San Martin, Peru to Easter Island, Chile

The third of hopefully only four sea days and the weather continues to gradually improve. The wind had dropped to about 15 knots before sunrise, but picked up again to 20 to 25 knots in the early morning. We still have a good swell running and at sunrise this morning we actually saw a couple of small patches of clear sky, which was a pleasant change from the usual completely overcast. Everyone is keeping their fingers crossed that the improvement continues and we make it into Easter Island on Sunday.

Temperature: High 21C/70F, Low 17C/63F

Wind/Weather: SE’ly winds at 15 knots. Moderate sell of about 8’. Cloudy and clear.

Sunrise/Sunset: 07:41/19:15

Clox: Z-5 (no change)

Navigation

Throughout the entire day, Sea Princess maintained a WSW’ly course through the Pacific Ocean, at a speed of 18.5 knots towards Easter Island. 

Activities

I slept in this morning, starting my walking routine at a tardy 05:45 down on the Promenade Deck, so I only completed 15 laps, or 5 miles before returning to the cabin. I completed yesterday’s blog post and checked the email, finding a welcome reply from a chap I know at the Ford factory that is building our new truck. He offered to get the truck some additional TLC during the build process, if I sent him the VIN number, which I sent to him yesterday. He replied that he will submit it today and a little side note that he will probably get to drive it before us . Apparently it gets treated like a show model, receiving an extra test drive and additional clear coat.

At breakfast, we sat with the couple that boarded in New York that we lunched with yesterday and 2 couples that also joined in Sydney. Chap next to me used to be an Engineer with New Zealand Shipping Company and also Union Steamship Company, so we had a good old chin wag about our deep sea days. Just after sitting at the table, while still looking at the menu, 2 croissants magically appeared on Judi’s plate and 1 croissant on mine. The Junior Waiter with the pastry tray had been watching for us, with his tray well stocked with croissants, which were delivered without request. He even commented that we were later this morning. Another typical example of the excellent service from the waiters and waitresses in the dining room. We had our usual breakfasts, which while not hot, were at least warm. My new strategy is to request they reheat the porridge, while ordering.

After breaky, with nothing on the schedule of interest to us, we headed down to Razzmatazz, where we sat in one of the window couches, next to Viv and her card playing group. We just sat and watched the water amble past, while Judi read and I continued working through the Lightroom 5 manual, finally completing the first chapter. Heading down to lunch just before 13:00, we sat with 2 other couples that joined in Southampton. Conversation kept going, but it really was about nothing in particular. We had a good laugh at the deserts, as both other couples ordered a fruit plate to share between each couple. The waitress served each of the ladies a fruit plate, which they started cutting up to share, then the waitress returned with additional fruit plates for the husbands.With a big smile she said not enough fruit to share. Needless to say they all cleaned their plates. The waitress also remembered we like hot, strong tea, so 2 pots of tea magically appeared.

We returned to the cabin, sitting with the balcony door open, just enjoying the smell of fresh salty air and the sound of the ship slicing through the ocean waves. I also got a chance to play one of the games I brought with me that I haven’t opened in over a year – computer version of Football Manager. Brilliant game, where you get to hone and test your coaching, tactical and managing skills. By late afternoon, we sat eagerly awaiting Capt Kent’s daily update, which as usual didn’t disappoint. He provided a synopsis of the weather forecast, which still calls for improvement, with NE’ly winds forecast at Easter Island on Sunday, which is a bonus since we anchor on the west side of the island. His description of anchoring was brilliant, referring to the operation as the, “Splash and rumble”. He noted that the speed was currently reduced to about 17 kts, but when the engineers complete their tinkering with the engines, we will increase to 18.5 to 19 kts.

Although the initial schedule provided in New York, at the start of this segment, had tonight’s rig of the day as smart casual, it has been changed to formal attire. The Cruise Director explaining the change as being a request from passengers for more formal nights. All I can say is it isn’t anybody we have met, as all I heard was grumbles. Must admit, I used to really enjoy formal nights, but now almost 3 years into retirement, after 50 years of wearing ties at school & work, I am thoroughly enjoying and have become accustomed to not wearing a shirt and tie. Anyway, I hauled out the suit, shirt and tie, dusted them off and grudgingly got dolled up, with Judi and I heading down to Vista for the pre-dinner show. This evening was a repeat performance from the excellent vocalist Davidia, who at the request of the Cruise Director put on a James Bond theme show, singing the theme song from a number of the films.

Dinner was traditional formal, with lobster and chateaubriand. Unfortunately the galley’s excellent performance last night was not repeated tonight. The lobster cooking had no consistency, with mine grossly overcooked and Bob’s just barely cooked. The chateaubriand consisted of 3 extremely thin slices (almost shaved) from a small piece of meat. Not being the most tender piece of meat it was probably fortunate that it was cut so thin. Yet again, no deserts were appealing, so I enjoyed a fruit plate.

The post dinner show was another effort from the ship’s singers, which was easy to skip, so none of our table attended the show, with everyone heading to the cabin for an early night.

As another day closes, we bid you farewell, till tomorrow and hope for fair skies and following seas.