how  well  the ship is able to  keep the proper supplies available and fresh.  We haven’t taken on a single thing since San Antonio on January 27.  Apparently we were supposed to pick some things up in Punta Arenas, but they weren’t there.  In Montevideo we’ve got eight containers of supplies waiting for us.  We even adjusted our departure time yesterday from New Island to give us more time to load up in Uruguay.  We’ve been discussing for the last few nights at dinner how they can keep lettuce and other greens so fresh for so long.  I know they have great refrigeration, but I sure couldn’t keep lettuce looking edible for more than three weeks.  Seabourn does a remarkable job.

The crew is doing their weekly safety drill so all activities have stopped which is why I’m writing now.  I could be studying for trivia learning important things like the names of all kinds of phobias;  phobias are a favorite question to be asked.  I’ll end this rambling post with a question we had the other day.  What is ALEKTOROPHOBIA the fear of?  Nobody in the room got it right.