We were awake just after 6:00am, as we were still on British time. I went out onto the balcony, where the air was already pleasantly warm, and watched the Adonia gliding along sedately in the turquoise water; she was not going very fast, maybe only nine or 10 knots.
At around seven o’clock we gathered together our swimming things and went up on deck, where only a few people were around. The crickets were still chirping away, competing with the hypnotic sounds of the waves washing against the Adonia‘s side. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and it looked as though the day would be a scorcher.
We enjoyed a swim of half an hour or so as we watched the rays of the sun burst over the ship’s funnel. Then, getting showered and dried off a little, we returned to cabin A006 and got dressed, before making our way to the Conservatory for our breakfast.
Back in our cabin, we sat out on the balcony for a while, gazing out at the sparkling azure Caribbean, searching for flying fish, which we always see when we are in the Tropics. A flash of movement on the sea’s surface caught our eye; sure enough, here and there we spotted streaks of silver as the fish skimmed the surface, the sun flashing off their scales. Sometimes we’d see large shoals, with the fish taking off in all directions; other times we’d just see a lone fish gliding along on its own.
We went up to the pool deck and sat in the shade for a while, and I spent some time doing my kumihimo braiding. I like to keep my hands busy and the repetitive nature of kumihimo is relaxing and doesn’t take much concentration.
At 10:15 we went along to the Curzon lounge where a bloke called Colin Hobbs was giving a presentation/talk about the early days of aviation, particularly the first successful transatlantic flights achieved by Allcock and Brown. It was all very interesting.
We then decided to go back up to the pool deck and sit in the sun with a nice cold beer. Although it was only 11 o’clock it was already very hot, and the sea breeze could lull you into a false sense of security. We enjoyed a pint of John Smith’s each, whiled away the time and listened to the noon navigational information from the bridge, where we were informed it was 29ºC. At this point we decided go and get some lunch, and seek refuge in the shade; “mad dogs and Englishmen” and all that. 🙂
We enjoyed a light lunch sitting out on the rear decks, before wandering around for a bit. We could see several frigate birds circling around; they too were taking an interest in the flying fish, and every now and again one of them would go into a steep dive and try to catch the fish as they jumped out of the water. We didn’t see the birds catch any, though.
We then returned to our cabin for a post-luncheon nap, as we were still quite jet-lagged from yesterday. Then, at 2:00pm, we went up to the Crow’s Nest to take part in the “Battle of the Sexes” quiz. This is good fun; men and ladies were split into two teams, and each team took it in turns to answer questions. You got 10 points for a correct answer, but if you got it wrong or didn’t know the answer, it was passed to the other team who could get five points for the ‘steal’. Each team answered 10 questions, and it was pot luck as to whether you got a hard or easy question. As usual, several times someone in the team would come up with the correct answer, then allow themselves to be talked out of it by other team members. The ladies were losing after the first round of general knowledge, but the next round was the music round, and that’s where we came into our own, as 70s and 80s music tends to be my forte in quizzes. So the ladies won the quiz overall. 🙂
The points for both teams would be carried over until the next sea day, when the battle would continue.
Back in our cabin I took my Kindle and went and sat out on the balcony for a while, before starting to get ready for the evening, as tonight was the Captain’s Cocktail Party and was a formal evening. I took my time getting ready, and wore a long black velvet dress with a necklace I’d made containing several Swarovski crystals and beads. Trevor looked very smart in his dinner suit with a winged-collar shirt and black bow tie and cummerbund.
We made our way up to the Curzon lounge and were photographed with Captain Sarah Breton before taking our seats, whereupon a tray-bearing waiter appeared and offered us a glass of Prosecco each. Then the Captain introduced her senior officers and gave a little speech which included the weather forecast for the next few days; hot and hotter. 🙂
We enjoyed a second glass of fizz before making our way to the restaurant to our allocated table, #8. There was only one other couple there, Bob and Thelma and we enjoyed their company whilst partaking of a delicious meal, washed down with rosé wine and finished off with coffee and amaretto.
Then it was along to the Curzon lounge once again for tonight’s entertainment; a cellist called Andrew Scrimshire. He was very good indeed and we enjoyed his performance a lot. In between his musical numbers he made us laugh with his subtle, dry humour. An excellent show.
We finished the evening, and indeed a very pleasant day, by going along to the Conservatory for the syndicate quiz. We were joined by another couple who introduced themselves as John and Linda. Our team was a good mix because we all had different ‘special subjects’ and this paid off, as we won! We received a bottle of white wine as our prize and, as it was now getting late, we said we’d keep it until tomorrow night and share it then.
So ended our first full day at sea, and we slept well back in cabin A006.