11/14/2022

                                                    Position of the Jupiter today at 07:00

Ship location at 7 AM

 

Sea day!  And we set our clocks back an hour, so gained an hour of rest (as if we need rest on a sea day).  Well, actually we could have done a lot of activity – but we low keyed most of the day.  Breakfast, Ann and Bob did yoga, Shirley and Ann went to their art class while Bob and Paul relaxed.  While relaxing we saw the Naturalist hanging out and so Bob and Paul joined him and his wife.  Saw the random dolphin, a small turtle, and a lot of water.  Seas were calm, and the boat rocked gently.

 

After lunch there was some laundry done and some line dancing done (well by Shirley, not so well by Paul).  Then a relaxing afternoon.  The usual port talk at 4 let us know about Funchal and the island of Madeira.  Yes, that is where the wine comes from.  We’ll let you know tomorrow more of the impressions of this promising island.  It did sound better than Casablanca (where Rick’s Café American is probably in a strip mall).  

 

Before dinner we went to the on-board planetarium where they were showing a film about the Northern Lights. The film filled the dome and it was almost like we were there in Tromso in -30 degree Celsius weather or Fairbanks or Svalbard (even colder). The documentary was a mix of the beautiful lights and an explanation of what they are and how it was filmed to be shown in a planetarium dome.  Really interesting.  We did not know for instance that the Northern and Southern Aurorae are mirrors of each other.  Life-long learners are catered to on a Viking cruise.

 

14,283 steps today as we did a few wheels around the promenade and then here and there around the ship. The Atlantic Ocean was very glassy in the AM, gently rolling in the PM and through the night.  Paul took a video of the aft of the ship against the horizon from our cabin near the bow which showed a 5 degree regular up and down.  On our walks we frequently witnessed a herd (?) of dolphins cutting across our path.  The walks were very windy.  Lots of time on the veranda thinking about the voyages of discovery in their tiny ships into the unknown.  Pondering thoughts ….