November 26 - Somewhere at Sea

It’s our sixth full day at sea since leaving Lisbon and we have two more days after this one before we reach Bermuda.  Aside from water, water everywhere the only thing I’ve seen was a passing freighter headed toward Europe around lunchtime a couple of days ago. Since there aren’t sights for me to write about so I remember them, I thought I’d write about some of the fascinating people I’ve met.

I’ve written before about how I strike up conversations with everybody I meet. To be honest the most wonderful thing about cruising at this point in my life is meeting new people.  Yesterday at dinner I sat next to an 80-something German lady who came on the cruise alone because at the last minute her equally old husband didn’t feel up to coming. Christina’s English is limited but she could carry on a conversation if we worked at it. As an aside the lady on her other side is the kind of person I hope I never am - she spoke loudly to Christina as if being louder would help her understand the English words better.  Anyway, I learned the lady has been a teacher all her life and she spent 4 years teaching in Afghanistan before the Russians invaded in 1980. I’ve never met a woman who spent that much time there and her stories of her encounters and experiences were spellbinding.

At lunch today I met a retired physicist who worked for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission before he got a position at the IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Agency headquartered in Vienna, Austria. This man was one of the people who went into Iraq to find weapons of mass destruction (they didn’t find any;  perhaps they had been removed to Syria or someplace else) after we got rid of Saddam Hussein.  His agency was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its work.  He later was involved in attempting to inspect Iran’s nuclear program which was problematic because Iran put up so many barriers.

Tonight I sat next to a really interesting older gentleman from Birmingham, Alabama.  A couple of nights before I had sat at the bar (no I’m not a wino but if you’re a solo woman and want to meet people you have to sit at the bar) next to his wife.  She is a very nice 80 something lady who must have been a kindergarten teacher because that’s how she talks to everyone, as if we are 5 years old. She had told me that her husband is hard of hearing, so he never said much.  Well, tonight I sat next to him and he had my full attention.  He was an Army doctor who served in an infantry battalion in Vietnam and saw heavy fighting in the field.  He told me some harrowing stories about medevacking wounded  out of the jungle.  He’s written a book and is going to send me a copy when he gets home.

The husband of one of my friends and trivia teammates is married to a retired officer of the Grenadier Guards, the most senior regiment of the British Army. They are the ones who wear those big  black bear fur caps.  They guard the monarch, but they have also fought in both world wars and in Afghanistan and Iraq.  He suffered a stroke and had to retire, but when he walks I can imagine him in his red uniform and big black cap.

Sea days settle into a routine.  Since I stay up late I sleep late and I rarely make it to breakfast.  Believe me, that’s okay because there’s never a shortage of food here.  There’s usually a lecture (they call them conversations now) about something around 10 AM.  Truthfully I don’t usually make it to those because I get up just a little before then.  My excuse is that I can watch them later on the TV in my cabin, and I have done that some afternoons.  We play trivia every day at 11:15.  On this leg the room is packed with 16 teams of 10 people on each.  It’s noisy and chaotic but a lot of fun.  It’s cumulative and I think we’re in the lead or very close to it. There are dance classes and bridge classes.  So far we haven’t had an art instructor on board but perhaps we’ll get one in Miami.  They are fun even for those of us with little talent.

A couple of nights ago, in fact the night I sat next to Christina the German lady I wrote about above, it was formal night and when I sat down at the table hosted by the Cruise Director, one of the ladies was wearing a diamond tiara and I thought “Holy cow, I’m in Downtown Abbey!”  Turns out the lady’s great-grandmother was a Prussian countess and according to my tablemates she gets to use the title so her place card said Countess Blahdy-Blah (I can’t remember what it was). She may be a member of some nobility, but I was told by reliable sources that the first night she got on the ship, she got so smashed she had to be carried to her cabin.  A title and tiara obviously don’t make a lady.

Yesterday at lunch we had what has always been one of my favorite things, the Gally Market Lunch. The galley staff go to great lengths preparing a spectacular buffet with lots of choices and we walk through the galley making our selections.  I usually walk through once taking pictures because the crew has worked so hard. Then I go back through to make my selections. That helps to prevent filling up your plate with a little of this and a little of that and before you know it you’ve got a massive amount of food.

These are scenes from the Galley Market and some of the special people who take care of us and work so hard.

After lunch and getting a manicure in the salon, I went back to my cabin and as I looked outside I saw a rainbow appear.  I had to struggle to get the veranda door open because the wind was blowing so hard, but I did manage to get some of it before it disappeared.  It's always a nice thing to see.

Tonight I needed some “me time,” so I declined the invitations I’d received and dined by myself in the sushi restaurant.  The food was good and very light and just what I needed for a change of pace.  I tried to go dancing afterwards, but we’ve been doing a lot of rocking, rolling and corkscrewing all day and dancing becomes difficult unless you’re a pole dancer. Maybe tomorrow it will calm down a little.  I hope so for the sake of others on the ship.  The motion doesn’t bother me, but there are some people who look a little green around the gills. 

I guess that’s all for now. Happy Thanksgiving Eve!