Day 7--At Sea!!

View of Punta Arenas, Chile

Crazy Safety Briefing!

After a really good night’s sleep, Theresa’s first order of business was laundry.  We suspected getting there early on day one would get us ahead of the rush.  She was right!  Woohoo!!  Nothing more glamorous than laundry on vacation!  We had about 45 minutes for breakfast, so went to the buffet.  The best part of the buffet was the blueberry pancakes Theresa got (and shared).  We headed up to the pool deck for the “Safety Muster”.  Everyone stood around trying to social distance while someone garbled over the loudspeaker giving us important info no one around us could discern.  It was great. 

What are all of these colors?  We want "light blue", I'm told.

We went to the Staff Introduction, during which we got our first weather briefing.  The good news?  They gave a lot of detail about winds, waves, swells, etc.  It really conveys they expect a level of brain usage, which does not often happen on cruise lines.  The bad news?  It was a swirl of undefinable colors implying information.  Who knows what that’s all about?

Is this a pier or a bird sanctuary?

Look!  A laundry room!

I think he wants us to leave?

Giddy up!!  Theresa found a Hippity Hop!!

Bon Voyage drinks!

We took a walk around the upper decks for the views and to check out the ship a little, then had lunch.  In the afternoon, there was a lecture about eclipses, which we found very interesting.  Apparently, the critical moment we all want to see and experience is about one minute and 56 seconds.  Also, they said when the sun goes dark, you can actually feel the air chill.  Maybe…but at 4AM in the middle of the Southern Ocean, I’m not sure we’ll get that sensation!

Vacation schedule...Also, it might be cloudy.

Someone wanted to sit outside and enjoy the air.

We had a trivia contest in the late afternoon, and our team got 13 of 15 points, tying for first place!!  There was supposed to be a tie breaker question, but the moderator’s room mate was doing the next lecture so she wanted us to get out and go support her friend.  OK.  But we watched it in our room on the TV.  Well, by we, I mean Bill sat on the sofa enjoying the history of Antarctic Exploration, and Theresa experienced it through her ears and closed eyelids.

We got dressed up as this was an “Elegant Casual” evening.  I don’t know what means, but Theresa assured me it was NOT jeans and tennis shoes!  So, I donned my business casual, and added a sport coat.  Since we were a bit early for dinner, we headed to one of the lounges, and had a drink.  We ran into one of the passengers we met a few previous times, and sat with him to chat.  This is his fourth Total Eclipse, and he had a camera with a lens as long as my arm, and he had a lot of great things to share.

On our way to dinner, we ran into another couple, and joined them for dinner.  The gentleman is a lawyer, and as it turns out he and Bill enjoyed an active conversation covering disputed positions about COVID and rights.  The ladies joined in and that certainly wasn’t the only topic!!  We also talked about airlines and their good and bad services.  What fun!!  We basically closed the restaurant.

Back in the room, I poured a drink from my new stash, and Theresa went to bed.  She’ll have to edit this after it posts!

Stocked fridge!

For our private use in the room! :-)