We were a bit later getting up this morning, so the sun was already well risen by the time we made our way up to Deck 10 for our daily laps around the deck at 8.00am. There were more people there this morning, everyone strolling, power striding or jogging, some of their trainers squeaking with every step on the slightly-damp decking underfoot.
Soon we’d done our nautical mile (plus an extra lap for luck); my watch said I’d done 1.27 miles in 23 minutes, quite a good walking pace. It was great – I really think I should get in the habit of a pre-breakfast mile once we get home; it certainly does wake you up and set you up for the day. 🙂
We then went to the Windows Café as usual for breakfast, where I had Weetabix washed down with a glass of cold water and a cup of coffee.
After breakfast we had to go back to our cabin to complete our “Entry into Chile” forms with our passport and other details. We also had to sign a sworn affidavit that we would not try to import any livestock, plants, fruit or any other foods into Easter Island, and that we were not carrying more than $10,000 in cash (as if!). We needed to keep these forms on us when we went ashore, as well as photocopies or photos of our passports (the ship keeps our actual passports for the duration of the voyage, to present to port authority officials when we arrive in a new place.)
At ten o’clock, it was time for another excellent and informative presentation by Dr Rachel Cartwright once again. It was perhaps testament to her talks that the Cabaret Lounge was full. This time, she was talking about Easter Island – we will drop anchor there tomorrow morning! 🙂
The presentation discussed Easter Island’s famous Moai statues which are dotted all over the island; there are over 900 in total. One of the enduring questions was how the Moai were moved around the island; there was a legend that said that the giants had walked to their final destinations. This was not as far-fetched as it sounded, however, because researchers were able to demonstrate that by using ropes and much manpower, it was possible to “rock” the giant statues along, at an estimated distance of 100 metres per four hours.
We absolutely couldn’t wait to go ashore tomorrow and see these legendary, world-famous Moai for ourselves. 🙂
Once the presentation had finished, I decided to go around the Onward and take lots of photos of her interior, particularly as the restaurants would be empty by now. We started at Deck 11 (the sun deck) and made our way down.
Afterwards, we decided a cold beer was in order, so we adjourned to the Pool Bar and ordered a cold, foamy pint of Heineken each. It went down a treat, and brought us nicely up to lunchtime; we decided to go in the Discoveries Restaurant for lunch as a change from the Windows Café.
In the restaurant, we were shown to a table right at the stern of the ship, where we could see the white wake churning and foaming below us; always a mesmerising sight. I enjoyed a delicious creamy shrimp cocktail with iceberg lettuce, followed by a chicken and avocado wrap accompanied by chips. It was all washed down with cold water and another beer! A very nice lunch indeed.
We then pottered around the ship for a while before returning to 6030 for our post-luncheon power nap from which we awoke feeling refreshed.
At around 1.45pm we went down to the Cabaret Lounge once more; this time to see a talk/presentation called “Knights of Rock” by the excellent speaker Leo Rossi. Mr Rossi had previously worked as the tour manager and technician with Fleetwood Mac as well as the Beach Boys; today his talk was about the latter. I like the Beach Boys; their music is lively, catchy and reminds you of summer. The talk mainly focussed on founder Brian Wilson and how the Beach Boys began, and was interspersed with excerpts of their music. Mr Rossi was an excellent narrator and he used no prompt notes, just anecdotes from his own recollections. The talk overran by half an hour but no matter; every word was fascinating and we enjoyed the presentation immensely.
We then returned to the Pool Bar once again and took our seats at a table in the shade. For miles around the blue Pacific Ocean glittered and sparkled under a flawless blue sky as we enjoyed our cold beers (alternated with glasses of cold orange-infused water to stay hydrated!) and allowed the time to drift by. I enjoyed reading Mutiny on the Bounty; it is an excellent book with a lot of fine detail and vivid descriptions of life at sea in the 18th century.
And so the afternoon passed in its pleasant and relaxing way until it was time to start getting ready for dinner (eating again!).
The buffet in the Windows Café was (allegedly) Australian-themed, but it wasn’t all that different from what we eat in good old Blighty. For example, Trevor had fish and chips! 🙂
I just enjoyed a selection of dishes; braised pork steak, roasted cauliflower and broccoli and some salad. It was washed down with cold water and chilled rosé wine.
Afterwards, we returned to 6030 for a short while, looking at the Inside programme to see what was on tonight. The main featured entertainment was a female magician and illusionist Jessica Jane (I’d missed her performance the other night because I’d been unwell).
We queued outside the Cabaret Lounge for a short while until the doors opened at 8.30pm. We then hotfooted it down to the seats at the front to get a good view. Jessica was brilliant, and of course there was the usual audience participation. Being at the front, it was probably inevitable that one of us would be chosen, and indeed I was. 🙂
Jessica had a series of playing cards, each featuring a portrait of either Harry Houdini or his wife Betsy. The cards were shuffled, then dealt out one by one, face down, in two columns, one for Harry and one for Betsy. I had to say whether the next card was Harry or Betsy and they were placed in the appropriate column. When the cards were turned over, they were all correct. 🙂
We enjoyed the show a lot, and when it was finished, I took the opportunity to go to the loo, as there was another impromptu talk by Leo Rossi at 10 o’clock which we didn’t want to miss. This was another one about Fleetwood Mac, with lots of video footage of their live performances from 1978, when they were at their peak. We really enjoyed it a lot.
As it was after 11.00pm when we left the show lounge, we just decided to go back to 6030 and settle down for the night. We were due to anchor off Easter Island tomorrow morning at 8.00am, and we wanted to be up early to catch the sun rise over the island.
We slept very well.