11/17/2022

                                                                               sunrise 

                                                                   position at sunrise

Another sea day – samo-samo.  Lot of food, scholarly enrichment, exercise, food, etc.  The captain reported seas were mild today – looked a bit more than calm to me, but I suppose the Captain would know better.

 

Last night Paul was up at midnight and watched the sky from the veranda and saw a few meteors against Orion.  The night sky seemed alive with stars.

 

Another nice aspect of cruising is getting acquainted with other passengers.  We listen to their stories and they hear ours.  (Shirley still corresponds to a person from Iceland she met on a cruise.)  The couple in 5008 is from Kansas City.  We’ll have dinner with them tomorrow night and get to know them better.  Tonight we will have dinner with John and Michelle, a couple from Marietta, Georgia. Michelle paints with Shirley and Ann.  Looking forward to knowing them a bit better, too.  Then there is Todd from Franklin, Tennessee who runs while Paul walks on the pre-dawn promenade and his wife Jenny.  Everyone is very friendly and respectful of others (i.e. we have not met any a__holes yet).

 

At 8 AM every morning (subject to change) there is an exercise class – some days yoga, some days aerobic, or mindful stretching.  Today it was stretching; Ann is a frequent attendee.

 

Exercise class breaking up

 

Dance class is more and more popular – they have it in the Explorer’s lounge where there is lots of room and great views.  Today it was the Hustle.  The instructor is very enthusiastic and it’s catchy.

 

                                        Dance class - Shirley and Ann in the front row 

 

Paul and Bob went to the astronomy mini-lecture in the planetarium.  Looking forward to the one that will talk about the southern sky.  This is definitely the place for lifelong learners.  Q&A went long after the star talk.  One wondered about the correlation between the pyramids of Egypt and Orion – but another asked about the indigenous cultures and how they saw and named the constellations (uncannily similar to Ptolemy – or was Ptolemy tapping into some archetypal consciousness – hmmm – something to ponder  ).  Oh, and Ancient Aliens did not build the pyramids … just putting that out there.

 

Then more pondering on the veranda watching for wildlife.  Bob stayed up with the naturalist on deck 8 outside. We saw a pod (yes, pod is the correct term) of dolphins after lunch and a flying fish or 3 after the star talk.

 

Every day the Captain comes over the ship’s speakers and gives the report of the day where we are, what the weather is 75 and clear (with a 15 mph wind out of the NE), how fast we are going (15 knots) and in what direction (206 degrees – which is SSW).  Then the cruise director (who hails from Australia) gives us the POD (Plan of the Day).  We pretty much figure out our POD because the Viking Daily has all the possibilities and appears in our room after dinner.  This gives us ample time to discuss and scheme and plan.

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We enjoyed a wonderful dinner with Michelle and John (art buddies) and exchanged stories - it was very enjoyable.  They live in Marietta and we have a lot in common with them.

At 10 PM Bob and Paul went up tot he Deck 9 and the star party in anticipation of the Leonid meteor shower.  Paul saw 2, Bob saw a few maybe's.  It was almost crowded and our resident astronomer held court occasionally pointing out things with his laser pointer.  The sky was quite hazy and the first 20 degrees above the horizon were obscured.