Barbara J. Hamby

Another Day at Sea—Thursday

We left Willemstad port at approximately 11:30 p.m. last night. There were parties to celebrate the event, but we skipped those. Instead, I investigated the usual midnight buffet that is served at that time. I tried a steamed bun filled with pork and vegetables. Delectable! After that, I joined Floyd in our stateroom and we retired for the night.

This morning Floyd was up to join me for breakfast around 9:30. We lounged around the pool for several hours, enjoying the warm breeze and reading. None of the many activities offered, including Bingo, lectures, ballroom dancing lessons, etc. lured us away from total relaxation.

Floyd’s feeling better, but his cold hangs on. The traffic poolside—a veritable fashion show—includes cover-ups of all shapes, sizes and colors.

The book I’m reading is written by the editor of Gourmet magazine, a former food critic for the Los Angeles Times and New York Times. Her tales of donning elaborate disguises to fool restaurant personnel were fascinating. She went to great pains to accumulate a variety of clothing from used designer duds to sloppy ensembles. With a collection of wigs and the skills of a cosmetician friend who did her makeup, she assumed different personas periodically.

Reading about all the fancy food she managed to ingest, as well as the awful offerings some restaurants provided when she was in disguise, inspired me to be more adventuresome. I’ve had hazelnut encrusted mullet, salmon crusted with macadamias, and vegetables prepared in every imaginable way. Today I passed up deep fried or crisp steamed veggies and opted for a fruit cup.

After lunch, we had a nap. I went to the Internet Cafe’ to read my email and delete excess messages. Later, we strolled to the saltwater pool at the stern of the ship where I swam while Floyd stretched out in the sun. Once again, I was alone in a pool for most of my swim. Astounding!

We had dinner in the Lido cafeteria, as usual. I ate lightly, hoping I might try the seafood buffet later. Floyd had a beautiful piece of prime rib with all the trimmings.

Back in our room, we found that the movie on television is the one we saw in the theater last night, The Queen. It might be worth a second watching at a later date, but not just a day later. Since I finished my book, I took it back to the library and exchanged it for another biography, that of Orson Welles. I’ll start it as soon as I finish this account.

We have yet to see a spectacular sunset, but the moon has been lovely.

Yesterday we were reportedly about 40 miles off the coast of Nicaragua. Today at noon, the captain announced that we were 16 miles from Marguerite Island. We have had wonderful weather and mostly smooth seas and are a little more than halfway through our cruise