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A Week At Sea / Thu Feb 21 - Wed Feb 27

We have 7 full sea days crossing the Indian Ocean until we reach our next destination which is Port Louis, Mauritius.

When we docked in Freemantle our butler (Marcelo) left the ship. His contract ended and he flew home to Brazil for a well deserved vacation. We're so sad to see him go as we had grown quite fond of his cheerful greetings and lovely manner. Our new butler is Jean - also from Brazil. 

 When we began the cruise we weren't sure what to do with the butler service that came with our cabin but it turns out that they can be very helpful with just about everything! 

Each day around 5pm our butler arrives with a variety of canapes to snack on before dinner. Jean really out did himself one day with this display (partially eaten before I took the photo) of crab claws, lobster meat, cheese and crackers!

 



It's hard to imagine but the days at sea fly by. We're keeping busy with lots of activities including some excellent enrichment lectures and bridge classes, playing games like backgammon, mahjong and (for Larry) very vigorous paddle tennis matches plus spa appointments and working out. Of course we've also spent time at the pool and in the hot tub! We've had great dinners with people we've met on the ship and the after dinner entertainment has been great!
Larry and his new friend, George. They won the match!
I have a friend who owns a business called The Flip Flop Bitch. They make a fun line of reversible bags that have come in handy on this trip. Below is a photo of me with one of them at the pool! I even made it on to their Instagram account!

I've gone to some of the enrichment lectures including a series on modern day photography. I learned about some new apps and tips to help photos look better. On our summer trips that we take with 3 other couples, we try to take a selfie each day so I attended the class below!
One of the classes I took!
As you can imagine, we also spend time eating and drinking! We've found several fun couples and often have dinner with them. We're a lively bunch and we usually end up being the last people to leave the restaurant!

At the Brazilian restaurant on the ship (Churrascaria) they bring the food to the table on large skewers and cut your portion off. The knives are really sharp!
 Having an afternoon snack at the pool!

Larry's backgammon opponent ...

There have also been some special activities we've participated in such as a tour of the ship's galley and having breakfast with some of the officers on the Bridge of the ship. 

 

One night they turned off all the lights on the ship and we went to the top deck to view the stars. Fortunately there was an astronomy expert there who pointed out all the planets and constellations. We saw the Milky Way and the Southern Cross - the sky was so clear - in the middle of the Indian Ocean. 

On another note, we've just passed the half way point for our cruise. :-(

Tomorrow we dock in Port Louis, Mauritius.
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