BURNS’ NIGHT
After an excellent night’s sleep, we awoke when the alarm went off at 6.45am. As we looked out of the window to see what the weather was like, we saw that there were quite a few clouds near the horizon, so as we didn’t think we would get a good sunrise we decided to stay in bed another half an hour, and get up at 7.15am, which was still nice and early.
Quickly getting washed and dressed, we made our way up to the Deck 10, where the jogging/walking track had a lot more people going around. We set off, enjoying the cool, fresh early morning sea air. The slight motion of the ship meant that sometimes we were walking uphill, then sometimes downhill. It gave a more interesting element to our daily steps. 🙂
Once we’d done our 14 laps (1.27 land miles according to my smart watch), I enjoyed a beaker of lemon-infused water before we went down a deck and into the Windows Café for breakfast. As I’d enjoyed my muesli, yoghurt and fruit compote yesterday, I had the same again, followed by a pancake and some French toast.
It was then time for me to grab my laptop and take it along to The Den to write up yesterday’s blog. While we were in there, I consumed a 500ml bottle of water in my quest to stay hydrated.
At around 10 o’clock, we decided to return to 6030 and get changed into our swimming things, as our cossies had so far not seen any action this holiday. We then went up to the pool deck on Deck 9, where the sun shone down hotly from a cloudless blue sky. I prudently selected a lounger in shade, before divesting myself of my sandals and sarong. Then we gingerly tiptoed over the hot deck to the edge of the pool, where I tentative dipped my foot in. It was freezing! No-one else was in the pool, which wasn’t surprising – the water was much colder than expected. However, I persevered, thinking the water wouldn’t seem as cold once I became accustomed to it, so I inched my way down the ladder, allowing time on each rung to get used to it. Finally, once my shoulders were covered, I swam away from the ladder into the middle of the small pool. It was exhilarating. I looked at Trevor perched on the side of the pool, reluctant to come in, and I persuaded him that it was worth the initial discomfort once you were in. Eventually he joined me, and we swam around for 20 minutes or so. Because of the ship’s motion, it was as if the pool had a ‘wave machine’ as the water rolled from end to end, sometimes with the waves carrying you along. It was great!
After we left the pool, we decided to go in the hot tub for 15 minutes (the maximum time allowed). The hot tub felt as if you were going in the bath; it seemed very warm after the coldness of the pool. We set the jets away and luxuriated in the warm water, positioning ourselves so that the jets massaged our backs. It was fantastic! 🙂
By now, it was after 11 o’clock, so we decided to resume our sun loungers and enjoy a cold beer. I wrapped the large, thick towel around myself to absorb most of the water, and I sat on the sun lounger in a happy holiday euphoria. The waiter brought our beers which were just the ticket, and we relaxed and people-watched and just revelled in the fact that we were here on the Pacific Ocean, while the Onward continued her sure course towards Easter Island. How brilliant was this? 🙂
Once we’d finished our beers, I donned my sarong over my cossie and we decided to go and sit at a table in the shade near the bar, and we enjoyed a second beer each. It took us nicely up to lunch at 12.10pm, so we just decided to go to the Poolside Grill, where I ordered an Azamara Burger which consisted of a rye bun, beef burger, caramelised onion, gherkins, tomato and cheese. It was delicious, and I washed it down with another cold beer and a large glass of water (must keep hydrated!) 🙂
Afterwards, we returned to 6030 to change out of our damp swimming things and hang them up in the bathroom to dry. We then enjoyed a 45 minute power nap before making our way to the Discoveries Bar where the chief engineer was giving a 30-minute talk about the mechanics and workings of the ship.
This was followed by another excellent lecture in the Cabaret Lounge by Dr Rachel Cartwright, talking about the “Blue Pacific” and its deep water flora and fauna. Once again, it was accompanied by some fabulous photos, some of Easter Island. We were becoming so excited about our impending visit to one of the most remote islands on earth. 🙂
After the talk we stayed in the Cabaret Lounge for this afternoon’s quiz, which was themed around Scotland, as today is Burns Night. We had 20 questions and we started off quite well, until one of the questions asked which was the Scottish island on which George Orwell wrote Nineteen Eighty-Four. We hadn’t a clue; we put Lewis but the answer was actually Jura. So the quiz continued, with the result that we scored a poor 13/20. Considering we have had several cruises around Scotland and the tiny Scottish islands, we felt that we really should have done better.
As the gorgeous warm and sunny weather continued outside, we decided to go back up to the pool bar, and sit in the shade with a cold drink or several. 🙂
We sat in our shaded seats, watching the world go by while Trevor enjoyed a margarita and I had a chilled glass of very fizzy prosecco. The sun shone down and we gazed around at miles and miles of blue Pacific ocean. This is the life! 🙂
Around six o’clock, we decided to return to 6030 to get washed and changed and ready for dinner. We thought we’d go up to the Windows Café tonight rather than the Discoveries Restaurant, because they were holding an Italian night.
I enjoyed lasagne, meatballs, and some sort of pork in a spicy tomato sauce, washed down with cold water and chilled rosé wine. I passed on any dessert (my waistband felt uncomfortably tight!).
At some point during our dinner, around 7.30pm, the Onward crossed the Tropic of Capricorn at 23° 27’ S, so we were no longer in the Tropics.
After dinner we went back to our cabin to see what time the sun was due to set tonight. It was much later tonight; at 8.20pm, and not easy to view from either side of the Onward because it wasdirectly in front of us; we must have been heading dead west at a course of 270°. I headed up to Deck 11 which overlooks the bow, but there is a large tinted perspex screen at the front which would have prevented any good photos. Some of the taller passengers were standing on tiptoe and holding their phones/cameras above the screen, but at under five feet tall that was impossible for me! Instead, I had to be content with some interesting pink cloud patterns above a very calm Pacific.
It was then time to make our way to the Cabaret Lounge for tonight’s entertainment, which featured the show company performing “Let’s Groove”, their tribute to 1970s music. We had seats in the centre of the front row to give us the best view. As the Onward is only a small ship, you really need to be in the show lounge a good half hour early to procure the best seats. 🙂
The show was excellent. Seventies disco music was the background to my teenage years, so I enjoyed the music immensely. The singing was accompanied by the fabulous ship’s band; it’s great that the performances were to live music rather than the usual canned music that accompanies many shows these days.
Afterwards we decided to finish the evening off by going along to The Den, where Alexa, the resident pianist, was performing her tribute to the music of Elton John. The Den was packed out and we could only get seats near the back at the high tables and chairs usually comandeered by laptop users. We could still hear the music though, and we each enjoyed a nightcap.
It was around 11.20pm when we arrived back at 6030, and settled down for the night in our big, comfortable bed. Tomorrow would be the last of five sea days, and we looked forward to whatever the day would bring.