When we wake up, around half past 6, we see through the thick curtains that the sun is shining. It's a sea day, so we take our time to leisurely freshen up and then head upstairs to the Lidl for breakfast.
Immediately after breakfast, I step outside and it turns out to be very pleasant. It's around 13 degrees Celsius, but in the sun and out of the wind, it's quite warm, so we settle down here with our books for a while.
After this, we head back to the cabin, where the toilet refuses to flush, and then to the Mainstage. At 11 o'clock, Jim gives another lecture, this time about the Southern night sky, with the Southern Cross as the main feature. It's a bit of a tougher story than usual, but still interesting. The Mainstage is quite warm, making it sometimes difficult to keep our eyes open. We didn't get the most ideal spot because even though we arrived over 20 minutes before the start, all the seats downstairs were already taken, except for those behind the pillars, of course. Now we miss a bit of the top of the screen. Tonight and the coming evenings, there will be stargazing on the deck at 10 p.m., guided by Jim. Let's hope it's clear then.
After his talk, we sit by the indoor pool to read, and for lunch, we grab something from the Dive. When we've had enough, we head downstairs, and I grab a piece of banoffee pie 😳. Jan wants soft serve ice cream, but it's already sold out. Unfortunately, it's always available only for a limited time.
We test how it is on the balcony. Now that we're sailing north, we hardly have any sun here, so sitting outside is not an option. However, in the distance, we see 2 whale spouts. Still exciting. I try once again to take a better photo of an albatross and other birds, but it's not easy. First to spot them, then to keep them in frame while zooming. They are fast, and the boat is moving, which is the main challenge. Of course, we're also swaying a bit. Still, we manage to take better photos than before.
Between 3 and 4, we have to pick up the passports. It's organized by deck, near the midship elevators. This morning, everyone received a card with the map of the Antarctic Peninsula showing all the places we visited.
We watch the last episode of season 4 of Poldark, pick up the passports, where we received 2 stamps: Punta Arenas and Falklands, and then go in search of a drink.
We choose the Pinnacle Bar, and Rhonda asks if she can join us. She's a very nice lady from Sydney, Australia. Unfortunately, Jan doesn't understand much of what she says because there are Americans sitting behind him, and as known, they can be quite loud. She tells us about her tour on the train in Ushuaia, which was actually just as disappointing as our bus tour.
Because the waiter said my drink card wasn't working anymore, we go to Guest Services where I get a new one in 2 minutes. We dress up a bit and read until it's time to go to the Pinnacle Grill at 8 o'clock. As enthusiastic as we were the last time, we found it quite mediocre now. Jan's lobster bisque was as thick as good pea soup. Our halibut lacked flavor, and the accompaniment was not really definable. The chocolate soufflé was good though. The most annoying thing was the noise from the music. In the Pinnacle itself, there is very soft, calm music, which was drowned out by the music from the Rolling Stone Lounge. Now, that's not annoying, but still. The climax was that we also heard the bad music and very bad singer from the Ocean Band over it all. So, until a quarter to 9 in the noise. Fortunately, the Ocean Band stopped then.
After dinner, we went to the Lido deck where Jim was supposed to do stargazing. We didn't hear or see Jim, but that doesn't mean anything. It was quite crowded. It took a while for the main lights to go out, but the light under the pool remained on, and the Sea View Bar stayed as it was, which obscured the view a bit. Nevertheless, we saw Alpha and Beta Centauri and the false Southern Cross. The real Southern Cross is just below it, but we couldn't find it. The starry sky is indeed very different here than in the Northern Hemisphere.
After that, we read in bed before going to sleep. It was 13 - 16 degrees today.
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| Photo's Jim |