Got up at 8.00am feeling a lot better, while still not 100%. I was determined to make the most of it, however, and we went up to the Ocean View self-service cafeteria and I enjoyed a full English breakfast consisting of bacon, sausage, black pudding, mushrooms and beans, all washed down with a large glass of fresh orange juice and a coffee.
Then we had a walk around outside and we were amused to see that some people had staked their claim for the sunbeds around the deck; I supposed you’d have to really, as you’d have very little chance of getting one at lunchtime.
I was surprised to feel that there was quite a brisk breeze blowing which made the weather seem cooler than it was, particularly as at 17˚N we were well into tropical latitudes; it was quite a bit cooler than what we’re used to in the Caribbean.
At 10 o’clock Trevor went along to the Celebrity Lounge to listen to a talk about Mars (the planet, not the chocolate bar) while I decided to catch up on this blog. Then we spent some time sitting out on our balcony in the glorious sunshine, where we spotted one or two flying fish.
Around noon we made our way to the Sunset Bar where we enjoyed our first cold beers of the day; they went down a treat, cold and foamy and refreshing. Then I finished off with a prosecco while Trevor had a cheese and ham panini for lunch. I skipped lunch as I’d had a decent breakfast, but we went along to the ice-cream parlour and each enjoyed a cone with caramel flavoured ice-cream, before making our way to the theatre to listen to a talk called “Feathered Jewels” about the birds we were likely to see in India.
The presentation was very interesting, accompanied by lots of slides of colourful birds. The speaker, naturalist Don Enright, explained that no-one needs to be an expert of birds or even know what they are called; you just have to observe and enjoy them.
Afterwards we went back to the cabin and enjoyed a power-nap, before I got up and got showered and washed and blow-dried my hair. Then we just relaxed on the balcony and watched the world go by as the Constellation glided through the calm waters. We passed many other ships, most of them cargo vessels or tankers, as the Arabian Sea must be a major shipping lane, particularly in and out of Goa and Mumbai, where we were heading.
For dinner that evening we went to the San Marco Restaurant where we were joined by two other couples; one from Philadelphia and the other from Cambridge. Over dinner, the talk was very interesting and lively, particularly concerning politics and the Donald Trump administration. We were in the restaurant just over two hours and the meal was delicious, if the service was a little slow once again.
After dinner we managed to make it to the theatre in time for tonight’s performance by the Stars of the Constellation show company. It was described as “a modern-day musical twist on classic fairy tale stories such as Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz”. It was an excellent and original show with fantastic colourful costumes, talented singing, dancing and acrobatics, and lively music. We have certainly been impressed with the entertainment on the Constellation so far. 😊
After the show we adjourned to the Rendez-Vous lounge where we joined Dave and Alison, and swapped stories and anecdotes and regaled each other with what we’d been doing today. We were interested to hear about their daughter’s career as a successful model, and Dave showed me copies of newspaper clippings which showed that their daughter had even dated Prince Harry a couple of times. Wow!
The hours winged by and, after Dave and Alison had gone (they explained to us that they don’t tend to go to bed too late) Trevor and I had another drink each and then returned to cabin 6098 to settle down for the night. Tomorrow we were due to dock in Mormugao, India, which would be our gateway to Goa. We looked forward to what the day would bring.