Day 10, Jan 13 - Sea Day

Another sea day photos
January 13, 2008
Woohoo! Today we reached double digits in our time onboard!
A few more general notes about Mariner. At the Captain's reception, etc. we have been served Heidisick Monopole Champagne, though the welcome bottle in the cabin is still Cremant de Loire Sparkling Wine. Yesterday, RSSC provided a complimentary shuttle bus service. Hopefully, this will be a regular occurence and it would be nice to know about in advance, especially when we are in industrial ports with nothing nearby rather than have to make more ambitious plans. The shuttle ran about every 25 minutes between the Port, Hotel Oro Verde, Aritsan's Market and Shopping Mall. People that booked the ship's rather pricy tours to Montecristi at $50+pp for only 2-3.5 hours were particularly dissappointed in them since they could have done the same kind of shopping via the shuttle bus. Since we had our own plans, it really did not affect us but, it would have been nice to know about in advance for comfort as a backup plan had our private arrangements fallen through on us. On a forgotten subject, Terry Breen returned to the ship pretty quickly, so still not sure what all her Goodbyes were about. She was back onboard on Friday the 11th for afternoon yoga class and has been here since. In addition to the local beer picked up in Manta, Chef Mike is serving South American-inspired dishes in Compass Rose now, or at least has been for the past 2 days. Last night he had a different country for every dish on his degustation menu. Finally, and surprisingly, today was our last sea day of the segment and we crossed the equator about 1-2am on the 12th, but the ship did not hold any kind of Equator Crossing ceremony or celebration. We had King Neptune at the Gold/Platinum event in the Deck 8 Forward-viewing Crew Only section, but the rest of the passengers got nothing. We did get Certificates in our room that we crossed, and assume all the passengers aboard did. But there was nothing on there about pollywogs and shellbacks, etc. That just seems a little sad for the first-timers that RSSC did not make a big deal out of it for them. We forgot to say in Manta we were docked on the starboarde side.
Since we entered the Panama Canal, the seas have been very kind to us and it continues (fingers are crossed here). The morning started out fairly warm and it has gotten progressively cooler as the day progressed. Margie is shivered and layering already! It is going to be a long few weeks for someone!
Since it was Sunday, we all slept in. We went to late breakfast at the Compass Rose. The special Sunday breakfast was Champagne with Eggs Florentine with caviar. Debbie found this doubly disgusting and hoped she would still be able to get plain Eggs Benedict. Margie did not like the sound of the special either and ordered the same as Debbie. They both had a chocolate croissant and fruit to start. Somehow, their special coffee orders have made the rounds to everywhere they ever drink coffee. We should just go ahead and say here that the regular brewed coffee is pretty bad. Sometimes you can get a bad espresso too, but it better than the regular and more consistent. So, Margie gets a single shot of espresso with hot water. Debbie gets a cappuchino with skim milk. It took Margie a day or 2 to work out what her best coffee order option would be but pretty quickly everyone had it down without even asking. Keep in mind that the waitstaff never know when or where we will show up so they are information sharing! Debbie and Margie also had the champagne. We had our usual spot in Rommel's station, so we could give him grief about messing with us last night at our hosted table. Clay had eggs, bacon and toast. He did get his toast today which he did not get the last time he ordered it, but he pointed out that each time the women order bacon they get 4 or more slices and he was only given 2! Poor Clay!
Clay and Margie went to a destination talk from 9:45 to 11:00am and Clay stayed on for a second talk event though he noded a time or two during the first one. Debbie stayed in the cabin and worked on the blog.
Lunch was an International Grill Buffet on Deck 11. They had a small boatload of boiled crayfish and shrimp so Clay had to eat there. The trio Nature's Rhythm played and it was very enjoyable. After lunch, we went on a tour of the bridge to see how the Mariner bridge worked. We were hosted by a cadet (sailor in training). Bob felt right at home driving the ship since he had so much experience from his last cruise on the Voyager. Roy made himself right at home as well and was welcomed. We have been seeing lots of birds and flying fish today. We are cruising about 20 miles off the coast, and mountions are clearly visible off our port side.
Debbie went to Cardio/Strength with the Stability Ball and Pilates/Yoga classes this afternoon. Margie went to needlepoint, trivia and Chocoholics Tea. She forgot to take her camera but said it was an impressive spread. She also took in the last of the Spotlight on Chocolate events which was a cooking demo of Chocolate Brioche Pudding. She didn't think it was very good and it was really a thin layer. This dessert was featured at Formal night dinner later tonight and was completely different. Clay ordered it, traded Debbie when she found nuts in her frozen yogurt and it was very good.
Tonight was Formal and the Captain's Farewell Party and the Crew Capers at 6:15pm. As always, the night is moving and amusing and we all enjoyed it. There was a full house for it, it seemed.
We had 2 or 3 notes/tickets on our doors today about tomorrow's ship's tour timing. Hopefully the last one received is right. Also, today we saw the schedules out at the Tour Concierge's Desk for a Complimentary Shuttle being provided in Salaverry to the Plaza de Armas in Trujillo. Again, it would have been nice to know about this well before arrival when you were still planning what to do. The shuttle will run about every 30 minutes they say. Pasted below is the description of our tour tomorrow.
Ancient Palaces, Colonial City and Temples to the Sun and Moon
Duration: 7 Hours.
Walking.
Code: SVY-4186
This guided tour will begin with a short drive to Huanchaco Beach to see the famous Caballitos de Totora, where small crafts made of totora reeds are still used today by fisherman, just as their ancestors did thousands of years ago. You'll continue on to "Chan-Chan", home to one of the most spectacular and largest ancient cities built of mud in the New World.
Next you'll drive to Trujillo, Peru's second city. Founded by Pizarro in 1536, Trujillo still retains much of its colonial charm, and has a splendid backdrop consisting of the vivid green and brown terrain of the Andean foothills. You'll see the spacious Plaza de Armas, where the main Cathedral and City Hall stand, the Libertador Hotel and visit the Orbegoso Mansion. Lunch will be served at a traditional Hacienda, with entertainment consisting of a "Peruvian Paso Horse Show", noted for the distinctive high-stepping, dance-like stride of the horses. There will also be a performance of Marinera, a distinctive folk dance from the region.
After lunch, you'll visit the amazing huacas (pron. wa-cas), or temples, built during the Mochica era (1-650 A.D.) on the left side of the Moche River in Southern Trujillo. The Huaca de la Luna required more than fifty million adobe bricks to be constructed. In front of the Huaca de la Luna you'll see Huaca del Sol, probably the largest mud-brick structure in the Americas. It was 372 yards long, 175 yards wide, over 130 feet high and had a series of terraces and slopes leading to its summit.
Please note: Comfortable shoes are a must, as there are ramps and stairs to negotiate at the temples. Sunscreen and a hat are essential. These areas are going through a continuous process of excavation.
$155
Also, we had invitations on the door after dinner for a Galley Tour at 4:50pm and a letter asking us to come to the Constellation Theater at 6pm for an informational/cocktail gathering for all guests going overland to Machu Picchu on the 15th. This seemed like way too full a day, so Debbie called and canceled our Galley Tour so perhaps someone else could go. We will get there on another day surely in the next 50 days!
After dinner Margie went to the Broadway in Concert show in the Constellation Theater and Debbie and Clay were early to bed.
With the really full and long day tomorrow, followed by being off the ship from the 15th through the 17th and without a laptop, we may not be posting for a few days this week. Hopefully, everyone understands this and no one will get upset or worried about us. We will report everything faithfully as soon as humanly possible after we return to the ship. Keep your fingers crossed for us for safe journey and fair weather!
Another sea day photos