Because I had had a good nine hours’ sleep last night, I woke up bright and early and ready to go. At 6.30am we quickly got dressed and made our way up to Deck 10, where half a dozen or so early birds were power-striding around the track. The sun would not rise for another 20 minutes, but we could see some tinges of orange in the sky. There were several cumulonimbus clouds around, and we hoped that they wouldn’t get in the way of the awakening sun.
As we made our way around the circuit, someone pointed out a bird to us on the deck below. It was a fairly large gull-type bird, just sitting on the deck. Nothing was moving except his head, and we wondered if he was injured. As we continued around on our laps, we kept looking to see if the bird was going to move, but he just sat there, looking around.
Presently one of the crew came along and gently picked up the seagull. He gave several loud gull cries until the guy sat with the bird gently in his lap. The guy then made a phone call, and we wondered whether the bird had been hurt and he was calling the ship’s doctor or one of the other medical staff. We did hope the bird would be all right – he was very far out to sea and a long way from home.
We continued on our laps, and soon we saw a tall man who had come up to our level; he obviously knew about birds and he was holding the gull confidently and correctly, and the gull was just quiet and not in any distress. Apparently the bloke was an expert ornithologist and one of the ship’s nature speakers, called Nigel Marven, so he was able to identify the type of gull it was and where it had likely come from. It was a red-tailed tropic bird. He explained that the gull was not actually injured, just slightly disorientated on a moving ship.
As we did a couple more laps around the track, we saw a seagull take to the skies, and we wondered if it was the same one. When we saw the “Birdman of Azamara” (!) again, he said that he had just released the bird and it had flown off. Hopefully it will be all right. 🙂
We finished our 14 laps around, during which time we had indeed watched the sun come up, the bright rays shining through the heavy black clouds.
At half past seven we went into the Windows Café as usual for breakfast. I decided to have a fairly healthy breakfast after our healthy laps in the sea air, so I had toasted muesli with yoghurt and strawberry compote, washed down with orange juice and good hot coffee.
Afterwards, we both had time to sit in The Den once again, Trevor with his Tractor and Machinery magazine and me with my laptop. I enjoyed a cold bottle of water while I was in there; I had wondered whether my headache yesterday was due to dehydration, so I made sure to drink plenty of water today.
Looking at the Insider daily programme, we saw that there was a lecture on 11.00am about the geology of the Pacific Ocean, and how its many islands and archipelagos were formed millions of years ago. It sounded really interesting, so we went along to the Cabaret Lounge and bagsied a good seat.
The lecture by Dr. Rachel Cartwright was fascinating. It was all about volcanoes and tectonic plates and continental shelves, accompanied by interesting slides showing the topography of the sea bed. In particular, Dr Cartwright concentrated on the islands and atolls we would be visiting; it seemed that Easter Island was the newest of the islands at a mere 100,000 years old, whereas Fakarava Atoll was nearly 50 million years old. Wow!
I found the whole thing interesting and, as a bonus, there were complimentary glasses of cold Buck’s Fizz available for those who attended the talk; Trevor and I had three each. 🙂
This took us nicely up to lunchtime, and we went once again to the Poolside Grill where Trevor had a fresh tuna wrap with a very spicy sauce, and I had a Greek lamb burger in a pitta bun, with feta cheese, tomato, caramelised onion and olives with tzatziki. It was delicious, and we washed it all down with the inevitable cold beer. 🙂
Afterwards, we just sat on the pool deck in the shade, “mad dogs and Englishmen” and all that. Then, at 12.50pm, one of the entertainment hosts informed us over the PA that in 10 minutes time there would be a game of ‘cornhole’ with the “Officers versus Guests”. (I personally hate the term ‘guests’ to describe shipboard passengers).
We didn’t know what ‘cornhole’ was, but when we saw them set up an angled board with a hole in it on the stage, we guessed it was another name for Baggo. I said to Trevor that it would be fun to watch, but he said he was going to participate! He then went over to the guy with the clipboard and put his name down. Go Trevor! 🙂
Once there were enough players, they called each person up in turn as well as the name of the officer they had to play against. But this game of Baggo was a game with a difference! Instead of a rigid wooden board with a hole in it, the ‘board’ was made of trampoline material, which meant that when the beanbag landed on it, it bounced! You really need to have a precise aim to get your beanbag directly into the hole. If you were lucky, and your bag landed on the canvas without bouncing straight off, you may have the next participant causing your bag to bounce into the hole.
When Trevor’s name was called out, he was to play Abby, the assistant cruise director. He threw his first bag and it went straight into the hole, to a big cheer from the watching passengers. Abby’s bag landed on the board. Then Trevor’s next bag went directly into the hole, to an even bigger cheer. Abby’s next bag landed on the board. It looked as if it would be a shoo-in for Trevor, but his next two throws bounced the bags off the board, while Abby got one on the board and one in the hole. So it was a 6-6 tie.
The game continued, with everyone taking their turn. As there were more passengers than officers, it meant the officers had to place twice or more. Once each passenger had played, the scores were added up – Officers 45, Passengers 59. Yay! 🙂
This was only Round 1, however, and everyone had another try. When Trevor’s turn came around again, he was drawn again Captain Alex! Once again Trevor’s first two bags went into the hole, while the Captain’s bags bounced off. Then Trevor’s remaining bags stayed on the board, while the Captain only had one on the board and one in the hole. Trevor 8, Captain Alex 4. Brilliant! For the rest of the cruise Trevor now had bragging rights – he had beaten the Captain at Baggo. 🙂
As it was now nearly 2.00pm and the sun was very hot, so we decided to seek refuge inside. Trevor decided to go to a talk about Fleetwood Mac, whereas I used the time to return to our cabin and have a long, hot shower and wash and blow-dry my hair.
When Trevor return around 3.15pm, we decided to have a 45-minute power nap before it was time to start getting ready for the Azamara Circle Cocktail Party at five o’clock.
I put on my makeup and refreshed my hair before dressing in some black leggings with lace inserts up each side and a black camisole topped with a short sequinned jacket. I wore silver high-heeled sandals and carried a matching silver handbag. On the way to the Cabaret Lounge, several people commented on my outfit.
The doors for the party had opened by the time we arrived, so we went inside and took our seats at a table near the front. Lots of people had made the effort to dress a little more smartly, but some people were still in chinos and T-shirts.
Waiters came around with hot and cold canapés, as well as trays carrying a selection of drinks; we each opted for a prosecco. Then Captain Alex Dimitrescu was introduced onto the stage, and he thanked everyone for their loyalty to Azamara. Then the cruise sales director came onto the stage to announce who the top three cruisers were on this voyage. In third place was someone with over 600 nights on board an Azamara ship; in second place was someone with over 750 nights – but the outright winner was a couple of guys who had over 1,500 nights on an Azamara ship! Wow! Trevor and I have done 72 cruises and our total number of days doesn’t even add up to that!
After the Captain and other staff had left the stage, it was time for a mini-cabaret. Cruise director Emily sang a medley of Bond themes accompanied by the excellent ship’s orchestra, then there were a couple of other singers and musicians. We hadn’t expected a show after the cocktail party, but it was very enjoyable.
It was nearly 6.00pm when we left the Cabaret Lounge and, as we were already dressed up, we decided to go to the Discoveries Restaurant for dinner. We were shown to a table for two near the window, where we could look out at the blue Pacific Ocean. I started with a chicken and citrus salad, followed by steak, grilled potatoes, broccoli and asparagus. It was accompanied by chilled rosé wine and cold water, and followed by a delicious crème brulée. We finished off with coffee and a glass of ruby port each.
As the sun was due to set around 7.00pm and the skies were nice and clear, we decided to go up to Deck 10 and see if we could catch the sunset. From the upper decks, we could see that sun was almost straight ahead of us; the ship’s course was more or less dead west.
We had a wait of about 20 minutes in the sultry air, caressed by a gentle sea breeze, as we watched the great glowing ball sink lower in the sky, as it bathed the Onward in a gorgeous warm glow. It was perhaps Sod’s Law that some clouds appeared on the horizon just where the sun was, which stopped us from getting the perfect photo. Nevertheless, I still managed to get a couple of decent photos along the side of the ship.
Afterwards, we just decided to go down to the Cabaret Lounge and take our seats near the front. Before the main show tonight they were holding a game of YES/NO. That’s the well-known game where the host asks the participant a series of questions, and you have to avoid saying the words “yes” or “no” in your answers. It’s much harder than it sounds.
Trevor put his name down to play, along with another seven or eight passengers. He was the first one called up to the stage and Barnardo, the host, explained that he had three minutes on the clock to avoid saying the forbidden words. As the clock started the countdown, Barnardo started his questions; Trevor was doing very well indeed. As it was, he managed the full three minutes without saying “yes” or “no” once, to a great round of applause from the audience. As the next participant was called up to play, he passed Trevor’s seat and told him he was a hard act to follow. 🙂
Indeed that was the case, because none of the other players managed to go the three minutes; some only lasted 20 seconds! Trevor’s prize was an Azamara drawstring bag, which contained a carabiner, a deck of cards and a pair of socks! 🙂
At nine o’clock the show started; tonight’s featured entertainment featured a versatile violinist called Peter Vawter. He was accompanied by the talented ship’s orchestra and was a very good player, but he punctuated his pieces with the story of his life, whereas we would have preferred to hear him play more. We still enjoyed his performance though.
After the performance we decided to go up to the Living Room where they were holding a Silent Disco. We always find these events more fun to watch than to take part in, so we perched on a couple of stools at the bar, ordered a drink each and settled down to watch. At first, most people stayed in their seats listening to the music on their headsets (which defeated the object of a ‘disco’), but eventually the dance floor filled up, and the silence was punctuated by dancers singing along at the tops of their voices! 🙂
We stayed until just before 11.00pm, the decided to return to 6030 and settle down for the night. I got washed and changed and into my ‘jamas, then read my book for a while.
As the sunrise would be later tomorrow morning, I set the alarm for 6.45am. It didn’t take long for us to fall asleep, lulled by the gentle motion of the Onward on the deep Pacific ocean.