Day on the Rollicking Sea

Last night was not a lot of fun.  We pitched and rolled all night long.  Apparently, according to Michael, I am a light sleeper.  I felt everything.  Sometimes, when I am lying on my side, the rolling would literally roll me over onto my back.  The captain said he was not expecting the seas to be so big (we estimated them at about 15 feet), and that it should end by 10pm tonight.  I hope so.  I need some sleep.  Our cabin is in the bow, and the movement is quite exaggerated compared to midship.  I have blogged before about the challenges of showering and dressing while holding on.  On a scale of 1-10, it is probably a 5.  I have gotten my sea legs and am not seasick, so I guess that is something to be glad about. 

After bridge lessons today, I got to do some watercolor.  It was fun to play with the paints, and being the perfectionist that I am, my splash of color on paper was less than perfect.  I’ll give it another go.

I played bridge this afternoon with a woman from England who plays ACOL, a bidding system used by the British.  Our bidding was a hybrid of ACOL and American Standard as I was trying to use the ACOL system (of which I have no idea how they bid).  We muddled through and at least didn’t come in the bottom.  We had fun.  That’s what you say when you don’t do so good at bridge. 

There is really nothing interesting to report on sea days.  No one died, no one was shot, no one fell overboard.  There is no shouting, no drunkenness, no one streaking down the hallways.  No pirates have been seen in the Caribbean Sea.  I did help one lady with her iPad.  Other people are still inquiring about my classes and now they also want a class on how to write a blog.  It looks like my classes will be held on the 10 sea days between Panama City and Tahiti.

Both Michael and I have escort duty tomorrow on the island of Bonaire.  I have no idea where this island is except it is off the coast of Venezula.  I have never heard of it.  I get to go to the mangroves on an eco-tour.  I did not request this tour.  I never seem to get the good tours or the ones I sign up for.  Michael, on the other hand, gets the beach and snorkel tours.  What gives!?!  I don’t give a crap about eco.  I want to lay on a white sand beach even though I am a bit sunburned from yesterday.  I didn’t put on sunblock because I was only in the sun (in the water) for about 15 minutes total.  Lesson learned:  the sun is very strong in the Caribbean and you better wear your sunblock if you don’t want to look like a lobster.  To add insult to injury, I am supposed to wear the yellow shirt provided by the ship, which is cut for a man, and looks absolutely gross on me. 

We always wonder if we will know someone when we get on a new ship.  What are the odds?  In our case, the odds were 100%.  Fred and Janet Groth are bridge players that we knew from our last Regent cruise!  They are a delightful couple and we had dinner out on the pool deck with them tonight.  The evening was perfect for al fresco dining, the humidity wasn’t too bad and the temperature was set to ultimate comfort.  I had the most incredible lobster mac and cheese I have ever eaten.  I see my arteries closing up after eating this dish.  For the finale, we had lemon crepes.  The food on Seabourn is just super.  And yes, they have delicious chocolate chips cookies, which I have personally sampled and highly endorse.