Sea Day Nap-A-Thon

 Our present position in the Atlantic has given us worse internet than The Titanic had, and then there is the issue  with the princess app that has taken a spinning circle to a new level. But that is okay, because every time I see the spinning circle it will bring back memories of this trip.

Look At It Spin

Other than lousy internet this ship has been pretty nice. Little things like the token dispensers not working in the laundry room has been resolved by going to the front desk and picking up some tokens. They don’t even charge for them as my status on this line is high zoot. And another perk of high zoot status, the ships laundry will even do your wash. I’m sending a bag full tonight to beat the end of voyage deadline and disembark with mostly clean clothes!

Our cabin Steward is the best one we have ever had. He has gone above and beyond catering to our needs, but yesterday he let me down. He asked me if I needed anything and I said, “Could you get me a hip replacement?” He replied that the sea was too rough for surgery. I told him later in the day that “No hip. No tip” Will see what happens…

Down in the international café in the mornings you can usually have a captain sighting. I think he likes it when you greet him with a good morning El Capitan.

On this ship the hotel officers are all over all the time chatting you up. We have even made friends with the first officer of tablespoons who comes to our table nightly to see how we are doing.

On this leg of the cruise the ship is only at 60% capacity. It is kind of nice not to have to search for a table or wait for refreshment.

Even getting espresso in the morning seems to be working out ordering a double espresso with crème on the side, but even doing that not every cup comes with crema. And I’m glad I do not drink Latte’s as the soda jerks steam up pots of milk, and then let them cool on the counter, before adding the milk to drinks.

Finally A Decent Cup Of Espresso

My in room Koffee with my last bag of Kaladi is proving to be like the lamp of the Maccabean’s. There was only enough for one pot, but it is still hasn’t run out, and might make it all the way back to amerika.

Ponta Delgada in the Azores was our last stop before this 7-day westbound crossing of the Atlantic.

It is a picturesque island with terraced green pastures where cows graze on organic grass. It doesn’t get any better for a cow than this.

Ponta Delgada

They grow pineapples in green houses, and have a waterfront filled with hotels. Some old, and some new, and They like to swim here.

It Was A Nice Day For A Swim

From way back when people tackled the ocean in tiny ships the islands have been a resupply point for ancient explorers.

Goncalo Velho Cabral

Cabral is credited with re discovery of the Azores way back in 1400 and posing for a cool statue in the town square.

Tall Ship The Danmark 

The Danmark training ship out of Denmark was moored next to us, and students were practicing climbing the mast and unfurling the sails.

Our  Capitan played the godfather song for us for the last time as we pulled away from berth and turned out into the ocean for our crossing to Fort Lauderdale.

Everything was going as planned, with plenty of time for sea day napping when all of a sudden tropical storm Nicole was a couple of days away from making landfall right on the east coast of Florida, and a direct hit on Fort Lauderdale where the van with no name is awaiting my return.

El Capitan announced that he was altering our course to a more southerly route to avoid encountering Nicole.  Nicole should be past by the time we arrive on Saturday morning, and the fellow at the storage where the van with no name awaits,  says everything should be all right mostly.