Day 18—Jan 04—Equator (Part 2)

We could not post this last night, since the ship's server was down.  So, no internet, no wifi, no TV...even the restaurant was having issues with no server!

Note the position in the upper right corner.

The Captain had a Q&A session this morning, so we went to listen.  Questions ranged from “What is the draft of the ship?” (about 18-20 feet) and “What is the range, and what is the limiting factor (fuel, food, beer?)?” to “Where are the most difficult ports to navigate?”.  Asia (in general) is the most difficult due to traffic.  There are lots of boats and ships of all sizes, they do not all have lights, they do not all have someone in the wheelhouse or on the radio, and one has to be on constant watch for them.  All in all, he was a very good speaker, and kept it interesting and fun.

Lunch was supposed to be a “barbeque” on the upper deck, but since we started getting sudden rain, they moved it down to the main dining room.  They had an assortment of things, but the roast pig was the centerpiece.  There was also a “taco” station, which was a bit funny, all the more so when a German guy asked what a “taco” was, and the staff didn’t know quite how to answer!  Theresa decided she wanted a taco salad, and they had no idea what that was, so she talked them through it step by step. 

Winter, looking back on Summer.

Obviously, we crossed the equator on the way down (since Singapore is about 1 degree N, and the Indonesian islands we visited are about 5-6 degrees S.  But, on the journey down, we crossed in the middle of the night, and on the way up, at a more reasonable hour.  So, the ship put on a little skit for the Equator Crossing.  The “ceremony” included someone dressed up like King Neptune, and the Captain as well as any guests crossing the equator for the first time, were invited to “kiss the fish”.  Well, the Captain wasn’t invited so much as he was “instructed”, but he was a good sport.

The final trivia contest was Flags, or as one guy put it on our way, “Sheldon’s Fun with Flags”.  I was miffed at how few I knew (wanting to believe I am fairly good), but our team won nonetheless, getting 22 out of 25.  I knew Somalia and Panama, and suspect I was the only one, as well as a handful of others that my team was unsure.  It was (pseudo) important that we win because we get one point for playing, and two points for being on the winning team.  After this competition, we could go up and “trade in” our collected stamps/points for assorted prizes (t-shirts, caps, etc).  We got up there, and the guy managing it was clearly not interested, and just told people, “Tell me what you want, and you can have it.”  He did not care if one had 1 stamp or 100.  It was funny, but some people seemed a bit put off that their “efforts” didn’t somehow get them more than other people.  (Really??  Get a grip!)  I got a t-shirt and a travel umbrella (likely for the car!), and Theresa got a travel coffee mug and another umbrella.  I’m toying with filling the cup up at the buffet tomorrow!  J

While up there, they made an announcement that we had actually crossed the Equator, so as soon as possible, I ran down to the room to get a photo of the map that showed our location.  I was a “half minute” too late!!  (00Degrees 00.50 minutes North)

Tomorrow we arrive back to Singapore, where we have 1 day before we have to leave the ship.